Shortstop Jose Iglesias came to the Tigers in a trade July 30, and he immediately made an impression with his quick moves and spectacular fielding.

Iglesias caught my eye, and I've paid attention, and after watching him for the final 2 ½ months of the season, I’ve become a fan. He's one of the most interesting players the Tigers have acquired in years. I felt bad when he committed an error Saturday that helped load the bases for Shane Victorino's subsequent grand slam, which ended the Tigers' season. 

But there's always next year. Here’s a few fan's notes from this summer: 

* Despite his youth – he’s 23 – and inexperience in the majors, he conducts himself like a veteran, at times even leading the charge out of the dugout to congratulate a teammate.

* He’s flashy and full of nervous energy. Iglesias sometimes dribbles the ball by flinging it downward out of his glove onto the hard dirt of foul territory and catching it with his bare hand. I’ve never seen a player do that. Iglesias performed his dribbling stunt after a catching a pop-up to end the eighth inning of Game 5 of the ALCS. As he ran toward the dugout, he tossed the ball into the stands sideways, without looking.

* He seems intelligent, and he speaks unusually good English considering he defected from the Cuban national junior team while it toured Canada in 2008. That’s because he simply decided he needed to adjust to his new environment.

"It's all about how much desire you have to learn,'' Iglesias told Jorge L. Ortiz of USA Today. "I set a goal of learning English and I accomplished it in a year. I think that would be a good goal for all the Latin players. If they make the adjustment as soon as possible, that's going to help them throughout their careers.

* His walk-up music when coming to bat is “Seven Nation Army,” by the White Stripes. I don’t know if he chose it because of the band’s Detroit roots. In Boston, his walk-up song was “El Animal” by Gente de Zona, a Cuban reggaeton group.

* His mentors have included Alex Rodriguez – don’t hold that against him – and Boston second baseman

Dustin Pedroia, who invited Iglesias to work out with him in Arizona before spring training last year.

“This guy wants to be great,” Pedroia told an interviewer. “He doesn’t just want to be in the big leagues.”

* Iglesias lives in Miami with his longtime girlfriend, Arlene, and their son, Jose Antonio. His father lives in the U.S.; his mother remains in Cuba, but Iglesias sees her at least yearly when she visits Mexico.

* His nickname is Iggy, as in Iggy Pop.

* Before this season, the publication Baseball America called Iglesias perhaps "the best defensive shortstop prospect in the game."

* "Sometimes it’s the simple pleasures that get you through the day…like watching Jose Iglesias take infield practice.” – Jason Grey, ESPN