Magglio Ordonez Autographed Walk Off Homer 2006 ALCS 8×10
My Favorite Detroit Tigers Moment
Like most Tigers fans, I’ve seen it all. I vaguely remember the dominant Tigers teams of the mid 80’s, and I unfortunately remember the abysmal Detroit teams from the 90’s and early 2000’s. I’ve attended games where it seemed like a private show for me and my friends, where tickets were $5 each…and they included a hot dog and a drink! We would switch seats every two innings, “Hey, I wonder what it’s like to sit in the first row behind home?”. So we did. The ushers were bored out of their minds, and I’m sure they spent much less in janitorial crews, because there was nobody there. Haha! It seemed that for the majority of my life, the sports gods would only allow one Detroit team to be competitive in the same year. The Tigers were good, then the Pistons, then the Red Wings…oh wait…I’m forgetting a team. No I’m not. 😉
And then it happened…
It was October 14th, 2006. The year of Kenny Rogers, Pudge, and Placido Polanco. The Tigers were in game 4 of the ALCS, which I attended in person. The mid-October air was crisp, but the atmosphere was absolutely electrifying. The forecasted temperature was 30 degrees, which was a tad chilly for attending a baseball game. Once we were in Comerica, it was summer. We also attended game three, the previous day, which was also an outstanding experience, but game 4 was magic. I had known for the previous week, that I would attend games 3 & 4, but thought it unlikely that the Tigers would clinch a World Series berth in game 4. They would have to sweep the A’s, which seemed a near impossibility to my often let down fan’s perspective. To my surprise, Detroit took both games in Oakland, and there was still hope of being there when the Tigers clinched their first World Series appearance, since Gibby, Tram, Sweet Lou, and Morris won it all in ’84. The Tigers shut out the A’s in game 3, behind a stifling pitching performance by Kenny Rogers. Game 4 was pretty ugly to start. Detroit was down 3-0 and Jason Grilli entered the game. At that point, I figured the best I could hope for was to watch the clinch on television. Grilli had been rocky to say the least, but his appearance wasn’t quite long enough to do damage. He pitched 2/3 of an inning, but gave up a hit and 3 walks…surprisingly zero runs. Crisis averted. Polanco carried the team that series, hitting .529! While Polanco was the hero for the series, Maggs was the hero of game 4. The Tigers fought back with a Magglio Ordonez home run to tie the game at 3. It remained that way until the bottom of the 9th. After Thames and Granderson both lined out, with bases empty and two outs, Craig Monroe singled to center, followed by a first-pitch single to right by Polanco. Magglio Ordonez steps up to the plate, the crowd is chanting “Oh-E-Oh MAGGGGLLIOOOO”, to the tune of the Wizard of Oz march. Hudson Street deals….ball 1. Maggs steps back into the batters box, crowd a little less boisterous, now hanging on the weight of the moment. Street deals and Maggs hits an absolute Titanic shot to left. From the moment he swung, the masses that were in attendance knew he had done it! Ordonez slowly drifts out of the box, then makes his historic trot around the bags, with right fist held high above his head. The Tigers are going to the World Series!!!
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While they made it to the World Series, the rest of the story isn’t quite so glamorous. That was the year that every starting pitcher muffed a fielding play in every game, and they got swept. Despite the atrocious play in the World Series, 2006 was a shining moment for the Tigers organization, and for the dormant fans, who had waited so long for a sign of hope.
Where are they now?
There is only a single player left from that 2006 team, Justin Verlander. The rest of them were getting worn out, wanted too much money, or were just mediocre. The positive, despite a nearly complete replacement of every player, the Tigers remained competitive. When I look at that ’06 team, and compare them to the 2014 team in Spring Training, I don’t feel quite so doubtful. If the Tigers get what’s expected from the veterans, as well as average production from the Castellanos, they could very well make another run at the title.
What is your favorite Detroit Tigers moment?
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