Detroit Tigers News: Will there be a TigerFest in 2020?

For the past 24 years, fans have gotten their winter fix of Detroit Tigers baseball at TigerFest. Held out in the cold at Comerica Park, or at cozy Joe Louis Arena in the old days, the event is a chance for fans to meet players new and old, hunt for photos and autographs, and hear directly from the general manager and other team brass.

Unfortunately, that ‘is’ might be a ‘was.’ According to Tony Paul of the Detroit News, the Tigers have not yet announced a date for TigerFest 2020 — or any details, for that matter.

While the calendar still says 2019, the event would normally take place in just a few weeks time. Last year, the Tigers announced TigerFest details in early December, and started selling tickets just a few days later.

This year, fans have not heard anything, and the response is understandably negative.

Our friend Roger Martin of Motor City Bengals is also searching for answers.

The Tigers are doing a disservice to its fans that want to meet their favorite players, and meet their newest Tigers. If there is a logistics issue, then just come out and let people know. Why continue to anger a fan base after a year the team only drew just over 1.5 million at the gate, which ranked you near the bottom of the American League?

The Tigers need to do the right thing and end this shroud of doubt around a fun tradition for both the city and fans alike. People have been asking for this to continue, and hopefully, it does.

As Roger says, we are not angry about the lack of details — I’ve personally never attended TigerFest, having lived in D.C. for the past decade — but want a bit more transparency from the team about whether this event (or something similar) will take place in 2020.

Everyone is really upset about the last decade

The 2010s were generally not a kind one to Detroit’s four major sports teams, as they combined for zero championships and just a handful of playoff appearances.

I would argue that the Tigers had a great decade with a lackluster final couple seasons (to put it lightly). They won four consecutive division titles, and had a few teams that were capable of winning a title, but came up empty. Nonetheless, our friends at MLive have come up with 10 moments Detroit sports fans would like to forget from the 2010s. Jeff Seidel of the Detroit Free Press is optimistic for the next decade, though.

It’s prospect time!

We released our top 30 prospects list on Sunday, and will be following up with plenty of coverage over the next few weeks leading up to spring training. Other sites have started to kick off their coverage as well. MLB.com named the five farm systems that have improved the most over the past year; sadly, the Tigers did not make the list. No Tigers prospect landed on the potential breakout list, but Angels outfielder Brandon Marsh miiiight be on their radar.

Baseball America also released their top 10 list for the Tigers system recently, with no surprises to be found. Other sites are surely soon to follow — Baseball Prospectus’ list is just over a week away — and our friends at Tigers Minor League Report are always diving into the newest and latest down on the farm.

Baseball is awesome