The 2006 Detroit Tigers won the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and therefore represented the American League in the World Series. They lost the series, falling to the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 1. The season was their 106th since entering the American League in 1901, and it was their seventh season since opening Comerica Park in 2000. The 2006 team was also the first team since 1993 to finish with a winning record and the first team since 1987 to reach the playoffs.
Regular season
The Tigers were baseball's surprise success story of 2006.Tigers Have Baseball's Surprise Tale - washingtonpost.com After years of poor performances, including 12 consecutive losing seasons and an AL-record 119 losses in 2003, the 2006 season had the Tigers surging to the top of the major league standings in May, and holding through October 1 when their losses earned them the wild card spot in the ALCS instead. The play of veterans like Kenny Rogers and Todd Jones, the emergence of previously unestablished players Curtis Granderson, Brandon Inge, Craig Monroe and Marcus Thames, and significant production from All-Stars Iván Rodríguez, Magglio Ordóñez and Carlos Guillén, all contributed to the team's success.
A great deal of credit was also given to manager Jim Leyland. On April 17, after an uninspiring 10–2 loss at home to the Cleveland Indians dropped the team's record to 7–6, the manager launched into a tirade about the team's lack of effort, telling the media, "We stunk. They [the players] were already on the plane to Oakland." It appeared to light a fire under the players, spurring them on to a stretch in which they won 28 of 35 games.Detnews.com | This article is no longer available online Leyland consistently emphasized the importance of playing with intensity throughout all nine innings, a philosophy embraced not only in the words of the players but also demonstrated by the team's now regular late-inning clutch hits, rallies, and comebacks.Tigers rally past Cards, first to 50 wins - Baseball - MSNBC.com
Statistically, the biggest factor in the team's success was its pitching, leading the major leagues in earned run average (ERA) and shutouts.USATODAY.com - Tigers could stand to solidify place on food chain Rookie Justin Verlander won the AL Rookie of the Year Award, and fellow starters Kenny Rogers, Jeremy Bonderman and Nate Robertson, as well as rookie reliever Joel Zumaya, all had noteworthy seasons. There was concern when starter Mike Maroth—who had lost 20 games in 2003, but had since rebounded—had to undergo surgery early in the season, but his replacement Zach Miner proved to be adequate.
The Tigers' newfound success attracted a new generation of fans, many of whom had never seen winning baseball in Detroit.Detnews.com | This article is no longer available online Detroit hit 16 home runs in their first four games, the most ever by any team in their first four games of the season. Tigers fans traveled to road games in large numbers, most notably at the interleague series with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field from June 16–18. The crowd could be heard chanting "Let's Go Tigers!" throughout all three games, all of which were Detroit victories.USATODAY.com - Telling tales of the Tigers
The major doubt many fans and pundits continued to have was whether the Tigers could compete against other top-tier American League teams. Early in the season, the team lost a series to both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, and lost five of six games to the 2005 World Series champion (and AL Central rival) Chicago White Sox.Article not found | February 11, 2008 | AHN However, on July 20, at a game which featured a notable rendition of the national anthem by local opera singer Eugene Zweig,Raskin, D. "Trash the Tuxes", page 51. The Detroit Jewish News, August 3, 2006. and a standing-room-only crowd that included actor Tom Hanks and director Ron Howard,ESPN - Tigers beat Contreras, win series from White Sox - MLB the Tigers beat White Sox pitching ace José Contreras to take the series two games to one, the team's first series victory against a favored AL team in 2006. In their next two series, against the AL West division-leading Oakland Athletics, and the Minnesota Twins, who were 34–8 over their previous 42 games, the Tigers also won two out of three games.
On July 31, Tigers management traded minor-league pitcher Brian Rogers to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for left-handed hitting and three-time All Star first baseman Sean Casey.ESPN - Tigers get Pirates 1B Casey, send Shelton to minors - MLB The move added a left-handed batter to the lineup, especially necessary after Dmitri Young was released in September.
By August 7, the Tigers were an astonishing 40 games above .500 (76–36). Unfortunately, they lost their next five games, sixteen of their next 22, and as a result of a poorly performing offense, the last six weeks of the season resulted in a 19–31 record for the last 50 games of the season. The team suffered a major loss when one of their best all-around players, Plácido Polanco, separated his shoulder making a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch in Fenway Park against the Red Sox on August 15.[Retrosheet Boxscore: Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox, August 15, 2006]
The Tigers clinched a playoff berth on September 24 with an 11–4 win over the Kansas City Royals. On October 1, despite a rare relief appearance from Kenny Rogers, the Tigers fell out of the top spot in the American League Central with a 10–8 extra-inning loss to the 100-loss Royals in their last regular season game.
Detroit lost their last five regular season games, all at home, against the Toronto Blue Jays and the Royals. The final loss gave the Twins the AL Central title, and made the Tigers the American League wild card entrant in the postseason. Their opening-round opponent would be the New York Yankees.
The Tigers ended the regular season with a 95–67 record, marking the team's first winning season since 1993 and their most wins since 1987. They were the only team outside the American League East to win the AL Wild Card between 2003 and 2011.
