2009 A Long Way from 1968 - For Better and Worse
October 9, 2009
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And so, it’s done. The Detroit Tigers’ once promising season ended Tuesday in a cataclysmic collapse.
In the American League’s Central Division, Sports Illustrated had picked the Tigers to finish next to last. But by September, they had built a seemingly insurmountable seven-game lead. The team was a tonic for a troubled town in a troubled time. Some pundits even claimed the Tigers season was a metaphor for a Motown renaissance. They started comparing this team to the 1968 Tigers, and the role they played in healing a city that had been torn apart the summer before.
On July 23, 1967, the long-simmering tensions between the police and the people finally boiled over into a full-blown race rebellion – or riot, depending on whom you ask -- that lasted five days, the worst in American history.
Enter the 1968 Tigers.
They jumped out in front of the pack early on, and stayed there the rest of the season. That might sound boring, but they won almost a third of their games in their last at bat. Even better, the hero could be almost anybody, on any given night, from big stars to no-names. The team had character, and captured the city’s imagination.
It helped that many of the ‘68 Tigers had grown up dreaming of playing for their hometown team, guys like Bill Freehan, the All-Star catcher from Royal Oak, and the entire outfield of Jim Northrup, Mickey Stanley and Willie Horton, who won a city baseball title playing for Detroit’s Northwestern High.
Even transplants like Mickey Lolich, “Stormin’” Norman Cash and Gates “Gator” Brown would all make Michigan their home long after their careers were over. The love affair between the 1968 Tigers and their town was as real and deep as it was needed.
When the Tigers faced the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, however, few gave them much of a chance. After they lost three of the first four games, almost no one did.
But the cornered Tigers clawed back, game by game. In game five, Bill Freehan blocked Lou Brock from touching home plate. In game six, Jim Northrup hit a grand slam. And in the deciding game seven, Mickey Lolich, one of the fattest pitchers ever to take the mound, gave up only one run– his third complete game victory of the series.
The Detroit Free Press headline read, “WE WIN!” And that’s how it felt. This split city had come back together that summer – all over a baseball team.
The years since have not been kind to the Motor City. It now suffers from severe segregation, a dying auto industry and almost four decades of stunningly cynical leadership. You can say Nice Things About Detroit all you want. This town needs far more help than any baseball team can provide.
Still, this year’s Tigers were a pleasant distraction. They played hard and they had great chemistry, thanks to good guys like Brandon Inge and Placido Polanco. But over the past month they suffered a breakdown of historic proportions, capped by Miguel Cabrera’s drunken Saturday night that ended in domestic abuse.
It was an ugly end to a buoyant beginning.
In 1968, the Detroit Tigers did more than you could ask of any team. Yet Detroit’s leaders couldn’t match their effort.
This year, the Tigers fell short – but if the current leaders can finally begin to rebuild Detroit, that would be a trade worth making.
Copyright © 2009, Michigan Radio
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/johnubacon
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And so, it’s done. The Detroit Tigers’ once promising season ended Tuesday in a cataclysmic collapse.
In the American League’s Central Division, Sports Illustrated had picked the Tigers to finish next to last. But by September, they had built a seemingly insurmountable seven-game lead. The team was a tonic for a troubled town in a troubled time. Some pundits even claimed the Tigers season was a metaphor for a Motown renaissance. They started comparing this team to the 1968 Tigers, and the role they played in healing a city that had been torn apart the summer before.
On July 23, 1967, the long-simmering tensions between the police and the people finally boiled over into a full-blown race rebellion – or riot, depending on whom you ask -- that lasted five days, the worst in American history.
Enter the 1968 Tigers.
They jumped out in front of the pack early on, and stayed there the rest of the season. That might sound boring, but they won almost a third of their games in their last at bat. Even better, the hero could be almost anybody, on any given night, from big stars to no-names. The team had character, and captured the city’s imagination.
It helped that many of the ‘68 Tigers had grown up dreaming of playing for their hometown team, guys like Bill Freehan, the All-Star catcher from Royal Oak, and the entire outfield of Jim Northrup, Mickey Stanley and Willie Horton, who won a city baseball title playing for Detroit’s Northwestern High.
Even transplants like Mickey Lolich, “Stormin’” Norman Cash and Gates “Gator” Brown would all make Michigan their home long after their careers were over. The love affair between the 1968 Tigers and their town was as real and deep as it was needed.
When the Tigers faced the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, however, few gave them much of a chance. After they lost three of the first four games, almost no one did.
But the cornered Tigers clawed back, game by game. In game five, Bill Freehan blocked Lou Brock from touching home plate. In game six, Jim Northrup hit a grand slam. And in the deciding game seven, Mickey Lolich, one of the fattest pitchers ever to take the mound, gave up only one run– his third complete game victory of the series.
The Detroit Free Press headline read, “WE WIN!” And that’s how it felt. This split city had come back together that summer – all over a baseball team.
The years since have not been kind to the Motor City. It now suffers from severe segregation, a dying auto industry and almost four decades of stunningly cynical leadership. You can say Nice Things About Detroit all you want. This town needs far more help than any baseball team can provide.
Still, this year’s Tigers were a pleasant distraction. They played hard and they had great chemistry, thanks to good guys like Brandon Inge and Placido Polanco. But over the past month they suffered a breakdown of historic proportions, capped by Miguel Cabrera’s drunken Saturday night that ended in domestic abuse.
It was an ugly end to a buoyant beginning.
In 1968, the Detroit Tigers did more than you could ask of any team. Yet Detroit’s leaders couldn’t match their effort.
This year, the Tigers fell short – but if the current leaders can finally begin to rebuild Detroit, that would be a trade worth making.
Copyright © 2009, Michigan Radio
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/johnubacon
John,
Ben's Dad checking in this morning. I was in my junior year at M when the '68 Tigers won the World Series...what a magical season. And yes, your comments are right on about that team and this year's Tiger team. It's too bad they collapsed at the end of this season when they controlled their own destiny. However I am still proud of them and Brandon, Placido & Curtis Granderson are favorites as well as Justin Verlander, likely the AL's comeback player of the year. Keep up your fine work!
David
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I suppose that it must be pointed out that some cataclysmic collapses in sports coincide with Herculean achievement. Don't let it be said that the Minnesota Twins backed into the Central Division title playing average baseball down the stretch while the Tigers bungled their way out of the playoffs.
Instead, we need to tip our caps to Minnesota who played .809 baseball over the last three weeks, going 17-4 to OVERTAKE the Tigers and overcome that 7 game deficit. Congratulations, Twins.
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