Niko Goodrum, Yankee Killer

Back in June, I went to Comerica Park during Negro Leagues Weekend, and they had a whole pre-ceremony with former Detroit Stars players, and it was a very sweet procession. And they had the team's only African-American player, Niko Goodrum, come up and meet these players. When they called him up, he got a little applause from the crowd, and even if he wasn't in the lineup that day, you could tell he'd had some nice moments in his rookie year so far.

So, initially, my opinion towards Goodrum was reverence.

....AND THEN....he got to face my Yankees. And he just kept ridiculing them at every chance he got. Not with power per se, but just little singles where they didn't expect it. He's not like an Ellis Burks type of Yankee killer, or a Carlos Pena, where he just hits a ton of home runs. He's just crafty. And now that he's the starting second baseman (in Dixon Machado's absence), he's getting a ton more time to prove he's great at little things like that.

And honestly? He's one of the few guys the Tigers still have going for them. In a year where Miggy's hurt, V-Mart's slumping, and Fiers and Martin get traded, Niko Goodrum is one of the closest things the Tigers have to a highlight for 2018. And yes, there are the usual exploits of Jose Iglesias and Nick Castellanos, and Matt Boyd's a decent ace (and I do see him being a fourth man for a contender in a year or so, like the Dodgers or somebody like that), but...it's a lot of dead space. A lot of mediocre players and meh-ness all around. Just not much at all worth talking about, even after that exciting game I got to see at Comerica.

Coming Tonight: Three years ago he won a World Series ring. Now, he's just trying to help his new team squeeze into the playoffs.