The Detroit Tigers have the best record in the American League and look like a serious competitor early on in the season.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to point at a top-3 pitching staff in baseball or the Tigers\u2019 lineup on pace for its highest home run total in nearly 40 years for why Detroit is off to a hot start.<\/p>\n
But two-time World Series manager Joe Maddon attributes much of the Tigers\u2019 success to the leadership in the organization working well in tandem, particularly president of baseball operations Scott Harris and manager A.J. Hinch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this is the linchpin of their success. I could see these two guys intellectually, really, hitting it off, being able to go back and forth regarding how they\u2019re going to do things, what\u2019s important,\u201d Maddon told Bob Costas during MLB Now on Monday. \u201cI think [Harris is] going to permit A.J. an absolutely open voice in this whole thing. He\u2019s not going to try and overrun him with his perspective.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve got a great union regarding their front office to the field and vice versa and I think that\u2019s possibly their strongest point.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maddon claimed to be a \u201cbig Scott Harris fan\u201d from the time the two spent together in the Chicago Cubs organization. Harris served as assistant general manager in 2018 and 2019, when Maddon was manager of the Cubs.<\/p>\n
Harris joined the Tigers in 2022 toward the tail end of Hinch\u2019s second season helming the team. <\/p>\n
Detroit has increased its win total in each of the years following the 2022 campaign, made the ALDS in 2024 and are off to a flying start at 22-13 in 2025.<\/p>\n