History of the Detroit Tigers
Encyclopedia
The club is a charter member of the American League
, one of four clubs (with the Boston Red Sox
, Chicago White Sox
and Cleveland Indians
) still located in its original city. Detroit is also the only member of the Western League, the AL's minor league predecessor, that remains in its original city under its original name. It was established as a charter member in 1894.
, a member of the National League
from 1881 through 1888. The nickname, now associated with the University of Michigan
, came from Michigan's nickname, "The Wolverine
State".
The Wolverines' best year was 1887. They won the National League pennant and an exhibition World Series
, defeating the American Association
champion St. Louis Browns
, ten games to five. All 15 scheduled games of the series were played, as the clubs toured ten different cities.
The leading players were Hardy Richardson
, Jack Rowe
, Deacon White
, Charlie Getzein
and Hall of Famers "Big Sam" Thompson
and Dan Brouthers
. Thompson won the 1887 NL batting championship, making him the only NL batting winner from the traditionally AL city.
Despite the championship, the team did not draw enough fans to stay solvent at the major league level, as Detroit was at the time one of the smallest cities in the National League and its rapid industry-fueled growth was still several years in the future. Hall of Fame manager Ned Hanlon played all eight seasons in center field but there was high turnover otherwise. After the 1888 season, the team disbanded and the city was relegated to minor league
status. One new club formed and joined the International League
in 1889, and promptly won the league championship. Their fans' joy came to an abrupt end when the league temporarily disbanded in mid-1890 and took the team with it. An attempt was made to revive the old Northwestern League in 1891, but it also collapsed in mid-season, and Detroit professional baseball took a short hiatus.
The current Detroit club was a charter member when the Western League reorganized for the 1894 season. They originally played at Boulevard Park, sometimes called League Park. It was located on East Lafayette, then called Champlain Street, between Helen and East Grand Boulevard, near Belle Isle. In 1895, owner George Vanderbeck decided to build Bennett Park at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull Avenues, which would remain their base of operations for the next 104 seasons. The first game at the corner was an exhibition on April 13, 1896. The team, now occasionally called the "Tigers," beat a local semi-pro team, known as the Athletics, by a score of 30–3. They played their first Western League game at Bennett Park on April 28, 1896, defeating the Columbus Senators 17–2. (Richard Bak, A Place for Summer: A Narrative History of Tiger Stadium, 1998, pp. 58–59)
When the Western renamed itself the American League
for 1900
, it was still a minor league, but next year it broke with the National Agreement and declared itself major, openly competing with the National League
for players, and for fans in three contested cities. For a few years there were rumors of abandoning Detroit to compete for Cincinnati or Pittsburgh but the two leagues made peace in 1903 after similar moves into St. Louis and New York.
The Tigers played their first game as a major league team at home against the Milwaukee Brewers
on April 25, 1901, with 10,000 fans at Bennett Park. (Richard Bak, A Place for Summer: A Narrative History of Tiger Stadium, 1998, pp. 73–74) After entering the ninth inning behind 13–4, the team staged a dramatic comeback to win 14–13. The team finished third in the eight-team league.
Detroit's blue laws prevented baseball from being played at Bennett Park on Sundays. Owner James D. Burns
built a ballpark on his own property named Burns Park where the Tigers played their Sunday home games for the 1901
and 1902 seasons
.
11 years later, an elegant stadium was constructed on the site of Bennett Park and named Navin Field for owner Frank Navin
. In 1938 it was improved and named Briggs Stadium and renamed "Tiger Stadium" in 1961. Tiger Stadium was used by the Tigers until the end of the 1999 season; from 2000 they have played in Comerica Park
.
There are various legends about how the Tigers got their nickname
. One involves the orange stripes they wore on their black stockings. Tigers manager George Stallings
took credit for the name; however, the name appeared in newspapers before Stallings was manager. Another legend concerns a sportswriter equating the 1901 team's opening day victory with the ferocity of his alma mater, the Princeton
Tigers
.
Richard Bak, in his 1998 book, A Place for Summer: A Narrative History of Tiger Stadium, pp. 46–49, explains that the name originated from the Detroit Light Guard military unit, who were known as "The Tigers". They had played significant roles in certain Civil War
battles and in the 1898 Spanish-American War
. The baseball team was still informally called both "Wolverines" and "Tigers" in the news. The earliest known use of the name "Tigers" in the media was in the Detroit Free Press
on April 16, 1895. Upon entry into the majors, the ballclub sought and received formal permission from the Light Guard to use its trademark
. From that day forth, the team has been officially called the Tigers.
In 1905
, the team acquired Ty Cobb
, a fearless player with a mean streak, who came to be regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. The addition of Cobb to an already talented team that included Sam Crawford
, Hughie Jennings
, Bill Donovan and George Mullin
quickly yielded results, as the Tigers won their first American League pennant in 1907.
against the Chicago Cubs
. With the exception of Game 1, which ended in a rare tie, the Tigers failed to score more than one run in any game and lost four straight.
would deny Detroit the title again in '08
, holding Detroit to a .209 batting average for the series, which the Cubs again won in five games. This would, however, be the last World Championship won by the Chicago Cubs up to and including the present day.
, Pittsburgh
, would yield different results, but the Tigers were blown out 8–0 in the decisive seventh game at Bennett Park.
, the Tigers won a then-club record 100 games but narrowly lost the American League pennant to the Boston Red Sox
who won 101 games. The 1915 Tigers were led by an outfield consisting of Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford, and Bobby Veach
that finished #1, #2, and #3 in RBIs and total bases. Cobb also set a stolen base record with 96 steals in 1915 that stood until 1962, when it was broken by Maury Wills
. Baseball historian Bill James
has ranked the 1915 Tigers outfield as the greatest in the history of major league baseball. The only team in Tigers' history with a better winning percentage than the 1915 squad was the 1934 team that lost the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals
.
, the Tigers amassed 1724 hits and a team batting average of .316—the highest team hit total and batting average in American League history. (The Elias Book of Baseball Records, 2008, p. 88) That year, outfielders Harry Heilmann
and Ty Cobb finished #1 and #2 in the American League batting race with batting averages of .394 and .389. As early proof of the baseball adage that good pitching beats good hitting, the downfall of the 1921 Tigers was the absence of good pitching. The team ERA was 4.40, and they allowed nine or more runs 28 times. Without pitching to support the offense, the 1921 Tigers finished in sixth place in the American League, 27 games behind the Yankees
with a record of 71–82.
behind the plate, slugger Hank Greenberg
at first, and consistent Charlie Gehringer
, "The Mechanical Man", at second. All three players are in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
in seven games to the "Gashouse Gang
" St. Louis Cardinals
. Again, when the chips were down in the deciding game, Detroit folded, giving up seven third-inning runs and losing Game Seven 11–0 at Navin Field (Tiger Stadium). The game was marred by an ugly incident. After spiking Tiger third baseman Marv Owen
in the sixth inning, the Cardinals' Joe "Ducky" Medwick
had to be removed from the game for his own safety by Commissioner
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
after being pelted with fruit and garbage from angry fans in the large temporary bleacher section in left field.
, Mickey Cochrane
, Goose Goslin
and Charlie Gehringer
), the Tigers eventually won the World Series
the following year, defeating the Cubs
, 4 games to 2. Game 6 concluded with Goslin's dramatic game-ending single, scoring Cochrane to seal a 4–3 victory.
once again. But the Tigers lost the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds
in a seven-game series. This was the third time the Tigers had lost a World Series in a deciding seventh game.
and the timely return of Hank Greenberg and others from the military, the Tigers took the 1945 American League pennant. With Virgil Trucks
, Hal Newhouser
and Dizzy Trout
on the mound and Greenberg leading the Tiger bats, Detroit responded in a Game 7 for the first time, staking Newhouser to a 5–0 lead before he threw a pitch en route to a 9–3 victory over the Cubs
. Because many baseball stars had not yet returned from the military, some baseball scholars have deemed the '45 Series
to be among the worst-played contests in Series history. For example, prior to the Series, Chicago sportswriter Warren Brown
was asked who he liked, and he answered, "I don't think either one of them can win it!" But the Cubs had no answer to Greenberg, and the Series went Detroit's way.
. One of the few Major League players who never played a day in the minor leagues, he would hit over .300 nine times in his career. He also made 15 All-Star teams, won 10 Gold Gloves, and featured one of the league's best arms in right field. In 1955, the 20-year old Kaline hit .340 to became the youngest-ever batting champion in major league history.
The 1950s also saw the Tigers as the 15th of the then 16 MLB teams to field an African-American player. In the Tigers' case, it was an Afro-Caribbean player, Ozzie Virgil, Sr.
, who integrated the Tigers in 1958. Only the Boston Red Sox
trailed the Tigers in integrating their roster
.
campaign. They won 101 games but still finished eight games behind the Yankees
, one of the few times a team had failed to reach the postseason despite winning over 100 games. First baseman Norm Cash
had the best batting average in the American League, a remarkably high .361, while teammate Al Kaline finished second. Cash never hit over .286 before or after the '61 season, and would later say of the accomplishment: "It was a freak. Even at the time, I realized that." Cash's plate heroics, which also included 41 home runs and 132 RBI, might have earned him MVP honors that season were it not for New York's Roger Maris
bashing a record 61 homers the same year.
The 1961 club featured two nonwhite starters, Jake Wood
and Bill Bruton
, and later in the 1960s, black players such as Willie Horton, Earl Wilson, and Gates Brown
would contribute to Detroit's rise in the standings.
and Denny McLain
entered the rotation during the middle of the decade, with outfielders Willie Horton (1963), Mickey Stanley
(1964) and Jim Northrup (1964) also coming aboard at this time.
The team managed a third-place finish during a bizarre 1966 season
, in which manager Chuck Dressen
and acting manager Bob Swift
were both forced to resign their posts because of health problems. Thereafter, Frank Skaff
took over the managerial reins until the end of the season. Both Dressen and Swift died during the year – Dressen in August because of a kidney infection, Swift in October due to cancer. Skaff was replaced by Mayo Smith
in 1967, perhaps the last step before World Series contention.
the Tigers were involved in one of the closest pennant races in history. They needed to sweep a doubleheader from the California Angels
on the last day of the season to force a one-game playoff
with the Boston Red Sox
. They won the first game but lost the second, giving the Red Sox the flag with no playoff. Detroit finished the season at 91–71, a single game behind Boston. Starter Earl Wilson, acquired the previous season from the Red Sox, led the Tigers with 22 wins and would form a strong 1–2–3 combination with Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich over the next few years.
. The team grabbed first place away from the Baltimore Orioles
on May 10 and would not relinquish the position, clinching the pennant on September 17 and finishing with a 103–59 record. In a year that was marked by dominant pitching, starter Denny McLain
went 31–6 (with a 1.96 ERA), the first time a pitcher had won 30 or more games in a season since the St. Louis Cardinals
' Dizzy Dean
accomplished the feat in 1934; no pitcher has accomplished it since. McLain was unanimously voted American League Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award
winner for his efforts.
In the 1968 World Series
, the Tigers met the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals
, led by starter Bob Gibson
(who had posted a record 1.12 ERA
during the regular season) and speedy outfielder Lou Brock
. The series was predicated with a bold decision by manager Mayo Smith to play center fielder Mickey Stanley
at shortstop, replacing the slick fielding but weak hitting of Ray Oyler
. Stanley had never played shortstop before, but was a gold glover in the outfield and an excellent athlete. Smith started him at short for the final nine games of the regular season and all seven World Series games, with Oyler only appearing as a late-inning defensive replacement. This allowed Smith to play an outfield of Willie Horton, Jim Northrup and Al Kaline
in every Series game.
In Game 1, Gibson completely shut down the Detroit lineup, striking out 17 batters, still a World Series record, en route to an easy 4–0 win. However, due in no small part to pitcher Mickey Lolich
's victories in Games 2 and 5, the Tigers climbed back into the Series. Many fans believe the turning point in the Series came in the fifth inning of Game 5, with the Tigers down three games to one, and trailing in the game, 3–2. Left fielder Willie Horton made a perfect throw to home plate to nail Lou Brock (who tried to score from second base standing up), as catcher Bill Freehan
blocked the plate with his foot. The Tigers came back with three runs in the seventh to win that game, 5–3, and stay alive in the Series. The Cardinals would not threaten to score the rest of this game, and scored only two more meaningless runs over the remainder of the series. In Game 6, McLain ensured a Game 7 by notching his only win of the Series, a 13–1 blowout, despite pitching on only two days' rest.
In Game 7 at Busch Memorial Stadium
, Lolich, also pitching on two days' rest, faced Gibson. Both men pitched brilliantly, putting zeros up on the scoreboard for much of the game. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Cardinals looked primed to take the lead as Lou Brock singled to lead off the inning, only to be promptly picked off first base by Lolich. One out later, Curt Flood
followed with another single, and was also picked off first by Lolich. In the top of the seventh, an exhausted Gibson finally cracked, giving up singles to Norm Cash
and Willie Horton. Jim Northrup then struck the decisive blow, lashing a triple to center field over the head of Flood, who appeared to mis-judge how hard the ball was hit. That scored both Cash and Horton; Northrup himself was then brought home by a Bill Freehan double. Detroit added an insurance run in the ninth. A solo home run by Mike Shannon
was all the Cardinals could muster against Lolich as the Tigers took the game, 4–1, and the Series, 4–3. For his three victories that propelled the Tigers to the World championship, Lolich was named the World Series Most Valuable Player
.
This was the greatest comeback in World Series history. No other team has been behind 3 games to 1 and down by 3 runs in the 5th game to win the 5th, 6th and 7th games.
In its "The End of the Century" series, ESPN
rated Mayo Smith
's decision to move Stanley to shortstop for the 1968 World Series
as one of the 10 greatest coaching decisions of the 20th century.
saw further expansion as both leagues realigned into two divisions of six teams, and the Tigers were placed in the American League East
. That year, Detroit
failed to defend its '68 title, despite Denny McLain having another outstanding year with a 24-9 campaign. The Tigers' 90 wins placed them a distant second in the division to a very strong Baltimore Orioles team
, which had won 109 games.
McLain, suspended three times in 1970
, was only 3-5 that season and was traded after the season was done. Mayo Smith was also let go after a disappointing fourth-place finish in 1970
, to be replaced by Billy Martin
. Following his playing career with the New York Yankees
, Martin had worked in the Minnesota Twins
organization, managing that team to an AL West Division title in 1969. But he was fired after that season due to rocky relationships with his players, which included a legendary fight with pitcher Dave Boswell
in an alley behind Detroit's Lindell AC sports bar. He would spend the 1970 season out of baseball.
Martin's Tigers
posted 91 wins in 1971
, but again had to settle for a second-place finish behind the Orioles, who won 101 games to take their third straight AL East Division crown. The season was highlighted by Mickey Lolich's 308 strikeouts, which led the AL and is still the Detroit Tigers single-season record as of 2011. Lolich also won 25 games and posted a 2.92 ERA.
in what would turn out to be a heist for Detroit. The club acquired pitcher Joe Coleman, shortstop Eddie Brinkman and third baseman Aurelio Rodríguez
, all of whom would play critical roles in 1972
when the Tigers captured their first AL East division title. Oddities of the schedule due to an early-season strike allowed the 86-70 Tigers to win the division by just ½ game, just as they had won the pennant in 1908. Brinkman was named Tiger of the Year by the Detroit Baseball Writers, despite a .205 batting average, as he committed just 7 errors in 728 chances (.990 fielding percentage) and had a 72-game errorless streak during the season. Mickey Lolich was his steady self for the Tigers, winning 22 games, while Coleman won 19. Starter Woodie Fryman
, acquired on August 2, was the final piece of the puzzle as he went 10–3 over the last two months of the regular season.
In the 1972 American League Championship Series
, Detroit faced the American League West
division champion Oakland Athletics
, who had become steadily competitive ever since the 1969 realignment. In Game 1 of the ALCS in Oakland, Lolich, the hero of '68, took the hill and allowed just one run over nine innings. Al Kaline
hit a solo homer to break a 1–1 tie in the 11th inning, only to be charged with an error on Gonzalo Marquez
's game-tying single that allowed Gene Tenace
to score the winning run. Blue Moon Odom
shut down Detroit 5–0 in Game 2. The end of Game 2 was marred by an ugly incident in which Tiger reliever Lerrin Lagrow
hit A's shortstop and leadoff hitter Bert Campaneris
on the ankle with a pitch. An angered Campaneris flung the bat at Lagrow, and Lagrow ducked just in time for the bat to sail over his head. A bench-clearing brawl ensued, and both players were suspended for the remainder of the series.
As the series shifted to Detroit, the Tigers caught their stride. Joe Coleman held the A's scoreless on seven hits in Game 3, a 3–0 Tiger victory. In Game 4, Oakland scored two runs in the top of the 10th and put the Tigers down to their last three outs. Detroit pushed two runs across the plate to tie the game before Jim Northrup came through in the clutch again. His single off Dave Hamilton
scored Gates Brown
and evened the series at 2 games apiece.
A first-inning run on a Gene Tenace
passed ball gave Detroit an early lead in the deciding fifth and final game in Detroit, but Reggie Jackson
's steal of home in the 2nd tied it up. Tenace's two-out single to left field gave Oakland a 2–1 lead in the fourth inning. The run was controversial to many Tiger fans, as George Hendrick
was ruled safe at first base just prior to the Tenace hit. Hendrick appeared to be out by two steps on a grounder to second, but umpire John Rice ruled that Norm Cash pulled his foot off first base. Replays and photos, however, show that Cash did not pull his foot. Thanks to that play and four innings of scoreless relief from Vida Blue
, the A's took the American League pennant and a spot in the World Series
.
as manager and the Tigers spent much of the next decade in the middle or lower ranks of the AL East. In 1974
, Ralph Houk
, who managed the dominant Yankee teams of the early 1960s, was named manager of the Tigers. "The Major" served in that capacity for five full seasons, through the end of the 1978 season
. The roster of players who played under Houk were mostly aging veterans from the 1960s, whose performance had slipped from their peak years. Perhaps the biggest signal of decline for the Tigers was the retirement of Kaline following the 1974 season, after he notched his 3000th career hit. Kaline finished with 3007 hits and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1980.
A feel-good story emerged in late 1973, as Martin was lured to a Michigan prison to watch Detroiter Ron LeFlore
play an inmate baseball game. LeFlore, who was serving a sentence for his involvement in an armed robbery, would earn a tryout at Tiger Stadium and made the team the following year under Houk. He would go on to have several productive seasons with the Tigers, Montreal Expos
and Chicago White Sox
, finishing with a career .288 batting average and 455 stolen bases. His story was documented in a book (Breakout: From Prison to the Big Leagues) and a TV Movie starring LeVar Burton
(One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
).
made his debut in 1976
. Fidrych, known as "the Bird", was a colorful character known for talking to the baseball and other eccentricities. During a game against the Yankees
, Graig Nettles
responded to Fidrych's antics by talking to his bat. After making an out, he later lamented that his Japanese-made bat didn't understand him. Fidrych was the starting pitcher for the American League in the All Star Game
played that year in Philadelphia
to celebrate the American Bicentennial
. He finished the season with a record of 19–9 and an American League-leading ERA
of 2.34. Fidrych, the AL Rookie of the Year, was one of the few bright spots that year with the Tigers finishing next to last in the AL East in 1976.
Aurelio Rodríguez
won the Gold Glove Award
for 1976 at third base, snapping a 16-season streak in which Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson
had won every award at the position.