Highlights
There were many memorable moments during the regular season. Some of the highlights:
On April 16, Chris Shelton became the fastest player to eight home runs in American League history, and the Tigers won a 1–0 game behind a sparkling three-hitter by Mike Maroth and one-hit relief by Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney.The Official Site of The Detroit Tigers: News: Detroit Tigers News On April 20, the Tigers came into the ninth down 3–1, but clutch hits tied the game, and Brandon Inge's resolute 15-pitch walk (Jim Leyland called it a "1½ Marlboro" at-bat, in reference to his noted chain-smoking when in the dugout) forced in the winning run.The Official Site of The Detroit Tigers: News: Detroit Tigers News On May 3, in the eighth inning of a tense pitching duel, Brandon Inge beat a throw to second to avoid a double play, then Alexis Gómez singled him in for a 2–1 comeback victory. On May 14, the Tigers swept the Indians in a three-game series with a 3–2 victory, the first time Detroit swept a series from the Indians in Cleveland since 1990. On May 20, Cincinnati's Ken Griffey Jr. hit a grand slam that put the Reds up, 6–5, but with two outs in the ninth inning, Curtis Granderson hit a home run that tied the game, and the Tigers won in extra innings.MLB - Cincinnati Reds/Detroit Tigers Recap Saturday May 20, 2006 - Yahoo! Sports On June 1, hits by Ivan Rodríguez and Magglio Ordóñez (and gum-chewing by Nate Robertson) set up Carlos Guillén's game-winning ("walk-off") single, completing a five-run comeback and defeating the Yankees.The Official Site of The Detroit Tigers: News: Detroit Tigers News On June 18, Kenny Rogers won his 200th game, becoming only the 26th left-hander in baseball history to do so; Detroit hit eight home runs to set a club record.The Official Site of The Detroit Tigers: News: Detroit Tigers News On June 27, Roger Clemens hurled a three-hitter, but Nate Robertson outpitched him and the Tigers won, 4–0.Houston Astros vs. Detroit Tigers - Box Score - June 27, 2006 - ESPN On July 11, the 2006 All-Star Game featured three Tigers—Rodríguez, Kenny Rogers and Ordóñez—for the first time since 1987. Rodríguez was voted as a starter, while Rogers was named the starting pitcher.Tigers' stars live up to their big contracts The battery combination of Rogers and Rodríguez was the first time a Tigers pitcher threw to a Tigers catcher to start the Mid-Summer Classic since Denny McLain threw to Bill Freehan in 1966. On July 14, in a tie game, with two out and two on in the top of the ninth, reliever Todd Jones faced dangerous slugger Mark Teahen, who had already hit two home runs in the game. Jones threw Teahen every pitch he could, and Teahen repeatedly fouled each pitch off. Finally Jim Leyland walked to the mound—where he told Jones his visit was a ruse, designed to fool Teahen into thinking Jones would be throwing anything but a fastball. Leyland walked off the field, Jones threw a fastball, and Teahen swung and missed for strike three. Then, in the bottom of the ninth, Carlos Guillén hit the Tigers' first walk-off home run of the season for the victory. After the game, Jones said of Leyland's visit to the mound: "I thought, 'Wow, you're really a good manager.The Official Site of The Detroit Tigers: News: Detroit Tigers News '" On July 19, Craig Monroe hit a grand slam in a Tigers victory over the Chicago White Sox. On July 20 (see above), the Tigers essentially beat the White Sox on a Marcus Thames slide into second. The slide broke up a seemingly sure double play, which allowed the winning run to score later that inning. On July 24, the Tigers became the first team since the 1891 St. Louis Cardinals to score 5 runs or more in the first inning in three consecutive games.MLB - Detroit Tigers/Cleveland Indians Recap Monday July 24, 2006 - Yahoo! Sports On July 28, the Tigers weathered 12 strikeouts by rookie Twins phenom Francisco Liriano, and won another tight game with a 10th-inning single by Craig Monroe. On August 1, Carlos Guillén hit for the cycle, becoming the first Tiger since Damion Easley did it in 2001, and the third since 1950, to do so. On August 5, Iván Rodríguez hit a walk-off home run with two outs in the ninth inning to complete a comeback against the Cleveland Indians. On August 27, a 7–1 victory over the Cleveland Indians secured the Tigers an 82nd victory—and their first winning season since 1993. On August 30, with two outs in the top of the ninth, Craig Monroe hit a dramatic three-run home run, erasing a one-run deficit, stunning the crowd at Yankee Stadium, and giving the Tigers a 5–3 come-from-behind victory over the Yankees.The article requested can not be found! Please refresh your browser or go back. (C4,20060831,SPORTS02,608310410,AR) On September 12, Craig Monroe tied a club record with three outfield assists, including throwing two runners out at the plate, and Carlos Guillén hit two home runs, one from each side of the plate, the second being a walk-off in the bottom of the ninth that won the game, 3–2, over the Texas Rangers.Seattle Post-Intelligencer: MLB On September 23, the Tigers scored ten runs in the first inning in a 15–4 victory over the Kansas City Royals. The game marked Plácido Polanco's return from the disabled list; he had three hits.Tigers reduce playoff magic number to 1 - Baseball - MSNBC.com On September 24, the Tigers scored nine runs in the second inning en route to an 11–4 victory. The win secured their first playoff appearance since 1987.ESPN - Win and in: Tigers clinch first playoff berth since 1987 - MLB
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Roster 2006 Detroit Tigers Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders
Other batters Manager
Coaches (infield) (pitching) (third base) (bullpen) (hitting) (first base)