Tigers fans sound off on how 2024 season has gone heading into All-Star break

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(WXYZ) — With the Tigers a little more than halfway into the season, I'm asking folks what they think about the team's performance.

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"They playing good, they playing hard, that's all you can ask for," said Dylan Goodwin, who moved to Detroit from California a decade ago.

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"It's a vast improvement from when they first started out," said Deborah Declark, a Fraser resident. "They are still very up and down."

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"I think they could probably sneak in as wild card," said Tito Meija, who flew in from California for this past weekend's series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. "The way they played against us should be how they play against the rest of the league. You know they always say the scrappy teams at the end when they get hot at the right time they can go all the way.

I also got the chance to talk with Greg Draper, a sales associate with Gameday Detroit, a Detroit sports apparel shop with a location right across the street from Comerica Park.

"The Tigers stadium is just next door, you get a lot fans here, what are they saying about the season so far?" I asked Draper.

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"I think there is a lot of excitement. There is a lot of promise with young players. I think the one issue that a lot of people have is there are a lot of miss match pieces. Some bloated contracts, some players don't really fit or produce."

Draper has been a Tigers fan for 35 years. I asked him and the other baseball fans I talked to about their greatest moments of the season so far, which revolved around one of the team's two first-time All Stars.

"Riley Greene and how he has picked up so much," Deborah said.

"Seeing Riley Greene's emergence over a month or two, and seeing get more comfortable and turn into an all star. Every time Tarik Skubal pitches its something you have to see."

"One or two years and he will be a Dodger," Tito said. "We will snatch him up too."

So, who would these fans trade from the Tigers, with the deadline for deals being later this month.

"We would trade Javier Báez, like today," Deborah said "Can we do that today?"

"Guys on one-year deals, like (Jack) Flaherty I would say, be a good guy to trade."

"I'm not sure I would trade anybody right now," Deborah said. "Because they are playing so well together. There is always room for improvement. Just see what the second part of the season brings us."

What players would these fans like to see join the Tigers?

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"Ty France, (on the Seattle) Mariners he is a great young first baseman," Dylan said. "Sonny knows him as well...He is 9 months, so in 19 years and 3 months that's probably when he will get drafted."

Unfortunately, with the Tigers more than a few games out of a playoff spot, this season has been a bit more of a disappointment. And unfortunately, fans like Greg have been unable to watch the team on a consistent basis.

"There have been a lot of those," Greg said, referring to disappointing moments this season. "I would say the most disappointing for me is not being able to watch them consistently with the current TV situation. As someone who has Comcast, no longer having Bally (Sports) has made it pretty difficult to follow the team. 10 years ago, you could just turn the TV on and watch every game, whereas now you really have to go out of your way to make an effort, it feels like."

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