If You're A Starting Pitcher Who Leaves Detroit, You're Probably Going To Throw A No-Hitter Or Win A World Series At Some Point

Last night, Michael Lorenzen, in only his second start as a Philadelphia Phillie, threw his first career no-hitter. He was recently traded from Detroit, and for a guy who pitched just over half a season for the Tigers, he has a very high approval rating. Lorenzen made an All-Star team; by all accounts, he was a great clubhouse guy. I’m happy for him today. 

But Lorenzen’s no-hitter continues the long history of pitchers who have left Detroit either in free agency or via trade and ended up doing something incredible. Since Max Scherzer walked in free agency following the 2014 season, the number of former Tigers who have thrown no-hitters is pretty staggering. Scherzer did it twice. Justin Verlander threw his third career no-hitter in Toronto in 2019 as a member of the Astros. Mike Fiers, who was never considered an ace by any means, went to Oakland and threw a no-hitter against the Reds in 2019. And now you have Michael Lorenzen, who joins the list of pitchers who thrived the second they left Detroit. 

I wish it were just as simple as no-hitters. No-hitters are cool, but they are just one game at the end of the day. There have been some pretty subpar MLB pitchers who have thrown no-hitters in the past. But if you leave Detroit and don't throw a no-hitter, you will still do something amazing. Rick Porcello got traded from Detroit and ended up winning Cy Young. Doug Fister got traded from Detroit and had the best year of his career in 2014. Robbie Ray got traded by the Tigers after 2014 and ended up winning a Cy Young with the Blue Jays several years later. Even Anibal Sanchez, a disaster his last three years for the Tigers, had a rock-solid season for Atlanta in 2018 and became a key piece of the Nationals' championship run in 2019. Oh, and David Price won a World Series with Boston several years after Detroit also traded him. 

It was bad enough when the entire 2014 rotation ended up winning championship rings elsewhere, but when you get to a point where you have one-year starting pitchers who somehow have their finest moments elsewhere, it gets a little bit tiring. 

What does all this say about Detroit? Well, all the guys I mentioned were excellent pitchers with good careers. In the case of Verlander and Scherzer, we're talking about two first-ballot Hall of Famers. But no one ever questioned the talent in Detroit. I'm not surprised that the guys I just named pitched good baseball after leaving Detroit, the toughest pill to swallow is that every pitcher I just mentioned was traded for nobodies, or we lost them in free agency for nothing. It's still too early to tell with the Lorenzen deal. 

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But with all the other guys, enough time has passed. It's time to pound the gavel. Detroit had Cy Young caliber pitchers throughout their organization for a long time and turned it into nothing. Of course, I'd love to have that competitive era back, but some of these guys didn't even play in a competitive era. Mike Fiers was on a team that lost 98 games. Do you know how pathetic it is to lament losing players on teams with some of the worst records in baseball? It's astonishing, but that's the way things are. I wish I could predict who is next. If Spencer Turnbull gets traded in the offseason, I might have to put out a gambling future on him throwing no-hitter number two. It feels inevitable.