The Tigers concluded their '15 home schedule Sunday after drawing a total of 2,726,048 fans to Comerica Park this season, marking the "sixth-highest attendance in 115 seasons of big league baseball" in the city despite finishing under .500 for the first time since '08, according to Lynn Henning of the DETROIT NEWS. The team had "nearly 20,000 season-ticket equivalencies" in '15, but next season "figures to be a heavier challenge for the Tigers’ business office." Matching this year’s season-ticket orders "could be a more difficult sales pitch" in the wake of a season that began with the postseason in mind. However, a "fairly bullet-proof base tends to ensure the Tigers stand at least a chance" in '16 to "flirt again with their new gold standard for box-office bliss: the 3 million mark" (DETROITNEWS.com, 9/28). MLIVE.com's Chris Iott noted the Tigers will "drop more than 6.5 percent" in attendance this season and have their lowest total since '11. Despite that, it appears the Tigers "still will finish in the top 10 in the majors" (MLIVE.com, 9/28).
NOT SKIPPING THE SKIPPER: The Tigers over the weekend announced that manager Brad Ausmus would return for the '16 season, and in Detroit, Bob Wojnowski wrote new GM Al Avila is "doubling down by standing up for his guy." By keeping Ausmus for a third season, Avila has "lifted the heaviest pressure off his manager and slapped it directly on his own back." He was already "facing the enormous task of restocking the starting rotation and rebuilding the bullpen," but Avila has "added scrutiny by retaining a manager who hasn't won a playoff game in two years, and whose team plummeted to last place" (DETROIT NEWS, 9/28). Also in Detroit, Jamie Samuelsen wrote while he did not like the move to keep Ausmus, he does "like consistency." Samuelsen: "The hope is that Ausmus has learned a lot in his first two years and will put it in play in 2016. If not, we'll go through the same roller coaster again next season and the clock will start again at zero as a new manager looks to make his voice heard in a ridiculously short amount of time" (FREEP.com, 9/28). Meanwhile, the DETROIT FREE PRESS' Drew Sharp wrote the move to keep Ausmus "doesn't make sense unless it includes a contract extension." That would give Ausmus at least a "small measure of security beyond 2016." Without an extension, he is "basically functioning under a one-year deal." Sharp: "That's the recipe for preparing a lame duck" (FREEP.com, 9/28).
