DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers are playoff-bound for the first time in 10 years after defeating the Chicago White Sox 4-1 to clinch a spot in the American League Wild Card round.
The victory Friday (Sept. 27) night was their sixth consecutive in what capped off the stuff of legend as they were 55-53 on Aug. 10.
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During the deadline, they traded one of their best players, pitcher Jack Flaherty, and looked to be building for the future.
Less than two months later, they not only helped break the MLB record for most losses in a season with 121, set by the White Sox but also clinched their first playoff appearance since the 2014 season.
“Inside of this building, nobody had a doubt what our motive was which was to win,” said Tigers Manager A.J. Hinch. “We had to do it a little differently with a different set of guys, younger guys learning at this level. But the goal has always been to win here. Nobody wants to go out every day and not win, so we put a lot of work into this. The players have been incredible, and we’re reaping the benefits of it right now.”
The Tigers had a 0.2% chance of making the playoffs and were, at one point, 10 games back from the wild card.
“It’s hard to put it in words, but I’m really proud of every one of these guys here,” said Hinch. “Throughout our system, you know, we’re like the forward-facing guys in the big leagues. There are a lot of people in the organization that have worked hard to get to this point, and the reward is so much better than it ever felt like it was going to be. Our fans have been patient, our players have worked their tails off, and now we’re October Bound.”
The cardiac cats went on a 31-11 run to catch the Minnesota Twins in a historic turn of events as they slid out of the race entirely, losing 24 of their last 36 in that same time frame, rolling out the orange carpet for the Tigers to enter the playoffs.
With Friday’s victory, the Tigers became the second team in Major League Baseball history to make the postseason after being at least eight games under .500 through 115 games, joining the 1973 New York Mets.
After letting Flaherty go for a bag of peanuts and crackerjacks, the Tigers pitchers led the show with a 2.60 earned run average. At the same time, the aforementioned Twins allowed a 4.65 ERA, which was 25th in the majors during the epic collapse.
Leading the calvary was what many think will be your 2024 Cy Young winner, Tarik Skubal. The big-armed lefty finished the regular season with an ERA of 2.39 with 228 strikeouts in 31 mound appearances.
The Tigers have the youngest roster in the majors, with an average age of 26.
Still, the young Tiger Cubs were able to rally down the stretch and snap their decade drought, which was tied for the longest active streak during the second year under president of baseball operations Scott Harris, who was hired back in 2022.
Outfielder Riley Greene set a career-high in home runs and on-base plus slugging plus (OPS+) at the plate, and he and Skubal represented the Tigers in the 2024 all-star game in Arlington, Texas.
Friday’s victory clinched the Tigers’ 17th postseason appearance in the franchise’s 125-year history, during which they won the World Series in 1935, 1945, 1968, and 1984. They made the World Series in 2006 and 2012.
The Tigers moved into the second wild card spot Friday night, and they have two games left against the White Sock to stay ahead of the Kansas City Royals.
Although seeding was not fulfilled, the Tigers joined the New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, and Cleveland Guardians in the American League.
