He played 12 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, one with the Oakland Athletics and one with the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB).

"[1] In 2006, his diving stop and subsequent throw from his knees to put out Gary Bennett in an interleague game, on June 25 against the St. Louis Cardinals earned him the ESPN defensive play of the year for a third baseman.

[4] He then attended Virginia Commonwealth University, where he played on the baseball team as a shortstop and relief pitcher.

[7] Inge saw action in 55 games with the Mud Hens, tallying 5 homers and 20 RBI, but only hitting for a .221 average.

[7] Inge began 2001 in the majors, debuting as Detroit's starting catcher on opening day and throwing out a pair of Minnesota Twins baserunners in the game.

[4] On April 6, he got his first MLB base hit, a double against Chicago White Sox pitcher Jim Parque.

He was put on the disabled list the next day and was out of action for a month before he was sent to the Gulf Coast League Tigers for a brief rehab stint.

After the Tigers signed free-agent Iván Rodríguez in 2004, Inge played in the outfield, catcher and at third base, batting .287 with 13 home runs that season.

Only five third basemen (including Graig Nettles, Brooks Robinson, and Mike Schmidt) have collected more assists in a season than Inge.

[10] On October 27, 2006, Inge struck out versus St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright for the final out of the 2006 World Series.

Inge became expendable at third base after the Tigers acquired Miguel Cabrera in a blockbuster trade with the Florida Marlins.

With the absence of backup catcher Vance Wilson, Inge filled this role for the 13-time Gold Glove winner Iván Rodríguez.

[13] On September 27, Tigers manager Jim Leyland announced that he would move Inge back to third base for the 2009 season.

He started the season by successfully reaching base 24 games in a row, the longest such streak for the Tigers since 1976.

He made a full recovery in time to play midway through spring training, and started at third base on Opening Day of the 2010 season in Kansas City.

At the conclusion of the season, Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski announced plans to re-sign Inge to a multi-year contract.

At the press conference announcing the Fielder signing, manager Jim Leyland said that Inge "was not a happy camper".