The last time a Tigers player won AL Rookie of the Month, Eric Haase was still coming to games as a fan.
That was Brennan Boesch, in June of 2010. There have been 62 winners since.
Thanks to Haase, the drought is over.
Detroit's hometown hero has been named AL Rookie of the Month for July, a well-deserved honor after Haase tied for first among all AL hitters with nine home runs and paced the majors with 29 RBI. His highlight of all highlights came last week when he drilled a game-tying grand slam in the ninth inning against the Twins to spark the Tigers to an extra-inning win.
Your friendly reminder that Haase was DFA'd by the Indians in 2019, DFA'd by the Tigers in 2020 and assigned to Triple-A Toledo at the start of this season. He was summoned to Detroit in May and hasn't looked back since.
After his scorching month of July, Haase now ranks first among AL rookies in slugging (.555) and OPS (.856), second in homers (18) and fourth in RBI (46). He also ranks third in FanGraphs WAR (1.7). Your friendly reminder that Akil Baddoo ranks second (1.8).
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And if all that wasn't enough, Haase spent his off-day in Detroit mowing the lawn, walking the dog and playing with his kids. In the words of his wife Maria, "Rookie of the Month, Dad of the Year."