By Jason Beck / MLB.com
DETROIT -- If every Major League team hires a manager knowing he could one day be fired, then this is the day the Tigers dreaded.
While no managerial change is easy, the end of Alan Trammell's tenure with the Tigers was especially difficult, even a bit awkward. Beyond Trammell's 20 years in a Tiger uniform as a player, putting him alongside Al Kaline and Ty Cobb in terms of longevity in Detroit, his character endeared him even to those who didn't always agree with the direction of the team.
In the end, however, the wins weren't enough.
"In my opinion at this point, if we were going to get to the next level, this change was necessary," said president/general manager Dave Dombrowski, who added he "did not sleep well" leading up to the meeting.
Nonetheless, the decision had been expected amidst a September slump that ensured the team of its 12th consecutive losing season, the last five of them with 90 or more losses. Detroit ended the season by losing 29 of its final 39 games after the Tigers crept within a game of the .500 mark Aug. 23.
It was at some point during that final month, Dombrowski said, that he reached his decision to make a change. While he did not specify a date, he said the team's five-game losing streak to end the season did not factor into his choice. He considered informing Trammell before Monday and having an interim manager finish out the season, but he chose against it.
The Tigers offered Trammell a position as a special assistant to the general manager. Though Trammell was not immediately available for comment, he said last week that he wanted to remain in the game in an on-field position if he lost his managerial job. He has a year left on his contract, thanks to an option the team picked up near the end of last season.
No moves were immediately announced for the coaching staff. Traditionally, coaches are allowed to pursue other jobs in a transition period while remaining available should the new manager want to hire them. Third base coach Juan Samuel and bench coach Bruce Fields were interviewed Monday for the managerial opening.
Dombrowski did not go into specific shortcomings for Trammell, who finished with a 186-300 record as manager. However, his reasons why the team did not meet his expectations shed light on the choice.
Trammell returned to manage his old club following the 2002 season after three years as a coach under Padres manager Bruce Bochy. Upon arrival, he set a goal of playing the game the way he considered right, emphasizing fundamental baseball and a hard work ethic along with solid defensive play.
Those traits were a reflection of the playing style that earned him six All-Star selections, four Gold Gloves, the 1984 World Series Most Valuable Player Award and runner-up honors for 1987 American League MVP. Toward that end, as well as to emphasize the franchise's tradition and sense of pride, he hired several ex-Tiger teammates for his coaching staff, including Kirk Gibson, Lance Parrish, Fields, Samuel and Mick Kelleher.
His first season as a manager at any level demonstrated how far his club had to go to reflect those values and add to the tradition. Fielding a mix of prospects, Minor League veterans and few experienced Major Leaguers, the Tigers went 43-119 in 2003, setting an American League record and coming within one loss of the modern-day Major League standard set by the expansion 1962 New York Mets.
Left with few options for improvement that year, Trammell and his staff spent the season giving regular playing time to youngsters such as Mike Maroth, who would become the first pitcher to lose 20 games since Brian Kingman in 1980, and 20-year-old Jeremy Bonderman, not to mention three pitchers plucked from other teams' farm systems courtesy of the Rule 5 draft.
The situation required an extraordinary amount of patience for Trammell, who spent more time teaching and evaluating than he did practicing in-game strategy. Several players later credited Trammell with helping them maintain their composure during the season.
Dombrowski had no question about Trammell's character. "If you've met Alan Trammell, if you don't like Alan Trammell, you should probably look at yourself," he said.
The evaluations of 2003 prompted the influx of more veterans through free-agent signings and trades. While Bonderman and Maroth became the base for a young pitching staff, the team added Ivan Rodriguez, Rondell White and Carlos Guillen to the 2004 lineup and Magglio Ordonez last winter, as well as two veteran closers with Ugueth Urbina in 2004 and Troy Percival this year. All but Guillen had been All-Stars with other teams, and Guillen earned an All-Star selection in his first season in Detroit.
The first wave of signings helped Trammell and the Tigers improve from 43 wins in 2003 to 72 last year, one of the biggest year-to-year improvements in league history. Trammell, in turn, grew more comfortable as a manager and began to cultivate a style. Expectations rose in kind, and Ordonez's arrival fostered hopes in Detroit of a winning season and potentially contention in the AL Central.
Those expectations -- not just for his club, but individual players -- swallowed the club in 2005. Ordonez essentially missed the season's first three months with a sports hernia. Guillen's right knee never fully recovered from ACL surgery last September. Percival went on the disabled list six weeks into the season with elbow pain, which was eventually revealed to be a career-threatening tear of muscle mass. Meanwhile, the veteran clubhouse proved a distraction as the season wore on.
The Tigers never won more than five games in a row in 2005, and they never lost more than five in a row until the aforementioned September swoon that proved damning to Trammell's tenure.
"We thought [this team] had a chance to be a better ballclub," Dombrowski said. "We thought we could win a few more ballgames."
Dombrowski didn't question the effect of injuries on the club's fortunes. But without mentioning Trammell, he added that a more veteran clubhouse called for an experienced manager as the next choice. Trammell had never managed before at any level when he was hired.
"I think we're in a different phase now," Dombrowski said, "in the sense that we have a more veteran club. We're in a position where I think experience would be helpful at the Major League level, someone that exudes that type of leadership and experience."