The longest-tenured Tiger doesn’t have any plans to suit up for anyone else. Brandon Inge says he admires Tigers greats Al Kaline and Alan Trammell and wants to follow their example and remain with one team for his entire career. That’s why he signed an extension with the Tigers last October, when he was weeks away from hitting the open market, where 29 other teams could bid for his services.
“I never really thought about going anywhere else,” Inge told MLBTR. “I know it was out there and I probably could have gone somewhere else, but there’s as good a chance as any of winning here with the amount of talent we have on this team. For me it was kind of a no-brainer. If they offered me a contract and it was fair, I was probably going to take it and they did.”
Inge, Detroit's second round pick in 1998, signed a two-year, $11.5MM contract in October. His offensive output – a .207/.262/.297 line with one homer and seven doubles – has been disappointing so far. Every month matters, but the Tigers knew what they were getting when they signed the 33-year-old after a decade in Detroit that included a 119-loss season (2003) and an American League Championship (2006).
“I guess loyalty is something big that I believe in and Detroit’s been very loyal to me for many years now, through thick and thin,” Inge said. “It’s one of those things where they’ve treated me with respect and I’ve treated them with respect as well.”
It’s an affiliation Inge would like to continue beyond 2013, the last year he’s under team control.
“Absolutely,” Inge said. “I’ll stay as long as they’ll let me.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving them, but what’s up with all of the Tiger’s posts this week?
I was thinking the exact same thing…
Probably the no hitter. It brought them a lot of publicity.
Yet, nobody talks about Liriano. *Coincidence? I think not.
*I don’t even know if this applys, I’ve just always wanted to say it.
Probably because the 6 walks.
And 2>1
I’ll take more Tigers posts anytime. Kind of sick of all the Mets and Red Sox posts. Considering DD and JL’s jobs are on the line this season, I’d expect more posts about ACTUAL trade rumors for midseason as they need to make a move
Please no. With his declining skills he should consider himself fortunate if he’s able to hold onto the starting job until the end of next year.
he got so lucky that the Tiger’s love loyalty, they must have seen an Inge highlight video before they drew up that contract, that’s all he’s good for
Inge has done a great job in the community and is a fan fav in Detroit. He lives in the Detroit area in the off season, so he really must love playing in the D. If you have time read this article about Brandon it really shows how great of a guy he is:
http://thesportsunion.com/wordpress/hardball/brandon-inge-proves-athletes-still-make-a-difference-off-the-field/
I wouldn’t say he’s a “fan favorite”. 1/3 of the fans love him, but 1/3 of the fans hate him. The other third are able to look at it rationally and see he’s been an ok starter for us, but we could use an upgrade.
I consider myself in the latter group. The thing is though, he’s starting to get up there in age. And he’s not good enough to suffer any decline and still deserve to start on a contender, IMO.
This year he’s struggled on both sides of the ball, and the question is whether it’s temporary or not. If his skills are declining the Tigers would be wise to look for an upgrade ASAP.
I really don’t think Inge would have had many suitors on the FA market, at least as far as starting third-base gigs go. His D has slipped this season, which can be expected for an aging guy with cranky knees. If the Tigers can pry David Wright away from NY, Mr. Inge will be once again whining about being a “super-sub” off the pine. Good guy or not, he DID cause trouble when the team traded for Cabrera (then a third-sacker)and he was designated a catcher again. Luckily for Inge, Carlos Guillen was a terrible first-baseman, and Cabrera was taking in way too many carbs from certain beverages, so he got his hot-corner gig back. A back-up on almost any other team right now.
I really like the man but I think the pitchers should hit and we should use the DH for Brandon.