by Mitch Albom | Feb 12, 2017 | Detroit Free Press, Comment
He was always more crust than sauce, a hardworking pizza magnate with a showman’s instincts and a shortstop’s energy, all tucked beneath a layer of shyness and wonder. No matter how rich he got, Mike Ilitch approached each new challenge like a kid spying a baseball...
by Mitch Albom | Oct 4, 2016 | Detroit Free Press, Sports
I walk along the street of sorrow, the Boulevard of Broken Dreams. I see a giant van pull up. “You moving in?” I ask a large Tiger. “Yeah. Want to help unload?” I take out boxes. There’s one with Miguel Cabrera bobbleheads, and another with Justin Verlander T-shirts....
by Mitch Albom | Apr 14, 2016 | Detroit Free Press, Sports
He was the thunder to Ernie Harwell’s sunshine, a deep, powerful baritone that we teasingly called the Voice of God. You could hear Paul Carey for miles, you could find him in any room, you could always pick him out on a radio dial. All he had to do was talk. That...
by Mitch Albom | Sep 27, 2015 | Detroit Free Press, Sports
On the weekend the Detroit Tigers would likely surrender the season, they chose to save one piece of it.Their manager.Brad Ausmus will return as skipper next year.Al Avila, the new general manager, announced it Saturday, before a game that officially eliminated...
by Mitch Albom | Aug 5, 2015 | Detroit Free Press, Sports
Something happened. We don’t know what. We might not for a while. But there is no way Tuesday afternoon’s sudden dismissal of Dave Dombrowski as Tigers president and general manager is a consensual parting of the ways. Not midseason. The Tigers don’t...
by Mitch Albom | Aug 2, 2015 | Comment, Detroit Free Press
It’s not the what. It’s the when.Thirty years ago, the trade deadline was June 15. Teams used it for last-chance shuffling before settling in to battle for the playoffs.But since 1985, when the trade deadline was moved six weeks later, to July 31, the...
by Mitch Albom | Apr 7, 2015 | Detroit Free Press, Sports
The manager, Brad Ausmus, trotted out to the mound, and the Tigers’ fans booed. It was Opening Day, and they were witnessing a pitching masterpiece by David Price. It was one out from completion, and the last thing they wanted was to see Price lifted —...
by Mitch Albom | Dec 12, 2014 | Detroit Free Press
This time of a year, being a baseball manager is like having a Rubik’s Cube in your head. You keep spinning the combinations until you’re dizzy.”I was doing it before the trades were even made,” Brad Ausmus said Thursday after the Tigers’...
by Mitch Albom | Oct 18, 2014 | Detroit Free Press, Sports
Did you ever notice how words that begin with “D” are rarely sexy? Divorce. Disappointment. Disillusion. Death.On the other hand, words beginning with “O” have more appeal. Optimism. Opportunity. Opulent. Ooh-la-la.Still, when it comes to sports, a “D” word often is...
by Mitch Albom | Oct 11, 2014 | Detroit Free Press, Sports
Two Sundays ago, the Detroit Tigers were spraying each other with champagne. One Sunday ago, they were trying to turn the tide of the playoffs.Today, their stadium is shuttered. It gets cold fast when baseball season ends. And the season ended coldly, with the Tigers...