On this day in 1901, the Detroit Tigers played their first game as a major league team at Bennett Park in Detroit. 10,000 fans turned out to watch their first Opening Day against the Milwaukee Brewers (who left for St. Louis to become the St. Louis Browns the following season).
Photo via absolutemichigan.com
The Tigers were down 13-4 heading into the ninth inning. They went on to score 10 runs, winning 14-13. They finished the season in third place with a 74-61 record.
Since that first season in 1901, the Tigers have won four World Series titles (1935, 1945, 1968 and 1984), 11 American League Pennants (1907-1909, 1934, 1935, 1940, 1945, 1968, 1984, 2006, 2012), five Division titles (1972, 1984, 1987 in the East and 2011, 2012 in the Central) and one Wild Card berth (2006).
But most importantly during these last 113 seasons, the Tigers have created memories. They've given us some of the greatest players baseball has ever seen. In 1936, Tigers' great Ty Cobb received the most votes of any player on the inaugural ballot to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1955, Al Kaline won the American League batting title with a .340 batting average. At age 20, he remains the youngest player to do so.
Photo by Julian H. Gonzalez/Detroit Free Press
Shortstop Alan Trammell and second baseman Lou Whitaker stand as the longest continuous double-play combination in major league history, playing 19 seasons together with Detroit.
In 1968, Denny McLain became Major League Baseball's first 30-game winner since 1934 after a 5-4 victory at Tiger Stadium against the Oakland Athletics.
Virgil Trucks threw two no hitters during the 1952 season, making him the third major leaguer to do so at the time.
Beyond that, the Tigers have always meant a little something more to Detroit. Yes, our nickname is Hockeytown. I won't dispute that moniker. But I believe that no team in this city, and in this state, brings people together the way the Tigers have for 113 seasons.
In the summer of 1967, Detroit experienced one of the worst riots in American history. It was a city divided.
Down 3-1 to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1968 World Series, the Tigers came back to win four games and took home their first title in 23 years. The '68 team was largely credited for healing a city so badly hurting from the racial violence that had burdened it.
"Those men, that team, were something. They were a close-knit bunch who cared for each other. They provided an outlet for a city that desperately needed one. And they could play. Boy, could they play." - Ernie Harwell
Oh, and let's talk about Ernie. For 42 years, Ernie Harwell was the voice of Tigers baseball. His signature phrases still hold a special place in our hearts ("He stood there like the house by the side of the road, and watched it go by." "That one is LOOOONG gone!") Everyone loved Ernie, and Ernie loved everyone. He was, and still is, Tigers baseball.
Despite a drought between the 1968 World Series title and the one that came in 1984, Tigers fans still had much reason to be excited about the team. Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, who put on a Tigers uniform from 1976-1980, quickly became one of the game's most popular personalities. He won the AL Rookie of the Year award in 1976 after finishing with a 2.34 ERA and a 19-9 record. There's no way I can describe Fidrych in words. He was so much more than that. Teams in visiting cities actually requested that Fidrych pitch because they knew it would sell more tickets. Seriously.
Unfortunately, Fidrych never won a ring with Detroit. His career was cut far too short due to injury. But in 1984, the Tigers began their season 35-5 and easily went on to win the World Series against the San Diego Padres.
My love affair with the Tigers began somewhere between 1996 and 1997. I decided to fall in love with this team during a rough time, as they were in the middle of what would become 12 consecutive losing seasons. I still remember the final game at Tiger Stadium. I locked myself in my room and cried during the post game ceremony when Brad Ausmus was putting the home plate from The Corner into its new home at Comerica Park. What can I say? I was an emotional seven year old.
In 2002, I sat through a 55-106 season. "Surely it can't get much worse, right?" I thought to myself. Number one rule as a Detroit fan: never ask if things will get worse. Because they will. And they did. The very next season, the Tigers set an American League record (and fell one short of tying the MLB record) by winning 43 games and losing 119.
Photo via detnews.com
But three years later, something crazy happened. The Tigers started winning. While they didn't win the World Series that season, it will always remain my favorite year of Tigers baseball. Never in a million years did I think that they would turn it around so fast, and in such a memorable way.
Since then, winning has come to be expected. Mike Ilitch and Dave Dombrowski have created a winning culture.
In 2008, Curtis Granderson became the third player in Major League history to reach 20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a season (Jimmy Rollins joined the club just a few weeks later).
