Detroit Tigers: 4 positives that came from the 2022 season

The Detroit Tigers 2022 season has finally come to a halt.

Though the Detroit Tigers season was not one that they should be super thrilled about, there were still some good things that came out of the summer. For the Tigers, it’s a new era, as the road ahead is much different than where they have been.

While the Detroit Tigers have plenty to look forward to in the coming months, there’s still time to reflect on what this past 2022 season brought to the organization. Instead of dwelling on what was negative or what may have sucked about the season, let’s focus on the positives.

Trying to think about the good things or the noteworthy parts of the 2022 season seems like the best way to wrap things up. For the Tigers, it would be easy to focus on the negative, but finding some positives is worth it.

Here are a few positives that came out of the 2022 season. From roster moves, breakout performances, pitchers stepping up, and a change in direction, the Tigers did have positives to focus on.

Detroit Tigers veteran Miguel Cabrera tallies his 3,000th hit.

Miguel Cabrera crossed another milestone off the list early on in the season. Amid the Aaron Judge home run chase, which overtook the league and others with cut-ins during his at-bats impeding the sports world all over, another legend made history.

For the Detroit Tigers and Cabrera, he was able to add another accolade to his career resume. Cabrera tallied a three-hit day over a doubleheader against the Colorado Rockies on April 23rd, 2022. This helped him collect his 3,000th hit (and 3,001-3,002) over his 20-year MLB career.

He adjusted to an inner-third pitch, shooting it the other way for an easy single into the right-center gap. A gorgeous piece of hitting from Cabrera to collect hit number 3,000. It was one of the positive moments or good parts of the 2022 season.

The Tigers fans should be happy that Cabrera pulled this off, and the fans got to enjoy this moment. While it was likely to happen early in the season, either way, it’s a good moment from this summer’s season.

As fans look back on the year, Cabrera’s 3,000th hit will certainly stand out as one of the high points or best moments from the Tigers’ season.

Detroit Tigers needed pitchers to step up in 2022.

For the Detroit Tigers, there were a lot of injuries and trouble that came from the pitching staff. The pitchers were dropping like flies, but the team ran with a next-man-up mentality. It felt like the players being called upon continued to get the job done.

When it comes to the Tigers’ pitching staff, several players stepped up. It’s a positive takeaway from the 2022 season to say that several starting pitchers stepped up and got the job done when being called upon.

Drew Hutchison was one of the arms who provided quality starts whenever he was called upon. He may not have been in the running for a Cy Young or even close to that, but he was solid when called upon. He pitched in 28 games making 18 starts.

Hutchison managed a 4.53 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP and ate up 105.1 innings for the Tigers. While he was not lights out, he went out and did his job, which is all that the Tigers could ask for from arms like this.

Garrett Hill was another arm who excelled when he was needed. Hill also made some changes to his delivery that helped maximize his performance and helped him succeed. Hill pitched in 17 games, making eight starts for the Tigers.

The rookie right-hander pitched to a 4.03 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP and accumulated 60.1 innings pitched. For a rookie being thrown into the fire, he did a great job in the spots he was put in.

While neither Hill nor Hutchison was spectacular or off the charts, they were just two of the pitchers who stepped up and provided starts when the Tigers needed arms. Their performances should be viewed as a positive from the Tigers’ 2022 season.

Detroit Tigers hiring Scott Harris is a positive as the team shifts its direction.

Lastly, and perhaps the most recent positive from the 2022 season, was the change of direction that the Detroit Tigers have instilled. After finally moving on from Al Avila and firing him, the team found the new man with a plan.

For the Tigers, the results may not have been directly shown in the 2022 season, but the Tigers went on a bit of a run in the “Scott Harris era” of the 2022 season. Beyond that, the acts alone of bringing Harris in with the organization and beginning that process were rewarding enough.

The opening press conference with Chris Ilitch introducing Harris and allowing Harris to address the Detroit media for the first time told a lot to Tigers fans. There were a lot of things said that should lead the Tigers to be happy about the direction of this organization.

With a lot of changes coming to the Tigers organization this offseason, being able to look back on the day Avila was fired, and the day Harris was hired, it’s positive for this organization. Harris is able to start leaving his mark on the Tigers.

The future is the exciting part of this, and things could easily fall apart, but the honeymoon phase with Harris is not over yet. It still feels like the Tigers are vastly moving in the right direction.