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04-21-2003, 11:05 PM
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#1 |
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All's Well: 1984 - Watching Big Bengal
Since it's slim pickings in Motown this year, I thought I would throw the Tigers a bone.............
...let's go back to 1984. How does the Tigers' 1984 season stand up in terms of the all-time great seasons? Funny, with all the teams getting off to great starts this year, some forget that the Tigers started off 15-1, and I think went to 35 and 5 or something - - and coasted to 104 wins - - and a ring in October. In terms of wire-to-wire seasons, where would you rank the '84 Tigers?
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04-21-2003, 11:51 PM
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#2 |
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Reminds me of the 2001 M's - well, except the M's didn't win the ring. But the sheer dominance of the division.
At times, it did seem the Tigers were the St. Louis Maroons of the AL in 1984. It must have been their weird tribute for the 100th anniversary of the Union Association. Cubs in 1906, 1907 and 1910 did a number on the NL. Probably the legacy of the Tigers' season is lessened because they fell to Earth so quickly. |
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04-22-2003, 06:44 AM
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#3 | |
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It's not as bad as you think. In 1985 and 1986, they were 3rd. In 1987, they won the AL East. In 1988, they were 2nd - - just 1 game back of 1st. 1st-3rd-3rd-1st-2nd (one game out) is a 5 year run that many teams would be happy with, IMHO.
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Steve, Forum Administrator POSTING TIP FOR THE DAY: When composing a post, think about what you would say if the intended recipient was an individual who was actually sitting just two feet in front of you, in person, rather than just some far away and anonymous audience who only can identify you as text on a PC screen - - and then write your post in that manner. It makes for remarkable and sincere discourse. |
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04-22-2003, 10:17 AM
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#4 |
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I always thought 1984 was a "lightning in a bottle" year for the Tigers. They were very good and it seemed like evrybody on the team had a real good year.
It didn't feel it was extraordinary. I usually use a benchmark of .667 to define that. And that doesn't happen very often.
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KCBOOMER Buck O'Neil: The Monarch of Baseball |
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04-22-2003, 11:00 AM
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#5 |
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The magical year of 1984 will always be the highlight of my baseball memories. The pennant race of 1983 was my first taste of a Tiger team that had a good chance to win the division. And going into 1984 I was very excited about the team. The deal for Hernandez and Bergman and the first big free agent signing in the form of Darrel Evans gave me hope that the Tigers were finally ready to break through. Then the huge start, the no-hitter by Morris and the Tigers were on their way. The first 40 games the Tigers played are the hottest I have ever seen a team. The Blue Jays got close for a little while during the summer but I don’t think the Tigers were ever in much danger.
The Royals and Padres were overmatched in the playoffs and I never thought they weren’t going to win it all. I do wish they would have played the Cubs in the World Series. I grew up on the west side of Michigan and was almost as close to Chicago as I was to Detroit. It would have been a great series between the Cubs and Tigers. It’s funny but only a couple of people had what I would say were career years for the Tigers in 1984. Hernandez definitely, Lopez maybe, everyone else had better years in different seasons. The Tigers had a pretty good run and if the management had been a little bit better in getting players to fill in some holes they could have been a lot better over the rest of the decade. But the AL East also had some very good teams in the last half of the eighties and the Tigers just couldn't pull through against increased competition. |
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04-22-2003, 11:13 AM
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#6 | |
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If you look at the roster of the 1984 Tigers most of them did not have career years. Darrell Evans was much better in 1985. Gibson was good but not at his peak. Morris pitched OK but pitched much better in other years. Trammell and Whitaker were still growing up and would be better later in the decade. The only guys to have career years among the main players were Hernandez and Lopez. The Tigers got good years from their stars and solid contributions from their role players. You also have to remember that the Tigers rested a lot of their starters down the stretch. As early as August Sparky was giving players days off to make sure they were ready for the playoffs. They had quite a few starts by rookie pitchers in September. I am sure if there was a team close the Tigers could have won more games. |
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04-23-2003, 09:43 AM
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#7 | |
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Yeah - but '84 was lost when they were third in '85 and '86. If they'd have been in a race in those two years THEN we'd put them in the pantheon of teams. |
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04-23-2003, 10:01 AM
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#8 | |
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Never said they had a bunch of players with career years. Just good years and the "lightening in a bottle" means every thing went right.
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KCBOOMER Buck O'Neil: The Monarch of Baseball |
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04-23-2003, 10:09 AM
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#9 | |
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WS Champs - last-last-last-last is a five year run I'd be pretty happy with. |
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04-23-2003, 10:17 AM
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#10 | |
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Wasn't that the Wayne Huizenga plan in Miami ???
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04-23-2003, 10:19 AM
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#11 | |
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Well said - the high is definitely worth the low. Only a Yankee fan would think falling from first to third is a disgrace! |
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04-23-2003, 10:42 AM
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#12 |
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for one year a tremendous team. they or the 86 mets, i think were the best team of the 80s
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04-23-2003, 11:08 AM
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#13 |
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Eddie Epstein and Rob Neyer covered this ground in "Dynasties." The '84 Tigers were one of the teams that just missed the cut in their list of all-time great teams. THis was due to their relative lack of success in the years surrounding 1984. The '86 Mets, OTOH, had a chapter devoted to them.
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04-23-2003, 02:05 PM
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#14 | |
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Quote:
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04-26-2003, 11:39 AM
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#15 |
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The 84 Tigers were a fun team to watch. Sparky Anderson has said that this was his best team, and he is correct. This Tiger team would have beaten any of his Reds teams, mostly because of superior pitching
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