LAKELAND, Fla. -- Veteran Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler experienced an unusual feeling as his plane was en route to join his club for spring training.

He got butterflies.

Unable to pin down exactly why he had that nervous flutter in his stomach, considering he is approaching his 11th major league season, he texted his wife.

Sagely, she responded: “Well, you still love the game. That’s good.”

Veteran Ian Kinsler should bring stability to the Tigers, who are trying to build chemistry this spring after acquiring several high-profile players in the offseason. Reinhold Matay/USA TODAY Sports

“I couldn’t really put my finger on why I was nervous, but maybe it was because of the way the season went last year, you know?” Kinsler said before the Tigers’ first full-squad workout of spring training.

In 2015, even Kinsler's training was subjected to rigorous self-examination.

“And you know the preparation you put in, you always think, did I prepare well enough?” Kinsler asked. “It’s always in the back of your mind, regardless of how hard you work. You can work out for three hours a day, four hours a day, and at the end of the offseason, you can still think, did I work hard enough? And after last season, that always creeps in more, because you want to be prepared this year, you want to be successful. You don’t want to be the weak link.”

The odds of the 33-year-old second baseman being the weak link appear very slim. In 2015, the sure-handed, defensively stout veteran went on an offensive tear in the second half. In the months of July and August, he posted batting averages of .366 and .362, respectively. More than that, he set the standard of professionalism in a locker room that could’ve easily fractured in the wake of frustration.

“Even though he spoke up more last year than he has in the past, I think he leads by the way he plays," manager Brad Ausmus said of Kinsler. "He leads by example.”

Ausmus took reports of Kinsler’s nerves as a positive sign.

“If veterans have nervous excitement about the season, I think that means we’re in a good spot," he said.

Kinsler hopes to turn that energy into a strong spring. This time, he assures, it's not just routine for this club.

“This is not another spring training. This is an important spring training,” Kinsler said. “After last year and all the players we’ve acquired, we need to come together, and we have a month and a half to do it and get prepared for the season. It starts today.”

Complicating matters is how ferocious the AL Central will be, with the Kansas City Royals reigning as World Series champions.

“Man, the American League is difficult, regardless of our division. And then our division, from top to bottom, is going to be, it’s going to be tough. It’s probably -- I don’t know -- but I would say it’s the best division in baseball,” Kinsler said. “Obviously, you have the World Series champions, so everything goes through them. You have to beat them, you have to show that you can overtake them. It’s their crown. They’re the champions of the Central and the champions of the World Series, so everything goes through them now.”

The Tigers, at the behest of team owner Mike Ilitch and under the direction of general manager Al Avila, spent aggressively to ensure they could compete with the division rivals. They added fortifications to the club’s pitching staff, inked a premier corner outfielder and supplemented their spending with some minor depth moves. With that financial commitment comes a fair bit of spotlight.

“I don’t know if it’s more pressure or if it’s made that way in your mind because of last year’s results, but leading into last year, the pressure was still high. Expectations were still high. The year before that, same thing. So I think last year may weigh a little more on everyone’s brain,” Kinsler said. “You know, people seem to forget really fast about the success of this organization and the people that play on this field. I think you could say there might be a little more pressure. Might be a little more urgency.”

According to Kinsler, additions to the team should only help the effort, both on and off the field.

“The guys that we’ve acquired are obviously going to help us. They’re really good people, they’re good guys in the clubhouse. And it’s going to help the feel of this team through the whole season -- not just the talent that they bring,” Kinsler said. “Statistics can’t measure a warm smile, you know?”