1998, the Tigers moved from the AL East, where they had been since the AL and NL split into divisions in 1969, to the AL Central as part of a realignment necessitated by the addition of the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays. In 2000, the team left Tiger Stadium in favor of Comerica Park. Soon after it opened, Comerica Park drew criticism for its deep dimensions, which made it difficult to hit home runs; the distance to left-center field (395 ft), in particular, was seen as unfair to hitters. This led to the nickname "Comerica National Park." The team made a successful bid to bring in slugger Juan González from the Texas Rangers for the inaugural season at Comerica Park. After four consecutive seasons of no fewer than 39 home runs, González only hit 22 homers in 2000. He cited Comerica Park's dimensions as a major reason why he turned down a multiyear contract extension. In 2003, the franchise largely quieted the criticism by moving in the left-center fence to , taking the flagpole in that area out of play, a feature carried over from Tiger Stadium. In 2005, the team moved the bullpens to the vacant area beyond the left field fence and filled the previous location with seats. In late 2001, Dave Dombrowski, former general manager of the 1997 World Series champion Florida Marlins, was hired as team president. In 2002, the Tigers started the season 0–6, prompting Dombrowski to fire the unpopular Smith, as well as manager Phil Garner. Dombrowski then took over as general manager and named bench coach Luis Pujols to finish the season as interim manager. The team finished 55–106. After the season was over, Pujols was let go. Most losses in American League history (2003) Dombrowski hired popular former shortstop Alan Trammell to manage the team in 2003. With fellow '84 teammates Kirk Gibson and Lance Parrish on the coaching staff, the rebuilding process began. On August 30, 2003, the Tigers' defeat at the hands of the Chicago White Sox caused them to join the 1962 New York Mets, who were a first year expansion team, as the only modern MLB teams to lose 100 games before September. They avoided tying the 1962 Mets' modern MLB record of 120 losses only by winning five of their last six games of the season, including three out of four against the Minnesota Twins, who had