Minus a steady stream of premium, homegrown talent, the Tigers have lacked the type of players they used to fuel their 1980s run. The foundation of the 1984 Worlds Series team — Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker, Jack Morris, Lance Parrish, Dan Petry, Kirk Gibson — was poured from drafts in the mid- to late-1970s, when front-office honcho Bill Lajoie was in charge of developing talent.
Compare those names with the Tigers’ first-round picks from 1992-95: Rick Greene, Matt Brunson, Cade Gaspar and Mike Drumright. None ever pitched for the Tigers and none made a mark in the majors.