The Florida Complex League Tigers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Tigers. The team plays its home games at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball either as draftees or non-drafted free agents from the United States, Canada, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and various other countries.
History The team first played in the Gulf Coast League (GCL) during the 1968 season. After then being absent for over 25 years, the team returned to the league in 1995 and has competed continuously since then.
Starting with the 2016 season, the team has fielded two squads in the league, differentiated with "East" and "West" suffixes. The second team was created due to the cancellation of the Venezuelan Summer League, which left the Tigers with a roster full of players with no team. Most of these players were assigned to one of the two GCL squads, although some were assigned to the Tigers affiliate in the Dominican Summer League.
Prior to the 2021 season, the Gulf Coast League was renamed as the Florida Complex League (FCL).
Rosters
Season-by-season
Year Record Finish Manager Playoffs 1968 27-36 7th Wayne Blackburn No playoffs until 1983 1995 33-24 6th Kevin Bradshaw Lost League Finalsvs. GCL Royals (2 games to 0)Won in first roundvs. GCL Marlins (1 game to 0)1996 26-34 12th Kevin Bradshaw 1997 31-29 7th Kevin Bradshaw 1998 28-32 8th(t) Kevin Bradshaw 1999 29-31 8th(t) Gary Green 2000 34-26 5th(t) Kevin Bradshaw 2001 34-26 5th Howard Bushong 2002 23-37 13th Howard Bushong 2003 28-29 5th Howard Bushong 2004 24-36 9th Kevin Bradshaw 2005 24-30 9th(t) Kevin Bradshaw 2006 32-18 2nd Kevin Bradshaw Lost in 1st roundvs. GCL Dodgers (1 game to 0)2007 28-32 9th(t) Benny Castillo 2008 27-31 12th Basilio Cabrera 2009 29-31 9th Basilio Cabrera 2010 29-30 9th Basilio Cabrera 2011 29-31 7th Basilio Cabrera 2012 36-24 1st(t) Basilio Cabrera Lost in 1st roundvs. GCL Red Sox (1 game to 0) 2013 32-28 5th Basilio Cabrera 2014 34-25 6th Basilio Cabrera 2015 36-23 3rd Basilio Cabrera Lost in 1st roundvs. GCL Blue Jays (1 game to 0)
GCL Tigers East Year Record Finish Manager Playoffs 2016 21-37 16th Rafael Gil 2017 14-45 17th Jesus Garces 2018 26-28 10th Luis López 2019 19-29 14th Luis López Playoffs cancelled due to Hurricane Dorian
GCL Tigers West Year Record Finish Manager Playoffs 2016 30-28 7th Rafael Martinez 2017 29-28 9th Rafael Gil 2018 37-16 2nd Brayan Peña League championsvs. GCL Cardinals(2 games to 1)Won in first roundvs. GCL Red Sox (1 game to 0)2019 30-20 3rd Gary Cathcart Playoffs cancelled due to Hurricane Dorian
References
External links Official website (East) Official website (West)