Miguel Cabrera became the first player since 1967 to win the Triple Crown. Justin Verlander has thrown two no-hitters, won the AL Rookie of the Year Award, was unanimously selected the AL Cy Young Award winner in 2011, and the same year became the first starting pitcher to win the AL MVP Award since 1986.
We're lucky. Even today, in 2013, we are witnessing some of the greatest baseball players of our generation. Sure, not every season has been perfect. They've made some questionable moves. But hey, we survived the Randy Smith Era, didn't we? What can't we do?
And the greatest thing is, I haven't even begun to scratch the surface on what the Tigers franchise has given us, and the game of baseball, for the last 113 years. Hank Greenberg, Norm Cash, Willie Horton, Hal Newhouser, Charlie Gehringer and Jack Morris just to name a few more.
So happy birthday, Tigers. Thank you for being there for us all these years. And here's to many, many more.
So, I realize I haven't updated this blog in about a year. I don't really have any reason for that, but I decided to begin posting more regularly for this 2013 season. About five minutes ago, a link to a story titled, "20 Reasons Baseball Is the Worst," was retweeted on my timeline.
So naturally, me being the psycho, crazed, obsessive fan that I am, was a little bit upset at this. I've decided to write a rebuttal. In no particular order, here are my 20 Reasons Why Baseball is the Best:
20. Web Gems
By John Munson, US Presswire
They can come at any time, for any player, against any team. It can be a catch that preserves a perfect game or a catch to win the game. It can end an inning or kill a potential rally. Whether it's a diving, sliding or hey-I-just-flipped-over-the-fence-and-somehow-survived catch, it will always garner "OOOHs" and "AHHHs" from me.
The web gems that always tickle my fancy are the diving catches in the outfield. Anytime I see a player lay out and land flat on their stomach to catch a ball, I'm just amazed. How do you recover from that? How are they able to jump back up like they didn't just belly flop on solid ground? Who are you people?!
19. Walk off wins
There is nothing like the satisfaction of watching a hard fought game that ends on a single swing for your favorite team. On the other hand, there is nothing as painful as watching a hard fought game that ends on a single swing against your favorite team.
But that's what makes baseball so great. There is no timer. You can't run out the clock. Who cares if it's 8-0 in the bottom of the 9th inning. It's not over! The home team still has a chance to put up that nine spot to win it. And the craziest part? It happens. It happens all the time.
Buzzer beaters are cool. Last second touchdowns are fun. But nothing can touch that moment when a player is barreling around third to beat a throw to the plate to win the game. Nothing comes close to a ball that leaves the park, landing in a sea of crazed fans as they celebrate a victory. Nothing is like watching a group of grown men beat each other up in a dog pile out of pure joy.
This is me on Opening Day in 2008. It was freezing.
18. Opening Day
I don't want to sound like I'm comparing baseball to other sports, because that would be silly. All sports are different and great for their own reasons. But let's be real here. Nothing comes close to baseball's Opening Day. Nothing. It's a holiday. Sure, it's not officially a holiday yet, but give it some time. It will happen. (My friend Marcus tackles that topic here, you should read it).
Opening Day gives every fan a feeling of hope. It's a new start. You know what it's like? Say you just had a bad breakup, or lost a job, or something else that involves things not working out your way. Then think of that moment of clarity when you say, "Hey, I'm going to be just fine. There's greater things waiting for me." That's what Opening Day is like. Forget what happened last season. Forget what happened in spring training. It's a new day. A new season. Every team has a fighting chance.
17. Pitchers' Duels
A wise woman once told me, "When two pitchers can go for nine long innings, matching each other pitch for pitch and embarrassing the opposing offense, that's when you know you're watching something special."
That wise woman was me. I told myself that. Just now.
It's true though, isn't it? It is special to watch a real, true duel between two pitchers. These are Major League hitters. Really, really good, professional, All Star hitters. So when you get to see pitchers who are also really, really good, it's something to enjoy. Of course, not when it's against your team. Bad things against your team are never good. That's why they're called "bad things."
But knowing that a single hit can change the outcome of a game because the two pitchers are lights out at the exact same time? That's what baseball is all about.
16. Late nights at the park
I love myself a day game, I really do. Sitting in Comerica Park with the sun beating down on my face is one of the greatest feelings in the world. Awkward sun burn on the top of my thighs? That's what baseball season looks like.
