As the MLB season comes to a close, the Detroit Tigers finished the year by getting swept by the San Francisco Giants, who won their seventh World Series championship. The Giants are tied with the Boston Red Sox for fourth most World Series titles by a team or franchise.
After 175 games of Tigers baseball, you hate to see this season end so soon. The 88-74 regular season was nothing short of an emotional rollercoaster filled with heartbreaks, tears of joy and some “Motown Magic.”
There are many amazing memories Tigers fans will remember and be talking about for a very long time: Quintin Berry’s very first major league at bat being a bunt-double, Prince Fielder winning the Home Run Derby, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer both leading the MLB in strikeouts (239 and 231 respectively) and Miguel Cabrera becoming the first Triple Crown winner since 1967 with a .330 batting average, 139 runs batted in and 44 home runs as well as being a front-runner to win
the American League Most Valuable Player award.
We all remember the moment we found out that Fielder would be wearing the Olde English “D” for the next 10 years, as well as the time we heard that Brandon Inge would no longer be a Tiger.
Clinching the AL Central by three games over the Chicago White Sox in back-to-back seasons overshadowed the frustration everybody had with this team that was third place in the division back in June. Many fans believe this wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for Andy Dirks’ slide to break up a double play against Kansas City in late September.
And who could forget Phil Coke’s glove spike after winning the AL Championship Series in a sweep over the New York Yankees?
No, the Tigers didn’t win the World Series like we hoped, but this year was far from a disappointment.
Tiger fans should be more excited than sad during this offseason.
The day after game four of the World Series, Verlander used his Twitter account to reach out to fans and get them excited for next season.
“You guys deserved better from us, and our pledge is to get right to work to make sure we’re back again in [2013],” Verlander said.
We can expect designated hitter Victor Martinez to be healthy enough to play next season after he suffered a torn ACL back in January. The dynamic duo of Cabrera and Fielder and their combined 387 hits, 74 HR and 247 RBI should still be in the lineup together. The Tigers also have three of the best starting pitchers in Verlander, Scherzer and Doug Fister returning in the rotation.
There are many moments fans will cherish, so hold onto those memories as we wait five months for all the snow to fall and melt away before the “Voice of the Turtle” is heard again at Comerica Park.
Make sure to mark your calendars as we anticipate next year’s rollercoaster. The season will begin
April 1, 2013 where the reigning AL Champions open at Target Field, taking on the Minnesota Twins.
