The Detroit Tigers new manager Alan Trammell had inherited a team that was woefully deficient. They scraped together aptitude Pitching and batting the bottom of the barrel. This was after losing key players and not signing any significant new players from the 2002 roster. The 2002 Tigers finished last in the Central Division with a record of 55 and 106.
Going into September, the Detroit team had a record of 34-92. They went on to win 9 more games to avoid tying the 1962 Mets for the worst record in MLB history. Due to a variety of reasons the 2003 Tigers have been named by a number of sources as the worst team ever to play in the major league ranks.