Detroit Tigers set new franchise record for ineptitude

The 2022 Detroit Tigers just made the wrong kind of history

The 2022 Detroit Tigers will be remembered for a lot of things. Pretty much all of them are bad, but what they accomplished last night against the Houston Astros should take the cake.

The Tigers were shut out for the 21st time this season, setting a new franchise record and tying the American League record for most shutouts in a season since the DH was implemented in 1973, joining the 1973 Yankees and 1976 White Sox. Quite fittingly, they did this in front of dozens of people at Comerica Park.

There’s a very good chance they break that record, too. They have 21 games remaining, and they only need one more shutout to break the record. They could even do it in this series—even tonight against Detroit native and Wayne State alum Hunter Brown.

Is it really any surprise that this team accomplished this feat? They’ve had the worst offense in the league by a longshot—with pretty much every hitter underperforming. One of their better hitters has been injured for virtually the entire season, and for some reason they’ve kept their hitting coach around the whole season.

The 2022 Tigers still rank as the second worst offensive team in franchise history in terms of runs per game at 3.31, only behind the 1904 team, but only one hundredth of a run ahead of the 1905 team now. Progress? I guess?

Then there’s last night’s crowd. It was…sparse, to say the least. It looked like there were still COVID restrictions in place. That may to be expected for a team that’s on pace for 100+ losses in September, but again, it’s quite fitting for this team.

I have to offer a quick shoutout to Eric Haase, who had two more hits last night and has probably been the team’s most consistent hitter since June. He has a 1.156 OPS this month and is tied for the team lead in bWAR at 1.7 with Javier Baez.

Spencer Torkelson deserves a shoutout as well. He went 0-4, but every ball he hit had an exit velocity of at least 100 mph, including a ball that went 416 feet to left center. Eventually, those hard hit balls will turn into hits. He’s showing some good signs.

There’s not much more to say here. This team is sad, and we’re all just waiting for the season to be over and for the team to name their next GM.