Detroit Tigers: Dave Dombrowski makes history after World Series berth

Former Detroit Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski makes history… with another team.

There’s always a catch, isn’t there? For Detroit Tigers fans, it’s October, quickly approaching November as baseball continues to be played. Not by the Tigers, of course; they are awaiting the first-ever draft lottery with hopes to move up the ladder in the first round of next summer’s draft.

But for a former Detroit Tigers general manager, October is treating him well once again. Dave Dombrowski has made history after clinching a spot in the 2022 World Series as President of the Philadelphia Phillies organization.

After wrapping up a victory over the San Diego Padres, the Dombrowski-built Phillies are headed to the World Series after a whirlwind of a season. We’ll get to that. This makes history for Dombrowski, as he has led four different franchises to the Fall Classic, for a total of five appearances in his career.

He’s taken the then-Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, and now Philadelphia Phillies to the World Series. Sadly, two of these World Series appearances have come since Dombrowski departed from the organization.

In August 2015, the Tigers opted to part ways with Dombrowski, opting to have Al Avila begin his general manager tenure with the organization after being promoted to the position. We all know how that went as Tigers fans rejoice that the Scott Harris era has begun.

Dombrowski joined the Red Sox system just thirteen days after being fired by the Tigers. By 2018, he was leading the team to a World Series victory. While he was let go in 2019, he helped the team capture a world championship.

In 2020, Dombrowski was named the President of the Phillies organization. The rest is history. As the 2022 season started, not many may have had the Philadelphia Phillies as favorites to be headed to the World Series out of the National League, but Dombrowski found a way.

After a horrible start to the season, the Phillies parted ways with manager Joe Girardi who had led the team into a 22-29 start. Rob Thomson was hired as the interim manager who earned the title after taking his team to a National League Championship.

Under Thomson, the Phillies were 65-46 in the regular season. They finished 87-75, third in the National League East division. Dombrowski was busy working the phones to bring in players like Brandon Marsh, David Robertson, Edmundo Sosa, and Noah Syndergaard at the deadline.

Ultimately, the Phillies bats got hot, with Bryce Harper showing off some of the best anyone has seen out of him as the Phillies keep cruising along. Pair a group of hot bats with a couple of pitchers who keep getting the job done, and things will go well.

For Dombrowski, he’s made history, and the Phils are headed to the World Series. Meanwhile, Tigers fans are awaiting the next roster move in the Harris era, hoping that baseball in late October will return to the Motor City again.