What a night for the top AL Central team.
The Detroit Tigers took a moment before Friday’s game against the Guardians to honor a special accomplishment from one of their brightest young stars. Riley Greene, now in his fourth season with the club, just etched his name alongside two of the greatest hitters in team history.
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Greene has blossomed into the kind of player the Tigers hoped for when they selected him fifth overall in the 2019 draft. After making his big-league debut as a 21-year-old in 2022, he gradually turned potential into production. That growth exploded in 2024, when Greene delivered a career year: 24 homers, 74 RBIs, and an .827 OPS over 137 games. His breakout season earned him his first All-Star nod and helped the Tigers secure their first playoff appearance in over a decade.
Fast-forward to 2025, and Greene is taking things to another level.
Greene’s Power Surge Sparks Tigers’ Best Start in Years
On Friday, the Tigers announced that Greene had reached a rare milestone before the All-Star break: at least 21 doubles, 21 home runs, 69 RBIs, and 42 extra-base hits. Only two other players in team history have hit those marks by midseason—Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg (1935) and future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera (2010).
Greene isn’t just stacking numbers, he’s driving Detroit’s best start in over a decade. Entering Friday, the Tigers sat atop the AL Central with a 54–34 record, 12.5 games ahead of the second-place Guardians. His current batting line? A robust .292 average and an .890 OPS through 86 games. He’s already matched last year’s homer total and was named to his second straight All-Star team earlier this week.
With Greene leading the charge, the Tigers are finally starting to look like contenders again. And if he keeps this pace up, he won’t just be part of the Tigers' future, he’ll be shaping their legacy.
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Category: Baseball
