2009 Detroit Tigers season
The 2009 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 109th season. The Tigers' new slogan for 2009 was "Always a Tiger." It replaced the 2006–2008 slogan "Who's Your Tiger?"
The Tigers ended the season on October 6 with a 6–5 loss in 12 innings to the Minnesota Twins in the tie-breaker game to win the AL Central. The Tigers spent 146 days in first place and became the first team in Major League history to lose a three-game lead with four games left to play.
2008–2009 offseason events
- The Tigers announced on September 29, 2008, that they would not pick up the $12 million option on shortstop Édgar Rentería's contract, although the team did not rule out the possibility of re-signing him in the offseason. The buyout was worth $3 million. The option was part of the contract Rentería signed with the Boston Red Sox in 2004. He had changed teams twice since then. The roster move was finalized on October 30. The team could have offered him arbitration and received a draft pick from Rentería's new team, but formally chose not to offer Rentería arbitration on December 1. On December 4, 2008, Rentería signed a two-year deal with the San Francisco Giants.
- On October 17, the Tigers hired Rick Knapp as their new pitching coach, replacing Chuck Hernandez, who took part of the blame for the team's poor pitching in 2008. Knapp had worked for 12 years as the minor league pitching coordinator for the Minnesota Twins.
- The Red Sox claimed Tiger reliever Virgil Vasquez off waivers on October 28. Vasquez had spent the entire season as a starter with the Toledo Mud Hens, the Tigers' AAA affiliate.
- On December 8, the Tigers acquired catcher Gerald Laird from the Texas Rangers, in exchange for minor league pitching prospects Guillermo Moscoso and Carlos Melo.
- On December 10, the Tigers traded outfielder Matt Joyce to the Tampa Bay Rays for starting pitcher Edwin Jackson. Joyce had divided his time in the previous season between the Tigers and Class AAA Toledo.
- On December 12, the Tigers signed infielder Ramón Santiago to a one-year contract, avoiding arbitration.
- Also on December 12, in a Rule 5 draft, the Tigers selected left-handed pitcher Kyle Bloom from the Pittsburgh Pirates double-A affiliate, Altoona. Detroit would return Bloom to the Pirates in March 2009. In the same draft, they lost James Skelton, a left-handed hitting catcher, to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Skelton was on Detroit's 2008 40-man roster but was not included on the 40-man cast for 2009.
- On December 13, relief pitcher Aquilino López became the Tigers' only arbitration-eligible player this offseason to not be offered a contract by the team, making him a free agent.
- On December 15, the Tigers finalized a one-year, $1 million contract with free-agent shortstop Adam Everett, previously with the Minnesota Twins.
- On December 18, former Marlins catcher Matt Treanor signed with the Tigers.
- On January 6, 2009, the Tigers signed former utility outfielder Alexis Gómez to a minor-league contract. Gómez had played on the 2006 World Series team, but had spent the subsequent two seasons in the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins systems.
- On January 13, the Tigers signed Taiwanese sidearm relief pitcher Fu-Te Ni to a minor-league contract with an invitation to training camp. Ni had pitched for Taiwan at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
- On January 14, the team avoided arbitration with relief pitcher Fernando Rodney and utility outfielder Marcus Thames by signing both to one-year contracts.
- On January 20, the team avoided arbitration with catcher Gerald Laird, starting pitcher Edwin Jackson, and relievers Joel Zumaya and Bobby Seay by signing each to one-year contracts. The same day, the Tigers signed Juan Rincón to a minor-league contract with an invite to spring training.
- On January 26, the Tigers signed relief pitcher Brandon Lyon to a one-year contract. The same day, the team signed Timo Pérez to a minor-league contract.
- On February 3, the Tigers avoided arbitration with starting pitcher Justin Verlander by signing him to a one-year, $3.7 million contract.
- On February 4, the organization outrighted pitcher Eddie Bonine to the Mud Hens after clearing waivers. He had spent most of the 2008 season with the Mud Hens.
- On February 24, the Tigers came to terms with relief pitchers Clay Rapada and Freddy Dolsi, and outfielders Brent Clevlen, Ryan Raburn and Wilkin Ramírez, all to one-year contracts.
- On March 19, the Tigers outrighted relief pitcher Macay McBride to Toledo.
- On March 29, the Tigers placed relievers Joel Zumaya and Dontrelle Willis on the 15-day disabled list. Zumaya, who had had a history of shoulder problems, was due to be activated April 11, one day after the Tigers' home opener against Texas. Willis was placed on the list due to an anxiety disorder.
- On March 30, the Tigers acquired speedy outfielder Josh Anderson from the Atlanta Braves for pitching prospect Rudy Darrow. Anderson hit.294 with three home runs, 12 RBIs and ten stolen bases with Atlanta in 2008.
- In a surprise move, the Tigers released nine-time All-Star Gary Sheffield on March 31. Sheffield, who joined the Tigers before the 2007 season, was one home run short of the 500 club when he was released.
Trades
On July 31, the Tigers traded rookie left-handed pitcher Luke French and left-handed pitcher Mauricio Robles to Seattle for veteran left-handed starting pitcher Jarrod Washburn.
On August 17, the Tigers traded pitcher Brett Jacobson to Baltimore for Aubrey Huff.
Season highlights
The Tigers' home opener was on April 10 against the Texas Rangers. The Tigers won that game 15–2, which included a grand slam by Miguel Cabrera and finished the series with a sweep.The Tigers swept their rivals the Indians in Cleveland during the second weekend of May. The Tigers also completed back-to-back sweeps in May, against the Athletics and the Rangers. The Tigers also completed back-to-back sweeps in late June, over the Brewers and Cubs.
On May 15, the Tigers hit 2 grand slams in a game, only the third time in team history.
On June 19, Instant replay was used twice in the Tigers' 10-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park, the first time that's happened in league history. Miguel Cabrera's third-inning single off the top of the wall is called a home run after instant replay review shows that it had actually cleared the wall. Contrarily, Dusty Ryan's fourth-inning home run was overturned to a ground rule double. Later that weekend, the Tigers won the series with a sweep.
On May 19, Dontrelle Willis and four relief pitchers combined to throw a one-hitter in a 4–0 Tigers Victory. Willis had a stretch in which he retired 17 straight batters
The Tigers completed back-to-back sweeps against the Indians and Rays in early September.
The Tigers held the 1st-place position from May 8 until they lost it to the Twins in the tiebreaker game on October 6.
The Tigers swept the Indians for the third time of the season in late September.