TIGERS PURCHASE CONTRACTS OF FOUR PLAYERS

In Play Magazine

DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers today announced the club has purchased the contracts of second baseman Scott Sizemore and shortstop Audy Ciriaco from Triple A Toledo and first baseman/outfielder Ryan Strieby and outfielder Brennan Boesch from Double A Erie.

Boesch batted .275 (145x527) with 89 runs scored, 26 doubles, seven triples, 28 home runs and 93 RBI in 131 games with Double A Erie in 2009. Selected to both the Eastern League’s mid- and post-season all-star squads, he led the league with 28 home runs, 61 extra-base hits and 269 total bases. Additionally, Boesch finished third in the league with 93 RBI and a .510 slugging percentage, while he tied for third with seven triples, tied for fourth with 89 runs scored and finished fifth with 145 hits.

Ciriaco spent most of the past season with Single A Lakeland, hitting .262 (116x443) with 55 runs scored, 17 doubles, five triples, 11 home runs, 59 RBI and 15 stolen bases in 121 games. He topped all Florida State League shortstops with 533 total chances, 161 putouts and 342 assists as he was rated as possessing the best infield arm in the league by Baseball America. Ciriaco joined Triple A Toledo at the end of the season, seeing action in seven games with the Mud Hens.

Sizemore was named the Tigers Minor League Player of the Year in 2009 as he combined to hit .308 (160x520) with 88 runs scored, 39 doubles, five triples, 17 home runs, 66 RBI and 21 stolen bases in 130 games with Double A Erie and Triple A Toledo. He was selected to Baseball America’s First-Team Minor League all-star squad following the season. Sizemore saw action in six games with Peoria in the Arizona Fall League, batting .368 (7x19) with two doubles, three home runs and nine RBI before he underwent surgery on his left ankle for his fractured fibula and the associated instability on October 27.

Strieby earned Eastern League mid-season all-star honors in 2009 as he hit .303 (89x294) with 64 runs scored, 18 doubles, a triple, 19 home runs and 58 RBI in 86 games with Double A Erie. He tied for fourth in the Eastern League with 19 home runs.

With the purchase of the four players’ contracts, the Tigers roster now stands at 40 and will be submitted to the Commissioner’s Office to meet today’s deadline.

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JUSTIN VERLANDER NAMED TIGER OF THE YEAR

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JUSTIN VERLANDER NAMED TIGER OF THE YEAR BY THE DETROIT CHAPTER OF THE BASEBALL WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA


DETROIT – Righthanded pitcher Justin Verlander has been unanimously selected as the Tiger of the Year for 2009 in voting by the Detroit Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Verlander posted a 19-9 record and 3.45 ERA (240.0IP/92ER) during the 2009 season. He led the American League with 35 games started, 240.0 innings pitched, 269 strikeouts and 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings. Additionally, he tied for the league lead with 19 wins, finished third with 4.27 strikeouts per walk, fifth with 10.80 baserunners per nine innings, tied for fifth with three complete games, sixth with a 3.45 ERA and 8.21 hits per nine innings, tied for sixth with a .243 batting average against and eighth with a .679 winning percentage.

Verlander became the first Tigers pitcher to lead the American League in strikeouts since Jack Morris did so in 1983 with 232 strikeouts. His 269 strikeouts stand as the fifth-most in franchise history and mark the most by an American League pitcher since Boston’s Pedro Martinez fanned 284 batters during the 2000 season. His 240.0 innings pitched marked the most by a Tigers pitcher since Morris worked 249.2 innings for the Tigers in 1990.

This year’s honor marks the first career Tiger of the Year award for Verlander.

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TIGERS ANNOUNCE 2010 SPRING TRAINING SCHEDULE

By Denny McLain
In Play Magazine

Three Visits from New York Yankees Highlight Schedule

DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers today announced the club’s exhibition game schedule for 2010 Spring Training in Lakeland, FL.

Next spring will mark the Tigers 74th season at “TigerTown” in Lakeland, extending the longest-standing relationship between a major league team and a current Spring Training host city. The 2010 spring season marks the club’s 45th consecutive season of exhibition play at Joker Marchant Stadium.

The Tigers will begin the exhibition schedule on Tuesday, March 2 as the club battles Florida Southern College in the annual matchup against the Moccasins. The club opens the home portion of the Grapefruit League schedule against the Toronto Blue Jays at Joker Marchant Stadium on Thursday, March 4.

The schedule is highlighted by visits from the World Series Champion New York Yankees on March 10, March 13 and March 27. The schedule also features two visits from the National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies on March 12 and March 20.

Tickets for the 2010 spring exhibition season will be priced at two separate levels. The first set is for premium games, which include all games against the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees and all Friday, Saturday and Sunday games. The second price level is for the remainder of the schedule. Premium game ticket prices range from $11-22, while the ticket prices for the remainder of games range from $8-19.