Injuries to his knee, and later his arm, drastically limited Fidrych's appearances in 1977–78, as the Tigers returned to doormat status. Perhaps more important, however, was the talent coming up through the Tigers farm system at the time. Key players like Jack Morris
, Dan Petry
, Alan Trammell
, Lou Whitaker, Kirk Gibson
and Lance Parrish
all made their debuts in the late 1970s.
was Les Moss
, but Moss would only last until June of that year. From June 14, 1979 until the end of the 1995 season, the team was managed by George "Sparky" Anderson
, one of baseball's winningest managers and owner of two World Series rings as manager of the Cincinnati Reds
. When Sparky came on board in 1979 and assessed the Tigers young talent, he boldly predicted that his team would be a pennant winner within 5 years.
Ascerbic sports anchor Al Ackerman of Detroit's WXYZ-TV
(and later WDIV-TV
) initiated the phrase "Bless You Boys" whenever the Tigers would win a game—sarcastically at first, because the team still wasn't winning enough to be respectable. But the phrase would take on a whole new meaning in 1984.
won 92 games to finish six games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East.
The first major news of the 1984 season actually came in late 1983, when broadcasting magnate John Fetzer
, who had owned the club since 1957, sold the team to Domino's Pizza
founder and CEO Tom Monaghan
. The sale of the franchise caught everyone by surprise, as the negotiations culminating in the sale of the franchise were conducted in total secrecy. There were no rumors or even speculation that Fetzer had put the franchise up for sale.
The 1984 team started out at a record 35–5 pace (including Jack Morris
throwing a no-hitter
early in the season against Chicago
en route to the Tigers' 9–0 start) and cruised to a franchise-record 104 victories, besting their previous record of 103 set in 1968. They also easily won the division, winning by a staggering 15 games over the Toronto Blue Jays. They featured the great double play
combination of shortstop
Alan Trammell
and second baseman
Lou Whitaker; the duo would play together a record 19 seasons. The team also included Darrell Evans
, Dave Bergman
, Kirk Gibson
, Lance Parrish
, Chet Lemon
, Tom Brookens
, Larry Herndon
, Jack Morris
, Dan Petry
, Milt Wilcox
, Dave Rozema
, Johnny Grubb
, Aurelio López
("Señor Smoke") and relief ace Willie Hernandez
, who won the 1984 American League Cy Young Award
and Most Valuable Player just one year after pitching on the Philadelphia Phillies
' National League championship club.
The Tigers faced the Kansas City Royals
in the American League Championship Series
, which would prove to be no contest, not surprising given the fact the Royals won 20 fewer games during the season. In Game 1, Alan Trammell, Lance Parrish
and Larry Herndon
went deep to crush the Royals 8–1 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium
). In Game 2, the Tigers scored twice in the 11th inning when Johnny Grubb
doubled off the late Royals closer Dan Quisenberry
en route to a 5–3 victory. The Tigers completed the sweep at Tiger Stadium in Game 3. Marty Castillo's third-inning RBI fielder's choice would be all the help Detroit would need. Milt Wilcox
outdueled Charlie Leibrandt
, and after Hernandez got Darryl Motley
to pop out to preserve the 1–0 win, the Tigers were returning to the World Series. (Note: At that time, the team with home field advantage in the ALCS
and NLCS
, played the first two games on the road. This changed in 1985 when the format was changed from best-of-five to best-of-seven.)
In the NLCS
, a San Diego rally from 2–0 down prevented a fifth Cubs-Tigers series and meant the Tigers would open the 1984 World Series
against the San Diego Padres
in Trammell's hometown. (Had the Cubs
won the NLCS, Detroit would have been awarded home-field advantage in the World Series because NBC
insisted on all midweek games starting at night. This was impossible at the time in Chicago's Wrigley Field
.)
In Game 1, Larry Herndon
hit a two-run home run that gave the Tigers a 3–2 lead. Morris pitched a complete game with 2 runs on 8 hits, and Detroit drew first blood. The Padres evened the series the next night despite pitcher Ed Whitson
being chased after pitching two-thirds of an inning and giving up three runs on five Tiger hits. Tiger starter Dan Petry
exited the game after four and one-third innings when Kurt Bevacqua
's three-run homer gave San Diego a 5–3 lead they would hold onto.
When the series shifted to the Motor City, the Tigers took command. In Game 3, a two-out rally in the second inning led to four runs and the yanking of Padre starter Tim Lollar
after one and two-thirds innings. The Padres, plagued by poor starting pitching throughout the series, never recovered and lost 5–2. Eric Show
continued the parade of bad outings in Game 4, getting bounced after two and two-thirds innings after giving up home runs to Series MVP Trammell in his first two at-bats. Trammell's homers held up with the help of another Morris complete game, and the Tigers held a commanding lead.
In Game 5, Gibson's two-run shot in the first inning would be the beginning of another early end for the Padres' starter Mark Thurmond
. Though the Padres would pull back even at 3–3, chasing Dan Petry
in the fourth inning in the process, the Tigers retook the lead on a Rusty Kuntz
sacrifice fly (actually a pop-out to retreating second baseman Alan Wiggins
that the speedy Gibson was able to score on), and doubled it on a solo homer
by Parrish.
A "Sounds of the Game" video was made during the Series by MLB Productions and played on TV a number of times since then. When Kirk Gibson
came to bat in the eighth inning with runners on second and third and the Tigers clinging to a 5–4 lead, a situation that might call for San Diego reliever Goose Gossage
to pitch around him, Padres manager Dick Williams
was summoned to the mound. Anderson was seen and heard yelling to Gibson, "He don't want to walk you!" and making a swing-the-bat gesture. As Anderson had suspected, Gossage threw a 1–0 fastball on the inside corner, and Gibson was ready. He launched a hard smash into Tiger Stadium's right field upper deck, effectively clinching the game and the series.
Aurelio López pitched 2-1/3 innings of relief without putting a runner on base for the win. Despite allowing a rare run in the top of the 8th inning, Willie Hernandez got the save as Tony Gwynn
flied out to Larry Herndon
to end the game, sending Detroit into a wild victory celebration.
The Tigers led their division wire-to-wire, from opening day and every day thereafter, culminating in the World Series championship. This had not been done in the major leagues since the 1927 New York Yankees.
from the Atlanta Braves
in exchange for minor league pitcher John Smoltz
. Alexander started 11 games for the Tigers, posting 9–0 record and a 1.53 ERA. Smoltz, a Lansing, Michigan
native, went on to have a long and productive career, mostly with the Braves, winning the Cy Young Award
in 1996. The Tigers won the division this year but possibly gave up some of their future. The Tigers had a great season but despite their improvement, they entered September neck-and-neck with the Toronto Blue Jays
. The two teams would square off in seven hard-fought games during the final two weeks of the season. All seven games were decided by one run, and in the first six of the seven games, the winning run was scored in the final inning of play. At Exhibition Stadium
, the Tigers dropped three in a row to the Blue Jays before winning a dramatic extra-inning showdown.
The Tigers entered the final week of the 1987 season 3.5 games behind. After a series against the Baltimore Orioles
, the Tigers returned home trailing by a game and swept the Blue Jays. Detroit clinched the division in a 1–0 victory over Toronto in front of 51,005 fans at Tiger Stadium on Sunday afternoon, October 4. Frank Tanana
went all nine innings for the complete game shutout, and outfielder Larry Herndon
gave the Tigers their lone run on a second-inning home run. Detroit finished the season a Major League-best 98–64, two games ahead of Toronto.
In what would prove to be their last postseason appearance until 2006, the Tigers were upset in the 1987 American League Championship Series
by the Minnesota Twins (who in turn won the World Series that year) four games to one. The Twins won the Series in Game 5 at Tiger Stadium 9–5.
proved unable to build on their success. The team lost Kirk Gibson to free agency in the offseason, but still spent much of 1988
in first place in the AL East. A late-season slump left the team in second at 88–74, one game behind division-winning Boston.
In 1989
, the team
collapsed to a 59–103 record, worst in the majors. The franchise then attempted to rebuild using a power-hitting approach, with sluggers Cecil Fielder
, Rob Deer
and Mickey Tettleton
joining Trammell and Whitaker in the lineup (fitting for the team with the most 200+ home run seasons in baseball history). In 1990
, Fielder led the American League with 51 home runs (becoming the first player to hit 50 since George Foster in 1977), and finished second in the voting for AL Most Valuable Player. He hit 44 home runs in 1991
, again finishing second in the AL MVP balloting, and would hit at least 28 in each of the next four seasons. Behind the hitting of Fielder and others, the Tigers improved by 20 wins in 1990 (79-83), and posted a winning record in 1991 (84–78). However, the team lacked quality pitching, despite Bill Gullickson
's 20 wins in 1991, and its core of key players began to age, setting the franchise up for decline. Their minor league system was largely barren of talent, as well, producing only a few everyday players (Travis Fryman
, Bobby Higginson
) during the 1990s. Adding insult to injury, the Tigers and radio station WJR
announced in December, 1990, that they were not renewing the contract of long-time Hall of Fame play-by-play announcer Ernie Harwell
, and that the 1991 season would be Harwell's last with the team. The announcement was met with resounding protests from fans, young and old.
1992
saw the Tigers win only 75 games. But late in the season, Sparky Anderson won his 1,132nd game as a Tiger manager, passing Hughie Jennings
for the most all-time wins in franchise history. Following the 1992 season, the franchise was sold to Mike Ilitch
, the President and CEO of Little Caesars
Pizza who also owns the Detroit Red Wings
. Ilitch made it one of his first priorities to re-hire Ernie Harwell. The team also responded with an 85-77 season in 1993
, but it would be their last winning season for a number of years.
On October 2, 1995, manager Sparky Anderson chose to not only end his career with the Tigers, but retire from baseball altogether.
, who served the team from 1996 to 2002.
In 2000, the team left Tiger Stadium, then tied with Fenway Park
as the oldest active baseball stadium, in favor of the new Comerica Park
. This capped an argument lasting more than a decade about whether or not a new stadium was needed to keep the club competitive.
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 Gonzalez from the Texas Rangers for the inaugural 2000 season at Comerica Park. Gonzalez hit a meager (for him) 22 home runs that season, and many cited Comerica Park's dimensions as a major reason he turned down multi-millions to re-sign with the club in 2001. In 2003, the franchise largely quieted the criticism by moving in the left-center fence to 370 feet (112.8 m), 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.
to manage the team in 2003
. With fellow '84 teammates Kirk Gibson
and Lance Parrish
on the coaching staff, the rebuilding process began. In 2003, still playing with mostly players Smith had drafted or acquired, the Tigers shattered their 1996 mark for team futility by losing an American League-record 119 games. This eclipsed the previous AL record of 117 losses set by the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics
, and was just .030 ahead of the 1916 A's .235 win percentage. On August 30, 2003, the Tigers' defeat at the hands of the Chicago White Sox
caused them to join the 1962 New York Mets
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 already clinched the Central Division
(into which the Tigers had moved in 1998), and were resting their stars.
Mike Maroth
went 9–21 for the 2003 Tigers and became the first pitcher to lose 20 games in more than 20 years. Tigers' pitchers Maroth, Jeremy Bonderman
(6–19), and Nate Cornejo
(6–17) were #1, #2, and #3 in the major leagues in losses for 2003—the only time in major league history that one team has had the top three losers.
Designated hitter/left fielder Dmitri Young
is the one member of the 2003 Tigers to have a truly good year, with a .297 batting average, 29 home runs, and .537 slugging percentage. He managed 85 RBIs despite having no real table-setters on base in front of him. According to Win Shares, the Tigers would have had about six fewer wins without him.
While the 2003 Tigers rank as the third worst team in major league history based on loss total, they fare slightly better based on winning percentage. The Tigers went 43–119 that season, 47 games behind division-winner Minnesota.
, the team signed or traded for several talented but high-risk veterans, such as Fernando Vina
, Iván Rodríguez
, Ugueth Urbina
, Rondell White
and Carlos Guillén
, and the gamble paid off. The 2004 Tigers finished 72–90, a 29-game improvement over the previous season, and the largest improvement in the American League since Baltimore's 33-game improvement from 1988 to 1989. However, the team was still sub-.500.
Prior to the 2005 season, the Tigers spent a large sum for two prized free agents, Magglio Ordóñez
and Troy Percival
. On June 8, 2005, the Tigers traded pitcher Ugueth Urbina
and infielder Ramon Martinez
to the Philadelphia Phillies
for Plácido Polanco
(and later signed him for 4 years). The Tigers stayed on the fringes of contention for the American League wild card
for the first four months of the season, but then faded badly, finishing 71–91. The collapse was perceived as being due both to injuries and to a lack of player unity; Rodriguez in particular was disgruntled, taking a leave of absence during the season to deal with a difficult divorce
. Trammell, though popular with the fans, took part of the blame for the poor clubhouse atmosphere and lack of continued improvement, and he was fired at the end of the season.
A highlight of the 2005 campaign was Detroit's hosting of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game
, its first since 1971. In the Home Run Derby, Rodriguez finished second, losing to the Phillies' Bobby Abreu
.
In October 2005, Jim Leyland
, who managed Dombrowski's 1997 World Series–winning Marlins
club, replaced Trammell as manager; two months later, in response to Troy Percival's '05 arm problems, closer Todd Jones
, who had spent five seasons in Detroit (1997–2001), signed a two-year deal to return to the Tigers. Veteran left-hander Kenny Rogers
also joined the Tigers from Texas in late 2005. These offseason additions set the stage for the resurgence of "Tiger Fever" in Detroit and its environs the following year.
, the team exploded and quickly rose to the top of the AL Central. The team reached a high point when they were 40 games over .500, but a second half swoon started to raise questions about the team's staying power. On August 27, a 7–1 victory over the Cleveland Indians
gave the Tigers their 82nd victory and their first winning season since 1993. On September 24, the Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals
11–4 to clinch their first playoff berth since 1987
. A division title seemed inevitable. All that was required was one win in the final five games of the season, which included three games against the Royals, whom the Tigers had manhandled much of the season. Unfortunately, the Tigers lost all five games and the division title went to the Minnesota Twins. The Tigers were the AL wild card winner, the first time a team from the AL Central had won the honor.
The playoffs saw the Tigers beat the heavily favored New York Yankees
3 games to 1 in the ALDS
and sweep the Oakland Athletics
in the 2006 ALCS
, thanks to a walk-off home run in Game 4 by right fielder Magglio Ordóñez. They advanced to the World Series
, where they lost to the underdog St. Louis Cardinals
in five games.
The Tigers would field competitive teams over the next four years, but struggles in the second half of all four years kept them from repeating their 2006 playoff appearance.
In 2007, the Tigers returned 22 of 25 players from their 2006 World Series roster, and traded for outfielder Gary Sheffield
, who had been a part of the 1997 Marlins World Series team managed by Jim Leyland. In addition to acquisitions, Dombrowski developed a productive farm system. Justin Verlander
and Joel Zumaya
, the most notable rookie contributors to the 2006 team, were followed by Andrew Miller
, who was drafted in 2006 and called up early in the 2007 campaign, and minor-leaguer Cameron Maybin
, an athletic five-tool outfielder ranked #6 in Baseball America
's 2007 Top-100 Prospects. The Tigers suffered from injuries in the 2007 season
, especially to their pitching staff. Kenny Rogers did not start until late June because of surgery to remove a blood-clot in his throwing arm. Other pitchers who were injured included Tim Byrdak
, Fernando Rodney
, Jair Jurrjens
and Joel Zumaya
.
With their fan base energized following the 2006 World Series appearance, the team would draw 3,047,133 paid customers in 2007, the third-highest attendance in the American League and the most in team history, surpassing the 2,704,794 customers at Tiger Stadium in 1984.
The 2007 Tigers had the best record in baseball in mid-July, but lost a few players to injuries and started to play poorly in the second half and fade from contention. This pattern of good starts followed by a poor second half would be repeated over the next three seasons. The Tigers gave up their division lead to the Cleveland Indians in early September and were officially eliminated from playoff competition on September 26, 2007, when the New York Yankees clinched a wild card berth. The Tigers, at 88-74, finished second in the AL Central.
The 2007 season included several highlights of historic significance for the Tigers franchise:
Going into the 2008 season
, the franchise traded for prominent talent in Edgar Rentería
(from the Atlanta Braves
) and Miguel Cabrera
and Dontrelle Willis
(from the Florida Marlins
). However, the Tigers (who now boasted the second-highest team payroll in the majors at over $138 million) began the regular season by losing seven straight games. The Tigers climbed back, and at the midway point of the season, they were 42–40. In the end, the team finished miserably, slumping to a 74–88 record. Justin Verlander finished with his worst season as a pro, as he went 11–17 with a 4.84 ERA. The Tigers also lost closer Todd Jones to retirement on September 25, 2008. Despite the disappointing season, the team set another attendance record in 2008, drawing 3,202,654 customers to Comerica Park.
In the 2009 season, the Detroit Tigers faced lowered expectations, and were predicted by some media to finish last in the AL Central. However, the Tigers started very hot, quickly gaining the lead in the AL Central and keeping it for much of the year. This was fueled primarily by the combination of pitching and defense.
The Tigers acquired starter Edwin Jackson
from the 2008 AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays
, and called up rookie and former #1 draft pick Rick Porcello
. Jackson was outstanding in the first half, making his first All-Star team, while Porcello was solid most of the year, posting a 14–9 record with a 3.96 ERA and displaying grit and maturity beyond his 20 years of age. Tigers ace Justin Verlander
bounced back from an off 2008 to win 19 games. He posted a 3.45 ERA and led the AL in strikeouts (269) to finish third in the AL Cy Young balloting. Fernando Rodney
assumed the closer role in spring training, replacing the retired Todd Jones. Rodney responded with 37 saves in 38 tries, while Bobby Seay
, Brandon Lyon
and young Ryan Perry
shored up the middle relief that plagued the team in 2007–08.
Despite the improvements, the Tigers again found themselves struggling to hold a lead in the AL Central during the second half of the season, and in particular, the final month. The offense they were known for in recent years slumped badly and was unable to support strong outings by the pitching staff. The team entered September with a 7-game lead on its AL Central rivals, but wound up tied with the Minnesota Twins
at 86 wins by the final day of the regular season. The season ended on October 6 with a 6–5 loss in 12 innings to the Twins in the tie-breaker game
, leaving the Tigers with an 86–77 record. The Tigers spent 146 days of the 2009 season in first place, but became the first team in Major League history to lose a three game lead with four games left to play.
Entering 2010, the Tigers parted ways with Curtis Granderson
and Edwin Jackson
as part of a three-way trade with the New York Yankees
and Arizona Diamondbacks
; in return they picked up outfield prospect Austin Jackson
and pitchers Phil Coke
, Max Scherzer
and Daniel Schlereth
. Key losses included Placido Polanco
, Fernando Rodney
and Brandon Lyon
, who all left via free agency. Key signings included a five-year contract extension for ace Justin Verlander
, and the acquisitions of All-Star closer José Valverde
and two-time World Series champion Johnny Damon
. Austin Jackson made the Tigers opening day roster, and was American League Rookie of the Month for April. 2010 also saw the debut of Brennan Boesch
, who was named the AL Rookie of the Month for May and June.
At the All-Star break, the Tigers were a half-game out of first place in the AL Central, behind the Chicago White Sox
. But a slow start after the break and injuries to three key players sent the Tigers into yet another second-half tailspin. The Tigers finished the season in third place with an 81–81 record, 13 games back of the division-winning Minnesota Twins
. While playing outstanding baseball at home, the Tigers were just 29–52 on the road. Only the Seattle Mariners
had fewer road wins than the Tigers among American League teams.
