Jack Flaherty is a California kid born and raised, drafted by the Cardinals out of famed high school baseball power Harvard-Westlake in 2014. But it wasn’t hard to find some Detroit sports ties for him once he signed with the Tigers last month.

When the one-year, $14 million deal was announced, Flaherty’s mom Eileen posted a photo of Jack in a Tigers uniform, complete with the Olde English D. It wasn’t a new picture, but one that went back to his days in Little League in Southern California nearly two decades ago.

“Who knew that when this picture was taken, you would get the opportunity to play for the Tigers? 18 years later, you’ve arrived,” the post read, complete with Tiger emojis.

It wasn’t like Flaherty grew up a Tigers fan, but it tugged at the heartstrings regardless.

“I remember that team,” Flaherty said on a conference call with reporters once his deal became official. “I was 11, played with a couple of my good friends on that team. In Little League, you always end up on different teams, and so she’s got all the pictures and whatnot. It’s just funny looking back on a team like that.”

By that point, Flaherty had already gotten in his plug for Detroit fandom. As news spread about the agreement, he acknowledged the pending deal with a simple picture of former Pistons great Isiah Thomas sitting at the podium during the 1989 NBA Finals, when the Pistons swept the Los Angeles Lakers for their first NBA title.

The 28-year-old Flaherty wasn’t alive to see that, but he knows the history, for good reason.

“I did not grow up a Pistons fan,” Flaherty admitted. “I actually grew up a Lakers fan, so there’s definitely a long time period where I was not the biggest Pistons fan after ’04.”

The 2004 Pistons also beat the heavily favored Lakers in the NBA Finals, which Flaherty does remember. So do his friends.

“Yeah, it’s still haunting,” Flaherty said. “But one of my friends sent that picture to me and I thought it was just a great picture, and that’s kind of where it came from. But there’s probably a reason he sent that one and not something from the 2000s.”

Now, Flaherty is ready to immerse himself in the Detroit sports scene. He told MLB Network shortly after his signing that he talked with fans during his visit and got a sense of the passion from how they spoke about the Lions. He also fondly remembers being at Comerica Park in 2018, when the Tigers hosted the Cardinals while honoring the 50th anniversary of their 1968 World Series championship team, which beat St. Louis.

“It was awesome. It was a great place to pitch, great place to be,” Flaherty said. “And then you go back and you think about when [Max] Scherzer and [Justin] Verlander were here and competing for pennants. I remember watching those [postseasons] when I was young and just the energy and the way that the city is -- it’s a passionate group.”

Former Tiger Earl Torgeson would have turned 100 years old on New Year’s Day. His three-year tenure in Detroit included a game-winning steal of home against the Yankees on July 17, 1955 -- just the 25th in AL/NL history according to Baseball Almanac. Which future Yankees Cy Young Award winner gave up the walk-off steal?

A. Whitey Ford
B. Bob Grim
C. Jim Konstanty
D. Bob Turley

Happy New Year! With Spring Training just around the corner, here are some key dates to remember for the Tigers in 2024:

Fri, Jan. 12: Teams and arbitration-eligible players exchange salary proposals. The Tigers have four arbitration-eligible players: Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, Jake Rogers and Akil Baddoo
Mon, Jan. 15: International prospect signing period begins. Here’s a look at the top 25 international prospects for this year
Tue, Feb. 13: MLB’s voluntary report date for pitchers and catchers
Sat, Feb. 24: Spring Training opener vs. Yankees at Joker Marchant Stadium, 1:05 p.m. ET
Sat, March 16: Spring Breakout prospects game vs. Phillies at Joker Marchant Stadium, 1:05 p.m. ET
Thu, March 28: Season opener at White Sox, 4:10 p.m. ET
Fri, April 5: Home opener vs. A’s, 1:10 p.m. ET
Tue, July 16: All-Star Game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas
Sun, July 21: Former Tigers manager Jim Leyland to be inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Sun, Sept. 29: Regular-season finale vs. White Sox

• The Tigers added to their pitching instructional strength by hiring former White Sox and Reds pitcher Dylan Axelrod as pitching performance and integration coordinator, according to Axelrod’s LinkedIn page. Axelrod had been a pitching performance coordinator with the Angels for four years but was not retained, a move that reportedly followed former Angels and Tigers closer Troy Percival bemoaning the reliance on technology in that organization’s pitching instruction. It’s another addition for Detroit to a department that is building a reputation for its work helping young pitchers develop and veteran pitchers improve.

• To make room for free-agent signing Shelby Miller, the Tigers designated catcher Donny Sands for assignment. He came over from Philadelphia in the Gregory Soto trade last January but never made it to the big leagues after Jake Rogers beat him out for an Opening Day roster spot. Sands batted .230 with a .678 OPS in 93 games between Triple-A Toledo and Double-A Erie and ceded playing time behind the plate once Dillon Dingler reached Toledo near season’s end.

• New Tigers third-base coach Joey Cora will wear No. 56, according to Detroit’s coaching roster page. Spencer Turnbull had worn that number during his Tiger tenure before being non-tendered in November.

D. Turley

Despite tossing seven innings without an earned run in a start just two days earlier, Turley entered in relief in the 10th inning after Eddie Lopat walked Torgeson.

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