I’m watching the game and one thing that was mentioned was how Ryan Ludwick (the one who drove in 113 and belted 37 homers last year) spent the season in the Tigers’ farm system back in 2006. He spent the entire season with Toledo and after hitting 28 home runs, he was released by Detroit the following off season.
While it’s a bummer we didn’t hold on to the guy (he’s a late bloomer and he’ll be 31 this summer), his transaction history has some interesting ties to the Tigers. He was drafted in 1999 in the second round by the Athletics but then three years later, he was traded to the Rangers organization. One of the guys who went with him to the Rangers was Gerald Laird, who’s now the Tigers starting catcher. And the guy the Athletics received in the trade? None other then Carlos Pena, who the Tigers eventually traded for, along with Jeremy Bonderman, back in 2002.