The Detroit Tigers are playing at a level that could take them deep into the postseason.
Even with over 100 games left in the regular season, baseball fans in the Motor City have to be excited about the Tigers’ possibilities this fall. With a modest two-game winning streak at hand, there are many positive signs that the Tigers’ organization is trending in the right direction: toward a World Series appearance for the first time since 2012. The Detroit fan base is clamoring for a claim to the Commissioner’s Trophy, presented to the winner of the World Series, something they haven’t reveled in since 1984.
Coming into this season, the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers were all the talk to repeat as league champions, then have a rematch of the 2024 Fall Classic. With the Dodgers boasting of having the third-largest payroll of all 30 clubs this season ($336,802,442.), and the equally free-spending Yankees claiming fifth place in payroll ($288,738,657.), it’s a time-honored conclusion in baseball that whoever spends the most achieves the most.
The Tigers’ success in 2025 is coming under the baseball lords’ radar. Detroit ranks 18th in payroll spending among both the National and American Leagues this season with total salaries topping off at $142,664,627. Spending wisely, not wildly, is paying dividends for the Tigers. Under Scott Harris, Detroit’s president of baseball operations, and general manager Jeff Greenberg, in concert with manager A.J. Hinch, results are being tallied that make the Tigers the envy of other clubs.
Chris Ilitch—chairman and CEO of Ilitch Holdings, which include ownership of the NHL Detroit Red Wings, Little Ceasars Pizza, a couple casinos, and managing Comerica Park—and his family took control of the Tigers in 1992. The direction that the club’s leadership is on is clearly resonating with their fans. Attendance per home game is up, at 25,321 in 2025, from last season’s average of 22,942.
The tide turned from a club lagging in the American League Central standings to one displaying obvious growth since Hinch was hired before the 2021 season.
Since Hinch’s arrival in Motown, it’s no longer a given that the Cleveland Guardians are the Central team to conquer if a club had thoughts of going to the postseason. After years of building and piloting the Houston Astros to American League West dominance, including three seasons in a row of 100-plus wins, a World Series championship in 2017 and a National League pennant two seasons later, Hinch was caught up in one of MLB ’s all-time “scandal of scandals.”
After an investigation by MLB into illegally stealing opposing clubs’ signs electronically during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, Hinch paid a steep penalty for his role in the scandal. Hinch, who was fired by the Astros in January 2020, was suspended as a result of either knowing or not preventing the spying on opposing teams. After Hinch paid his debt to MLB’s hierarchy, the Tigers hired him as their new field manager in October 2020.
Since running Detroit’s dugout and filling out the lineup cards, the number of wins over the past four seasons is trending upward. In the 2021 season, the Tigers’ first under Hinch’s leadership, the club won 77 games and finished in third place. The 2023 season saw Detroit collect 78 wins, good for a second-place finish. Last season, the Tigers not only earned 86 wins, they also made it to the second round of postseason play.
The Tigers’ baseball operations leaders remain steadfast that Hinch is their guy to take them to a World Series title, something they haven’t won since Sparky Anderson, the late Hall of Fame manager, led the 1984 club. Hinch, now in his 12th MLB season managing and just 88 wins shy of 1,000 for his career, is receiving exceptional individual performances thus far in 2025 from pitcher Tarik Skubal and Javier Báez, who continues to chip in where needed in both the infield and outfield.
Skubal, last season’s AL Cy Young Award winner with a record of 18-4 and a first-time All-Star Game participant, is following up with an equally impressive and dominant 2025 campaign. With a record of 5-2, Skubal has been turning heads with 92 strikeouts in 68.2 innings as of Tuesday.
With two seasons left on a six-year deal signed in December 2021 for a reported $140 million, Báez seems to have returned to the elite form that he displayed with the Chicago Cubs. A member of the Cubs’ 2016 World Series champions, he played only 80 games in 2024. After recovering from season-ending hip surgery last September, Báez, known as the “Magician” by teammates, is hitting .286. He has already equaled his 2024 home run total of six.
The Tigers continue to prove they have the “horses” to go deep into the postseason.
