There were nearly as many minor leaguers as major leaguers at Comerica Park on Sunday and no umpires to arbitrate a seven-inning intrasquad scrimmage held in front of empty grandstands.
A Tigers team made up mostly of major leaguers defeated another Tigers team that consisted mostly of minor leaguers, 3-1, although little attention was paid to the scoreboard, which was never turned on, the New York Times reports.
The Tigers, faced with five days between their American League Championship Series triumph over the Yankees and the start of the World Series on Wednesday, sought something to keep them fresh as they awaited the winner of the National League Championship Series between St. Louis and San Francisco. The sense of urgency was buttressed by memories of 2006, when the Tigers were idle for six days after their A.L.C.S. sweep of Oakland and then delivered a flat performance in a five-game World Series loss to St. Louis.
“We’re not dumb,” Tigers Manager Jim Leyland said before the scrimmage. “We do learn from the past.” He added, “We’re not going to sit around staring at each other.”
