The Great Tigers Team of 2013

Ended Up Staying Together

What if the Tigers had won the World Series in 2013? The Tigers went 99-63 and won the American League Central. The Tigers were the best team in the American League that year, if not the Major Leagues. They had a solid starting rotation, a bullpen (no descriptor needed), and hitting that was top notch. Damn, it was a good team.

The Pitch

When David Ortiz hit the game tying grand slam in the eighth inning, you could just feel the fight fade from the Tigers. It's hard to believe that the Tigers were just four outs from going back to Comerica Park with a two game lead over the Red Sox. The series changed on one pitch, the first one  Joaquín Benoit threw that fateful night. Amazingly, the series went six games. Game three in Detroit was a 1-0 win for the Sox. The Red Sox went on to win that AL and then the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

But, imagine with me. If Al Alburquerque  stays in the game and somehow gets Big Papi to make an out, or just hit a single, or something other than the grand slam, maybe the Tigers win. The go back to Detroit, up two games to nothing, finish off the Sox in a sweep or five games, go to the Series, beat the Cards, and are crowned the World Champions.

Here's what would have happened …

Jim Leyland would not have retired. So we never would have had the Brad Ausmus experiment. The Tigers would have been in better shape in the playoffs and would not have lost to the Orioles in 2014.

Therefore, there is no need to do a reboot or whatever in 2015, and Dave Dombrowski does not end up fired. Again, we don't have the Al Avila experience.

That great pitching staff stays together and dominates for a few more years. The starters all get their rings, but they get multiple rings as Detroit Tigers. Max Scherzer decides to accept a fair (read: increased) offer from the Tigers and doesn't leave as a free agent. Justin Verlander never gets traded. The Tigers do not need to acquire David Price in 2014 because they never trade Doug Fister in the off season.

Prince Fielder ends up putting up splendid numbers for the Tigers for several years. He never says the stupid stuff he ended up saying after the playoff loss in 2013, so the fans never turn on him and Dombrowski knows he can remain in the D.

Things work out wonderfully for the Tigers. They finally beat the Giants in the 2014 World Series, and the Royals are not able to make it to the Series in 2015, either ... Verlander is never and Astro. JD Martinez is never a Red Sox (or Diamondback, for that matter).

This is magical dreaming and seen through 20/20 hindsight. But, if not for that one pitch in the 2013 playoffs …