Full season ticket packages for the 2010 Tigers Spring Training exhibition season are on sale now at the Joker Marchant Stadium ticket office, via phone at (863) 686-8075 or by visiting www.tigers.com. Fans may also now purchase partial season ticket plans of five-or-more games by calling (863) 686-8075. Individual game tickets go on sale beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 9th, and can be ordered by visiting the ticket office at Joker Marchant Stadium, calling 866-66-TIGER or visiting www.tigers.com. For additional ticket information and special group pricing, call the Lakeland office at 863-686-8075.

DETROIT TIGERS 2010 SPRING TRAINING SCHEDULE
Game

Day Date Opponent Site Time*
Tues. March 2 Florida Southern College Lakeland 1:05
Wed. March 3 Toronto Dunedin 1:05
Thur. March 4 Toronto Lakeland 1:05
Fri. March 5 Houston Lakeland 1:05
Sat. March 6 Baltimore Lakeland 1:05
Sun. March 7 Toronto Dunedin 1:05
Mon. March 8 Atlanta Lakeland 1:05
Tues. March 9 Washington Viera 1:05
Wed. March 10 New York Yankees Lakeland 1:05
Thur. March 11 Philadelphia Clearwater 1:05
Fri. March 12 Philadelphia (SS) Lakeland 1:05
Sat. March 13 New York Yankees (SS) Lakeland 1:05
New York Mets (SS) Port St. Lucie 1:10
Sun. March 14 Tampa Bay Lakeland 1:05*
Mon. March 15 Toronto Lakeland 1:05
Tues. March 16 Philadelphia Clearwater 1:05
Wed. March 17 Pittsburgh Bradenton 1:05
Thur. March 18 Houston Lakeland 1:05
Fri. March 19 New York Yankees (SS) Tampa TBD
Atlanta (SS) Disney World 6:05
Sat. March 20 Philadelphia Lakeland 1:05
Sun. March 21 New York Yankees Tampa TBD
Mon. March 22 Toronto Dunedin 1:05
Tue. March 23 Washington Lakeland 6:05
Wed. March 24 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - O p e n D a t e - - - - - - - - - - -
Thur. March 25 Toronto (SS) Lakeland 1:05
Washington (SS) Viera 7:05
Fri. March 26 Atlanta Disney World 1:05
Sat. March 27 New York Yankees Lakeland 1:05
Sun. March 28 New York Yankees Tampa TBD
Mon. March 29 Toronto Dunedin 1:05
Tue. March 30 Baltimore Sarasota 1:05
Wed. March 31 Pittsburgh Lakeland 1:05
Thur. April 1 Atlanta (SS) Lakeland 1:05
Houston (SS) Kissimmee 1:05
Fri. April 2 Milwaukee Milwaukee 8:10
Sat. April 3 Milwaukee Milwaukee 2:10
All time is Eastern (Detroit) Time * Daylight Savings Time begins


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PORCELLO NAMED TIGERS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

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Detroit Sports Broadcasters’ Association Tabs Righthander as Tigers Top Rookie

DETROIT – Detroit Tigers righthanded pitcher Rick Porcello was named the Tigers Rookie of the Year by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters’ Association today.

Porcello led all American League rookie pitchers with 14 wins, while he was seventh with a 3.96 ERA (170.2IP/75ER) and 10th with 89 strikeouts during his first season with the Tigers. He ranked second among all league pitchers with a 2.23 ground ball/fly ball ratio (312 ground balls/140 fly balls) and finished fifth with 24 ground into double plays induced.

Photo by Jennifer Macpherson/In Play! Magazine

His 14 victories marked the most by a Tigers pitcher age 20-or-younger, surpassing Dave Rozema, who won 11 games for the Tigers in 1977 prior to celebrating his 21st birthday on August 5. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he became the fourth pitcher age 20-or-younger since 1970 to record 14 victories in a season, joining Cincinnati’s Don Gullett in 1971 (16 wins), Minnesota’s Bert Blyleven in 1971 (16 wins) and New York’s Dwight Gooden in 1984 (17 wins) and 1985 (24 wins).

Porcello will be presented with his award prior to a Tigers home game during the 2010 season. The Detroit Sports Broadcasters’ Association has been selecting a Tigers Rookie of the Year since 1969.
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INGE UNDERWENT SURGERY ON TUESDAY IN DETROIT

By Denny McLain
In Play Magazine

DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers announced third baseman Brandon Inge underwent surgery on Tuesday to address the chronic patellar tendinitis in both of his knees that plagued him throughout the 2009 season, a procedure performed by Dr. Stephen Lemos at the Detroit Medical Center.

The procedure involved the debridement and repair of the patellar tendon in both his left and right knees.

Inge will be non-weight bearing for the first six weeks as he regains full range of motion. At that time, he will begin a strengthening and rehabilitation program to prepare him for Spring Training and the 2010 season.

According to the projected timetable, Inge is expected to be ready for the start of Spring Training in February.

Inge saw action in 161 games this past season, hitting .230 (129x562) with 27 home runs and 84 RBI.
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