Rewinding the clock to 2011. The Tigers are a team with nothing but promise as we intend to make a deep run into the playoffs.

Led by legitimate superstars in Cabrera and Verlander; Scherzer is on the verge of joining that list. Reliable veterans in V-Mart, Peralta, and Mags. Young guys pulling their own weight in Austin Jackson and Brennan Boesch. Trade deadline comes and we make a deal for the 3-12 Doug Fister who carrries a 3.33 ERA at the time.

Upon arriving in Detroit, Fister goes 8-1 with a 1.79 ERA to finish the season.

As a Tiger, Fister did nothing but carry his own weight with a cumulative record of 32-20 with a 3.29 ERA, 353 strikeouts in 440.2 innings before being sent to Washington before the 2014 season.

Fister never got a World Series ring like other pitchers of that Tigers era. He’s often not mentioned when people discuss how dominant we were in that span. He was never an All-Star and really never was the same pitcher after his first year in Washington.

Inspired by the individual posting the grid of Tigers who started and ended their Tiger tenures as bad, ok, or great; let’s never forget how GOOD and solid Doug Fister was for us.

Thank you.

31 comments

  4. Doug Fister’s swing back fastball was my first love.

    And you love a guy that always works fast.

  6. His consecutive strike out record was great. Prince Fielder told him to take a moment and he had no idea why he was bothering him.

  8. He came out to the mound while Teach Me How To Dougie played. I still have his jersey. My man took a line drive off the head and kept pitching in the WS. Very underrated pitcher!

  13. Loved him. Whenever I went to games where he started, they were over in like 2.5 hours. Unheard of at that time.

  15. Coulda swore Fister was on one of those Nats or Red Sox teams that won a WS in the years after our run but I appear to be mistaken.

  18. Always and still love him. Great ground ball pitcher. That team has everything to win a world series.

  21. Incredible for a while. Acquired in 2011, 2012 gets remembered for being the World Series year, but 2013 was the best team and best rotation of the era top to bottom. And way better than either of the Davis Price years.

    Fister was amazing for two-plus solid seasons. Amazing pickup. Dombrowski is a mad man.

  25. Briefly met him at a coffee shop in Baltimore when the Tigers were playing the O’s in 2013. My mom called him Mr. Fister to his face which we still laugh about today. Super nice guy tho

  26. The amount of “FISTER? I BARELY KNOW HER!” heckles I got at Fenway, which just so happened to be on my birthday, when we got absolutely smoked by them 20-4, was unbelievable.

    It was the night [this](https://youtu.be/b4_a7ukr7Ms) happened.

  28. The M’s are my secondary rooting interest, and I really liked Fister.

    I promised myself that if the Tigers picked him up, I’d buy a Fister jersey. Well, dreams do come true.

  29. One of my favorite memories of that time was taking my kids to Tiger Fest in the winter and my 6yo son got to sit in a small group of kids while Doug Fister read them a story. He was so excited 😊

  31. I remember him taking a line drive to the head and kept pitching. I want to say it was in a playoff game.

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