Detroit Tigers Draw Largest Series Crowd in Almost a Decade Amid Postseason Run
The Detroit Tigers have broken their postseason skid, making it for the first time since 2014. In order to do that, they needed to play their final home series against the Chicago White Sox, who were looking to make history of their own. Detroit was able to clinch on Tuesday in front of the best series crowd they've had since 2012.
Over their three game series, the attendance was 128,108 fans. This was the biggest crowd in a three game series they've had since July 20-22 which was also against Chicago.
This series had different implications, but still important nonetheless. Heading into that series, the Tigers were half a game back of Chicago for the AL Central lead heading into the trade deadline. Detroit would go on to sweep the series, moving up to 1.5 games ahead of Chicago.
Soon after, though, they would lose the division lead and not gain it back until the final days of the season when they would ultimately win it. Behind an MVP and Triple Crown season from Miguel Cabrera, the Tigers went on the win the American League, but were swept in the World Series.
This most recent series was a little more important, and Tigers fans showed up to prove that. Arguably their most important series since 2014, it's been a long decade and the people of Detroit wanted to cheer their team on.
Especially during that of an improbable run. It looked like the team was out of it by the time the trade deadline came. They were under .500, traded Jack Flaherty and were even rumored to trade Tarik Skubal.
Instead, they rallied to a 34-18 record over the last two months of the season behind the 2.47 ERA that Skubal posted over his last ten starts. Spencer Torkelson turned it around after being optioned, posting a .769 OPS since being recalled.
While it's been a rough decade of baseball in Detroit, the fans still showed that they care and they want to be there to support the team. A young team with a lot of talent, they have not cared how they are viewed.
Put perfectly by broadcaster Jason Benetti, "A city that doesn't care about the odds, has a baseball team to match."
The fans saw what was happening and began coming in droves. Then, when it mattered most, they were there. Now, the Tigers move on to the postseason.
