The 2007 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 107th season and its eighth at
Comerica Park. The season ended with the 88–74 Tigers finishing runner-up in the
American League Central, eight games in back of the
Cleveland Indians. They failed in winning the
Wild Card.
As of July 18, the Tigers had sold 2,712,393 tickets at
Comerica Park for the 2007 season, setting a new single-season home attendance record for the team. The previous record had been 2,704,794 customers at
Tiger Stadium in 1984. At the end of the season, the Tigers had sold over 3,000,000 tickets for 2007.
On July 6,
Neifi Pérez was suspended 25 games by MLB for a second positive test for a banned stimulant. He subsequently tested positive for a third time and was suspended on August 3 for 80 games.
On August 7, 2007, Granderson became only the second player in franchise history to have at least 30 doubles, 15 triples, 15 home runs, and 10 stolen bases in a single season when he hit a double in a game against the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The other Tiger to accomplish this feat was
Charlie Gehringer in 1930. Granderson hit his second inside-the-park home run in his first at bat against the Yankees on August 26, 2007.
On September 7, 2007, Granderson became the 6th member all-time of baseball's exclusive
20–20–20 club. Granderson joined the 20–20–20 club with Kansas City's George Brett (1979),
Willie Mays of the New York Giants (1957), Cleveland's
Jeff Heath (1941), St. Louis'
Jim Bottomley (1928), and
Frank Schulte of the Chicago Cubs (1911).
On September 9, 2007 Granderson stole his 20th base of the season and joined Willie Mays and Frank "Wildfire" Schulte as the only players in major league history to reach 20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs, and 20 stolen bases in a season.[1] Schulte was the first to accomplish the feat in 1911 while playing for the Chicago Cubs and Mays did it in 1957 with the New York Giants. Jimmy Rollins of the Philadelphia Phillies would later that year accomplish the same feat.
Magglio Ordóñez had one of the best season by a Detroit Tiger batter in the past 60 years.[citation needed] Magglio's records and accomplishments in 2007 include:
His .363
batting average was the highest in Major League Baseball. He finished the season as the AL batting champion, and is the first Tiger player to accomplish the feat since
Norm Cash in 1961. The last Tiger to hit for a higher average was
Charlie Gehringer in 1937.
His 139
RBIs was the highest by a Tiger since
Rocky Colavito had 140 in 1961. Colavito is the only Tiger batter with more RBIs than Ordóñez in the past 60 years.
On August 12, 2007, Magglio hit two home runs in an eight-run second-inning of an 11-6 win over the
Oakland Athletics, becoming the second batter in Tigers' history to achieve this feat;
Al Kaline had done so on April 17, 1955, in a 16-0 win over the then-
Kansas City Athletics.
Ordóñez had an
on-base percentage of .434. Only two other Tiger batters in the past 60 years have hit for a higher on-base percentage:
Tony Phillips in 1993 (.443) and
Norm Cash in 1961 (.487).
Only one Tiger in the past 60 years has had a higher slugging percentage than Magglio's .595:
Norm Cash in 1961 had a slugging percentage of .662.
The one Tiger hitting season in the past 60 years that exceeds Ordonez's 2007 season is that of
Norm Cash in 1961. In 1961, the AL MVP award was given to New York Yankee slugger
Roger Maris who hit 61 home runs.
2007–08 offseason events
On October 9, 2007, the Tigers announced that they were picking up the $13 million, fifth-year option on
Iván Rodríguez's contract, keeping him on the roster through at least the 2008 season. The Tigers could have bought out the option for $3 million and allowed him to become a
free agent.
Relief pitcher
Joel Zumaya was injured while at his off-season home in
California. While moving boxes during the
October 2007 California wildfires, a large box fell on Zumaya, separating his shoulder. Zumaya had surgery to correct the problem and is currently rehabilitating the shoulder.
On October 29, first baseman
Sean Casey filed for
free agency, on the first day players could do so. The team's management had already informed Casey that he would not return to the lineup the following season. The same day, the Tigers acquired
shortstopÉdgar Rentería from the
Atlanta Braves, in exchange for pitching prospect
Jair Jurrjens and outfielding prospect
Gorkys Hernández. The move paves the way for current shortstop
Carlos Guillén to move to the vacant spot at first base.
On October 30, utility infielder
Neifi Pérez filed for free agency. He had not played since July 5 after being suspended for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy.
On November 12, veteran closer
Todd Jones was re-signed to a one-year, $7 million contract. The same day, the Tigers received outfielder
Jacque Jones in a trade with the
Chicago Cubs for utility man
Omar Infante.
On November 30,
Kenny Rogers agreed to a one-year, 8-million contract to return to the Tigers. Rogers represented himself in contract negotiations after firing agent
Scott Boras on November 17. The contract contains performance bonuses based on how many innings Rogers pitches in 2008. The team also signed free-agent pitcher
Francisco Cruceta to a one-year deal.
The Cabrera trade would make current third-baseman
Brandon Inge expendable. Inge asked management for a trade, but the team was unable to make a deal. Inge's four-year, $24 million contract, signed before the 2007 season, was partly to blame. Inge would eventually drop the matter and accept the role as a utilityman.
On December 29, the Tigers and
Dontrelle Willis signed a three-year, $29 million contract extension.
On January 16, 2008, the Tigers avoided arbitration with
Nate Robertson and signed him to a three-year, $21.25 million contract. He would have been a free agent after the 2009 season. The following day, the Tigers avoided arbitration with outfielder
Marcus Thames, signing him to a one-year, $1,275,000 contract. On the 18th, the team was able to avoid arbitration with all of their eligible players by signing
Miguel Cabrera to a one-year, $11.3 million contract. Reliever
Bobby Seay was given a one-year, $780,000 contract.
On February 4, center fielder
Curtis Granderson signed a 5-year, $30.25 million contract extension, keeping the speedy lead-off man on the roster through at least 2012. There is a team option for 2013.
On February 5, the Tigers completed another trade with the Texas Rangers, sending Class A
Lakeland and Class AA
Erie outfielder
Michael Hernandez in exchange for minor league right-hander
Armando Galarraga.
On March 25, the Tigers finalized a long-term contract for
Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera signed an eight-year, $152.3 million deal, which is the biggest in Detroit Tigers history.[3]