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    • The Tigers’ Harris had a vision, and now it’s clear to everyone
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    The Tigers’ Harris had a vision, and now it’s clear to everyone

    Caradoc Wyn Posted on

    Detroit — Scott Harris isn’t exactly new here.

    But the Tigers’ president of baseball operations knows someone who is. And as he stood on the field at Comerica Park Friday night, surrounded by a scene this city hadn’t seen in a decade, he couldn’t help but crack a joke.

    “I hope my five-month-old Rosie is watching, too,” Harris said with a smile as Tigers players and staff and their families celebrated a playoff victory against the Chicago White Sox. “She’s never seen a Tigers season without us making the playoffs.”

    Of course, the rest of us have been seeing a little too much lately. But Harris understands that too, and as he took in Friday’s moment — a moment he probably expected before anyone else — it became clear that the 36-year-old architect of Major League Baseball’s biggest upset this season wasn’t intended to take her on a victory lap.

    “I don’t see it that way,” said Harris, the bright, young baseball manager who was hired to run this club two years ago last week. “This is not confirmation. I’m just really happy for all the players here, all the coaches. And I’m proud of the organization. It’s been a long time since this organization has been in the playoffs. And these fans deserve it.”

    As he spoke, he turned and gestured toward the stands surrounding the diamond, which was still packed with thousands of fans celebrating after the Tigers booked their first postseason trip since 2014, snapping their longest active playoff drought finished in baseball.

    Moments earlier, however, Harris had pushed his way through the crowd gathered on the field, grabbed manager AJ Hinch in a bear hug, and then stopped to greet, among others, the parents of rookie outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy.

    “You feel great,” he said. “I mean, with every player I hugged, I remembered a moment of adversity that he faced or a moment where we challenged him to do something different. And all these guys rose to the occasion. And they deserve it.”

    You deserve it

    Because they earned It. That’s the point Hinch, who’s been here and done this before, makes almost daily as he tries to explain the lengthy process required to produce a winner in this business of baseball. And ever since owner Chris Ilitch gave Hinch a like-minded partner in Harris, who cut his teeth in the forward-thinking front offices of the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants, this whole operation suggests something was looking like this.

    “It all starts with Scott,” Ilitch said Friday night as he admired the champagne- and beer-soaked party in the Tigers’ clubhouse. “He had a vision, he has a plan and he executes it. Sometimes you can tell us all anything. And sometimes you just have to make it happen.”

    To be fair, Harris told us all what was coming. In fact, at his introductory press conference in September 2022, it took Harris all of five minutes to lay out his three-point plan to salvage Ilitch’s failed reconstruction effort under Al Avila. Harris spoke that day about the need to attract young talent, creating a “culture of development” and, in particular, dominance in the strike zone.

    Two years later, the Tigers’ 28-man roster includes a dozen rookies, many of them homegrown prospects, who have blossomed into success thanks to a legion of player development coaches and analysts throughout the organization. And if you’re looking for a single reason to explain this team’s staggering 31-11 record down the stretch, just keep an eye on home plate: Detroit ranks second in the majors in first-out percentage this season and second in walk rate, and since that hot run began on August 11, the Tigers have a league-best 2.60 ERA.

    When he looked around Friday night, however, Harris saw something else.

    “Faith,” he said, nodding. “Every evening you can see our shelter: there is no support at all. They fight for every place. And they are wise and balanced beyond their years.”

    Tiger “Spirit”

    But it’s that youthful exuberance, coupled with serious baseball talent, instincts and athleticism that has fueled this improbable run to the postseason.

    “I don’t know what it is, but it’s just the spirit of this team,” said Kerry Carpenter, the left-hander whose return from a serious back injury in mid-August helped boost the Tigers’ offense. “And it doesn’t matter if these guys got into the big leagues a month ago or if they’ve been in the league forever. We have a lot of people out here who are confident. And we believe in ourselves and we believe in each other.”

    More: Wojo: The Detroit Tigers’ improbable, incredible run leads to the playoffs

    And despite all the criticism Harris took this spring and summer, including at the trade deadline when he once again played the role of reluctant salesman, this too was part of the plan: Out with the old, in with the new.

    Asked Friday night when he felt something like this was possible, the Tigers president rewinded to early August “when we drafted a few of these kids.” He pointed to players like Trey Sweeney, the overlooked prospect , acquired in the Jack Flaherty trade and replacing Javier Baez at shortstop. But also pitchers like Brant Hurter and Brenan Hanifee, who played important roles as Hinch got creative with a patchwork starting rotation in recent months. Fittingly, those two arms combined to pitch six innings on Friday night, allowing just one run on three hits with no walks against the White Sox.

    “They showed in the minor leagues that they deserved a chance, and we found a way to get them here,” Harris said of all the mid-summer additions. “And when we started looking at our lineup and our pitching staff, we thought, ‘Man, this is a talented group.’ They still have a lot to prove, but they are a talented group. And we should continue to give them chances.’”

    So that’s exactly what they did. And now they’ve given themselves the opportunity to do something no one outside the Tigers’ clubhouse thought possible back in August. Or June or July.

    But Harris had no interest in looking back Friday night. Instead, he was already thinking about what comes next.

    “We have a lot of work to do,” he said. “This team is pretty dangerous. We have a chance to make some noise in October.”

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