The history books of Major League Baseball are full of stories and historic events, however, there are few franchises that boast a storied legacy like the Detroit Tigers. As we work our way through the corridors of time, we find ourselves immersed in the echoes of victory and the cheers of World Series crowds surrounded by other historical moments from the early days of Ty Cobb to Miguel Cabrera collecting his 3,000th hit. The Detroit Tigers franchise has left an unmistakable mark on the city of Detroit and the sport of baseball. “A Look Back: Detroit Tigers Historic Moments” will take us on a journey through time, recapping pivotal events, iconic players, moments of joy and unforgettable heartbreak. So put on your digital reading rally cap and dive into these moments that have shaped the legacy of the Detroit Tigers franchise.
1901
The Detroit Tigers were set to make their American League debut on April 24th, 1901, however, the weather had something to say about that ultimately delaying the game by one day. The following day the Tigers found themselves trailing the Milwaukee Brewers 13-4 and would go on to score 10 runs and earn the win.
Frank Dillon would lead the Tigers offense going 4-for-6 with 5 RBI and scoring 3 runs. Kid Cleason, Ducky Holmes, and Kid Elberfield would each collect 2 RBI as well. Emil Frisk would earn the Tigers first American League win throwing 6.2 innings while allowing 6 earned runs and striking out 2.
1905
Ty Cobb makes his Tigers debut. Cobb was acquired from the Agusta Reds of the South Atlantic League in exchange for Eddie Cicotte, $700 and an additional $50 for what was called “immediate delivery.” In his first season wearing the Old English D Cobb would play in just 41 games slashing .238/.286/.298; in 151 at-bats he would collect 36 hits, score 19 runs, hit 1 homerun and drive in 15.
Over the next 23 years of his career Cobb would never bat below .316 in a season.
1907
The Tigers would win their first Pennant, the first of three consecutive Pennants, under manager Hughie Jennings. Jennings would lead the Tigers to a 92-58 record, narrowly edging out the Philadelphia Athletics who had a record of 88-57. The Tigers would drop the World Series 0-4-1.
1935
After dropping the 1934 World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals the Tigers would post a 93-58 record in 1945 winning the American League once again. Detroit’s World Series Championship dreams would finally come true, defeating the Chicago Cubs 4 games to 2. The players each received a share of $6,544 for winning the Series.
1945
Detroit would win their 2nd World Series title. It would take 7 games to knock off the Chicago Cubs for the second time. Hal Newhouser would earn the win in both Game 6 and Game 7 while Doc Cramer and Hank Greenberg would lead the way offensively, hitting .349 and .304 along with 4 RBI and 7 RBI, respectively.
1955
Al Kaline plays his second full season in the Old English D and would become the youngest batting champion with a .340 batting average on the season. He would collect 200 hits (the only 200 hit season of his career), 27 homeruns and 102 RBI while posting an 8.2 WAR. Unfortunately, Kaline fell short of the MVP finishing in 2nd place behind Yogi Berra (218 votes to 201 votes), Berra posted a 4.5 WAR nearly half that of Kaline’s.
1968
Manager Mayo Smith would lead the Tigers to a 103-59 record, never relinquishing 1st place after May 10th. Detroit would finish with a double-digit game lead; Baltimore found itself in 2nd place 12.0 games back of the Tigers. Denny McLain would win 31 games and remains the league’s last 30 game winner.
The World Series would, yet again, take 7 games to conclude ending with Detroit clinching its 3rd World Series title in franchise history. Mickey Lolich threw 3 complete games going 3-0 and earning the World Series MVP award. Al Kaline and Norm Cash led the offense combining for 21 hits, 13 RBI, and 11 runs.
1976
Mark “The Bird” Fidrych took the league by storm posting a 19-9 record with a 2.34 ERA, 159 ERA+ and 9.6 WAR over 31 games and 250.1 innings pitched earning himself the Rookie of the Year award. The Bird was known for his quirky personality: talking to the ball, shaking hands with his infielders after a good play, and patting the mound to smooth it out. Ultimately, Fidrych’s career would fall short due to chronic arm injuries.
1979
Sparky Anderson takes over as the Tigers manager.
1984
Detroit jumped out to a 35-5 start to the season, highlighted by Jack Morris’s No Hitter on April 7th; this was the best 40-game start in MLB History. The Tigers would finish the season 15 games ahead of the pack, posting a 104-58 record and would defeat the San Diego Padres 4-1 earning their 4th World Championship.
WORLD SERIES HIGHLIGHT: “He don’t wanna walk you”
1999
Tiger Stadium sees its final game on September 27th in front of 43,000+ fans; 6,783 games were played at the corner. Robert Fick would help the Tigers defeat the Kansas City Royals 8-2 with his 8th inning grand slam, the final homerun at Tiger Stadium.
2003
The Tigers set an MLB record for losses in a 162-game season with 119.
2006
Jim Leyland takes over as manager. The Tigers would earn a postseason berth as a Wild Card and would rattle off 7 consecutive postseason wins to reach the World Series, ultimately falling short to the Cardinals in 5 games.
Many great things would happen during the season. Justin Verlander won the Rookie of the Year aware, Leyland earned the AL Manager of the Year award, Carols Guillen hit for the cycle, Kenny Rogers threw 23 consecutive scoreless postseason innings over 3 starts, and Craig Monroe set a new franchise record with 5 postseason homeruns.
2008
Future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera was acquired from the Florida Marlins via trade.
2010
Jim Joyce blows a call at first base costing Armanda Galarraga the Tigers first Perfect Game in franchise history. Joyce would later deliver a tear riddled apology for his egregious mistake.
2012
Miguel Cabrera won the Triple Crown batting .330 with 44 homeruns and 139 RBI helping lead the Tigers to yet another World Series berth. The Tigers would sweep the New York Yankees in the ALCS leading to a long rest before the start of the World Series. The Tigers couldn’t get their offense going again and would drop the series 0-4 to the San Francisco Giants.
2013
Tigers starter Max Scherzer would start the season 13-0 helping Detroit earn its 3rd consecutive division title. Manager Jim Leyland would make some questionable calls in the ALCS and the Tigers would drop the series to the Boston Red Sox. David Ortiz’s grand slam still lingers in Tiger fans’ minds and was likely the final nail in Leyland’s coffin, his tenure with the Tigers would come to an end before the start of the 2014 season.
2014-2020
The dark ages of Al Avila, Brad Ausmus and Ron Gardenhire. We won’t rehash these wounds today.
2021
August 22nd Miguel Cabrera enters the history books one more time belting his 500th career homerun, the 28th player to do so, against the Toronto Blue Jays off an 84 MPH slider from Steven Matz in the Top of the 6th inning in Toronto.
2022
Once again Miguel Cabrera makes history becoming only the 7th player to record 500 homeruns and 3,000 hits during the career. The hit came on April 23rd and was a seeing eye single through the right side of the infield off of Colorado Rockies pitcher Antonio Senzatela.