Among the 2010 season highlights were Miguel Cabrera hitting .328 with 38 home runs and an AL-best 126 RBI, earning the American League Silver Slugger Award at first base and finishing second in the AL MVP race (earning 5 of 28 first-place votes). Austin Jackson (.293 average, 103 runs, 181 hits, 27 stolen bases) finished second in the AL Rookie-of-the-Year voting. Justin Verlander enjoyed another strong season (18–9 record, 3.37 ERA, 219 strikeouts).
was pitching a perfect game against the Cleveland Indians
with 2 outs in the top of the ninth inning when first base umpire Jim Joyce
made a controversial call, ruling Jason Donald
safe at first. Video replay showed he was out. A tearful Joyce later said "I just cost that kid a perfect game. I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay." Later Galarraga told reporters Joyce apologized to him directly and gave him a hug. The next day, with Joyce umpiring home plate, Galarraga brought out the Tigers lineup card and the two hugged again. The sportsmanship
demonstrated by Galarraga and Joyce earned them both widespread praise for their handling of the incident. Despite large fan support for overturning the call, commissioner Bud Selig
let the call stand, but said he would look into expanding instant replay
for the future.
, outfielder Johnny Damon
and pitcher Jeremy Bonderman
. They also traded pitcher Armando Galarraga
to the Arizona Diamondbacks
for two minor league pitching prospects. Notable offseason additions included catcher/DH Victor Martinez, relief pitcher Joaquin Benoit
and starting pitcher Brad Penny
.
On May 7th, 2011, Justin Verlander
took a perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays
into the 8th inning, and after a walk to J.P. Arencibia, Verlander got his double play and went on to the 9th inning to complete his 2nd career no-hitter. It was the 7th no-hitter in Tigers history. He faced the minimum 27 batters and recorded 4 strikeouts with 1 walk and a pitch count of 108. In his next start, Justin went 5 and 2/3 against the Kansas City Royals
before surrendering his first hit, bringing his consecutive innings without a hit to a total of 15 2/3.
The Tigers sent five players to the 2011 All-Star Game. Catcher Alex Avila
was voted in as a starter, while Justin Verlander, Jose Valverde
and Miguel Cabrera
were added as reserves. (Verlander was unavailable to play in the game due to the scheduling of his regular-season starts.) Shortstop Jhonny Peralta
was later added to the All-Star team when the Yankees' Derek Jeter
was unable to play due to injury.
On August 27, Justin Verlander defeated the Minnesota Twins
, 6-4, to become the first Tiger since Bill Gullickson
in 1991 to win 20 games in a season. Verlander also became the first major league pitcher since Curt Schilling
in 2002 to reach 20 wins before the end of August.
In May, the Tigers were as many as eight games back of the first-place Cleveland Indians
, but slowly pulled back to near-even by the All-Star break. As a three-way battle for the division title developed between the Tigers, Indians, and Chicago White Sox
, the Tigers put together an 18-10 record in August to begin to pull away. After a loss on September 1, the Tigers reeled off a 12-game winning streak to put any thoughts of another late-season collapse to rest. The streak consisted of four consecutive three-game sweeps over their AL Central Division rivals. It was the Tigers longest winning streak since the 1934 team
won 14 straight. On September 16, the Tigers clinched the AL Central Division title with a 3–1 win over the Oakland Athletics
. It was their first AL Central title since joining the division in 1998, and first overall since 1987
. The Tigers clinched the division with 11 games left to play, tying the franchise record set by the 1984 team
.
Members of the 2011 Tigers won multiple statistical awards in 2011. Justin Verlander won the triple crown of pitching, leading the American League in wins (24), ERA (2.40) and strikeouts (250). José Valverde was the AL saves leader with 49 (in 49 save opportunities). Miguel Cabrera won the AL batting title with a .344 average.
On October 6, the Tigers beat the New York Yankees
3–2 in Game 5 of the ALDS
, winning the series 3–2. They advanced to the ALCS
, which they lost to the defending AL Champion Texas Rangers
, 4 games to 2.
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
, one of four clubs (with the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
, Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
and Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
) still located in its original city. Detroit is also the only member of the Western League, the AL's minor league predecessor, that remains in its original city under its original name. It was established as a charter member in 1894.
Early baseball in Detroit
Detroit's first major league entry was the Detroit WolverinesDetroit Wolverines
The Detroit Wolverines were a 19th century baseball team that played in the National League from 1881 to 1888 in the city of Detroit, Michigan. In total, they won 426 games and lost 437, taking their lone pennant in 1887. The team was disbanded following the 1888 season.-Franchise...
, a member of the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
from 1881 through 1888. The nickname, now associated with the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, came from Michigan's nickname, "The Wolverine
Michigan Wolverines
The Michigan Wolverines comprise 27 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except men's ice hockey which competes in the NCAA D1 Central Collegiate Hockey Association, and women's water polo, which...
State".
The Wolverines' best year was 1887. They won the National League pennant and an exhibition World Series
1887 World Series
The 1887 World Series was won by the Detroit Wolverines of the National League, over the St. Louis Browns of the American Association, 10 games to 5. It was played between October 10 and October 26, and played in numerous neutral cities, as well as in Detroit and St. Louis...
, defeating the American Association
American Association (19th century)
The American Association was a Major League Baseball league that existed for 10 seasons from to . During that time, it challenged the National League for dominance of professional baseball...
champion St. Louis Browns
1887 St. Louis Browns season
The St. Louis Browns season was the team's 6th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 6th season in the American Association. The Browns went 95-40 during the season and finished first in the American Association, winning their third pennant in a row...
, ten games to five. All 15 scheduled games of the series were played, as the clubs toured ten different cities.
The leading players were Hardy Richardson
Hardy Richardson
Abram Harding "Hardy" Richardson was a second basemen and outfielder mostly, who played in the Major Leagues for a number of teams throughout the 19th century. Most of Richardson's career was with the Buffalo Bisons...
, Jack Rowe
Jack Rowe
John Charles "Jack" Rowe was an American baseball player.Rowe was born in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, in 1911. He first played baseball under Tom Loftus with the Peoria Reds in 1878. In 1879, Rowe and his brother, Dave Rowe, signed with the Rockford team in the newly formed Northwestern League...
, Deacon White
Deacon White
James Laurie "Deacon" White was an American baseball player who was one of the principal stars during the first two decades of the sport's professional era...
, Charlie Getzein
Charlie Getzein
Charles H. "Pretzels" Getzien was a German starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. who played with the Detroit Wolverines , Indianapolis Hoosiers , Boston Beaneaters , Cleveland Spiders and St. Louis Browns , all of the National League...
and Hall of Famers "Big Sam" Thompson
Sam Thompson
Samuel Luther Thompson was a 19th century Major League Baseball player. "Big Sam" was known for his offensive production and was second on the career home runs list at the time of his retirement...
and Dan Brouthers
Dan Brouthers
Dennis Joseph "Dan" Brouthers was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball whose career spanned the period from to , with a brief return in...
. Thompson won the 1887 NL batting championship, making him the only NL batting winner from the traditionally AL city.
Despite the championship, the team did not draw enough fans to stay solvent at the major league level, as Detroit was at the time one of the smallest cities in the National League and its rapid industry-fueled growth was still several years in the future. Hall of Fame manager Ned Hanlon played all eight seasons in center field but there was high turnover otherwise. After the 1888 season, the team disbanded and the city was relegated to minor league
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
status. One new club formed and joined the International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
in 1889, and promptly won the league championship. Their fans' joy came to an abrupt end when the league temporarily disbanded in mid-1890 and took the team with it. An attempt was made to revive the old Northwestern League in 1891, but it also collapsed in mid-season, and Detroit professional baseball took a short hiatus.
The current Detroit club was a charter member when the Western League reorganized for the 1894 season. They originally played at Boulevard Park, sometimes called League Park. It was located on East Lafayette, then called Champlain Street, between Helen and East Grand Boulevard, near Belle Isle. In 1895, owner George Vanderbeck decided to build Bennett Park at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull Avenues, which would remain their base of operations for the next 104 seasons. The first game at the corner was an exhibition on April 13, 1896. The team, now occasionally called the "Tigers," beat a local semi-pro team, known as the Athletics, by a score of 30–3. They played their first Western League game at Bennett Park on April 28, 1896, defeating the Columbus Senators 17–2. (Richard Bak, A Place for Summer: A Narrative History of Tiger Stadium, 1998, pp. 58–59)
When the Western renamed itself the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
for 1900
1900 in baseball
-Champions:*Chronicle-Telegraph Cup: Brooklyn Superbas defeated Pittsburgh Pirates, 3 games to 1*National League: Brooklyn Superbas-Statistical leaders:-National League final standings:-Events:...
, it was still a minor league, but next year it broke with the National Agreement and declared itself major, openly competing with the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
for players, and for fans in three contested cities. For a few years there were rumors of abandoning Detroit to compete for Cincinnati or Pittsburgh but the two leagues made peace in 1903 after similar moves into St. Louis and New York.
The Tigers played their first game as a major league team at home against the Milwaukee Brewers
1901 Milwaukee Brewers season
The Milwaukee Brewers season was a season in American baseball. The Brewers finished eighth in the American League with a record of 48 wins and 89 losses, 35.5 games behind the Chicago White Stockings. After the season, the club left Milwaukee for St. Louis and became the St...
on April 25, 1901, with 10,000 fans at Bennett Park. (Richard Bak, A Place for Summer: A Narrative History of Tiger Stadium, 1998, pp. 73–74) After entering the ninth inning behind 13–4, the team staged a dramatic comeback to win 14–13. The team finished third in the eight-team league.
Detroit's blue laws prevented baseball from being played at Bennett Park on Sundays. Owner James D. Burns
James D. Burns
James D. Burns was an American businessman, sheriff, delegate, and owner of the Detroit Tigers in Major League Baseball....
built a ballpark on his own property named Burns Park where the Tigers played their Sunday home games for the 1901
1901 Major League Baseball season
The 1901 Major League Baseball season involved the inaugural season of the American League. The eight franchises that comprised the AL that year were the Baltimore Orioles, the Boston Americans, the Chicago White Stockings, the Cleveland Blues, the Detroit Tigers, the Milwaukee Brewers, the...
and 1902 seasons
1902 Major League Baseball season
The 1902 Major League Baseball season involved the Milwaukee Brewers moving to St. Louis and become the St. Louis Browns, and the Chicago Orphans were renamed as the Cubs.-Major league baseball final standings:...
.
11 years later, an elegant stadium was constructed on the site of Bennett Park and named Navin Field for owner Frank Navin
Frank Navin
Francis Joseph Navin was the principal owner of the Detroit Tigers in Major League Baseball for 27 years, from 1909 to 1935. He also served as vice president and acting president of the American League....
. In 1938 it was improved and named Briggs Stadium and renamed "Tiger Stadium" in 1961. Tiger Stadium was used by the Tigers until the end of the 1999 season; from 2000 they have played in Comerica Park
Comerica Park
Comerica Park is an open-air ballpark located in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It serves as the home of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball's American League, replacing historic Tiger Stadium in 2000....
.
The Tigers
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
. One involves the orange stripes they wore on their black stockings. Tigers manager George Stallings
George Stallings
George Tweedy Stallings was an American manager and player in Major League Baseball. His most famous achievement – leading the Boston Braves from last place in mid-July to the National League championship and a World Series sweep of the powerful Philadelphia Athletics – resulted in a nickname he...
took credit for the name; however, the name appeared in newspapers before Stallings was manager. Another legend concerns a sportswriter equating the 1901 team's opening day victory with the ferocity of his alma mater, the Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
Tigers
Princeton Tigers
The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 31 varsity sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, six in men's lacrosse, three in women's lacrosse, and eight in men's golf...
.
Richard Bak, in his 1998 book, A Place for Summer: A Narrative History of Tiger Stadium, pp. 46–49, explains that the name originated from the Detroit Light Guard military unit, who were known as "The Tigers". They had played significant roles in certain Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
battles and in the 1898 Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
. The baseball team was still informally called both "Wolverines" and "Tigers" in the news. The earliest known use of the name "Tigers" in the media was in the Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
on April 16, 1895. Upon entry into the majors, the ballclub sought and received formal permission from the Light Guard to use its trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
. From that day forth, the team has been officially called the Tigers.
The Cobb era (1905–1921)
1905 Major League Baseball season
The 1905 MLB Season had the second modern World Series. The New York Giants defeated the Philadelphia Athletics to win the World Series.-Final standings:-League leaders:-Postseason:...
, the team acquired Ty Cobb
Ty Cobb
Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb , nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Narrows, Georgia...
, a fearless player with a mean streak, who came to be regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. The addition of Cobb to an already talented team that included Sam Crawford
Sam Crawford
Samuel Earl Crawford , nicknamed "Wahoo Sam", was a Major League Baseball player who played outfield for the Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1957....
, Hughie Jennings
Hughie Jennings
Hugh Ambrose Jennings was a Major League Baseball player and manager from 1891 to 1925. Jennings was a leader, both as a batter and as a shortstop, with the Baltimore Orioles teams that won National League championships in 1894, 1895, and 1896. During the three championship seasons, Jennings had...
, Bill Donovan and George Mullin
George Mullin (baseball)
George Joseph Mullin was a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played fourteen seasons with the Detroit Tigers and Washington Senators of the American League and the Indianapolis Hoosiers/Newark Pepper of the Federal League.-Career Overview:Mullin holds the Detroit Tigers...
quickly yielded results, as the Tigers won their first American League pennant in 1907.
1907 American League Champions
Cobb and the Tigers lost in the 1907 World Series1907 World Series
The 1907 World Series featured the Chicago Cubs and the Detroit Tigers, with the Cubs winning the Series four games to none for their first championship....
against the Chicago Cubs
1907 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs season was a season in American baseball. The team finished in first place in the National League with a record of 107-45, 17 games ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was their second straight NL pennant...
. With the exception of Game 1, which ended in a rare tie, the Tigers failed to score more than one run in any game and lost four straight.
1908 American League Champions
The Cubs1908 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Cubs winning their third consecutive National League pennant, as well as the World Series...
would deny Detroit the title again in '08
1908 World Series
The 1908 World Series matched the defending champion Chicago Cubs against the Detroit Tigers in a rematch of the 1907 Series. In this first-ever rematch of this young event, the Cubs won in five games for their second consecutive title....
, holding Detroit to a .209 batting average for the series, which the Cubs again won in five games. This would, however, be the last World Championship won by the Chicago Cubs up to and including the present day.
1909 American League Champions
It was hoped that a new opponent in the 1909 Series1909 World Series
The 1909 World Series featured the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Detroit Tigers. The Pirates won the Series in seven games to capture their first championship of the modern Major League Baseball era and the second championship in the club's history....
, Pittsburgh
1909 Pittsburgh Pirates season
The 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates won the National League pennant with a record of 110–42. Led by shortstop Honus Wagner and outfielder-manager Fred Clarke, the Pirates scored the most runs in the majors. Wagner led the league in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and runs batted in...
, would yield different results, but the Tigers were blown out 8–0 in the decisive seventh game at Bennett Park.
1915
In 19151915 Major League Baseball season
- External links :*...
, the Tigers won a then-club record 100 games but narrowly lost the American League pennant to the Boston Red Sox
1915 Boston Red Sox season
The 1915 Boston Red Sox season involved the Red Sox finishing 1st in the American League with a record of 101 wins and 50 losses. They defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in 5 games in the World Series.-Opening Day lineup:-Roster:- Starters by position:...
who won 101 games. The 1915 Tigers were led by an outfield consisting of Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford, and Bobby Veach
Bobby Veach
Robert Hayes "Bobby" Veach was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball who played fourteen seasons for the Detroit Tigers , Boston Red Sox , New York Yankees and Washington Senators ....
that finished #1, #2, and #3 in RBIs and total bases. Cobb also set a stolen base record with 96 steals in 1915 that stood until 1962, when it was broken by Maury Wills
Maury Wills
Maurice Morning "Maury" Wills is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and switch-hitting batter who played most prominently with the Los Angeles Dodgers , and also with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Montreal Expos...
. Baseball historian Bill James
Bill James
George William “Bill” James is a baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books devoted to baseball history and statistics...
has ranked the 1915 Tigers outfield as the greatest in the history of major league baseball. The only team in Tigers' history with a better winning percentage than the 1915 squad was the 1934 team that lost the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals
1915 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 34th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 24th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 72-81 during the season and finished 6th in the National League...
.
1916–1920
In the teens and twenties, Cobb remained the marquee player on many Tigers teams that would remain mired in the middle of the American League. Cobb himself took over managerial duties in 1921, but during six years at the helm, his Tigers never had a record better than 86–68.1921
In 19211921 Major League Baseball season
The season ended when the New York Giants beat the New York Yankees in Game 8 of the World Series. 1921 was the first of three straight season in which the Yankees would lead the majors in wins. Babe Ruth broke the single season home run record for the third consecutive season by hitting 59 home...
, the Tigers amassed 1724 hits and a team batting average of .316—the highest team hit total and batting average in American League history. (The Elias Book of Baseball Records, 2008, p. 88) That year, outfielders Harry Heilmann
Harry Heilmann
Harry Edwin Heilmann , nicknamed “Slug,” was a Major League Baseball player who played 17 seasons with the Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1952.Heilmann was a line drive hitter who won four American League batting crowns: in 1921, 1923, 1925 and...
and Ty Cobb finished #1 and #2 in the American League batting race with batting averages of .394 and .389. As early proof of the baseball adage that good pitching beats good hitting, the downfall of the 1921 Tigers was the absence of good pitching. The team ERA was 4.40, and they allowed nine or more runs 28 times. Without pitching to support the offense, the 1921 Tigers finished in sixth place in the American League, 27 games behind the Yankees
1921 New York Yankees season
The New York Yankees season was the 19th season for the Yankees in New York and their 21st overall. The team finished with a record of 98-55, winning their first pennant in franchise history, winning the American League by 4½ games over the previous year's champion, the Cleveland Indians. New York...
with a record of 71–82.
The Tigers break through (1922–44)
1922–1933
The Tiger teams of the 1930s were consistently among the league's best with "Black Mike" Mickey CochraneMickey Cochrane
Gordon Stanley "Mickey" Cochrane was a professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers...
behind the plate, slugger Hank Greenberg
Hank Greenberg
Henry Benjamin "Hank" Greenberg , nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank" or "The Hebrew Hammer," was an American professional baseball player in the 1930s and 1940s. A first baseman primarily for the Detroit Tigers, Greenberg was one of the premier power hitters of his generation...
at first, and consistent Charlie Gehringer
Charlie Gehringer
Charles Leonard Gehringer , nicknamed “The Mechanical Man,” was a German-American Major League Baseball second baseman who played 19 seasons for the Detroit Tigers...
, "The Mechanical Man", at second. All three players are in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
1934 American League Champions
The Tigers won the AL Pennant but would lose again in the 1934 World Series1934 World Series
The 1934 World Series matched the St. Louis Cardinals against the Detroit Tigers, with the Cardinals' "Gashouse Gang" winning in seven games for their third championship in nine years....
in seven games to the "Gashouse Gang
Gashouse Gang
The Gashouse Gang was a nickname applied to the St. Louis Cardinals Major League Baseball team of .The Cardinals, by most accounts, earned this nickname from the team's generally very shabby appearance and rough-and-tumble tactics...
" St. Louis Cardinals
1934 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 53rd season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 43rd season in the National League. The Cardinals went 95-58 during the season and finished first in the National League...
