Tigers Will Have a “Chip on Their Shoulders” Next Year

The Detroit Tigers' 2026 season came and went, ending with an overall record ten games below .500. Yet, the run differential and the opinions of those who watched every game left many believing this was one of the better teams to miss the playoffs in quite some time.

Even in an American League where nobody seemed to want the final wild-card spot, the team that eventually claimed it made it to the ALCS. The Tigers, however, wanted no part of it. After getting a taste of the playoffs for about a day, the roller-coaster season took another downhill free fall, bringing the ride to an end.

Now that the season is over, the only thing left to do is look back, learn from the experience and use it as motivation heading into next season, assuming there is no strike in baseball.

The Tigers gave fans a season finale in their YouTube series, Behind the Stripes. This is the second season of the Tigers producing the show, which gives fans an inside look at what goes on behind the scenes within the Detroit Tigers organization.

The season finale featured several players, especially younger ones, discussing how the disappointing season would motivate them moving forward. They also shared their belief that this team was better than its record showed.

Scott Harris appeared in the episode and acknowledged the team's shortcomings, saying, "It's no secret we did not play up to our expectations."

In fact, the Tigers entered the season with World Series aspirations after securing two big-name pitching free agents in Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander. Unfortunately, Verlander was injured after just 3.2 innings and didn't return until the final weekend of the season. Valdez did not live up to the hype in his new home, and the Tigers' best pitcher, Tarik Skubal, was injured by April and traded by July.

The expectations were high, and the Tigers had to battle plenty of adversity, particularly with injuries. Even so, the team did not play up to its standards.

Max Clark, the third overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, made his major league debut on July 31 and remained an everyday player throughout the season.

Clark appeared in the episode and made it clear that he believes the Tigers are capable of much more than they showed in 2026.

"This team is better than the way we played, this team is obviously better than what the record showed," Clark said. He continued, "But that's baseball, you're going to have injuries, but it's just how you get back up."

His comments suggest that next season will be the true test of what this team can accomplish. The Tigers' young players seem eager to get back on the field and redeem themselves.

Later in the episode, Clark put an exclamation point on his argument, saying, "We can either lie down and say damn it didn't go our way or we can really wake up and be like, 'Look, we're better than this and we're going to go fight in the offseason.'"

Jackson Jobe shared a similar sentiment, saying, "Definitely think there's going to be a chip on our shoulder going into next year. To prove people wrong."

The Tigers' young players appear to have fire in their eyes and grit in their souls. They seem more than ready to continue working and growing during the offseason to put a better team on the field next year.

This season was tough, but adversity and learning from difficult experiences are what baseball is all about. Detroit wants to be better, and with the young foundation the organization is building, I believe that improvement could come at a rapid pace.