Yes, They're for Real!

I've delayed saying this until the All-Star break, but the Detroit Tigers are for real this year! Will they win the series? Who knows? Will they even make the playoffs? They have the best record in baseball, but the second-best record belongs to the White Sox who are in the AL Central with them. And the Sox are only two games back. But, the Tigers are real enough this year that they've awakened my long-dormant baseball gene and I find myself following every game with an intensity I thought I had lost.

You see, baseball fandom is an acquired trait for me. I didn't grow up near any major league teams (Roswell, New Mexico is known for some "out of this world" things, but not baseball). It wasn't until we moved to Cincinnati in 1974 that we became fans. In Cincinnati (especially in that era), either you were a Reds fan or you had nothing to talk about with friends (if you even had friends). We really got into the Big Red Machine--Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Davey Concepcion, Ken Griffey, Sr., etc. And of course, Sparky Anderson, the best manager ever.

When we moved to the Detroit area in 1978, the Tigers were a group of has-beens, and what little glory they had was the dying glow of their 1968 come-from-behind, miraculous World Series win. But in 1979, Sparky came from the Reds to the Tigers. I immediately became a Tigers fan. Going down to Tiger stadium for a game became a favorite family activity. And our devotion was rewarded in that amazing 1984 season when the Tigers started with a 35-5 record and never looked back; they led their division from opening day to the last day of the season.

But that was 20 years ago, and after Sparky's departure the only notable thing the Tigers have done was to come within a game of setting the all-time record for most losses in a season (2003). Until this year! Baseball is fun again. The Old English D is once again a symbol of excellence, determination, skill, and perseverance.

I'm hoping that this year, I may break my jinx. I've never seen the Tigers win a game at Comerica Park (I even went to opening day this year and they lost). Even though their home record this year is not as good as their record on the road, I think my odds are pretty good. What a glorious day that will be. Now, if it just so happened that it was the seventh game of the World Series...