Tigers Closer Kyle Finnegan Follows in Father's Footsteps 30 Years Later
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On July 31, 2025, Kyle Finnegan was traded to the Detroit Tigers in order to bolster their bullpen heading into a potential World Series run as arguably the best team in the American League. Since arriving in Detroit, Finnegan has been nothing short of dominant.
The right-hander has thrown 8.2 innings with 11 strikeouts and hasn't allowed an earned run since joining the Tigers. It's a whole new brand of baseball for the 33-year-old, as he spent the first six and a half years of his career with the Washington Nationals.
But, 30 years ago, Major League Baseball was coming off of a shortened season in 1994 due to a strike that would linger into the next season. At 36 years old, Willy Finnegan, Kyle's father, nearly made the Detroit Tigers out of spring training after spending 12 years away from professional baseball, per Will Burchfield of '971. The Ticket.'
The Finnegans Had Different Paths to Detroit
Willy's journey began at UNLV. He didn't play in high school because, according to a newspaper, "he weighed only 110 pounds." Instead, he walked on at UNLV where he developed enough to become an eighth round pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1981 draft.
In a 43 round draft, that is significant. Finnegan was also drafted ahead of future Hall of Famer Fred McGriff. Among other notable names he was drafted above were Mark McGwire, Cecil Fielder, Roger Clemens and Vince Coleman, though none of them signed in that draft.
As a right-hander, he was both a starter and a reliever in three years of minor league ball. Unfortunately, it didn't work out for Finnegan, who had a career 6.67 ERA with 131 walks to just 60 strike outs in 114.2 innings. His career, for the time being, came to an end in 1983, and he became an investment banker, according to Burchfield.
Fast forward to the 1994 MLB strike and the Spring Training that followed it. It had been 12 years since playing for the Cardinals, but all the while, "he was playing in men's leagues and loved it. He says he was still throwing in the 90's," Finnegan said of his father.
At 36 years old, Willy was invited to Lakeland to try out for the Tigers as part of a group of replacement players that would have played to start the season if the strike wasn't resolved.
"I think he just got a rare opportunity and was like, why not?" his son went on to say.
Born in 1991 in Detroit, a young Kyle went to camp to visit his father. After a month of work, Willy had made the Tigers on a salary of $115,000, according to Burchfield.
Just before the season was supposed to begin, the strike ended and Finnegan had to go back to his day job. Though he didn't get the chance to make a comeback, he never stepped away from the game entirely. Once his sons, Kyle and Jack could throw, he was teaching them.
"The three of us did a ton of workouts together. Even when I was in pro ball coming up through the minor leagues, he would catch our bullpens," Kyle said of his father.
Though Jack never made it past Rookie ball, Kyle would eventually make his debut at 28 years old in 2020, seven years after being drafted.
As soon as the All-Star was traded to Detroit, Willy texted Kyle a picture of himself wearing his Tigers jersey from 1995, donning the number 38. Now another Finnegan wears the same uniform, just with a different number.
Kyle still seeks advice from the 67-year-old father.
"More so when I'm struggling, becuase when I'm doing well he's very supersitious. He'll think, like, oh, I didn't text hiim and he pitches well, so I'm not gonna text him for days," he explained of the dynamic.
Though it's been a few years, Willy can celebrate being a part of the same franchise that his son is now contributing for. If all goes well and the dream continues, Finnegan could be pitching in the postseason for the first time in his career, finishing what his father started.
