Detroit Tigers

On This Day: October 14, 1984

The Detroit Tigers win Game 5 of the 1984 World Series to bring their 4th World Championship to Detroit. The entire series was a relatively tight matchup. The Tigers did what every team hopes to do during a playoff series on the road, splitting 1-1 with the Padres in San Diego. Upon returning back to Detroit the Tigers handled things swiftly and closed out their Championship in front of the home crowd at Tiger Stadium.

Jack Morris led the way amongst Detroit staring pitchers, starting Games 1 & 4. Morris would go the distance in both starts, surrendering just 4 earned runs while striking out 13 and winning both contests. On the offensive side the Tigers were led by Alan Trammell (.450), Kirk Gibson (.333), and Larry Herndon (.333). The trio would combine for 5 homeruns, 16 RBI and 10 runs scored. Trammell would go on to be the World Series MVP.

The team was led to a 104-58 record on the season by Manager Sparky Anderson. Anderson spent 17 of his 26 years as a Big-League Manager in Detroit. He would end his tenure in Detroit with a .516 winning percentage (1331-1248 record) and a 8-5 (.615) record in the playoffs. He would have 13 seasons above .500 while at the helm in Detroit and tallied 26 total ejections to go along with his 1 Pennant and 1 World Series title. Sparky was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a Manager in 2000 by the Veteran’s Committee.