The Detroit Tigers lost a lot of games down the final stretch of the regular season, with the Cleveland Guardians winning a ton at the same time, and the division lead kept shrinking. That is, until the Guardians consistently beat the Tigers, leading to a Guardians division title.
After being up 15.5 games in July and 10.5 games in September, it's the worst division collapse in baseball history. Fortunately, with the expanded playoff field, the Tigers still made the postseason. And there, they took some revenge on the Guardians, beating them in Cleveland to move on to the ALDS.
After the massive series win, Tigers owner Chris Ilitch shared a very interesting perspective on the Tigers. In a piece from Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, Ilitch alluded to the Tigers as a "sleeping giant," and one that was just woken up with this series win.
Chris Ilitch calls the Tigers a 'sleeping giant' after their Wild Card win
"We had our ups, and we certainly had our downs," Ilitch said. "Careful. Maybe we've woken a sleeping giant with this team."
In the first half of the year, the Tigers were the team to beat. Between great starting pitching and dominant hitting from a multitude of hitters, the Tigers looked like World Series contenders.
But their second-half collapse had most writing the Tigers off as a flash in the pan. For Ilitch, however, he believes that this Wild Card series win over the Guardians has "woken up the sleeping giant" that is the Tigers as World Series contenders.
Cleveland was the reason the Tigers were in such dire straits at the end of the year, and instead of letting it eat them up, the Tigers fought back and moved on to the ALDS to face the Seattle Mariners.
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Compared to the vibes at the end of the season, this outcome is a huge step in the right direction. Detroit looks to be back on track, and Ilitch believes that this Wild Card series has woken the Tigers up.
Tarik Skubal will be dominant as per usual, but the rest of the roster and pitching staff have some major question marks. But Jack Flaherty and Casey Mize both looked good in the Wild Card round, and the bullpen, other than in Game 2, also came to play.
Detroit also saw its offense come to life in Game 3, putting up five runs late in the game to put it out of reach for the Guardians. This series was huge for the Tigers' confidence, and should have Detroit ready to go for the ALDS series against the Mariners.
If the Tigers can get back to their first-half form, then Ilitch's belief might not be far from the truth. The Tigers might actually be a sleeping giant, and this Wild Card series win over the division rival Guardians might've finally woken them up from their second-half slump.
More Tigers News:
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- Tigers' Tarik Skubal reveals text he sent to David Fry after scary hit by pitch
- Tigers make ridiculous MLB postseason history with wild card series win over Guardians
- Tigers vs. Guardians final score, result: Seventh-inning fireworks push Detroit to ALDS
- Tigers' Riley Greene joins Hank Greenberg in exclusive Detroit franchise history
- Tigers linked as potential trade suitor for Cardinals' $260 million slugger