Tigers Fans On Twitter Clamor For Detroit To Hire Joe Maddon

By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak

CBS DETROIT - News broke Friday that Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon has opted out of the final year of his contract, and it took no time at all for Detroit Tigers fans on Twitter to lobby for the Tigers to hire Maddon.

Detroit, of course, already has a manager in Brad Ausmus, a former longtime major league catcher who now has one year of managing under his belt. With Ausmus at the helm, the Tigers won the American League Central Division - whose Kansas City Royals are now playing in the World Series - for a fourth straight season, but Detroit got swept in the first round of the playoffs.

Predictably, some fans wanted Ausmus fired, but Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski has said Ausmus and the coaches will return next season. Of course, at the time of those comments, Maddon was not available.

When reports of Maddon's departure first surfaced Friday, many deemed the Los Angeles Dodgers - who just hired former Rays general manager Andrew Friedman as their president of baseball operations - the favorite to land Maddon. According to Jon Heyman of CBS, however, while Friedman's departure triggered Maddon's opt-out clause, Maddon is not considering the Dodgers as an option "at all" because he understands Friedman and the Dodgers are committed to current manager Don Mattingly.

Heyman noted that the Minnesota Twins are the only team with a managerial opening but wrote that "it isn't hard to imagine one of several teams creating one for a talent such as Maddon."

Many fans would evidently like to see the Tigers as one of those teams.

With a slew of injuries contributing to Detroit's struggles this season and Ausmus only one year into the job, it seems unlikely the Tigers would pursue Maddon, but Dombrowski has pulled off some surprising moves over the years.

• Detroit Tigers
• Major League Baseball