Player Spotlight: Ian Kinsler

Back in 2013 when I first started collecting baseball cards I didn't know anyone outside of my brother-in-law who collected cards. I knew he knew a bunch of other collectors from collecting for so many years. When making trades online I am somewhat skeptical of being ripped off. One of the first trades I made was for an Ian Kinsler quad relic card.

I don't remember what I traded for this card or who I even traded with. The deal was smooth and easy. I have been lucky and not have had any problems with the short period I have collected cards.

Now this Ian Kinsler card I traded for was before he was with the Detroit Tigers. I always like Kinsler as a player good glove, bat, and decent speed. When the Tigers traded for him it was a move that looked really good for the Tigers. They were getting a second basemen who could stop the rotating door at second for them, plus trading Prince Fielder and cash would allow Miggy to move back to first and the Tigers could bring up young third base top prospect Nick Castellanos.

Kinsler had a really nice first year in Detroit. He was an All-Star and a Gold Glove runner up. He hit .275/.307/.420 with 17 home runs, 92 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. He is off to another good start in his second season with the Tigers as well. The one thing that really impressed me with Kinsler this year is he has taken on more leadership in the clubhouse. He saw last year that Torii Hunter was the guy that would speak to the media after games no matter if it was a winner or a lose. He felt that someone needed to let the media and the fans know how the team was feeling. After the Tigers decided to part ways to Hunter, Kinsler decided to step up and take on that role for the team. He has been a great player on the field and now it is showing in the clubhouse as well.

Here is a nice double play with Kinsler and his double play partner, Jose Iglesias from yesterday's game.

The Defensive Wiz Kid

The Detroit Tigers lately have not had anyone who was extraordinary defensively. 2007 and 2009 we saw Placido Polanco win gold gloves at second base with his consist play of not making errors. 2004, 2006, and 2007 Ivan Rodriguez won gold gloves behind the plate. Throwing out base runners and calling a great game is pretty special, but can you think of one play that stands out with Pudge defensively?

During the summer of 2013 the Detroit Tigers had learned that Jhonny Peralta was in connection in the biogenesis scandal. It was only a matter of time before the Tigers would lose their everyday short stop to a suspension. The Tigers made the move that would send Avisail Garcia to the White Sox, Brayan Villerreal to the Red Sox. In return the Red Sox would send Joes Iglesias to Detroit and minor leaguers to the White Sox, while the White Sox would send Jake Peavy to the Red Sox. 

Iglesias was having a great year at the plate for the Red Sox. Coming up through the Red Sox, though, he was better known for he glove then his bat. When the Tigers made the trade it wasn't long for him to rack up the highlights at short while wearing the Old English D. 

Iggy was out of commission for the 2014 season due to shin splints. We hopefully will have him back for a full season this year. If he can stay healthy he will help cover a lot of ground on the left side, taking pressure off of Castellanos at third. He should be a strong candidate for gold glove with his amazing glove work. 

*sorry if the video doesn't play on mobile devices still trying to figure that out.