. Again, when the chips were down in the deciding game, Detroit folded, giving up seven third-inning runs and losing Game Seven 11–0 at Navin Field (Tiger Stadium). The game was marred by an ugly incident. After spiking Tiger third baseman Marv Owen
Marv Owen
Marvin James Owen was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball. He played nine seasons in the American League with the Detroit Tigers , Chicago White Sox , and Boston Red Sox ....
in the sixth inning, the Cardinals' Joe "Ducky" Medwick
Joe Medwick
Joseph Michael Medwick , nicknamed "Ducky", was an American Major League Baseball player. A left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals during the "Gashouse Gang" era of the 1930s, he also played for the Brooklyn Dodgers , New York Giants , and Boston Braves...
had to be removed from the game for his own safety by Commissioner
Commissioner of Baseball
The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive of Major League Baseball and its associated minor leagues. Under the direction of the Commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts...
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death...
after being pelted with fruit and garbage from angry fans in the large temporary bleacher section in left field.
1935 World Series Champions
With a lineup that featured four future Hall of Famers (Hank GreenbergHank Greenberg
Henry Benjamin "Hank" Greenberg , nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank" or "The Hebrew Hammer," was an American professional baseball player in the 1930s and 1940s. A first baseman primarily for the Detroit Tigers, Greenberg was one of the premier power hitters of his generation...
, Mickey Cochrane
Mickey Cochrane
Gordon Stanley "Mickey" Cochrane was a professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers...
, Goose Goslin
Goose Goslin
Leon Allen "Goose" Goslin was a left fielder in Major League Baseball known for his powerful left-handed swing and dependable clutch hitting. He played 18 seasons with the Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns, and Detroit Tigers, from until...
and Charlie Gehringer
Charlie Gehringer
Charles Leonard Gehringer , nicknamed “The Mechanical Man,” was a German-American Major League Baseball second baseman who played 19 seasons for the Detroit Tigers...
), the Tigers eventually won the World Series
1935 World Series
The 1935 World Series featured the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago Cubs, with the Tigers winning in six games for their first championship in five Series appearances. They had lost in , , , and ....
the following year, defeating the Cubs
1935 Chicago Cubs season
- Regular season :Gabby Hartnett was the first National League catcher to win the MVP Award.- Roster :- Starters by position :Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in...
, 4 games to 2. Game 6 concluded with Goslin's dramatic game-ending single, scoring Cochrane to seal a 4–3 victory.
1936–1940
Despite being forecast to win the American League title again in 1936 the Tigers returned to the middle of the American League standings in the late 1930s. At the close of the 1938 season, however, the Tigers presciently held out doubts about a pennant in 1939, but figured that 1940 would be their year.1940 American League Champions
The Tigers won the American League Championship and reached the World Series1940 World Series
The 1940 World Series matched the Cincinnati Reds against the Detroit Tigers, with the Reds winning the Series in seven games for their second championship, their first since the scandal-tainted victory in...
once again. But the Tigers lost the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds
1940 Cincinnati Reds season
The Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. The team finished first in the National League with a record of 100-53, winning the pennant by 12 games over the Brooklyn Dodgers...
in a seven-game series. This was the third time the Tigers had lost a World Series in a deciding seventh game.
1945 World Series Champions
With the end of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the timely return of Hank Greenberg and others from the military, the Tigers took the 1945 American League pennant. With Virgil Trucks
Virgil Trucks
Virgil Oliver Trucks is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1941 through 1958, Trucks played for the Detroit Tigers , St. Louis Browns , Chicago White Sox , Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees . He batted and threw right-handed...
, Hal Newhouser
Hal Newhouser
Harold "Prince Hal" Newhouser was an American pitcher for Major League Baseball who played 17 seasons from 1939 to 1955, mostly with the Detroit Tigers of the American League...
and Dizzy Trout
Dizzy Trout
Paul Howard "Dizzy" Trout was a Major League Baseball pitcher primarily for the Detroit Tigers. Born in Sandcut, Indiana, he first played professionally in 1935 with the Terre Haute Tots in the Three-I League before signing with Detroit in 1939.Trout played for the Tigers for fourteen seasons,...
on the mound and Greenberg leading the Tiger bats, Detroit responded in a Game 7 for the first time, staking Newhouser to a 5–0 lead before he threw a pitch en route to a 9–3 victory over the Cubs
1945 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs season was a season in American baseball. The team won the National League pennant with a record of 98-56, 3 games ahead of the second-place St. Louis Cardinals. The team went on to the 1945 World Series, which they lost to the Detroit Tigers in seven games...
. Because many baseball stars had not yet returned from the military, some baseball scholars have deemed the '45 Series
1945 World Series
-Game 1:Wednesday, October 3, 1945 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Michigan-Game 2:Thursday, October 4, 1945 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Michigan-Game 3:Friday, October 5, 1945 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Michigan...
to be among the worst-played contests in Series history. For example, prior to the Series, Chicago sportswriter Warren Brown
Warren Brown (sportswriter)
Warren Brown was an American sportswriter who spent the major portion of his career in Chicago, Illinois. Brown was born in Somersville, California, a mining town near San Francisco. His father Patrick was the local saloon keeper...
was asked who he liked, and he answered, "I don't think either one of them can win it!" But the Cubs had no answer to Greenberg, and the Series went Detroit's way.
1946–60
After their 1945 Series win, the Tigers sank back to the middle of the pack in the American League for most of the 1950s. Notwithstanding Detroit's fall in the standings, the decade saw the debut of outfielder Al KalineAl Kaline
Albert William "Al" Kaline is a former Major League Baseball right fielder. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Kaline played his entire 22-year baseball career with the Detroit Tigers. Kaline still works for the Tigers as a front office official. Because of his lengthy career and...
. One of the few Major League players who never played a day in the minor leagues, he would hit over .300 nine times in his career. He also made 15 All-Star teams, won 10 Gold Gloves, and featured one of the league's best arms in right field. In 1955, the 20-year old Kaline hit .340 to became the youngest-ever batting champion in major league history.
The 1950s also saw the Tigers as the 15th of the then 16 MLB teams to field an African-American player. In the Tigers' case, it was an Afro-Caribbean player, Ozzie Virgil, Sr.
Ozzie Virgil, Sr.
Osvaldo José Virgil broke the color barrier for Detroit in 1958. He served in the U.S. Marines from 1950 to 1952...
, who integrated the Tigers in 1958. Only the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
trailed the Tigers in integrating their roster
Baseball color line
The color line in American baseball excluded players of black African descent from Organized Baseball, or the major leagues and affiliated minor leagues, until Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization for the 1946 season...
.
1961
As the American League expanded from 8 to 10 teams, Detroit began its slow ascent back to success with an outstanding 19611961 Major League Baseball season
The New York Yankees defeated the Cincinnati Reds in five games in the World Series. The season is most well known for Yankee teammates Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle's pursuit of Babe Ruth's prestigious 34-year-old single-season home run record of 60...
campaign. They won 101 games but still finished eight games behind the Yankees
1961 New York Yankees season
The New York Yankees season was the 59th season for the team in New York, and its 61st season overall. The team finished with a record of 109-53, eight games ahead of the Detroit Tigers, and won their 26th American League pennant. New York was managed by Ralph Houk. The Yankees played their home...
, one of the few times a team had failed to reach the postseason despite winning over 100 games. First baseman Norm Cash
Norm Cash
Norman Dalton Cash was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball who spent almost his entire career with the Detroit Tigers...
had the best batting average in the American League, a remarkably high .361, while teammate Al Kaline finished second. Cash never hit over .286 before or after the '61 season, and would later say of the accomplishment: "It was a freak. Even at the time, I realized that." Cash's plate heroics, which also included 41 home runs and 132 RBI, might have earned him MVP honors that season were it not for New York's Roger Maris
Roger Maris
Roger Eugene Maris was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. During the 1961 season, he hit a record 61 home runs for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs...
bashing a record 61 homers the same year.
The 1961 club featured two nonwhite starters, Jake Wood
Jake Wood (baseball)
Jacob "Jake" Wood Jr. , was a Major League Baseball player who played seven seasons in the Major Leagues with the Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds . Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Wood was the Tigers' starting second baseman from 1961-1963. After 1963, Wood was a utility infielder and backup...
and Bill Bruton
Bill Bruton
William Havon Bruton was a Major League Baseball center fielder who played for the Milwaukee Braves in 1953 through 1960, and for the Detroit Tigers in 1961 through 64. Bruton batted left-handed and threw right-handed...
, and later in the 1960s, black players such as Willie Horton, Earl Wilson, and Gates Brown
Gates Brown
William James "Gates" Brown is a former Major League Baseball player who spent his entire career with the Detroit Tigers...
would contribute to Detroit's rise in the standings.
1962–66
As a strong nucleus developed, Detroit repeatedly posted winning records throughout the 1960s. Pitchers Mickey LolichMickey Lolich
Michael Stephen Lolich is a former Major League Baseball pitcher from 1962 until 1979 who played the majority of his career with the Detroit Tigers.-Baseball career:...
and Denny McLain
Denny McLain
Dennis Dale "Denny" McLain is a former American professional baseball player, and the last major league pitcher to win 30 or more games during a season —a feat accomplished by only thirteen players in the 20th century....
entered the rotation during the middle of the decade, with outfielders Willie Horton (1963), Mickey Stanley
Mickey Stanley
Mitchell Jack "Mickey" Stanley was a baseball player for the Detroit Tigers from 1964-1978. Stanley was known as a superb defensive outfielder over his 15-year career, though he is best remembered for the last few weeks of the 1968 season.-Early life:Stanley prepped at Ottawa Hills High School in...
(1964) and Jim Northrup (1964) also coming aboard at this time.
The team managed a third-place finish during a bizarre 1966 season
1966 Major League Baseball season
The 1966 Major League Baseball season was held between the American and National Leagues. The Braves play their first season in Atlanta, following their relocation from Milwaukee. Three new stadiums opened that season. On April 12, the Braves ushered in Atlanta Stadium with the Pittsburgh...
, in which manager Chuck Dressen
Chuck Dressen
Charles Walter Dressen , known as both "Chuck" and "Charlie," was an American third baseman, manager and coach in professional baseball during a career that lasted almost fifty years, and was best known as the manager of the powerful Brooklyn Dodgers of 1951–1953...
and acting manager Bob Swift
Bob Swift
Robert Virgil Swift was an American catcher, coach, manager and scout in Major League Baseball.Swift is pictured in one of the most famous photographs in American sporting history. He was the catcher for the Detroit Tigers on August 19, 1951, when St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck sent midget...
were both forced to resign their posts because of health problems. Thereafter, Frank Skaff
Frank Skaff
Francis Michael Skaff was an infielder, coach, manager and scout in American Major League Baseball. Skaff's half-season as acting manager of the Detroit Tigers is one of the most unusual, and tragic, happenstances in baseball annals.Skaff began 1966 as a Detroit coach...
took over the managerial reins until the end of the season. Both Dressen and Swift died during the year – Dressen in August because of a kidney infection, Swift in October due to cancer. Skaff was replaced by Mayo Smith
Mayo Smith
Edward Mayo Smith was an American player, manager, and scout in Major League Baseball.Smith was born in New London, Missouri, but grew up in Florida. A left-handed batter who threw right-handed, Smith was a career minor league outfielder who spent many seasons in the International League with the...
in 1967, perhaps the last step before World Series contention.
1967
Indeed, in 19671967 Major League Baseball season
The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Boston Red Sox four games to three in the 64th World Series, which was the first World Series appearance for the Red Sox in 21 years. Following the season, the Kansas City Athletics relocated to Oakland.-Awards and honors:...
the Tigers were involved in one of the closest pennant races in history. They needed to sweep a doubleheader from the California Angels
1967 California Angels season
The California Angels season involved the Angels finishing 5th in the American League with a record of 84 wins and 77 losses, 7½ games behind the AL Champion Boston Red Sox.- Offseason :...
on the last day of the season to force a one-game playoff
One-game playoff
A one-game playoff, sometimes known as a pennant playoff or play-in game, is a tiebreaker in certain sports—usually but not always professional—to determine which of two teams, tied in the final standings, will qualify for a post-season tournament...
with the Boston Red Sox
1967 Boston Red Sox season
The Boston Red Sox season, often referred to as The Impossible Dream, consisted of the Red Sox shocking New England and the rest of the baseball world by winning the American League Championship and reaching the World Series for the first time since 1946...
. They won the first game but lost the second, giving the Red Sox the flag with no playoff. Detroit finished the season at 91–71, a single game behind Boston. Starter Earl Wilson, acquired the previous season from the Red Sox, led the Tigers with 22 wins and would form a strong 1–2–3 combination with Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich over the next few years.
Glory in '68 (1968 World Series Champions)
The Tigers finally returned to the World Series in 19681968 Major League Baseball season
The Athletics played their first season in Oakland this year, following the team's relocation from Kansas City. It was also the last season of play before each of the two leagues were split into divisions for the following season.-The Year of the Pitcher:...
. The team grabbed first place away from the Baltimore Orioles
1968 Baltimore Orioles season
The 1968 Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. The team finished second in the American League with a record of 91 wins and 71 losses, 12 games behind the AL and World Series champion Detroit Tigers. The team was managed by Hank Bauer, until he was replaced right after the...
on May 10 and would not relinquish the position, clinching the pennant on September 17 and finishing with a 103–59 record. In a year that was marked by dominant pitching, starter Denny McLain
Denny McLain
Dennis Dale "Denny" McLain is a former American professional baseball player, and the last major league pitcher to win 30 or more games during a season —a feat accomplished by only thirteen players in the 20th century....
went 31–6 (with a 1.96 ERA), the first time a pitcher had won 30 or more games in a season since the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
' Dizzy Dean
Dizzy Dean
Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the last National League pitcher to win 30 games in one season. Dean was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953....
accomplished the feat in 1934; no pitcher has accomplished it since. McLain was unanimously voted American League Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
winner for his efforts.
In the 1968 World Series
1968 World Series
The 1968 World Series featured the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals against the Detroit Tigers, with the Tigers winning in seven games for their first championship since 1945, and the third in their history...
, the Tigers met the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals
1968 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 87th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 77th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 97-65 during the season, winning their second consecutive NL pennant, this time by nine games over the San Francisco Giants. They lost in 7 games to the...
, led by starter Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
(who had posted a record 1.12 ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
during the regular season) and speedy outfielder Lou Brock
Lou Brock
Louis Clark "Lou" Brock is an American former professional baseball player. He began his Major League Baseball career with the Chicago Cubs but, spent the majority of his career as the left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Brock was best known for breaking Ty Cobb's all-time major league...
. The series was predicated with a bold decision by manager Mayo Smith to play center fielder Mickey Stanley
Mickey Stanley
Mitchell Jack "Mickey" Stanley was a baseball player for the Detroit Tigers from 1964-1978. Stanley was known as a superb defensive outfielder over his 15-year career, though he is best remembered for the last few weeks of the 1968 season.-Early life:Stanley prepped at Ottawa Hills High School in...
at shortstop, replacing the slick fielding but weak hitting of Ray Oyler
Ray Oyler
Raymond Francis Oyler was an American Major League Baseball shortstop. He played for the Detroit Tigers , Seattle Pilots , and California Angels...
. Stanley had never played shortstop before, but was a gold glover in the outfield and an excellent athlete. Smith started him at short for the final nine games of the regular season and all seven World Series games, with Oyler only appearing as a late-inning defensive replacement. This allowed Smith to play an outfield of Willie Horton, Jim Northrup and Al Kaline
Al Kaline
Albert William "Al" Kaline is a former Major League Baseball right fielder. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Kaline played his entire 22-year baseball career with the Detroit Tigers. Kaline still works for the Tigers as a front office official. Because of his lengthy career and...
in every Series game.
In Game 1, Gibson completely shut down the Detroit lineup, striking out 17 batters, still a World Series record, en route to an easy 4–0 win. However, due in no small part to pitcher Mickey Lolich
Mickey Lolich
Michael Stephen Lolich is a former Major League Baseball pitcher from 1962 until 1979 who played the majority of his career with the Detroit Tigers.-Baseball career:...
's victories in Games 2 and 5, the Tigers climbed back into the Series. Many fans believe the turning point in the Series came in the fifth inning of Game 5, with the Tigers down three games to one, and trailing in the game, 3–2. Left fielder Willie Horton made a perfect throw to home plate to nail Lou Brock (who tried to score from second base standing up), as catcher Bill Freehan
Bill Freehan
William Ashley Freehan is a former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career as a catcher for the Detroit Tigers...
blocked the plate with his foot. The Tigers came back with three runs in the seventh to win that game, 5–3, and stay alive in the Series. The Cardinals would not threaten to score the rest of this game, and scored only two more meaningless runs over the remainder of the series. In Game 6, McLain ensured a Game 7 by notching his only win of the Series, a 13–1 blowout, despite pitching on only two days' rest.
In Game 7 at Busch Memorial Stadium
Busch Memorial Stadium
Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch Stadium, was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri that operated from 1966 to 2005....
, Lolich, also pitching on two days' rest, faced Gibson. Both men pitched brilliantly, putting zeros up on the scoreboard for much of the game. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Cardinals looked primed to take the lead as Lou Brock singled to lead off the inning, only to be promptly picked off first base by Lolich. One out later, Curt Flood
Curt Flood
Curtis Charles Flood was a Major League Baseball player who spent most of his career as a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. A defensive standout, he led the National League in putouts four times and in fielding percentage twice, winning Gold Glove Awards in his last seven full seasons...
followed with another single, and was also picked off first by Lolich. In the top of the seventh, an exhausted Gibson finally cracked, giving up singles to Norm Cash
Norm Cash
Norman Dalton Cash was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball who spent almost his entire career with the Detroit Tigers...
and Willie Horton. Jim Northrup then struck the decisive blow, lashing a triple to center field over the head of Flood, who appeared to mis-judge how hard the ball was hit. That scored both Cash and Horton; Northrup himself was then brought home by a Bill Freehan double. Detroit added an insurance run in the ninth. A solo home run by Mike Shannon
Mike Shannon
Thomas Michael Shannon is an American-born former Major League Baseball player and current radio sportscaster.Shannon is a radio broadcaster for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was raised in St. Louis, Missouri and played with the Cardinals during some of the team's most successful years...
was all the Cardinals could muster against Lolich as the Tigers took the game, 4–1, and the Series, 4–3. For his three victories that propelled the Tigers to the World championship, Lolich was named the World Series Most Valuable Player
World Series MVP Award
The World Series Most Valuable Player Award is given to the player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the Major League Baseball postseason...
.
This was the greatest comeback in World Series history. No other team has been behind 3 games to 1 and down by 3 runs in the 5th game to win the 5th, 6th and 7th games.
In its "The End of the Century" series, ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
rated Mayo Smith
Mayo Smith
Edward Mayo Smith was an American player, manager, and scout in Major League Baseball.Smith was born in New London, Missouri, but grew up in Florida. A left-handed batter who threw right-handed, Smith was a career minor league outfielder who spent many seasons in the International League with the...
's decision to move Stanley to shortstop for the 1968 World Series
1968 World Series
The 1968 World Series featured the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals against the Detroit Tigers, with the Tigers winning in seven games for their first championship since 1945, and the third in their history...
as one of the 10 greatest coaching decisions of the 20th century.
1969–71
19691969 Major League Baseball season
The 1969 Major League Baseball season was celebrated as the 100th anniversary of professional baseball, honoring the first professional touring baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings. A special silhouetted batter logo was created by Jerry Dior to commemorate the anniversary, and is still used...
saw further expansion as both leagues realigned into two divisions of six teams, and the Tigers were placed in the American League East
American League East
The American League Eastern Division is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions . This division was created before the start of the 1969 season along with the Western Division...
