As Tigers owner Chris Ilitch was running through a list of names who aided in the organization's search for its new president of baseball operations Scott Harris, two stood out.
One was expected: A.J. Hinch. The other was a welcome surprise: Steve Yzerman.
Ilitch said Tuesday that Hinch played a "central role" in steering the Tigers toward Harris and that Yzerman participated in the search as well. The general manager of the Red Wings, hired by Ilitch in 2019, has built the sort of future for Detroit's hockey team that Harris wants to build for Detroit's hockey team. Now they're working for the same boss.
Harris said he "did talk to Steve quite a bit" throughout the interview process and that he actually met him a few years ago when Yzerman attended a Cubs game and Harris was still the club's assistant GM. And Harris intends to use the three-time Stanley Cup champion and General Manager of the Year Award winner as a resource as he plots a path forward for the Tigers.
"He came into the GM’s suite at Wrigley and I remember being very impressed with him then, and I was even more impressed by him here," Harris said. "It’s a unique opportunity to have two heads of operations under the same ownership group. I imagine I’ll lean on him quite a bit for some advice. He certainly had a wonderful career on the ice and in the front office and I know I can learn a lot from him."
Conversely, Harris did not know Hinch before the Tigers came calling but said they've since "had many conversations about (the manager's) role and vision for the organization."
"One thing I was struck by was how easily we would fall into some healthy debate about in-game strategy, about how to deploy players in the best way to allow them to be successful and how to develop players at this level," said Harris. "It’s a very comfortable conversation very early on when you get to know him, and that meant a lot to me and made me feel comfortable here. And I know he’s very prepared to manage his way to build the organization that we want to build here."
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