Kauffman Stadium. Photo by Mark Whitt.
But for me, night games are where it's at. You do get some daylight for about four innings, depending on the pace of the game. Then when the sun goes down and the lights are on, there's a certain magic. I mean sure, I think anything and everything related to baseball is magic. Night games though. Night games are different. The grass is so green and the lights are glowing, sometimes I don't realize we're actually sitting in the dark until I look up at the sky. I love how the scoreboard is a little brighter, the crowd a little louder. Everything just seems more magnified during night games.
15. Rich history
I think the phrase "Nothing is like..." has become a recurring theme in this post, but COME ON. There is nothing like baseball's history. I can't even begin to think about all of the amazing players, moments, coaches, games and stories that have unfolded over the years without getting emotional. Yes, I get emotional over baseball. Yes, I get emotional when I think about events that I was not even alive for but still impact me.
Because that's what baseball does. It impacts people. Do you know why 2006 has been my favorite year of life so far? Because the Tigers went to the World Series for the first time in my life that year. I remember what happened in certain years of my life based on what happened in baseball during that time. Am I sorry? Absolutely not. That's just the way it goes with me.
14. It's unpredictable
It's become predictable that something unpredictable is going to happen in baseball every season. We just never know what that unpredictable thing is going to be, therefore we can't predict it.
Photo by Kim Klement
Teams play 162 games in a season. 162 chances to get to first place and stay there. "It's a marathon, not a sprint." That's probably the most common quote you hear during the first month of the season. But what happens when it's the last week of the season, and it's time for teams to sprint? What happens when after 161 games, you still don't know which teams will be playing in the postseason?
Oh, that's right. Baseball happens. In all its glory, it gives us something like Game 162 in 2011. It gives us Dan Johnson, a guy whose first hit since April 27 came in the form of a pinch hit game-tying home run to send the Tampa Bay Rays to extra innings, where they eventually went on to clinch the Wild Card.
Would anyone have predicted that at the start of the season? At the start of the game? At the start of the inning? Nope. How can people say baseball is boring when you don't even know what's going to happen next? 13. Strategy
Baseball is more than just someone walking up to the plate and swinging a big wooden stick. It involves matchups. It involves timing. It involves knowing when to go and knowing when to put on the brakes. It's about trying to have a guy steal a base while the batter tries to get a base hit at the same time. A successful hit and run is one of the most beautiful things a fan can see.
Strategy comes from all over. The catcher, manager and third base coach are among the anchors. It's such a meticulous game. One wrong step - or one wrong pitch - can change the entire outcome.
12. "This is a real family"
Is there a better way to ask someone to Opening Day?
Admittedly, Fever Pitch is one of my favorite movies of all time. It has everything I want in a movie: romance, comedy and baseball. And Jimmy Fallon. I always want Jimmy Fallon.
Fallon's character, Ben Wrightman, is basically the male version of me. This particular quote stands out to me every single time:
They're here. Every April, they're here. At 1:05 or at 7:05, there is a game. And if it gets rained out, guess what? They make it up to you. Does anyone else in your life do that? The Red Sox don't get divorced. This is a real family. This is the family that's here for you.
I love baseball for many reasons (hence, this list). I've loved it my whole life. This quote just about sums up why. The Tigers were consistently bad for pretty much my entire childhood. But did I care? Well, yes. I did. I was pretty bummed about it. But it only made me a bigger fan. Weird, right? I realized that I loved this sport so much, it didn't matter if the Tigers could hit a beach ball off a tee or not. They were still there. I could still root for them, good or bad, because they were there. Growing up, I couldn't ask for much more.
11. Baseball movies
Speaking of Fever Pitch, let's talk about the movies that have generated from this sport. Field of Dreams, The Sandlot, Rookie of the Year, Bull Durham, Major League, Angels in the Outfield, Moneyball, The Natural, For The Love of the Game, A League Of Their Own and many, many more.
Personally, I think all movies should be baseball movies. Just make all films from here on out about baseball. Every last one of them. Because then quotes like these will be in my life. Quotes that say how I feel, but much more eloquently and beautifully:
The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.
Gosh darn it Field of Dreams, you make me weep!
10. It's diverse
When you look at any baseball roster in MLB, you see a melting pot of cultures. It is a game for people from all over the world. Players ranging from Cuba to the Netherlands and everywhere in between are able to come together because of their love for this game.