. That year, Detroit
1969 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers season was a season in American baseball. The team finished a distant second in the newly-established American League East with a record of 90-72, 19 games behind the Baltimore Orioles.- Offseason :...
failed to defend its '68 title, despite Denny McLain having another outstanding year with a 24-9 campaign. The Tigers' 90 wins placed them a distant second in the division to a very strong Baltimore Orioles team
1969 Baltimore Orioles season
The 1969 Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. In the first season after the American League was split into two divisions, the Orioles won the first-ever American League East title, finishing first with a record of 109 wins and 53 losses, 19 games ahead of the runner-up...
, which had won 109 games.
McLain, suspended three times in 1970
1970 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fourth in the American League East with a record of 79-83, 29 games behind the Baltimore Orioles.- Offseason :...
, was only 3-5 that season and was traded after the season was done. Mayo Smith was also let go after a disappointing fourth-place finish in 1970
1970 Major League Baseball season
The Seattle Pilots relocated to Milwaukee and became the Brewers, thus returning Major League Baseball to Wisconsin for the first time since the relocation of the Milwaukee Braves to Atlanta following the 1965 season.-Champions:...
, to be replaced by Billy Martin
Billy Martin
Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin, Jr. was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager. He is best known as the manager of the New York Yankees, a position he held five different times...
. Following his playing career with the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
, Martin had worked in the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
organization, managing that team to an AL West Division title in 1969. But he was fired after that season due to rocky relationships with his players, which included a legendary fight with pitcher Dave Boswell
Dave Boswell
David Wilson Boswell was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played in the American League for the Minnesota Twins from 1964-1971....
in an alley behind Detroit's Lindell AC sports bar. He would spend the 1970 season out of baseball.
Martin's Tigers
1971 Detroit Tigers season
The 1971 Detroit Tigers finished in second place in the American League East with a 91-71 record, 12 games behind the Orioles. They outscored their opponents 701 to 645...
posted 91 wins in 1971
1971 Major League Baseball season
The 1971 Major League Baseball season was also the final season for the Senators in Washington, D.C., before the team's relocation to the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb Arlington for the following season, as the Texas Rangers, leaving the Nation's capital without a baseball team of their own until...
, but again had to settle for a second-place finish behind the Orioles, who won 101 games to take their third straight AL East Division crown. The season was highlighted by Mickey Lolich's 308 strikeouts, which led the AL and is still the Detroit Tigers single-season record as of 2011. Lolich also won 25 games and posted a 2.92 ERA.
1972 AL East Champions
After the 1970 regular season, Denny McLain was traded to the Washington SenatorsTexas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
in what would turn out to be a heist for Detroit. The club acquired pitcher Joe Coleman, shortstop Eddie Brinkman and third baseman Aurelio Rodríguez
Aurelio Rodríguez
Aurelio Rodríguez Ituarte, Jr. , was a third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the California Angels , Washington Senators , Detroit Tigers , San Diego Padres , New York Yankees , Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles...
, all of whom would play critical roles in 1972
1972 Major League Baseball season
The 1972 Major League Baseball season was the first to have games cancelled by a player strike. It was also the last season in which American League pitchers would hit for themselves on a regular basis; the designated hitter rule would go into effect the following season.-Labor strife and more...
when the Tigers captured their first AL East division title. Oddities of the schedule due to an early-season strike allowed the 86-70 Tigers to win the division by just ½ game, just as they had won the pennant in 1908. Brinkman was named Tiger of the Year by the Detroit Baseball Writers, despite a .205 batting average, as he committed just 7 errors in 728 chances (.990 fielding percentage) and had a 72-game errorless streak during the season. Mickey Lolich was his steady self for the Tigers, winning 22 games, while Coleman won 19. Starter Woodie Fryman
Woodie Fryman
Woodrow Thompson Fryman was a Major League Baseball pitcher. A two-time National League All-Star, he is best remembered as the mid-season acquisition that helped lead the Detroit Tigers to the 1972 American League Championship Series.-Pittsburgh Pirates:Fryman was 25 years old when he signed with...
, acquired on August 2, was the final piece of the puzzle as he went 10–3 over the last two months of the regular season.
In the 1972 American League Championship Series
1972 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 7, 1972 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, CaliforniaGame 1 pitted ace pitchers Catfish Hunter for the A's and Mickey Lolich for the Tigers, and, as expected, both were brilliant...
, Detroit faced the American League West
American League West
The American League West is one of three divisions in Major League Baseball's American League. The division currently has four teams, but it has had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams currently only reside along the west coast and in Texas, historically the...
division champion Oakland Athletics
1972 Oakland Athletics season
The Oakland Athletics season involved the A's winning the American League West with a record of 93 wins and 62 losses. In the playoffs, they defeated the Detroit Tigers in a five-game ALCS, followed by a seven-game World Series, in which they defeated the Cincinnati Reds for their first World...
, who had become steadily competitive ever since the 1969 realignment. In Game 1 of the ALCS in Oakland, Lolich, the hero of '68, took the hill and allowed just one run over nine innings. Al Kaline
Al Kaline
Albert William "Al" Kaline is a former Major League Baseball right fielder. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Kaline played his entire 22-year baseball career with the Detroit Tigers. Kaline still works for the Tigers as a front office official. Because of his lengthy career and...
hit a solo homer to break a 1–1 tie in the 11th inning, only to be charged with an error on Gonzalo Marquez
Gonzalo Márquez
Gonzalo Enrique Márquez Moya was a professional baseball first baseman. A left-handed batter, he played parts of three seasons in Major League Baseball for the Oakland Athletics and Chicago Cubs...
's game-tying single that allowed Gene Tenace
Gene Tenace
Fury Gene Tenace , better known as Gene Tenace, is a former Italian-American professional baseball player and current coach in Major League Baseball. He was a catcher and first baseman from through . Tenace was drafted by the Kansas City Athletics from Valley High School in Lucasville, OH and...
to score the winning run. Blue Moon Odom
Blue Moon Odom
Johnny Lee Odom was a Major League Baseball pitcher who won three consecutive World Series championships with the Oakland Athletics in , and .-Early years:...
shut down Detroit 5–0 in Game 2. The end of Game 2 was marred by an ugly incident in which Tiger reliever Lerrin Lagrow
Lerrin LaGrow
Lerrin Harris LaGrow was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played 10 seasons in the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers , St...
hit A's shortstop and leadoff hitter Bert Campaneris
Bert Campaneris
Dagoberto Campaneris Blanco , nicknamed "Campy", is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for four American League teams, primarily the Kansas City and Oakland Athletics...
on the ankle with a pitch. An angered Campaneris flung the bat at Lagrow, and Lagrow ducked just in time for the bat to sail over his head. A bench-clearing brawl ensued, and both players were suspended for the remainder of the series.
As the series shifted to Detroit, the Tigers caught their stride. Joe Coleman held the A's scoreless on seven hits in Game 3, a 3–0 Tiger victory. In Game 4, Oakland scored two runs in the top of the 10th and put the Tigers down to their last three outs. Detroit pushed two runs across the plate to tie the game before Jim Northrup came through in the clutch again. His single off Dave Hamilton
Dave Hamilton (baseball)
David Edward Hamilton is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who won three World Series championships as a member of the Oakland Athletics in the early 1970s.-Oakland A's:...
scored Gates Brown
Gates Brown
William James "Gates" Brown is a former Major League Baseball player who spent his entire career with the Detroit Tigers...
and evened the series at 2 games apiece.
A first-inning run on a Gene Tenace
Gene Tenace
Fury Gene Tenace , better known as Gene Tenace, is a former Italian-American professional baseball player and current coach in Major League Baseball. He was a catcher and first baseman from through . Tenace was drafted by the Kansas City Athletics from Valley High School in Lucasville, OH and...
passed ball gave Detroit an early lead in the deciding fifth and final game in Detroit, but Reggie Jackson
Reggie Jackson
Reginald Martinez "Reggie" Jackson , nicknamed "Mr. October" for his clutch hitting in the postseason with the New York Yankees, is a former American Major League Baseball right fielder. During a 21-year baseball career, he played from 1967-1987 for four different teams. Jackson currently serves as...
's steal of home in the 2nd tied it up. Tenace's two-out single to left field gave Oakland a 2–1 lead in the fourth inning. The run was controversial to many Tiger fans, as George Hendrick
George Hendrick
George Andrew Hendrick Jr. is a former major league outfielder for the Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates and California Angels. However Hendrick is best remembered as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, for whom he played for from 1979–84. He was a...
was ruled safe at first base just prior to the Tenace hit. Hendrick appeared to be out by two steps on a grounder to second, but umpire John Rice ruled that Norm Cash pulled his foot off first base. Replays and photos, however, show that Cash did not pull his foot. Thanks to that play and four innings of scoreless relief from Vida Blue
Vida Blue
Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. During a 17-year career, he pitched for the Oakland Athletics , San Francisco Giants , and Kansas City Royals He won the American League Cy Young award and Most Valuable Player Award in 1971...
, the A's took the American League pennant and a spot in the World Series
1972 World Series
The 1972 World Series matched the American League champion Oakland Athletics against the National League champion Cincinnati Reds, with the A's winning in seven games. These two teams would meet again in the fall classic eighteen years later...
.
A slow decline (1973–78)
Martin did not survive the 1973 season1973 Major League Baseball season
The 1973 Major League Baseball season was the first season of play for the designated hitter in the American League. The Kansas City Royals moved their home games from Municipal Stadium to the new Royals Stadium, adjacent to the Chiefs' football facility, Arrowhead Stadium...
as manager and the Tigers spent much of the next decade in the middle or lower ranks of the AL East. In 1974
1974 Major League Baseball season
The 1974 Major League Baseball season was held between the American and National Leagues. The Oakland Athletics won their third consecutive World Series, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers four games to one....
, Ralph Houk
Ralph Houk
Ralph George Houk , nicknamed The Major, was an American catcher, coach, manager, and front office executive in Major League Baseball...
, who managed the dominant Yankee teams of the early 1960s, was named manager of the Tigers. "The Major" served in that capacity for five full seasons, through the end of the 1978 season
1978 Major League Baseball season
The 1978 Major League Baseball season saw the New York Yankees defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers to win their second consecutive World Series, and 22nd overall, in a rematch of the prior season's Fall Classic...
. The roster of players who played under Houk were mostly aging veterans from the 1960s, whose performance had slipped from their peak years. Perhaps the biggest signal of decline for the Tigers was the retirement of Kaline following the 1974 season, after he notched his 3000th career hit. Kaline finished with 3007 hits and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1980.
A feel-good story emerged in late 1973, as Martin was lured to a Michigan prison to watch Detroiter Ron LeFlore
Ron LeFlore
Ronald LeFlore is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played six seasons with the Detroit Tigers before being traded to the Montreal Expos, retiring as a Chicago White Sox in . He stole 455 bases in his career, and was an American League All-Star selection in 1976...
play an inmate baseball game. LeFlore, who was serving a sentence for his involvement in an armed robbery, would earn a tryout at Tiger Stadium and made the team the following year under Houk. He would go on to have several productive seasons with the Tigers, Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
and Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
, finishing with a career .288 batting average and 455 stolen bases. His story was documented in a book (Breakout: From Prison to the Big Leagues) and a TV Movie starring LeVar Burton
LeVar Burton
Levardis Robert Martyn Burton, Jr. , professionally known as LeVar Burton, is an American actor, director, producer and author who first came to prominence portraying Kunta Kinte in the 1977 award-winning ABC television miniseries Roots, based on the novel by Alex Haley...
(One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story was a 1978 made for TV movie telling the story of Ron LeFlore, a troubled Detroit youth who rose from Michigan prisons to star in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers...
).
1976
Tiger fans were provided a glimmer of hope when 21-year old rookie Mark FidrychMark Fidrych
Mark Steven Fidrych , nicknamed "The Bird", was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched his entire career for the Detroit Tigers ....
made his debut in 1976
1976 Major League Baseball season
The 1976 Major League Baseball season was the last season in which both the AL and the NL had the same number of teams until 1993. The season ended with the Cincinnati Reds taking the World Series Championship for the second consecutive season by sweeping the New York Yankees in four games...
. Fidrych, known as "the Bird", was a colorful character known for talking to the baseball and other eccentricities. During a game against the Yankees
1976 New York Yankees season
The 1976 New York Yankees season was the 74th season for the Yankees in New York, and the 76th season overall for the franchise. The team finished with a record of 97-62, finishing 10½ games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles to win their first American League East title.In the ALCS, the Yankees...
, Graig Nettles
Graig Nettles
Graig Nettles , nicknamed "Puff", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 22-year baseball career, he played for the Minnesota Twins , Cleveland Indians , New York Yankees , San Diego Padres , Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos .Nettles was one of the best...
responded to Fidrych's antics by talking to his bat. After making an out, he later lamented that his Japanese-made bat didn't understand him. Fidrych was the starting pitcher for the American League in the All Star Game
1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 47th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League and the National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played on July 13, 1976 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, home of...
played that year in Philadelphia
Veterans Stadium
Philadelphia Veterans Stadium was a professional-sports, multi-purpose stadium, located at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex...
to celebrate the American Bicentennial
United States Bicentennial
The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to the historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic...
. He finished the season with a record of 19–9 and an American League-leading ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
of 2.34. Fidrych, the AL Rookie of the Year, was one of the few bright spots that year with the Tigers finishing next to last in the AL East in 1976.
Aurelio Rodríguez
Aurelio Rodríguez
Aurelio Rodríguez Ituarte, Jr. , was a third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the California Angels , Washington Senators , Detroit Tigers , San Diego Padres , New York Yankees , Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles...
won the Gold Glove Award
Gold Glove Award
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League and the American League , as voted by the...
for 1976 at third base, snapping a 16-season streak in which Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson
Brooks Robinson
Brooks Calbert Robinson, Jr. is a former American professional baseball player. He played his entire 23-year major league career for the Baltimore Orioles . Nicknamed "The Human Vacuum Cleaner", he is generally acclaimed as the greatest defensive third-basemen in major league history...
had won every award at the position.
Injuries to his knee, and later his arm, drastically limited Fidrych's appearances in 1977–78, as the Tigers returned to doormat status. Perhaps more important, however, was the talent coming up through the Tigers farm system at the time. Key players like Jack Morris
Jack Morris
John Scott "Jack" Morris is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He played in 18 big league seasons between 1977 and 1994, mainly for the Detroit Tigers, and won 254 games throughout his career...
, Dan Petry
Dan Petry
Daniel Joseph Petry is a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers , California Angels , Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox ....
, Alan Trammell
Alan Trammell
Alan Stuart Trammell is a retired American baseball shortstop of the Detroit Tigers from to . Trammell, nicknamed "Tram", played his entire career with the Tigers, highlighted by a World Series championship in and an American League East division championship in . Although his arm was not...
, Lou Whitaker, Kirk Gibson
Kirk Gibson
Kirk Harold Gibson is a former Major League Baseball player and currently the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. As a player, Gibson was an outfielder who batted and threw left-handed...
and Lance Parrish
Lance Parrish
Lance Michael Parrish, aka "Big Wheel", is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Detroit Tigers , Philadelphia Phillies , California Angels , Seattle Mariners , Cleveland Indians , Pittsburgh Pirates , and the Toronto Blue Jays...
all made their debuts in the late 1970s.
The "Bless You Boys" Era (1979–87)
Houk's immediate successor as Tiger manager in 19791979 Detroit Tigers season
The 1979 Detroit Tigers finished in fifth place in the American League East with a record of 85-76, 18 games behind the Orioles. They outscored their opponents 770 to 738. The Tigers drew 1,630,929 fans to Tiger Stadium in 1979, ranking 7th of the 14 teams in the American League. The season is...
was Les Moss
Les Moss
John Lester "Les" Moss is a former American professional baseball player, coach, scout and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the St...
, but Moss would only last until June of that year. From June 14, 1979 until the end of the 1995 season, the team was managed by George "Sparky" Anderson
Sparky Anderson
George Lee "Sparky" Anderson was an American Major League Baseball manager. He managed the National League's Cincinnati Reds to the 1975 and 1976 championships, then added a third title in 1984 with the Detroit Tigers of the American League. He was the first manager to win the World Series in both...
, one of baseball's winningest managers and owner of two World Series rings as manager of the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
. When Sparky came on board in 1979 and assessed the Tigers young talent, he boldly predicted that his team would be a pennant winner within 5 years.
Ascerbic sports anchor Al Ackerman of Detroit's WXYZ-TV
WXYZ-TV
WXYZ-TV, channel 7, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Detroit, Michigan, USA. WXYZ-TV is owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, and is the media company's largest-market TV station property...
(and later WDIV-TV
WDIV-TV
WDIV-TV, virtual channel 4, is an NBC-affiliated television station based in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is owned by Post-Newsweek Stations and is the flagship station and home base of the group with the offices of the group located alongside WDIV's studios; the "Local" branding now...
) initiated the phrase "Bless You Boys" whenever the Tigers would win a game—sarcastically at first, because the team still wasn't winning enough to be respectable. But the phrase would take on a whole new meaning in 1984.
"The Roar Of 84" 1984 World Series Champions
As in 1968, the Tigers next World Series season would be preceded by a disappointing second-place finish, as the 1983 Tigers1983 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers finished in second place in the American League East with a record of 92-70 , six games behind the Orioles. The Tigers outscored their opponents 789 to 679...
won 92 games to finish six games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East.
The first major news of the 1984 season actually came in late 1983, when broadcasting magnate John Fetzer
John Fetzer
John Earl Fetzer was a radio and television executive who was best known as the owner of the Detroit Tigers from 1961 through the early 1980s.- Biography :...
, who had owned the club since 1957, sold the team to Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza, Inc. is an international pizza delivery corporation headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America. Founded in 1960, Domino's is the second-largest pizza chain in the United States and has over 9,000 corporate and franchised stores in 60 countries and all 50 U.S....
founder and CEO Tom Monaghan
Tom Monaghan
Thomas Stephen "Tom" Monaghan is an entrepreneur and Catholic philanthropist and activist who founded Domino's Pizza in 1960. He owned the Detroit Tigers from 1983-1992....
. The sale of the franchise caught everyone by surprise, as the negotiations culminating in the sale of the franchise were conducted in total secrecy. There were no rumors or even speculation that Fetzer had put the franchise up for sale.
The 1984 team started out at a record 35–5 pace (including Jack Morris
Jack Morris
John Scott "Jack" Morris is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He played in 18 big league seasons between 1977 and 1994, mainly for the Detroit Tigers, and won 254 games throughout his career...
throwing a no-hitter
No-hitter
A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
early in the season against Chicago
1984 Chicago White Sox season
The 1984 Chicago White Sox season was the White Sox's 84th season in the major leagues, and their 85th season overall. They finished with a record 74-88, good enough for 5th place in the American League West, 10 games behind the 1st place Kansas City Royals....
en route to the Tigers' 9–0 start) and cruised to a franchise-record 104 victories, besting their previous record of 103 set in 1968. They also easily won the division, winning by a staggering 15 games over the Toronto Blue Jays. They featured the great double play
Double play
In baseball, a double play for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two"....
combination of shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
Alan Trammell
Alan Trammell
Alan Stuart Trammell is a retired American baseball shortstop of the Detroit Tigers from to . Trammell, nicknamed "Tram", played his entire career with the Tigers, highlighted by a World Series championship in and an American League East division championship in . Although his arm was not...
and second baseman
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...
