Detroit Tigers Super Fan Joins Team During Playoff Clinching Celebration
After a magical run over the past two months, the Detroit Tigers have completed the improbable as they are heading to the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
When the Tigers officially clinched their postseason spot for the first time in a decade, they naturally celebrated like all teams do. After the game, the team celebrated on the field, and before they snapped a team photo to mark the historic moment, they made sure someone else joined in the shot. The Tigers brought a superfan from the stands on the field at Comerica Park to join in on the festivities.
At the request of multiple players on the Tigers squad, ballpark security guards assisted superfan Josh Tebeau down onto the field to join the team. There are not many better ways, if any, to celebrate your favorite team clinching a playoff spot than by doing so with the actual club itself.
The Tigers brought a superfan on the field to be in the team photo. 🧡
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) September 28, 2024
(Via: @BallySportsDET)pic.twitter.com/NfO2l7e6ku
The Tigers then ensured to get Tebeau in their division-clinching photo. Not only was he asked to join the picture, he was given a front-row seat in front of the whole roster. The Tigers mega fan held up a sign with the iconic phrase of the recent streak, “Don’t let the Tigers get hot.” However, there was a slight revision, Tebeau, crossed out the word “get” and replaced it with “stay” as they head to the postseason.
“It’s the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m the luckiest, most grateful person in the world,” Tebeau said in the interview when discussing him joining his favorite team's celebration. “You know what though? This isn’t about me. It’s about the team, and we ain’t done.”
The Tigers made an improbable run after being ‘sellers’ at the MLB Trade Deadline. According to Fangraphs, they entered August with a 0.2% chance of making the postseason. Since then, the team has gone on a 31-17 run and found itself in the playoffs. They did so on the back of their pitching staff, which has posted the third-best Team ERA (3.59) over the last month of the season.
With a win on Sunday, the Tigers will clinch the fifth seed in the American League Wildcard race and head to the East Coast to take on the Baltimore Orioles. If they lose the final game of the season AND the Kansas City Royals win on Sunday, they would be the sixth seed and would travel to Texas to take on the Houston Astros.
