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Detroit Tigers Tickets – Tigers Ink Deal with Damon

Article by Brent Warnken

The Detroit Tigers weren’t the 2009 World Series Champions, but now they have one on their team. After much speculation, the Tigers have signed outfielder Johnny Damon. He spent the last four seasons with the New York Yankees, winning a World Series last season. The Tigers signed him to a one-year deal worth million, according to ESPN. Along with his fielding abilities, Damon is also a left-handed hitter. The 36-year-old had other teams chasing him before signing to the Tigers, including the Chicago White Sox.

He was reportedly looking for a multi-year contract, but accepted the Tigers’ deal after they offered him the most money. Prior to his time with the Yankees, Damon was with the Boston Red Sox from 2002 to 2005, the Oakland Athletics in 2001 and the Kansas City Royals from 1995 to 2000. In his career, he has played in 2,131 games, tallying 2,425 hits, 1,483 runs, 996 RBIs and 207 home runs. With his reputation, he is likely to be a key starter for the Tigers during the 2010 season.

That isn’t the only news coming out of the Motor City. While the team was busy with spring training, the Detroit Free Press caught up with manager Jim Leyland, who revealed that right-hander Justin Verlander will be the man on the mound to start when the Tigers take on the Kansas City Royals to open the season on April 5. The Tigers likely expect much out of Verlander this season, as they signed him to a five-year contract worth million this offseason. He has been with the Tigers since he entered the league in 2006 and was named the Tigers’ Rookie of the Year that season. He has made the All-Star team twice, once in 2007 and again in 2009. Last season, he was first in the AL in strikeouts with 269 and sixth in the AL in batting against average with.243.

Spring training is the place where fans, coaches and media first get a look at all of the returning players, and MLive revealed that two Tigers look beefier coming into spring training. Pitcher Rick Porcello appears to have added at least five pounds in the offseason, and shortstop Brent Dlugach is now up to 222 pounds. MLive talked to Dlugach about his new physique, who said, “I’ve gained 15 to 20 pounds since last season. I did upper body and lower body lifting six days a week and ate as much as possible. I ate a lot of pasta and spaghetti.”

Catcher Gerald Laird is looking for a completely different kind of turnaround in the 2010 season. He ran into legal troubles back in December at a Phoenix Suns basketball game. He was arrested on suspicion of assault and disorderly conduct, and the charges were recently settled in a deal that has Laird attending anger management classes. He had quite the defensive effort last season, but was lacking in the offensive side. Leyland revealed to the MLB website that he expects more offensive effort from Laird this season. Fans can be there to cheer him on by getting Detroit Tigers tickets online.

About the Author

This article was sponsored by StubHub.com. StubHub sells tickets to sporting events, concerts and theater productions. Go to StubHub.com for Detroit Tigers tickets.Distributed by ContentCrooner.com