Lou Whitaker; the duo would play together a record 19 seasons. The team also included Darrell Evans
Darrell Evans
Darrell Wayne Evans is a former third baseman and first baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1969 to 1989 with the Atlanta Braves , San Francisco Giants and Detroit Tigers . He is also the former manager and director of player personnel for the Victoria Seals of the Golden Baseball...
, Dave Bergman
Dave Bergman
David Bruce Bergman was a Major League Baseball first baseman, designated hitter, and outfielder.Born in Evanston, Illinois, Bergman is an alumnus of Maine South High School and Illinois State University...
, Kirk Gibson
Kirk Gibson
Kirk Harold Gibson is a former Major League Baseball player and currently the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. As a player, Gibson was an outfielder who batted and threw left-handed...
, Lance Parrish
Lance Parrish
Lance Michael Parrish, aka "Big Wheel", is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Detroit Tigers , Philadelphia Phillies , California Angels , Seattle Mariners , Cleveland Indians , Pittsburgh Pirates , and the Toronto Blue Jays...
, Chet Lemon
Chet Lemon
Chester Earl Lemon is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. A three time All-Star, he was a member of the World Series champion 1984 Detroit Tigers.-Early years:...
, Tom Brookens
Tom Brookens
Thomas Dale Brookens is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Detroit Tigers , New York Yankees , and Cleveland Indians...
, Larry Herndon
Larry Herndon
Larry Darnell Herndon is a former Major League Baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals , San Francisco Giants , and Detroit Tigers...
, Jack Morris
Jack Morris
John Scott "Jack" Morris is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He played in 18 big league seasons between 1977 and 1994, mainly for the Detroit Tigers, and won 254 games throughout his career...
, Dan Petry
Dan Petry
Daniel Joseph Petry is a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers , California Angels , Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox ....
, Milt Wilcox
Milt Wilcox
Milton Edward Wilcox was a pitcher who had a sixteen-year career from 1970 to 1975, 1977–1986. He played for the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs of the National League and the Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners of the American League...
, Dave Rozema
Dave Rozema
David Scott Rozema , nicknamed "Rosey", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher.-Early years and 1977 rookie season:...
, Johnny Grubb
Johnny Grubb
John Maywood Grubb, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and designated hitter, who also occasionally played at first base...
, Aurelio López
Aurelio López
Aurelio Alejandro López was a Mexican relief pitcher. Over the course of an eleven year Major League career , he acquired the nickname "Señor Smoke" in Detroit due to his Mexican heritage and his overpowering fastball, which had been measured as high as 93 mph.-Early career:Born in Tecamachalco,...
("Señor Smoke") and relief ace Willie Hernandez
Willie Hernández
Guillermo "Willie" Hernández Villanueva is a former relief pitcher for the Chicago Cubs , Philadelphia Phillies , and the Detroit Tigers . He threw and batted left-handed.-Career:...
, who won the 1984 American League Cy Young Award
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
and Most Valuable Player just one year after pitching on the Philadelphia Phillies
1983 Philadelphia Phillies season
The Philadelphia Phillies season involved the Phillies winning the National League East Division title with a record of 90-72, six games over the Pittsburgh Pirates...
' National League championship club.
The Tigers faced the Kansas City Royals
1984 Kansas City Royals season
The Kansas City Royals season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Royals finishing 1st in the American League West with a record of 84 wins and 78 losses.- Offseason :* October 17, 1983: Eric Rasmussen was released by the Royals....
in the American League Championship Series
1984 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 2, 1984 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, MissouriGame 1 was a blowout in Kansas City, as Jack Morris pitched seven innings and allowed a single run, with Willie Hernandez pitching the final two innings. The Tigers scored eight runs...
, which would prove to be no contest, not surprising given the fact the Royals won 20 fewer games during the season. In Game 1, Alan Trammell, Lance Parrish
Lance Parrish
Lance Michael Parrish, aka "Big Wheel", is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Detroit Tigers , Philadelphia Phillies , California Angels , Seattle Mariners , Cleveland Indians , Pittsburgh Pirates , and the Toronto Blue Jays...
and Larry Herndon
Larry Herndon
Larry Darnell Herndon is a former Major League Baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals , San Francisco Giants , and Detroit Tigers...
went deep to crush the Royals 8–1 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium
Kauffman Stadium
Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium is a Major League Baseball stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri, and home to the Kansas City Royals of the American League. Together with Arrowhead Stadium, home of the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs, it is a part of the Truman Sports Complex...
). In Game 2, the Tigers scored twice in the 11th inning when Johnny Grubb
Johnny Grubb
John Maywood Grubb, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and designated hitter, who also occasionally played at first base...
doubled off the late Royals closer Dan Quisenberry
Dan Quisenberry
Dan Raymond "Quiz" Quisenberry was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Kansas City Royals...
en route to a 5–3 victory. The Tigers completed the sweep at Tiger Stadium in Game 3. Marty Castillo's third-inning RBI fielder's choice would be all the help Detroit would need. Milt Wilcox
Milt Wilcox
Milton Edward Wilcox was a pitcher who had a sixteen-year career from 1970 to 1975, 1977–1986. He played for the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs of the National League and the Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners of the American League...
outdueled Charlie Leibrandt
Charlie Leibrandt
Charles Louis "Charlie" Leibrandt, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1979 to 1993 for the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers. Leibrandt was a productive pitcher throughout his 14 year career, and a member of the 1985 World Series...
, and after Hernandez got Darryl Motley
Darryl Motley
Darryl DeWayne Motley is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who played six seasons for the Kansas City Royals and Atlanta Braves between and . In his MLB career, Motley played in 413 games, hit 44 home runs, 324 hits, 159 RBIs, and batted .243...
to pop out to preserve the 1–0 win, the Tigers were returning to the World Series. (Note: At that time, the team with home field advantage in the ALCS
American League Championship Series
In Major League Baseball, the American League Championship Series , played in October, is a round in the postseason that determines the winner of the American League pennant...
and NLCS
National League Championship Series
In Major League Baseball, the National League Championship Series is a round in the postseason that determines who wins the National League pennant and advances to Major League Baseball's championship, the World Series, facing the winner of the American League Championship Series. The reigning...
, played the first two games on the road. This changed in 1985 when the format was changed from best-of-five to best-of-seven.)
In the NLCS
1984 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 2, 1984 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IllinoisBob Dernier led off the game for the Cubs with a homer, and things went steadily downhill for the Padres as Chicago romped to a crushing 13–0 win in their first postseason game since 1945. Gary Matthews also homered in the first...
, a San Diego rally from 2–0 down prevented a fifth Cubs-Tigers series and meant the Tigers would open the 1984 World Series
1984 World Series
The 1984 World Series began on October 9 and ended on October 14, 1984. The American League champion Detroit Tigers played against the National League champion San Diego Padres, with the Tigers winning the series four games to one....
against the San Diego Padres
1984 San Diego Padres season
-Offseason:* October 21, 1983: Sandy Alomar, Jr. was signed by the Padres as an amateur free agent.* December 6, 1983: Joe Pittman and a player to be named later were traded by the Padres to the San Francisco Giants for Champ Summers...
in Trammell's hometown. (Had the Cubs
1984 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs' 1984 season was the 109th season for the Cubs. The team finished with a record of 96-65 in first place of the National League Eastern Division. Chicago was managed by Jim Frey and the general manager was Dallas Green...
won the NLCS, Detroit would have been awarded home-field advantage in the World Series because NBC
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
insisted on all midweek games starting at night. This was impossible at the time in Chicago's Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
.)
In Game 1, Larry Herndon
Larry Herndon
Larry Darnell Herndon is a former Major League Baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals , San Francisco Giants , and Detroit Tigers...
hit a two-run home run that gave the Tigers a 3–2 lead. Morris pitched a complete game with 2 runs on 8 hits, and Detroit drew first blood. The Padres evened the series the next night despite pitcher Ed Whitson
Ed Whitson
Eddie Lee Whitson is a former Major League Baseball pitcher best remembered for his short and turbulent stint with the New York Yankees in the mid 1980s. He batted and threw right-handed.-Pittsburgh Pirates:...
being chased after pitching two-thirds of an inning and giving up three runs on five Tiger hits. Tiger starter Dan Petry
Dan Petry
Daniel Joseph Petry is a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers , California Angels , Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox ....
exited the game after four and one-third innings when Kurt Bevacqua
Kurt Bevacqua
Kurt Bevacqua is a former Major League Baseball player. He was chosen in the 12th round of the 1967 draft by the Cincinnati Reds and debuted in the big leagues in 1971 with the Cleveland Indians, ultimately playing for six different teams during his career. His final appearance was in with the...
's three-run homer gave San Diego a 5–3 lead they would hold onto.
When the series shifted to the Motor City, the Tigers took command. In Game 3, a two-out rally in the second inning led to four runs and the yanking of Padre starter Tim Lollar
Tim Lollar
William Timothy Lollar is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of seven seasons in Major League Baseball from 1980-86 for the New York Yankees , San Diego Padres , Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox , primarily as a starting pitcher.- Early career :Lollar played...
after one and two-thirds innings. The Padres, plagued by poor starting pitching throughout the series, never recovered and lost 5–2. Eric Show
Eric Show
Eric Vaughn Show was a Major League Baseball player who played for most of his career with the San Diego Padres. On September 11, 1985, Show gave up Pete Rose's record-breaking 4,192nd career hit...
continued the parade of bad outings in Game 4, getting bounced after two and two-thirds innings after giving up home runs to Series MVP Trammell in his first two at-bats. Trammell's homers held up with the help of another Morris complete game, and the Tigers held a commanding lead.
In Game 5, Gibson's two-run shot in the first inning would be the beginning of another early end for the Padres' starter Mark Thurmond
Mark Thurmond
Mark Anthony Thurmond , is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1983-1990...
. Though the Padres would pull back even at 3–3, chasing Dan Petry
Dan Petry
Daniel Joseph Petry is a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers , California Angels , Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox ....
in the fourth inning in the process, the Tigers retook the lead on a Rusty Kuntz
Rusty Kuntz
Russell Jay "Rusty" Kuntz is a former Major League Baseball designated hitter and outfielder. He is an alumnus of California State University, Stanislaus....
sacrifice fly (actually a pop-out to retreating second baseman Alan Wiggins
Alan Wiggins
Alan Anthony Wiggins was a Major League Baseball second baseman and left fielder. He was the first baseball player known to die of AIDS.-Early career:Wiggins was born in 1958 in Los Angeles, California...
that the speedy Gibson was able to score on), and doubled it on a solo homer
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
by Parrish.
A "Sounds of the Game" video was made during the Series by MLB Productions and played on TV a number of times since then. When Kirk Gibson
Kirk Gibson
Kirk Harold Gibson is a former Major League Baseball player and currently the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. As a player, Gibson was an outfielder who batted and threw left-handed...
came to bat in the eighth inning with runners on second and third and the Tigers clinging to a 5–4 lead, a situation that might call for San Diego reliever Goose Gossage
Goose Gossage
Richard Michael "Goose" Gossage is a former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. During a 22-year baseball career, he pitched from 1972-1994 for nine different teams, spending his best years with the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres. The nickname "Goose" is a play on his surname...
to pitch around him, Padres manager Dick Williams
Dick Williams
Richard Hirschfeld "Dick" Williams was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager, coach and front office consultant in Major League Baseball. Known especially as a hard-driving, sharp-tongued manager from 1967–69 and 1971–88, he led teams to three American League pennants, one National...
was summoned to the mound. Anderson was seen and heard yelling to Gibson, "He don't want to walk you!" and making a swing-the-bat gesture. As Anderson had suspected, Gossage threw a 1–0 fastball on the inside corner, and Gibson was ready. He launched a hard smash into Tiger Stadium's right field upper deck, effectively clinching the game and the series.
Aurelio López pitched 2-1/3 innings of relief without putting a runner on base for the win. Despite allowing a rare run in the top of the 8th inning, Willie Hernandez got the save as Tony Gwynn
Tony Gwynn
Anthony Keith "Tony" Gwynn, Sr. , nicknamed Mr. Padre and Captain Video, is a former Major League Baseball right fielder. He is statistically one of the best and most consistent hitters in baseball history. He played his entire 20-year baseball career for the San Diego Padres...
flied out to Larry Herndon
Larry Herndon
Larry Darnell Herndon is a former Major League Baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals , San Francisco Giants , and Detroit Tigers...
to end the game, sending Detroit into a wild victory celebration.
The Tigers led their division wire-to-wire, from opening day and every day thereafter, culminating in the World Series championship. This had not been done in the major leagues since the 1927 New York Yankees.
1987 AL East Champions
After a pair of third-place finishes in 1985 and 1986, the 1987 Tigers faced lowered expectations – which seemed to be confirmed by an 11–19 start to the season. However, the team hit its stride thereafter and gradually gained ground on its AL East rivals, eventually finishing with the best record in the Majors. This charge was fueled in part by the acquisition of pitcher Doyle AlexanderDoyle Alexander
Doyle Lafayette Alexander is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays, and Detroit Tigers...
from the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
in exchange for minor league pitcher John Smoltz
John Smoltz
John Andrew Smoltz is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher and active sportscaster. He is best known for his prolific career of more than two decades with the Atlanta Braves, in which he garnered eight All-Star selections and received the Cy Young Award in 1996...
. Alexander started 11 games for the Tigers, posting 9–0 record and a 1.53 ERA. Smoltz, a Lansing, Michigan
Lansing, Michigan
Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...
native, went on to have a long and productive career, mostly with the Braves, winning the Cy Young Award
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
in 1996. The Tigers won the division this year but possibly gave up some of their future. The Tigers had a great season but despite their improvement, they entered September neck-and-neck with the Toronto Blue Jays
1987 Toronto Blue Jays season
The Toronto Blue Jays season witnessed the Blue Jays finishing second in the American League East with a record of 96 wins and 66 losses. They had been in first place by 3½ games over the Detroit Tigers with a week left to play...
. The two teams would square off in seven hard-fought games during the final two weeks of the season. All seven games were decided by one run, and in the first six of the seven games, the winning run was scored in the final inning of play. At Exhibition Stadium
Exhibition Stadium
Canadian National Exhibition Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, that formerly stood on the Exhibition Place grounds, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
, the Tigers dropped three in a row to the Blue Jays before winning a dramatic extra-inning showdown.
The Tigers entered the final week of the 1987 season 3.5 games behind. After a series against the Baltimore Orioles
1987 Baltimore Orioles season
The Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Orioles finishing 6th in the American League East with a record of 67 wins and 95 losses.-Offseason:* January 30, 1987: Jack O'Connor was signed as a free agent by the Orioles....
, the Tigers returned home trailing by a game and swept the Blue Jays. Detroit clinched the division in a 1–0 victory over Toronto in front of 51,005 fans at Tiger Stadium on Sunday afternoon, October 4. Frank Tanana
Frank Tanana
Frank Daryl Tanana is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He was the California Angels' 1st round draft pick in 1971....
went all nine innings for the complete game shutout, and outfielder Larry Herndon
Larry Herndon
Larry Darnell Herndon is a former Major League Baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals , San Francisco Giants , and Detroit Tigers...
gave the Tigers their lone run on a second-inning home run. Detroit finished the season a Major League-best 98–64, two games ahead of Toronto.
In what would prove to be their last postseason appearance until 2006, the Tigers were upset in the 1987 American League Championship Series
1987 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Wednesday, October 7, 1987 at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, MinnesotaThe 1987 AL playoffs opened at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, with the Tigers throwing Doyle Alexander against the Twins' Frank Viola. In the bottom of the second, the Twins opened the scoring when third...
by the Minnesota Twins (who in turn won the World Series that year) four games to one. The Twins won the Series in Game 5 at Tiger Stadium 9–5.
A new approach (1988–95)
Despite their 1987 division title victory, the Tigers1988 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers' 1988 season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Detroit Tigers attempting to win the American League East.-Offseason:...
proved unable to build on their success. The team lost Kirk Gibson to free agency in the offseason, but still spent much of 1988
1988 Major League Baseball season
In , the Major League Baseball season ended with the underdog Los Angeles Dodgers shocking the Oakland Athletics, who had won 104 games during the regular season, in the World Series. The most memorable moment of the series came in Game 1, when injured Dodger Kirk Gibson hit a dramatic pinch-hit...
in first place in the AL East. A late-season slump left the team in second at 88–74, one game behind division-winning Boston.
In 1989
1989 Major League Baseball season
-Awards and honors:*Most Valuable Player**Robin Yount, Milwaukee Brewers **Kevin Mitchell, San Francisco Giants *Cy Young Award**Bret Saberhagen, Kansas City Royals **Mark Davis, San Diego Padres *Rookie of the Year...
, the team
1989 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers' 1989 season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Detroit Tigers attempting to win the AL East.-Offseason:* November 16, 1988: Ray Knight was released by the Tigers....
collapsed to a 59–103 record, worst in the majors. The franchise then attempted to rebuild using a power-hitting approach, with sluggers Cecil Fielder
Cecil Fielder
Cecil Grant Fielder is a former professional baseball player who was a noted power hitter in the 1980s and 1990s. He attended college at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas . He played with the Toronto Blue Jays , Detroit Tigers , New York Yankees , Anaheim Angels and Cleveland Indians...
, Rob Deer
Rob Deer
Robert George Deer is a former American baseball player. He attended Canyon High School in Anaheim and Fresno City College, and was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 4th round of the 1978 amateur draft....
and Mickey Tettleton
Mickey Tettleton
Mickey Lee Tettleton , is a former American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball for the Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, and Texas Rangers...
joining Trammell and Whitaker in the lineup (fitting for the team with the most 200+ home run seasons in baseball history). In 1990
1990 Major League Baseball season
-Awards and honors:*Most Valuable Player**Rickey Henderson, Oakland Athletics **Barry Bonds, Pittsburgh Pirates *Cy Young Award**Bob Welch, Oakland Athletics **Doug Drabek, Pittsburgh Pirates *Rookie of the Year...
, Fielder led the American League with 51 home runs (becoming the first player to hit 50 since George Foster in 1977), and finished second in the voting for AL Most Valuable Player. He hit 44 home runs in 1991
1991 Major League Baseball season
-Awards and honors:*Most Valuable Player**Cal Ripken, Jr., Baltimore Orioles, SS **Terry Pendleton, Atlanta Braves, 3B *Cy Young Award**Roger Clemens, Boston Red Sox **Tom Glavine, Atlanta Braves *Rookie of the Year...
, again finishing second in the AL MVP balloting, and would hit at least 28 in each of the next four seasons. Behind the hitting of Fielder and others, the Tigers improved by 20 wins in 1990 (79-83), and posted a winning record in 1991 (84–78). However, the team lacked quality pitching, despite Bill Gullickson
Bill Gullickson
William Lee Gullickson is a former major league baseball pitcher who played for six different major-league teams, in Canada, the U.S...
's 20 wins in 1991, and its core of key players began to age, setting the franchise up for decline. Their minor league system was largely barren of talent, as well, producing only a few everyday players (Travis Fryman
Travis Fryman
David Travis Fryman is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and shortstop, and currently a hitting instructor for the Cleveland Indians farm system...
, Bobby Higginson
Bobby Higginson
Robert Leigh Higginson is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Detroit Tigers. He has a career batting average of .272. He attended Frankford High School and Temple University....
