Fifth and Final Year in London
In 1993 with Tom Runnells as manager, the Tigers again drew the fewest fans, with 103,840, when Runnells led the team to a 63-75, 6th place finish.
The team at least wasn't loaded with minor-league veterans—21-year-old OF Danny Bautista hit .285/.336/.382 and stole 28 bases; 23-year-old OF Rudy Pemberton posted a .276/.311/.435 line with 15 homers; 23-year-old 2B Shannon Penn (.260/.335/.310) led the league with 53 stolen bases and 22-year-old OF Bobby Higginson batted .308/.362/.464 after a call-up from the Lakeland Tigers. Felipe Lira went 10-4 with a 3.38 ERA, the third-best ERA in the league, and was the last London Tiger to make the EL All-Star team. José Lima went 8-13 with a 4.07 ERA.
After the 1993 campaign, the Tigers, frustrated with sinking attendance, moved the team to Trenton, New Jersey where they became the Trenton Thunder. After one year in Trenton, the Thunder switched affiliation from Detroit to the Boston Red Sox.
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)