Detroit Tigers: Blake Snell wins Players League, Niko Goodrum struggles
By Tyler Kotila
The MLB The Show Players League is over and Detroit Tigers representative Niko Goodrum performed about as well as expected compared to the real-life squad.
While the Detroit Tigers baseball season has been put on hold, Niko Goodrum hopped on the sticks to take part in the MLB The Show 20 Players League as the Tigers representative. The league has since ended, with Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays winning it all.
Snell beat Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito in a three-game set, outscoring the White Sox starter 14-3 in the series. However, the Tigers representative, Goodrum, would not even sniff the playoffs, which should be expected given the circumstances.
The Tigers are horrible, and Goodrum had to play every single game with untampered rosters, always playing as the Tigers, working with the low talent level as it is, makes it tough to churn out wins.
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After the first couple of games that Goodrum played, he appeared to be targeting first place and there was some hope for the Tigers fans that the virtual rebuild was over.
However, Goodrum would ultimately wind up finishing tied for the third-worst record. Apparently, Goodrum thought that tanking for a virtual draft pick was the best decision.
He played to a 7-22 record which was only better than Colorado Rockies outfielder David Dahl‘s 6-22 and Boston Red Sox starting pitcher, Eduardo Rodriguez‘s 2-27 record.
Goodrum was an astounding twelve games back from even sniffing the playoffs with the Tigers squad. At the end of the day, Goodrum still brought in some money for the local Boys and Girls Club affiliates here in the Motor City just for participating in this league.
Playing in this league had Goodrum feeling all types of ways, he even commented on a 17-0 rout by Baltimore Orioles outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. that he felt was demeaning. Sadly, things would not get better for the Tigers shortstop and the rest of the tournament would find him at the bottom of the standings.
Simply participating in this tournament gave Goodrum the ability to produce content for Tigers fans, though it was not real baseball, it was something to watch. Tuning in to watch Goodrum hop on the mic and play some MLB The Show 20 against other big leaguers became entertainment.
With any luck, baseball will be blessed to return soon and Goodrum can get back on the field with the rest of the Tigers squad. Goodrum is gunning for sole ownership of the starting shortstop job, though he fits the definition of a true utility player.
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Even though Niko Goodrum was pretty bad in this MLB The Show 20 Players League, he offered content up for Detroit Tigers fans in a time when sports seem nonexistent.