) during the 1990s. Adding insult to injury, the Tigers and radio station WJR
WJR
WJR is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It broadcasts a news/talk format. It is a class A clear channel station whose broadcasts can be heard throughout most of the Midwest, eastern United States and Canada at night, making it one of the most powerful radio stations in the...
announced in December, 1990, that they were not renewing the contract of long-time Hall of Fame play-by-play announcer Ernie Harwell
Ernie Harwell
William Earnest "Ernie" Harwell was an American sportscaster, known for his long career calling play-by-play of Major League Baseball games. For 55 years, 42 of them with the Detroit Tigers, Harwell called the action on radio and/or television...
, and that the 1991 season would be Harwell's last with the team. The announcement was met with resounding protests from fans, young and old.
1992
1992 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers' 1992 season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Detroit Tigers attempting to win the American League East.-Offseason:* December 20, 1991: Dan Gladden was signed as a free agent by the Tigers....
saw the Tigers win only 75 games. But late in the season, Sparky Anderson won his 1,132nd game as a Tiger manager, passing Hughie Jennings
Hughie Jennings
Hugh Ambrose Jennings was a Major League Baseball player and manager from 1891 to 1925. Jennings was a leader, both as a batter and as a shortstop, with the Baltimore Orioles teams that won National League championships in 1894, 1895, and 1896. During the three championship seasons, Jennings had...
for the most all-time wins in franchise history. Following the 1992 season, the franchise was sold to Mike Ilitch
Mike Ilitch
Michael "Mike" Ilitch Sr. is an American entrepreneur and owner of the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers. In addition to his sports ownerships, he is the founder and owner of Little Caesars Pizza since 1959, which has become an international fast food franchise...
, the President and CEO of Little Caesars
Little Caesars
Little Caesars is a pizza chain, estimated to be the 4th largest in the United States. The Little Caesars headquarters is located in the Fox Theatre building in Downtown Detroit, Michigan.-History:...
Pizza who also owns the Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
. Ilitch made it one of his first priorities to re-hire Ernie Harwell. The team also responded with an 85-77 season in 1993
1993 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers' 1993 season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Detroit Tigers attempting to win the American League East.-Offseason:* December 7, 1992: Bill Gullickson was signed as a free agent by the Tigers....
, but it would be their last winning season for a number of years.
On October 2, 1995, manager Sparky Anderson chose to not only end his career with the Tigers, but retire from baseball altogether.
Declawed: The Randy Smith era (1996–2002)
From 1994 to 2005, the Tigers did not post a winning record. This was by far the longest sub-.500 stretch in franchise history; prior to this, the team had not gone more than four consecutive seasons without a winning record. The team's best record over that time was 79–83, recorded in 1997 and 2000. In 1996, the Tigers lost a then-team record 109 games, under new general manager Randy SmithRandy Smith (baseball)
Randall Edward Smith was born June 15, 1963 in Houston, Texas. He is an executive in Major League Baseball and has served as general manager of the San Diego Padres and the Detroit Tigers and Assistant General Manager for the Colorado Rockies...
, who served the team from 1996 to 2002.
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
as the oldest active baseball stadium, in favor of the new Comerica Park
Comerica Park
Comerica Park is an open-air ballpark located in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It serves as the home of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball's American League, replacing historic Tiger Stadium in 2000....
. This capped an argument lasting more than a decade about whether or not a new stadium was needed to keep the club competitive.
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 Gonzalez from the Texas Rangers for the inaugural 2000 season at Comerica Park. Gonzalez hit a meager (for him) 22 home runs that season, and many cited Comerica Park's dimensions as a major reason he turned down multi-millions to re-sign with the club in 2001. In 2003, the franchise largely quieted the criticism by moving in the left-center fence to 370 feet (112.8 m), 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
Dave Dombrowski
David Dombrowski is the current president, CEO, and general manager of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball.-Chicago White Sox:...
, former general manager of the 1997 World Series
1997 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 18, 1997 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami Gardens, FloridaThe first World Series game in the state of Florida, Game 1 featured a youngster and a veteran facing each other on the mound...
champion Florida Marlins
1997 Florida Marlins season
The 1997 Florida Marlins season started off with the team trying to improve on their record from 1996. Their manager was Jim Leyland. They played home games at Pro Player Stadium...
, was hired as team president. In 2002, the Tigers
2002 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers' 2002 season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Detroit Tigers attempting to win the AL Central.-Regular season:...
started the season
2002 Major League Baseball season
The Major League Baseball season finished with the Anaheim Angels defeating the San Francisco Giants in Game 7 of the 2002 World Series.-Major league baseball final standings:...
0–6, prompting Dombrowski to fire the unpopular Smith, as well as manager Phil Garner
Phil Garner
Philip Mason Garner is a former infielder in Major League Baseball for the Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Francisco Giants from 1973 to 1988...
. Dombrowski then took over as general manager and named bench coach Luis Pujols
Luis Pujols
Luis Bienvenido Pujols Toribio was a catcher and manager in Major League Baseball. He played nine seasons with the Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, and Texas Rangers. Luis Pujols and St...
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 TrammellAlan Trammell
Alan Stuart Trammell is a retired American baseball shortstop of the Detroit Tigers from to . Trammell, nicknamed "Tram", played his entire career with the Tigers, highlighted by a World Series championship in and an American League East division championship in . Although his arm was not...
to manage the team in 2003
2003 Major League Baseball season
*World Series MVP: Josh Beckett**American League Championship Series MVP: Mariano Rivera**National League Championship Series MVP: Iván Rodríguez*All-Star Game, July 15 at U.S...
. With fellow '84 teammates Kirk Gibson
Kirk Gibson
Kirk Harold Gibson is a former Major League Baseball player and currently the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. As a player, Gibson was an outfielder who batted and threw left-handed...
and Lance Parrish
Lance Parrish
Lance Michael Parrish, aka "Big Wheel", is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Detroit Tigers , Philadelphia Phillies , California Angels , Seattle Mariners , Cleveland Indians , Pittsburgh Pirates , and the Toronto Blue Jays...
on the coaching staff, the rebuilding process began. In 2003, still playing with mostly players Smith had drafted or acquired, the Tigers shattered their 1996 mark for team futility by losing an American League-record 119 games. This eclipsed the previous AL record of 117 losses set by the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics
1916 Philadelphia Athletics season
The 1916 Philadelphia Athletics season involved the A's finishing 8th in the American League with a record of 36 wins and 117 losses. The 1916 team is often considered by baseball historians the worst team in American League history, and its .235 winning percentage is still the lowest ever for a...
, and was just .030 ahead of the 1916 A's .235 win percentage. On August 30, 2003, the Tigers' defeat at the hands of the Chicago White Sox
2003 Chicago White Sox season
The 2003 Chicago White Sox season was the White Sox's 104th season. They finished with a record 86–76, good enough for second place in the American League Central, four games behind the champion Minnesota Twins....
caused them to join the 1962 New York Mets
1962 New York Mets season
The New York Mets season was the first regular season for the Mets, as the National League returned to New York for the first time since . They went 40-120 and finished tenth and last in the National League, games behind the NL Champion San Francisco Giants, who once called New York home...
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 already clinched the Central Division
American League Central
The American League Central Division is one of six divisions in Major League Baseball. This division was formed in the realignment in 1994, and its teams are all located in the Midwestern United States...
(into which the Tigers had moved in 1998), and were resting their stars.
Mike Maroth
Mike Maroth
Michael Warren Maroth is a former American Major League Baseball starting pitcher. Born in Orlando, Florida, and after attending the University of Central Florida, the left-handed Maroth made his Major League debut in for the Detroit Tigers.-Early career:A third-round pick in the draft, Maroth...
went 9–21 for the 2003 Tigers and became the first pitcher to lose 20 games in more than 20 years. Tigers' pitchers Maroth, Jeremy Bonderman
Jeremy Bonderman
Jeremy Allen Bonderman is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher who currently is a free agent. Bonderman is six feet and two inches tall and weighs 220 pounds. He bats and throws right-handed...
(6–19), and Nate Cornejo
Nate Cornejo
Nathan John Cornejo is a former professional baseball player who was a pitcher in the major leagues from -. Nate Cornejo was drafted in the first round of the 1998 MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers, number 34 overall...
(6–17) were #1, #2, and #3 in the major leagues in losses for 2003—the only time in major league history that one team has had the top three losers.
Designated hitter/left fielder Dmitri Young
Dmitri Young
Dmitri Dell Young is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. Young is 6'2" and 275 pounds...
is the one member of the 2003 Tigers to have a truly good year, with a .297 batting average, 29 home runs, and .537 slugging percentage. He managed 85 RBIs despite having no real table-setters on base in front of him. According to Win Shares, the Tigers would have had about six fewer wins without him.
While the 2003 Tigers rank as the third worst team in major league history based on loss total, they fare slightly better based on winning percentage. The Tigers went 43–119 that season, 47 games behind division-winner Minnesota.
Rebuilding the franchise (2004–06)
Although the 2003 season was a complete morass, Dombrowski gave Trammell a chance to finish the remaining two years of his contract over the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Under Dombrowski, the Tigers demonstrated a willingness to sign marquee free agents. In 20042004 Major League Baseball season
* Playoff MVPs** Manny Ramírez ** David Ortiz ** Albert Pujols * All-Star Game, July 13 at Minute Maid Park: American League, 9-4; Alfonso Soriano, MVP-References:* *...
, the team signed or traded for several talented but high-risk veterans, such as Fernando Vina
Fernando Viña
Fernando Viña is a retired Cuban-American Major League Baseball second baseman and current MLB analyst for Oakland Athletics...
, Iván Rodríguez
Iván Rodríguez
Iván Rodríguez Torres , nicknamed "Pudge" and "I-Rod", is a Major League Baseball catcher...
, Ugueth Urbina
Ugueth Urbina
Ugueth Urtaín Urbina Villarreal is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. A two-time All-Star, Urbina led the National League in saves with 41 in the 1999 season and helped the Florida Marlins win the 2003 World Series...
, Rondell White
Rondell White
Rondell Bernard White is an outfielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball. His career batting average currently stands at .284 and his career slugging percentage is .462....
and Carlos Guillén
Carlos Guillén
Carlos Alfonso Guillén is a Major League Baseball second baseman and switch-hitter....
, and the gamble paid off. The 2004 Tigers finished 72–90, a 29-game improvement over the previous season, and the largest improvement in the American League since Baltimore's 33-game improvement from 1988 to 1989. However, the team was still sub-.500.
Prior to the 2005 season, the Tigers spent a large sum for two prized free agents, Magglio Ordóñez
Magglio Ordóñez
Magglio José Ordóñez Delgado is a Venezuelan Major League Baseball right fielder. He has played for the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers . Ordóñez is six feet, one inch tall and weighs .-Professional career:...
and Troy Percival
Troy Percival
Troy Eugene Percival is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He gained fame as a closer. During a 14-year baseball career, he pitched from 1995-2009 for four different teams, pitching primarily with the California/Anaheim Angels...
. On June 8, 2005, the Tigers traded pitcher Ugueth Urbina
Ugueth Urbina
Ugueth Urtaín Urbina Villarreal is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. A two-time All-Star, Urbina led the National League in saves with 41 in the 1999 season and helped the Florida Marlins win the 2003 World Series...
and infielder Ramon Martinez
Ramón Martínez (baseball infielder)
Ramón E. Martínez is a Major League Baseball utility infielder. He is the cousin of Chicago Cubs catcher Geovany Soto.-Early career:...
to the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
for Plácido Polanco
Plácido Polanco
Plácido Enrique Polanco is a Major League Baseball player who plays for the Philadelphia Phillies and has also played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers. He is a third baseman, but in the past has played second base and shortstop...
(and later signed him for 4 years). The Tigers stayed on the fringes of contention for the American League wild card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
for the first four months of the season, but then faded badly, finishing 71–91. The collapse was perceived as being due both to injuries and to a lack of player unity; Rodriguez in particular was disgruntled, taking a leave of absence during the season to deal with a difficult divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
. Trammell, though popular with the fans, took part of the blame for the poor clubhouse atmosphere and lack of continued improvement, and he was fired at the end of the season.
A highlight of the 2005 campaign was Detroit's hosting of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game
2005 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 2005 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 76th playing of the midseason exhibition baseball game between the all-stars of the American League and National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 12, 2005 at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan,...
, its first since 1971. In the Home Run Derby, Rodriguez finished second, losing to the Phillies' Bobby Abreu
Bobby Abreu
Bob Kelly "Bobby" Abreu , nicknamed "El Comedulce" and also "La Luche", is a Major League Baseball left fielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim....
.
In October 2005, Jim Leyland
Jim Leyland
James Richard "Jim" Leyland is a Major League Baseball manager, currently with the Detroit Tigers.He led the Florida Marlins to a World Series championship in 1997, and previously won three straight division titles with the Pittsburgh Pirates...
, who managed Dombrowski's 1997 World Series–winning Marlins
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
club, replaced Trammell as manager; two months later, in response to Troy Percival's '05 arm problems, closer Todd Jones
Todd Jones (baseball player)
Todd Barton Jones is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was an effective middle reliever for a variety of teams, and he had an up-and-down career as a closer...
, who had spent five seasons in Detroit (1997–2001), signed a two-year deal to return to the Tigers. Veteran left-hander Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers (baseball player)
Kenneth Scott Rogers is a former American Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. During a 20-year baseball career, he pitched from 1989-2008 for six different teams. In addition to being known for his fielding , he pitched the fourteenth perfect game in major league baseball history...
also joined the Tigers from Texas in late 2005. These offseason additions set the stage for the resurgence of "Tiger Fever" in Detroit and its environs the following year.
The Return of the Tigers: 2006 American League Champions
After years of futility, the 2006 season showed signs of hope. After an early season tirade by Jim LeylandJim Leyland
James Richard "Jim" Leyland is a Major League Baseball manager, currently with the Detroit Tigers.He led the Florida Marlins to a World Series championship in 1997, and previously won three straight division titles with the Pittsburgh Pirates...
, the team exploded and quickly rose to the top of the AL Central. The team reached a high point when they were 40 games over .500, but a second half swoon started to raise questions about the team's staying power. On August 27, a 7–1 victory over the Cleveland Indians
2006 Cleveland Indians season
The Cleveland Indians' 2006 season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Cleveland Indians attempting to win the AL Central.-Offseason:* December 7, 2005: Paul Byrd was signed as a Free Agent with the Cleveland Indians....
gave the Tigers their 82nd victory and their first winning season since 1993. On September 24, the Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals
2006 Kansas City Royals season
The 2006 Kansas City Royals season involved the Royals finishing 5th in the American League Central with a record of 62 wins and 100 losses.-Roster:-Batting:Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg...
11–4 to clinch their first playoff berth since 1987
1987 Major League Baseball season
The 1987 Major League Baseball season ended with the American League Champion Minnesota Twins winning the World Series over the National League Champion St...
. A division title seemed inevitable. All that was required was one win in the final five games of the season, which included three games against the Royals, whom the Tigers had manhandled much of the season. Unfortunately, the Tigers lost all five games and the division title went to the Minnesota Twins. The Tigers were the AL wild card winner, the first time a team from the AL Central had won the honor.
The playoffs saw the Tigers beat the heavily favored New York Yankees
2006 New York Yankees season
The New York Yankees 2006 season was the Yankees 104th season in New York, and their 106th overall going back to their origins in Baltimore. The season finished with the Yankees winning the AL East Division...
3 games to 1 in the ALDS
2006 American League Division Series
-Game 1, October 3:Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New YorkA five-run third inning by the Yankees put the game out of reach for the Tigers. Bobby Abreu doubled to score Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter . Gary Sheffield then singled in Abreu, and Jason Giambi launched a two-run home run for a commanding 5–0...
and sweep the Oakland Athletics
2006 Oakland Athletics season
The Oakland Athletics' 2006 season was the 106th season of the Athletics franchise and its 43rd in Oakland. The A's finished 1st in the American League West with a record of 93 wins and 69 losses...
in the 2006 ALCS
2006 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 10, 2006 at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, CaliforniaOakland was 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position, while Detroit turned four double plays...
, thanks to a walk-off home run in Game 4 by right fielder Magglio Ordóñez. They advanced to the World Series
2006 World Series
The 2006 World Series, the 102nd edition of Major League Baseball's championship series, began on October 21 and ended on October 27, and matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals won the Series in five games, taking...
, where they lost to the underdog St. Louis Cardinals
2006 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals 2006 season was the team's 125th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 115th season in the National League. The season started out with a bang, as the team raced out to a 31-16 record by late May...
in five games.
Falling Short (2007-2010)
In 2007, the Tigers returned 22 of 25 players from their 2006 World Series roster, and traded for outfielder Gary Sheffield
Gary Sheffield
Gary Antonian Sheffield , nicknamed "Sheff", is an American retired Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for eight major league ball clubs from 1988 to 2009, primarily as an outfielder.-Biography:...
, who had been a part of the 1997 Marlins World Series team managed by Jim Leyland. In addition to acquisitions, Dombrowski developed a productive farm system. Justin Verlander
Justin Verlander
Justin Brooks Verlander is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball....
and Joel Zumaya
Joel Zumaya
Joel Martin Zumaya is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher known for his record-breaking fastballs.-Baseball career:...
, the most notable rookie contributors to the 2006 team, were followed by Andrew Miller
Andrew Miller (baseball)
Andrew Mark Miller is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball.-College:...
, who was drafted in 2006 and called up early in the 2007 campaign, and minor-leaguer Cameron Maybin
Cameron Maybin
Cameron Keith Maybin is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the San Diego Padres. He was the tenth pick in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft by The Detroit Tigers. He was consistently ranked as the Tigers top minor league prospect while in the organization.-High school:Maybin played high school...
, an athletic five-tool outfielder ranked #6 in Baseball America
Baseball America
Baseball America is a magazine which covers baseball at every level, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in high school, college, Japan, and the minor leagues. It is currently published in the form of a bi-weekly newspaper, five annual reference book titles, a weekly podcast, and a...
's 2007 Top-100 Prospects. The Tigers suffered from injuries in the 2007 season
2007 Major League Baseball season
The 2007 Major League Baseball season, began on April 1 with a rematch of the 2006 National League Championship Series; the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets played the first game of the season at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, which was won by the Mets, 6–1...
, especially to their pitching staff. Kenny Rogers did not start until late June because of surgery to remove a blood-clot in his throwing arm. Other pitchers who were injured included Tim Byrdak
Tim Byrdak
Timothy Christopher Byrdak is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the New York Mets. His previous major league experience came from to , when Byrdak played for the Kansas City Royals, an injury-plagued stint with the Baltimore Orioles, and one year with the Detroit Tigers.After playing for...
, Fernando Rodney
Fernando Rodney
Fernando Rodney is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Rodney throws a fastball in the mid to upper-90 miles per hour and a changeup in the low 80s.-Minor leagues:...
, Jair Jurrjens
Jair Jurrjens
-Childhood:Jurrjens grew in a quiet neighborhood called ´Kura Piedra´ pronounced in Dutch as ´Steenkoraal or Stenenkoraal´, and was always active in baseball. His older brother, Carl Jr., also played baseball.Jurrjens speaks English, Spanish, Dutch and Papiamentu....
and Joel Zumaya
Joel Zumaya
Joel Martin Zumaya is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher known for his record-breaking fastballs.-Baseball career:...
.
With their fan base energized following the 2006 World Series appearance, the team would draw 3,047,133 paid customers in 2007, the third-highest attendance in the American League and the most in team history, surpassing the 2,704,794 customers at Tiger Stadium in 1984.
