Watch: Detroit Tigers Clinch Wild Card Playoff Berth in Improbable Run
The improbable became reality on Friday night, as the Detroit Tigers defeated the Chicago White Sox, 4-1, to clinch an American League wild card berth and punch their ticket to the postseason for the first time in a decade.
Their run has been one of the most remarkable runs in Major League history. On Aug. 10 the Tigers were 55-63 and well out of the AL Wild Card race. In fact, the Tigers had a 0.2% chance of making the postseason.
After their win on Friday night, they had won 31 of their last 42 games to reach the postseason.
Detroit (86-74) has not been to the playoffs since 2014.
To clinch the berth, Riley Greene hit an RBI double and the Detroit Tigers scored two runs on wild pitches to overcome the White Sox, who as a result of the loss set a modern-day record for most losses in a major league season with 121.
The final out even had a bit of drama, as Detroit center fielder Parker Meadows and right fielder Wenceel Perez collided with one another before Perez was able to make the play.
After that, the Tigers celebrated.
It's actually happening, Detroit 🧡 pic.twitter.com/3sHzW1WV2H
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 28, 2024
The rest of the city got in on the action too. During a Detroit Red Wings preseason game, they stopped the contest briefly to show video of the final out at Comerica Park.
YOU LOVE TO SEE IT
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 28, 2024
LET’S GO @TIGERS!!! pic.twitter.com/XSr3Yj20ei
The time the Tigers reached the postseason, in 2014, they lost in the American League Division Series.
That was the end of a four-year run in which the Tigers won the AL Central Division title each season and reached the World Series in 2012. The manager of that team, Jim Leyland, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year.
The Tigers have not won a World Series since 1984.
Detroit’s current manager, A.J. Hinch, is heading to the playoffs for the first time since he led the Houston Astros to the 2019 World Series.
Hinch led the Astros from 2015-19 and took the franchise to its first World Series title in 2017. He led Houston to three straight division titles and a berth in the 2019 World Series, where they lost in seven games to the Washington Nationals.
Detroit hired Hinch 2021 and he’s slowly helped the franchise turn things around. The Tigers won 78 games last season and finished second in the AL Central.
It’s possible the Tigers and Astros could meet in the AL Wild Card series next week.
