DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers will play baseball on TV today, and there are four reasons you should definitely try to tune in and watch.
I work for a TV station, but that station is not affiliated with Bally Sports. I think you should spend most of your waking hours watching WDIV today, but there’s good reason to take a short break and jump over to Bally Sports Detroit at 1:05 p.m.
Starting lineup
The first (but not the main) reason is the lineup. Manager A.J. Hinch has put together the closest thing to the Opening Day starting nine that we’ve seen so far.
- Parker Meadows, DH
- Riley Greene, LF
- Spencer Torkelson, 1B
- Mark Canha, RF
- Colt Keith, 2B
- Javier Baez, SS
- Gio Urshela, 3B
- Jake Rogers, C
- Matt Vierling, CF
I expect Kerry Carpenter will likely be on the lineup card when March 28 rolls around, but since he’s working his way back from a minor injury, this is about as good as it gets for the Tigers.
These top eight are almost certainly going to start the season as everyday players, and Vierling will be in the lineup often enough to feel like a pseudo-starter.
Spring training can sometimes feel monotonous when the lineup is filled with players you’ve never heard of or guys who have no chance to make the team. But that’s certainly not the case today.
Tarik Skubal
Detroit should have a pretty decent starting rotation this season, if everyone stays healthy. But there’s only one “must-watch” starter, and he’s on the mound today.
Skubal has already been given the Opening Day nod by the Tigers -- an obvious choice. He was perhaps the best pitcher in baseball when healthy last season, and he enters 2024 with major expectations.
Skubal pitched a pair of scoreless innings in his first spring outing, allowing one walk and striking out two batters. On Monday, he’ll try to work a little deeper into the game as he builds up for Opening Day.
Jason Benetti
Here’s the No. 1 reason to make sure you tune in today: It’s the start of a new era of Tigers baseball from a broadcasting perspective.
The Tigers have been on TV twice so far this spring, but both times were on the road, so fans in Detroit had to listen to the opposing broadcast team. Well, on Monday, they’ll get their first taste of Benetti, the new voice of the Tigers.
Benetti is phenomenal, and it’s even more exciting that he’s joining the organization as it enters a phase of more competitive baseball. Monday is your chance to hear his introduction to the Tigers.
Few remaining chances
I’ll give you one more reason to watch the Tigers today -- and this one is kind of sad: There won’t be many more chances this spring.
Unless you have Bally Sports Detroit Extra, there are only three more games scheduled to be televised: March 12 and March 20 vs. Minnesota, and March 21 vs. the Mets. Even if you do have the Extra channel, it only adds two more games.
It’s definitely disappointing that there isn’t more coverage of spring training baseball, especially when the Tigers have so many young players. But there simply won’t be many chances to see them before Opening Day, certainly not with this many starters in the lineup and Benetti on the call.
