Detroit Tigers looking to defend their American League Central title – MLB News
Detroit Tigers were absolutely brilliant last season as they went on to win the American League Central division title. Showing great determination and fighting spirit, the Tigers secured memorable wins past season.
Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez displayed some high quality batting skills to form one of the best hitting pairs in the American League. Justine Verlander was the leader of the pack in pitching department of the game and he was named 2011 AL Most Valuable Player of the season.
Right now, they Tigers seem to be the only team capable of winning the American League title. However, they will have to work hard and prepare themselves in best possible way to defend their championship.
Although the Tigers outclassed each team in their own division in 2011, they failed to live up the expectations in the playoffs. Texas Rangers made the pay heavily for their unforced errors to win the best of five game series 3-2.
"Justin uplifts our team so much on a day he's pitching because our team knows how good he is," Manager Jim Leyland said. "They know when he's penciled in there, they have one heck of a chance to win the game.”
Just a few days ago, news broke that Victor Martinez will be missing the entire next season due to an ACL tear. Martinez was one of the key players for the Tigers last season and his injury could be big blow for them. However, Justin Verlander thinks the team is confident of defending their AL title.
"I feel like there can be improvements on last year," Justin Verlander said in an interview with a leading sports website. "Obviously, a lot of things went my way. But you don't know if they are going to go that way again this year. I definitely feel like I'm starting to scratch the surface of what I can do and hopefully build off that as my career goes along."
The Tigers have been working hard over the last few months. Having reached the 2011 postseason, they are likely to perform better under pressure this time around.
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