Photo by Mike Blake
Can I be cheesy for a minute? Okay. I will. Not every player on every team speaks the same language. There are some barriers which I imagine make it hard to communicate. But you know what? Baseball is one language that all of them speak.
As a society, I think we can learn a lesson from this. Don't be afraid of people who are different than you. See? That's baseball. It's more than just a sport.
9. It brings people together
Going off what I said above, baseball is a sport that bonds people together like no other. Baseball fans get it. We understand each other. I can tell when I'm talking to a casual fan and when I'm talking to someone who really gets it. When I was in Arizona for the MLB Fan Cave and surrounded by 29 other baseball fans, I was with people who got it. These were my people.
And just like that, I became best friends with fans from all over the country. Do I hate the White Sox? Of course! Do I want the Indians to win? No way! But guess what? Two of my best friends from that experience ended up being a White Sox and Indians fan. Seriously. This isn't a joke.
But once again, that's the beauty of baseball. Did I ever think I'd have something in common with a Rockies fan? Or a Cubs fan? Did I ever imagine myself watching cartoons with a Yankees fan? Sure, we all root for different teams. But in the end, we're baseball fans.
These are all really cool people.
8. The voices
No, not the voices in your head. We'll talk about that later. I'm talking about the voices of baseball. The voices of summer. The voices that raised us. Ernie Harwell, Vin Scully, Russ Hodges, Harry Kalas, Bob Uecker, to name just a few.
These voices have defined some of our favorite baseball memories. Baseball is about the audio as much as it is about the visual. You don't just watch baseball, you listen to it. You listen to the stories. You listen to the way they describe each play, almost like they're painting a picture.
Please, just listen. Thank me later.
7. The stadiums
From classic, historic parks like Fenway and Wrigley Field, to a modern stadium like Target Field in Minnesota, each home for baseball is unique and different in its own way. Each place has something different to offer, something that they can claim as their own.
I've been to seven parks in my young life (Tiger Stadium, Comerica Park, Progressive Field, Rogers Centre, Great American Ballpark, Turner Field and Chase Field) and I can safely say that each one was different from the last. My goal, like most baseball fans, is to see a game in each stadium. It'll happen one day. And when it does, I'll report back to this little ol' blog and confirm the fact that each park has its own personality.
6. It's every day
I think that's why it's easy to get so attached to baseball. It happens every day. Each series is usually three or four games (with rare two-game series popping up every now and then) so each day is a chance for you, as a fan, to be either really happy or really bummed out.
But it's also a chance for each team to have short term memory. Unlike football, where a team has a week to mull it over (or sometimes two, depending on if it's a bye week or not), in baseball, they have the chance to fix what they did wrong the very next day.
162 games is a long season. Playing nearly every day for 6-7 months is also very long. But as I said above, sometimes even that isn't enough. Each game matters. That phrase is never more true than it is in this sport.
5. Comebacks
Photo by Todd Gannam
Whether the comeback comes in the form of a game, a player or a team, there's nothing like redemption in baseball. Oh look, there's that phrase again. Nothing like it.
Remember 2003? When the Tigers record was 43-119? No, that's not a typo. That is an actual record. That's an actual thing that happened. But then remember 2006? Three years later? When Magglio Ordonez hit a walk off home run to send the Tigers to the World Series?!
Because I remember it. I remember it like it was yesterday. That's a comeback. That's a team that came back from losing an American League record just a few years before.
Or what about Rick Ankiel? You remember that story. Here's a guy who left the league after failing dramatically as a pitcher. Seven years later, he's back as an outfielder with the St. Louis Cardinals and then goes on to SMASH the ball for the rest of the season like he had been doing it for years.
4. Statistics
Of course, every sport has statistics. That's how you measure who's great and who's not so great. But no sport's statistics are more debated and more discussed than that of baseball.
Photo by Chris Buck
Do I even have to mention the Trout vs. Cabrera debate of yesteryear? Because I'm pretty sure that's what you were all thinking as soon as I said "statistics" and "debated" in the same sentence. There's advanced stats, traditional stats, fun stats, weird stats, pointless stats, stats and stats and stats.
(I just realized "stats" is a palindrome. I love palindromes.)
I'll forever scream that the win/loss statistic for a pitcher is overrated. If you ever judge a pitcher based solely on their wins, I'll probably judge you based on your judgment. But see? That's why it's so fun.
