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The 2022 Detroit Tigers are on a historic pace—and not the good kind

By Matthew Scheidel

ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - MAY 17: Jeimer Candelario #46 of the Detroit Tigers reacts during the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on May 17, 2022 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - MAY 17: Jeimer Candelario #46 of the Detroit Tigers reacts during the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on May 17, 2022 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images) /
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2003 Detroit Tigers: 43-119

Former Detroit Tigers DH Dmitri Young
Detroit Tiger DH Dmitri Young (L) is congratulated by left fielder Craig Monroe (R) after scoring on a RBI single by Carlos Pena in the fifth inning. Detroit won the game 10-9 (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

We all know the story by now. Worst team in modern baseball history. Second-worst record in MLB history, only beaten by the 1962 expansion New York Mets. Dave Dombrowski’s first full year as GM, slowly starts to turn things around.

Funnily enough, the 2003 Tigers very well could have been the worst team of all-time had they not won five of their last six games. It’s actually quite astonishing how close they were when you think about it.

Their top player in terms of WAR was designated hitter Dmitri Young (3.4). When your best player by WAR is a DH, you know you have a bad team. Young still had an impressive .909 OPS that season, the highest of his career.

There was pretty much nothing good about this team, unless you count getting the No. 1 pick and drafting future hall-of-famer Justin Verlander the following year. They couldn’t hit, they couldn’t pitch and they couldn’t play defense. There’s nothing left to say here. Let’s move on.

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