Jeff Seidel

Detroit Free Press Columnist

LAKELAND, Fla. – During the off-season, Detroit Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias looked in the mirror and didn’t like everything he saw.

He saw a guy who was an All-Star but not always the best teammate.

Or one who always would make necessary sacrifices for the team.

He saw a guy who hit .300, but he was, at times, more worried about his stats than doing everything possible to help the team win.

And he promises to change.

“A year is a long time to look at yourself in the mirror and say, ‘I did this for myself, or I can do more for my team,’ ” Iglesias said. “At the end of the day, it’s not about you. It’s about winning.”

Last year was a frustrating experience for all the Tigers. It came to a head in August when catcher James McCann argued with Iglesias in the dugout after Iglesias did not go hard after a ground ball.

After a heated exchange, Iglesias pushed McCann. And now, looking back, Iglesias says he has learned from it.

During the team’s winter caravan, Iglesias acknowledged the issue with first-base coach Omar Vizquel.

“He sat down,” Vizquel said, “and told me, by himself, coming out of his own heart and saying, ‘I really need to become a better teammate. ... I realize now, that in order for us to have success and in order for me to be a better player, I have to make this commitment to be a better teammate, to sacrifice myself a little bit more on the field for them and understand where my teammates are coming from, when they are telling me something.’ ”

Granted, that’s easy to say, especially before a season.

But Vizquel sees a young player from a different country and culture who is maturing.

“The maturity mentally that he is having is very good,” Vizquel said. “He acknowledged now, he realized he was making a mistake last year that will not be a benefit for him. That maturity, mentally, is going to be awesome, not only for him but also for the team.”

‘Learn from mistakes’

Last week, I asked Iglesias to reflect on 2015, and he brought up the topic instantly.

“All you can do is learn from your mistakes and get better, improve your game, improve as a player, improve as a teammate, as a human being,” Iglesias said. “It was a tough year for all of us.”

“How do you become a better teammate?” I asked.

“I think with time,” Iglesias said. “By knowing each other, by knowing your role on the team, you become a better teammate. Don’t try to do something that you don’t have to do. I don’t have to do Miggy’s job. I try to do my job. If you do those little things, you become a better teammate.”

When pressed to explain, he offered an example.

“Everybody wants to hit .300 in the big leagues,” Iglesias said. “In my first two years, that was my goal.”

But that goal consumed him to the point where he became selfish. Sometimes, he would try to get a hit to improve his stats when the team needed him to simply hit the ball on the right side of the infield to advance a runner.

“Sometimes, you gotta get the guy over and go the other way instead of getting a base hit,” he said. “Sometimes, you have to sacrifice for the team. Those are the things you learn over the years.”

He said this in the past tense, as if he has learned from it and moved on.

“Every year, when you want to win, you have to be better in the little things,” Iglesias said. “You have to be better on and off the field. You are not going to feel good every day, so you have to support your team, on and off the field. We are human beings. We are not robots. Supporting your team, it’s not about you. That’s what you learn over the years.”

As far as that dustup with McCann, Iglesias said it’s over.

“Mac is a great guy,” he said. “I love McCann. We get along. It was just a miscommunication. That’s over.”

There’s no question that Iglesias can make spectacular plays, but he has been criticized for a lack of effort on routine plays. For not diving.

“When you are young, you make mistakes, but you have to learn from them,” said Iglesias, 26. “I’m in a better place now, mentally, physically, completely different mind-set.”

Clearly, he’s saying all the right things, and that’s an important step.

Now it’s up to him to turn his words into action.

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel/.

Key dates

Today: Position players report.

Tuesday: First full-squad workout.

Feb. 29: First exhibition vs. Florida Southern in Lakeland, Fla.

March 1: Spring training opener vs. Pirates in Lakeland, Fla.

April 5: Regular-season opener vs. Marlins in Miami.

April 8: Home opener at Comerica Park vs. Yankees.