3. Trade deadline and winter meetings
July 31 is almost like a holiday. But it's not the same kind of holiday as Opening Day. No, this holiday is a bit different. But much like Opening Day, anything can happen before the trade deadline. Surprise deals, no deals, any deals at all.
Fans and writers come up with crazy scenarios. Twitter is constantly abuzz with the latest news and rumors. And this is all happening while baseball is still being played. It's pure chaos.
And the winter meetings help hold people over until spring training begins. Favorite winter meeting memory? When the Tigers traded for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. Unexpected, huge and left me speechless. That's baseball.
2. The fact that I can even talk about it like this
Seriously. It's almost 4 in the morning and I'm writing a short novel about why baseball is amazing. I love sports. I love them all. But I could never, ever feel as passionate and as strongly about those sports as I do about baseball. 1. It's personal
I love baseball for more than just the game itself. I love what it symbolizes. I love the traditions that I've started because of it. I love that because of baseball, I have a career path that I know I want to take.
It all started with my Paw Paw. I watched every single game with him from when I was about five years old until the last day of his life. He was in hospice, and the last thing I did with him was sit and watch a Tigers game. It'll always bring comfort to me. Every time I watch a game, I think of him. I think of what he would say during certain situations. This is my second season watching without him, and it's not something I'll ever get used to. But it's just one more way that I'm able to keep his memory alive.
Baseball is much more than just a sport, and it's much more than just a game. And that's why it's the best.
To be fair to the article from Bleacher Report, he does end it by saying that he continues to love baseball in spite of all the things he listed. But still. The reasons that make baseball the best will always outnumber the rest. (Ended with a rhyme. So clutch)
One thing that seems to get lost in the sports fandom is the realization that every single one of those athletes are human beings. They all have families, they all have friends, and they all have lives outside of their sport. The behavior of some fans that I have seen at games and on Twitter is downright disrespectful, unnecessary, and unacceptable.
When I was a young girl, going to Tiger Stadium and then Comerica Park was the highlight of all of my summers. I watched every game that I could on television and seeing them in person was a surreal experience. I will admit that my favorite Tiger as a young'n was none other than Bobby Higginson. Being a kid, I was innocent and naive to the game. I didn't know about contracts, or how much each player was making. All I wanted to do was watch the Tigers and celebrate the rare moments in which they won. So when I encountered my first heckler at a baseball game, I was entirely too confused for my own good.
“Why is that guy in the Tigers shirt booing Higgy?!” I asked my Paw Paw, who I always sat next to.
“He isn't hitting the way they're paying him to. He's letting everyone down,” my Paw Paw would answer.
Ahh, money. The root of all problems. I started to realize the business side of baseball, and it was a side that I did not like.
From the first day I witnessed a heckler until now, I still find it to be the most disrespectful type of “fan” that there is. Yes, worse than the loud person sitting behind you who doesn't know a single thing about baseball. Worse than the people who kick the back of your seat. I find hecklers more annoying than people who try to start the wave at a crucial moment in the game.
Who are you benefiting by yelling at a ballplayer? Who gains anything from you saying nasty things to an athlete on Twitter? When a player is batting poorly or a pitcher can't seem to find the plate, why boo? Why kick a player while they are down? It's not as if they want to do bad. They've worked their entire life to make it to The Show. Do you think they WANT to blow that chance? How is booing going to help them in any way at all? Show some respect.
I realize I'm talking to myself here. The people who treat baseball players as just a number on the back of a jersey rather than real human beings will never change. And you know what? I understand the frustration. It isn't fun watching a baseball player struggle. To say it bluntly: it sucks. Every baseball fan wants to see the best 25 players on their favorite team. Trust me, I get it. But as mad as it makes you to watch a player have a hard time, imagine how it feels for them. Imagine how it feels for their family members. Yelling from the stands or typing from behind your computer isn't going to solve anything. “That player couldn't hit a beach ball off a tee! He sucks! I'm going to tell him about it!” As if he doesn't already know? As if telling a player how bad they're doing is going to magically make them do better? Get real.
Yes, I know there is a such thing as “playful heckling.” I know when people are joking around. I might have been naive when I was younger, but I'm a little bit smarter now. I don't expect any fan base to be all sunshine and rainbows but I do expect fans to learn a thing or two about what it means to respect others.
I said in my first blog post that this would be like my “baseball diary” of sorts. Well, here's a perfect example. I enjoyed the rant session. :)
