The Tigers, one of the American League’s charter franchises in 1901, have celebrated four World Series championships and 11 World Series berths. That kind of history creates a treasure trove of memorable and historic moments, and makes for a challenge to pick just 10. Some are obvious, particularly given their importance in the playoffs, while others have become more appreciated with time and perspective. Here’s one reporter’s list of the top 10:
1. Oct. 14, 1984: Gibby homers twice to finish World Series victory
Tigers fans who aren’t old enough to remember this Game 5 performance when it happened still likely remember it as much for the highlight of manager Sparky Anderson telling Kirk Gibson that Padres reliever Goose Gossage didn’t want to walk him in a one-run game in the eighth inning, despite Gibson’s two-run homer off Mark Thurmond in the opening inning. Gossage had owned Gibson in their regular-season meetings from 1979 to 1983, striking him out seven times in 10 plate appearances, and he believed he could do it again with two on and one out. Instead, Gibson took him deep for a three-run homer and took the World Series with it.
2. Oct. 14, 2006: Magglio walks off ALCS sweep over A’s
Magglio Ordóñez’s home run has become not only the signature moment of the Tigers’ incredible 2006 season but the snapshot of the franchise’s turnaround from 119 losses in 2003 to the World Series three years later. With the Tigers holding a 3-0 series lead, victory seemed inevitable, and a sellout crowd was ready to celebrate Detroit’s first World Series berth since 1984. Still, the Tigers erased a 3-0 deficit in Game 4 and put two runners on with two outs in the ninth inning against Oakland's Huston Street. Ordóñez delivered, sending a drive deep to left. Placido Polanco leapt into the air as he rounded the bases, Todd Jones sprayed fans in the stands with champagne, Jim Leyland got emotional -- and the city did, too.
3. Oct. 7, 1968: Willie Horton throws out Lou Brock to keep Tigers alive in World Series
The Tigers rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the Cardinals in 1968, but they might have been done in five games had Horton not come up with the greatest throw of his career to retire one of baseball’s fastest men. With the Cardinals a win away from a World Series championship at Tiger Stadium and holding a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth inning, Lou Brock doubled against Mickey Lolich and rounded third on Julian Javier’s ensuing single to left. Horton charged the line drive, played it off the hop and unleashed a throw home that hit catcher Bill Freehan on a perfect bounce just as Brock was trying to cross home plate in stride. Brock didn’t slide as Freehan collected the ball and applied the tag. Once Al Kaline’s two-run single put Detroit in front in the seventh inning, the comeback was on. The play was so memorable that it was re-enacted on the Tiger Stadium site during the 2013 ALCS.
4. Oct. 7, 1935: Goose Goslin walks off 1935 World Series
The Tigers waited 34 years for their first championship, having fallen short in four World Series, including a seven-game heartbreaker in 1934. Goslin, a future Hall of Famer who joined the Tigers in the late stages of his career, was a clutch postseason performer from his days in Washington. When the Tigers needed a hit in the ninth inning of Game 6 to thwart a Cubs comeback and avoid another winner-take-all scenario, Goslin delivered, lining a single to right to score player-manager Mickey Cochrane and bring a long-awaited title to Detroit.
5. Justin Verlander’s first no-hitter (June 12, 2007)
There have been nine no-hitters in Tigers franchise history, but just four thrown in Detroit. They’d gone nearly 55 years since Virgil Trucks no-hit the Washington Senators at Briggs Stadium until Verlander took the mound on a warm Tuesday night at Comerica Park and nullified a Brewers lineup that included future teammate Prince Fielder. Verlander’s fastball hovered around 100 mph and stayed there, all the way up to 101 mph on his 109th and 110th pitches. His changeup was precise and deceptive. What separated Verlander in this game, though, was a buckling curveball that froze hitters all night.
6. Hank Greenberg slugs Tigers into World Series (Sept. 30, 1945)
Greenberg missed four years of baseball while serving in the Army during World War II before receiving his discharge and returning in the middle of the 1945 season to help the Tigers in the AL race. On the final day of the regular season, the Tigers were holding on for dear life atop the AL standings, needing a win in a scheduled doubleheader against the Browns in St. Louis or a Washington loss to clinch the pennant. Greenberg stepped off the bench with the Tigers down a run in the top of the ninth and hit a grand slam, sending Detroit to the Fall Classic and making Greenberg a hero again. Four days later, he hit a go-ahead three-run homer in Game 2 of the World Series to help the Tigers even the Series with the Cubs.
7. Jim Northrup sends Tigers to title in Game 7 (Oct. 10, 1968)
The Tigers’ World Series comeback culminated in a legendary Game 7 matchup between Mickey Lolich and Bob Gibson. Lolich went inning for inning with Gibson in a duel that remained scoreless until the seventh, when back-to-back two-out singles from Norm Cash and Horton extended the inning for Northrup to slug a drive that fooled Curt Flood in center field. The two-run triple gave Lolich a lead he’d hold to complete a true Fall Classic.
8. Miguel Cabrera clinches Triple Crown (Oct. 3, 2012)
No hitter had posted a Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967, and nobody thought Cabrera had a chance until the final weeks of the season. That included Cabrera himself, who was more focused on carrying the Tigers through a tough AL Central race that the Tigers didn’t take over for good until the final week. Everything came together in the closing days, culminating in a memorable night in Kansas City that included a gracious reception for a visiting player, a ceremony from Major League Baseball and a chance for Cabrera, with encouragement from his teammates, to allow himself to enjoy the moment.
“I don’t know when I’m going to believe this,” Cabrera said.
9. Verlander shuts out A’s to end Division Series (Oct. 11, 2012)
The A’s rallied from a 2-0 ALDS deficit to tie the series with a three-run ninth inning off Jose Valverde to win Game 4. While the A’s rejoicing echoed around the Coliseum, Verlander was already in his hyper-focused pregame mode for his start the next night, ready to break their hearts. He backed it up with a four-hit, 11-strikeout shutout in a 6-0 win that sent the Tigers back to the ALCS for a second consecutive year and eventually a World Series berth.
10. Armando Galarraga’s would-be perfect game (June 2, 2010)
The greatness of this wasn’t just in Galarraga’s retiring Cleveland’s first 26 batters, but in the sportsmanship shown after umpire Jim Joyce’s blown call at first base on Jason Donald’s ground ball with two outs in the ninth denied Galarraga what would have been the first perfect game in franchise history. With no replay system at the time, there was no way to correct what immediately became apparent as a mistake. Joyce was emotional, but Galarraga and Tigers manager Jim Leyland showed a level of empathy that isn’t often seen in the heat of competition. Joyce and Galarraga met at home plate the next day before the game, and Galarraga received a car from Chevrolet as a reward for his extraordinary sportsmanship.
Honorable mention:
• Ty Cobb, age 38, goes 6-for-6 with three homers, setting MLB record for total bases in a game (May 5, 1925)
• Denny McLain records historic 30-win season (Sept. 14, 1968)
• Robert Fick hits grand slam for final home run at Tiger Stadium (Sept. 27, 1999)