The 2007 Tigers had the best record in baseball in mid-July, but lost a few players to injuries and started to play poorly in the second half and fade from contention. This pattern of good starts followed by a poor second half would be repeated over the next three seasons. The Tigers gave up their division lead to the Cleveland Indians in early September and were officially eliminated from playoff competition on September 26, 2007, when the New York Yankees clinched a wild card berth. The Tigers, at 88-74, finished second in the AL Central.
The 2007 season included several highlights of historic significance for the Tigers franchise:
- Justin VerlanderJustin VerlanderJustin Brooks Verlander is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball....
pitched a no-hitterNo-hitterA no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
on June 12 against the Milwaukee Brewers2007 Milwaukee Brewers seasonThe 2007 Milwaukee Brewers season marked the 25th anniversary of the Milwaukee Brewers winning the American League Championship and the 50th anniversary of the Milwaukee Braves winning the World Series. During the offseason, the Brewers re-signed free agents Bill Hall and Chris Capuano...
. It was the first Tiger no-hitter since Jack MorrisJack MorrisJohn Scott "Jack" Morris is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He played in 18 big league seasons between 1977 and 1994, mainly for the Detroit Tigers, and won 254 games throughout his career...
in 1984 against the Chicago White Sox1984 Chicago White Sox seasonThe 1984 Chicago White Sox season was the White Sox's 84th season in the major leagues, and their 85th season overall. They finished with a record 74-88, good enough for 5th place in the American League West, 10 games behind the 1st place Kansas City Royals....
on the year the Tigers won the 1984 World Series1984 World SeriesThe 1984 World Series began on October 9 and ended on October 14, 1984. The American League champion Detroit Tigers played against the National League champion San Diego Padres, with the Tigers winning the series four games to one....
, and the first no-hitterNo-hitterA no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
at home by a Tiger since Virgil TrucksVirgil TrucksVirgil Oliver Trucks is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1941 through 1958, Trucks played for the Detroit Tigers , St. Louis Browns , Chicago White Sox , Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees . He batted and threw right-handed...
did it in 1952. It was also the first in Comerica Park history. - Magglio Ordóñez became the AL Batting Champion for 2007 with a major-league best .363 average. He was the Tigers' first batting champion since Norm CashNorm CashNorman Dalton Cash was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball who spent almost his entire career with the Detroit Tigers...
in 1961, and posted the highest average by a Tiger since Charlie GehringerCharlie GehringerCharles Leonard Gehringer , nicknamed “The Mechanical Man,” was a German-American Major League Baseball second baseman who played 19 seasons for the Detroit Tigers...
hit .371 in 1937. - On September 9, Curtis Granderson stole his 20th base of the season and joined Willie MaysWillie MaysWillie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
and Frank "Wildfire" Schulte as the only players in major league history to reach 20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs, and 20 stolen bases in a season. (The feat was matched, however, just 21 days later by the Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia PhilliesThe Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
' Jimmy RollinsJimmy RollinsJames Calvin "Jimmy" Rollins , nicknamed "J-Roll", is an All-Star and former MVP shortstop, who most recently played for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball's National League....
.) Granderson's 23 triples were the most by a major leaguer since 1949, and his total was higher than six major league teams in 2007.
Going into the 2008 season
2008 Major League Baseball season
The 2008 Major League Baseball season began on March 25, 2008 in Tokyo, Japan with the 2007 World Series champion Boston Red Sox defeating the Oakland Athletics at the Tokyo Dome 6–5 in the first game of a two-game series, and ended on September 30 with the host Chicago White Sox defeating the...
, the franchise traded for prominent talent in Edgar Rentería
Edgar Rentería
Edgar Enrique Rentería Herazo , nicknamed "The Barranquilla Baby," is a Colombian professional baseball shortstop. He throws and bats right-handed. Previously, he has played for the Florida Marlins, the St...
(from the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
) and Miguel Cabrera
Miguel Cabrera
José Miguel Cabrera Torres nicknamed "Miggy", is a Venezuelan professional baseball first baseman with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. He bats and throws right-handed....
and Dontrelle Willis
Dontrelle Willis
Dontrelle Wayne Willis , nicknamed "The D-Train", is an American professional baseball pitcher. Willis is notable for his success during his first few years in the league and for his unconventional pitching style, which includes a high leg kick and exaggerated twisting away from the batter...
(from the Florida Marlins
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
). However, the Tigers (who now boasted the second-highest team payroll in the majors at over $138 million) began the regular season by losing seven straight games. The Tigers climbed back, and at the midway point of the season, they were 42–40. In the end, the team finished miserably, slumping to a 74–88 record. Justin Verlander finished with his worst season as a pro, as he went 11–17 with a 4.84 ERA. The Tigers also lost closer Todd Jones to retirement on September 25, 2008. Despite the disappointing season, the team set another attendance record in 2008, drawing 3,202,654 customers to Comerica Park.
In the 2009 season, the Detroit Tigers faced lowered expectations, and were predicted by some media to finish last in the AL Central. However, the Tigers started very hot, quickly gaining the lead in the AL Central and keeping it for much of the year. This was fueled primarily by the combination of pitching and defense.
The Tigers acquired starter Edwin Jackson
Edwin Jackson
Edwin Jackson is an American professional baseball pitcher.-Early life:Jackson's father, Edwin Jackson, Sr., a military cook, was stationed in Germany at the time of his birth. Jackson is one of 27 major league players who were born in Germany...
from the 2008 AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
, and called up rookie and former #1 draft pick Rick Porcello
Rick Porcello
Frederick Alfred "Rick" Porcello III is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball....
. Jackson was outstanding in the first half, making his first All-Star team, while Porcello was solid most of the year, posting a 14–9 record with a 3.96 ERA and displaying grit and maturity beyond his 20 years of age. Tigers ace Justin Verlander
Justin Verlander
Justin Brooks Verlander is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball....
bounced back from an off 2008 to win 19 games. He posted a 3.45 ERA and led the AL in strikeouts (269) to finish third in the AL Cy Young balloting. Fernando Rodney
Fernando Rodney
Fernando Rodney is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Rodney throws a fastball in the mid to upper-90 miles per hour and a changeup in the low 80s.-Minor leagues:...
assumed the closer role in spring training, replacing the retired Todd Jones. Rodney responded with 37 saves in 38 tries, while Bobby Seay
Bobby Seay
Robert "Bobby" Michael Seay is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has previously played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays from 2001 to 2004, the Colorado Rockies in 2005, and the Detroit Tigers from 2006 to 2010.-High school:Seay is a graduate of Sarasota High...
, Brandon Lyon
Brandon Lyon
Brandon James Lyon is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Houston Astros. He throws a 4-seam fastball, 12-6 curveball, slider, and changeup.-Toronto Blue Jays:...
and young Ryan Perry
Ryan Perry
Ryan Keith Perry is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. At the end of 2008 Baseball America named him the Tigers second best prospect, behind Rick Porcello.-Baseball career:...
shored up the middle relief that plagued the team in 2007–08.
Despite the improvements, the Tigers again found themselves struggling to hold a lead in the AL Central during the second half of the season, and in particular, the final month. The offense they were known for in recent years slumped badly and was unable to support strong outings by the pitching staff. The team entered September with a 7-game lead on its AL Central rivals, but wound up tied with the Minnesota Twins
2009 Minnesota Twins season
The Minnesota Twins season was the 49th season for the franchise in Minnesota, and the 109th overall in the American League. It was their final season at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome with their new stadium, Target Field, opening in 2010. They ended the regular season as AL Central champions...
at 86 wins by the final day of the regular season. The season ended on October 6 with a 6–5 loss in 12 innings to the Twins in the tie-breaker game
2009 American League Central tie-breaker game
The 2009 American League Central tiebreaker game was a one-game playoff for Major League Baseball's American League Central divisional championship. The game took place on October 6, 2009 between the Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. It was necessary after...
, leaving the Tigers with an 86–77 record. The Tigers spent 146 days of the 2009 season in first place, but became the first team in Major League history to lose a three game lead with four games left to play.
Entering 2010, the Tigers parted ways with Curtis Granderson
Curtis Granderson
Curtis Granderson is an American Major League Baseball player for the New York Yankees. Before joining the Yankees in 2010, he played with the Detroit Tigers . A center fielder, Granderson is known for being a five-tool player...
and Edwin Jackson
Edwin Jackson
Edwin Jackson is an American professional baseball pitcher.-Early life:Jackson's father, Edwin Jackson, Sr., a military cook, was stationed in Germany at the time of his birth. Jackson is one of 27 major league players who were born in Germany...
as part of a three-way trade with the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
and Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field...
; in return they picked up outfield prospect Austin Jackson
Austin Jackson
Austin Jarrell Jackson is an American professional baseball outfielder with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball...
and pitchers Phil Coke
Phil Coke
Phillip "Phil" Douglas Coke is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. Coke was born in Sonora, California-College:Coke attended San Joaquin Delta College...
, Max Scherzer
Max Scherzer
Maxwell M. "Max" Scherzer is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. He currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona.-Early life:...
and Daniel Schlereth
Daniel Schlereth
Daniel Robert Schlereth is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers.-Early years:Schlereth was born in Anchorage, Alaska, before moving to Highlands Ranch, Colorado. He is a graduate of Highlands Ranch High School. During his senior year, he struck out a school record 19 batters in a...
. Key losses included Placido Polanco
Plácido Polanco
Plácido Enrique Polanco is a Major League Baseball player who plays for the Philadelphia Phillies and has also played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers. He is a third baseman, but in the past has played second base and shortstop...
, Fernando Rodney
Fernando Rodney
Fernando Rodney is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Rodney throws a fastball in the mid to upper-90 miles per hour and a changeup in the low 80s.-Minor leagues:...
and Brandon Lyon
Brandon Lyon
Brandon James Lyon is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Houston Astros. He throws a 4-seam fastball, 12-6 curveball, slider, and changeup.-Toronto Blue Jays:...
, who all left via free agency. Key signings included a five-year contract extension for ace Justin Verlander
Justin Verlander
Justin Brooks Verlander is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball....
, and the acquisitions of All-Star closer José Valverde
José Valverde
José Rafael Valverde is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. His nickname is Papa Grande...
and two-time World Series champion Johnny Damon
Johnny Damon
Johnny David Damon is an American professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter. From 2000–2008, he was third among active players in runs and seventh in hits and stolen bases . He is currently second among active leaders in triples , five behind Carl Crawford...
. Austin Jackson made the Tigers opening day roster, and was American League Rookie of the Month for April. 2010 also saw the debut of Brennan Boesch
Brennan Boesch
Brennan Philip Boesch is an American professional baseball outfielder with the Detroit Tigers of Brennan Philip Boesch is an American professional [[baseball]] [[outfielder]] with the [[Detroit Tigers]] of...
, who was named the AL Rookie of the Month for May and June.
At the All-Star break, the Tigers were a half-game out of first place in the AL Central, behind the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
. But a slow start after the break and injuries to three key players sent the Tigers into yet another second-half tailspin. The Tigers finished the season in third place with an 81–81 record, 13 games back of the division-winning Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
. While playing outstanding baseball at home, the Tigers were just 29–52 on the road. Only the Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...
had fewer road wins than the Tigers among American League teams.
Among the 2010 season highlights were Miguel Cabrera hitting .328 with 38 home runs and an AL-best 126 RBI, earning the American League Silver Slugger Award at first base and finishing second in the AL MVP race (earning 5 of 28 first-place votes). Austin Jackson (.293 average, 103 runs, 181 hits, 27 stolen bases) finished second in the AL Rookie-of-the-Year voting. Justin Verlander enjoyed another strong season (18–9 record, 3.37 ERA, 219 strikeouts).
The near-perfect game
On June 2, 2010, Armando GalarragaArmando Galarraga
Armando Antonio Galarraga is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. Galarraga made his Major League Baseball debut with the Texas Rangers on September 15, 2007...
was pitching a perfect game against the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
with 2 outs in the top of the ninth inning when first base umpire Jim Joyce
Jim Joyce
James A. "Jim" Joyce III is a Major League Baseball umpire who has worked in the American League from 1987 to 1999 and throughout both major leagues since 2000. He wears uniform number 66...
made a controversial call, ruling Jason Donald
Jason Donald (baseball)
Jason Thomas Donald is an Olympian for the United States and a Major League Baseball shortstop who currently plays for the Cleveland Indians...
safe at first. Video replay showed he was out. A tearful Joyce later said "I just cost that kid a perfect game. I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay." Later Galarraga told reporters Joyce apologized to him directly and gave him a hug. The next day, with Joyce umpiring home plate, Galarraga brought out the Tigers lineup card and the two hugged again. The sportsmanship
Sportsmanship
Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors...
demonstrated by Galarraga and Joyce earned them both widespread praise for their handling of the incident. Despite large fan support for overturning the call, commissioner Bud Selig
Bud Selig
Allan Huber "Bud" Selig is the ninth and current Commissioner of Major League Baseball, having served in that capacity since 1992 as the acting commissioner, and as the official commissioner since 1998...
let the call stand, but said he would look into expanding instant replay
Instant replay in baseball
In Major League Baseball, a system similar to that in the National Hockey League for the last month of the season and beyond was implemented on August 28, 2008...
for the future.
2011: First AL Central Championship
The Tigers returned much of their roster from 2010, with four notable departures. The team chose not to re-sign catcher Gerald LairdGerald Laird
Gerald Lee Laird III is an American professional baseball catcher for the Detroit Tigers. He graduated La Quinta High School in 1998, and played college baseball at Cypress College...
, outfielder Johnny Damon
Johnny Damon
Johnny David Damon is an American professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter. From 2000–2008, he was third among active players in runs and seventh in hits and stolen bases . He is currently second among active leaders in triples , five behind Carl Crawford...
and pitcher Jeremy Bonderman
Jeremy Bonderman
Jeremy Allen Bonderman is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher who currently is a free agent. Bonderman is six feet and two inches tall and weighs 220 pounds. He bats and throws right-handed...
. They also traded pitcher Armando Galarraga
Armando Galarraga
Armando Antonio Galarraga is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. Galarraga made his Major League Baseball debut with the Texas Rangers on September 15, 2007...
to the Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field...
for two minor league pitching prospects. Notable offseason additions included catcher/DH Victor Martinez, relief pitcher Joaquin Benoit
Joaquín Benoit
Joaquín Antonio Benoit Peña is a Dominican professional baseball relief pitcher with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball in the United States. He is 6'3" and weighs 220 pounds.-Texas Rangers:...
and starting pitcher Brad Penny
Brad Penny
Bradley Wayne "Brad" Penny is a Major League starting pitcher. Penny has spent portions of his career with the Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers....
.
On May 7th, 2011, Justin Verlander
Justin Verlander
Justin Brooks Verlander is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball....
took a perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
into the 8th inning, and after a walk to J.P. Arencibia, Verlander got his double play and went on to the 9th inning to complete his 2nd career no-hitter. It was the 7th no-hitter in Tigers history. He faced the minimum 27 batters and recorded 4 strikeouts with 1 walk and a pitch count of 108. In his next start, Justin went 5 and 2/3 against the Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
before surrendering his first hit, bringing his consecutive innings without a hit to a total of 15 2/3.
The Tigers sent five players to the 2011 All-Star Game. Catcher Alex Avila
Alex Avila
Alexander Thomas Avila is an American professional baseball catcher with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. He is 5' 11" tall and weighs 210 pounds. Avila was born in Hialeah, Florida.-Early Baseball Career:...
was voted in as a starter, while Justin Verlander, Jose Valverde
José Valverde
José Rafael Valverde is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. His nickname is Papa Grande...
and Miguel Cabrera
Miguel Cabrera
José Miguel Cabrera Torres nicknamed "Miggy", is a Venezuelan professional baseball first baseman with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. He bats and throws right-handed....
were added as reserves. (Verlander was unavailable to play in the game due to the scheduling of his regular-season starts.) Shortstop Jhonny Peralta
Jhonny Peralta
Jhonny Antonio Peralta is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. He previously played with the Cleveland Indians.-Playing career:...
was later added to the All-Star team when the Yankees' Derek Jeter
Derek Jeter
Derek Sanderson Jeter is an American baseball shortstop who has played 17 years in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. A twelve-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion, Jeter's clubhouse presence, on-field leadership, hitting ability, and baserunning have made him a central...
was unable to play due to injury.
On August 27, Justin Verlander defeated the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
, 6-4, to become the first Tiger since Bill Gullickson
Bill Gullickson
William Lee Gullickson is a former major league baseball pitcher who played for six different major-league teams, in Canada, the U.S...
in 1991 to win 20 games in a season. Verlander also became the first major league pitcher since Curt Schilling
Curt Schilling
Curtis Montague "Curt" Schilling is a former American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to the World Series in and won World Series championships in with the Arizona Diamondbacks and in and with the Boston Red Sox. Schilling retired with a...
in 2002 to reach 20 wins before the end of August.
In May, the Tigers were as many as eight games back of the first-place Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
, but slowly pulled back to near-even by the All-Star break. As a three-way battle for the division title developed between the Tigers, Indians, and Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
, the Tigers put together an 18-10 record in August to begin to pull away. After a loss on September 1, the Tigers reeled off a 12-game winning streak to put any thoughts of another late-season collapse to rest. The streak consisted of four consecutive three-game sweeps over their AL Central Division rivals. It was the Tigers longest winning streak since the 1934 team
1934 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers season was a season in American baseball. The season was the team's 34th since entering the American League in . The Tigers won the American League pennant with a record of 101-53, the best winning percentage in team history. The team made its fourth World Series appearance, but...
won 14 straight. On September 16, the Tigers clinched the AL Central Division title with a 3–1 win over the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
. It was their first AL Central title since joining the division in 1998, and first overall since 1987
1987 Detroit Tigers season
The 1987 Detroit Tigers season saw the Tigers make a startling late-season comeback to win the American League Eastern Division. The Tigers finished with a record of 98 wins and 64 losses, two games ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays...
. The Tigers clinched the division with 11 games left to play, tying the franchise record set by the 1984 team
1984 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers won the 1984 World Series, defeating the San Diego Padres, 4 games to 1. The season was their 84th since they entered the American League in 1901 and their fourth World Series championship. Detroit relief pitcher Willie Hernandez won the Cy Young Award and was chosen as the...
.
Members of the 2011 Tigers won multiple statistical awards in 2011. Justin Verlander won the triple crown of pitching, leading the American League in wins (24), ERA (2.40) and strikeouts (250). José Valverde was the AL saves leader with 49 (in 49 save opportunities). Miguel Cabrera won the AL batting title with a .344 average.
On October 6, the Tigers beat the New York Yankees
2011 New York Yankees season
The 2011 New York Yankees season was the 111th season for the New York Yankees franchise. The Yankees began the season at home against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday, March 31. The Yankees clinched a playoff berth in the first game of a doubleheader on September 21, 2011, and clinched the AL East...
3–2 in Game 5 of the ALDS
2011 American League Division Series
The 2011 American League Division Series were two best-of-five playoffs comprising the opening round of the Major League Baseball postseason, played to determine the participating teams in the 2011 American League Championship Series. Three divisional winners and a fourth team—a wild card—played...
, winning the series 3–2. They advanced to the ALCS
2011 American League Championship Series
The 2011 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven playoff pitting the winners of the 2011 American League Division Series, the Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers, against each other for the American League championship and the right to be the league's representative in the 2011 World...
, which they lost to the defending AL Champion Texas Rangers
2011 Texas Rangers season
The Texas Rangers’ 2011 season was the 51st season in the overall history of the franchise and the 40th since the team relocated to Arlington, Texas. Going into the season they were the defending American League champions....
, 4 games to 2.