Tigers postseason run continues with the ALDS starting Saturday, October 5
The Tigers look to ride their momentum over a tough Guardians squad.
Visual storytelling in baseball doesn’t get much more striking and far-reaching than the ending of the Detroit Tigers sweep of the Houston Astros on Wednesday.
As the camera shots moved from manager A.J. Hinch, triumphant with his young and finally rebuilt team in Minute Maid Park, site of his greatest moments as a manager, on to future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander, whose trade to Houston ended the last era of good Tigers baseball and keyed the Astros run to dominance, sitting despondently in the Astros dugout, possibly contemplating a very uncertain future, an entire seven-year arc for both franchises came full circle in two images and one moment.
Now it’s the Tigers with the talented young team beginning what we all hope is a lengthy new era of postseason baseball. The Astros aren’t going anywhere, but with Verlander and Alex Bregman both bound for free agency, times are changing in Houston.
For two months, Tigers fans just wondered how long they could keep their incredible stretch drive going. Now, rather than a complete longshot coming out of nowhere, the Tigers have reached the postseason and defeated a tough, talented, highly experienced club in the Wild Card Series. They aren’t surprising anyone now, but at no point have they seemed surprised at their own success either.
In fact, Hinch has emphatically refuted the idea of a miracle run or any other tag that smells of a fluke. There’s a long way to go to build a consistent division winning club that truly scares other teams year in and year out, but there’s now no question that these young Tigers belong. There’s also no reason to think they can’t keep it going.
No one is real happy to face the hottest team in baseball in October. And with a strong farm system and a very low payroll, the Detroit Tigers are now primed for a long run as consistent presence in the postseason if the Scott Harris and Jeff Greenberg led front office make the right moves.
