RatkoVarda Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 I cannot believe it has been 40 years! I delivered the Detroit News in the afternoon and would read the stories and scan every box score bit by bit through my route. I would try to catch both CNN's Sports Tonight and ESPN's SportsCenter recaps each night. From 35-5, to Morris' no hitter early on, to the title, it was a genuinely magical season. One of the great North American Champions that never got the attention they were due. In part because, outside of Sparky, Gibby and Morris, everyone was a low-key professional. Not trying to be negative, but the gap between 1968 and 1984 was 16 years. The gap between 1984 and the next title will be 3 times as long (or maybe they never win it again in my lifetime). There's has been a lot of good baseball, and a whole lot more bad baseball in the last 40 years, but the 1984 team literally made me a fan for life. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger337 Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 9 minutes ago, RatkoVarda said: I cannot believe it has been 40 years! I delivered the Detroit News in the afternoon and would read the stories and scan every box score bit by bit through my route. I would try to catch both CNN's Sports Tonight and ESPN's SportsCenter recaps each night. From 35-5, to Morris' no hitter early on, to the title, it was a genuinely magical season. One of the great North American Champions that never got the attention they were due. In part because, outside of Sparky, Gibby and Morris, everyone was a low-key professional. Not trying to be negative, but the gap between 1968 and 1984 was 16 years. The gap between 1984 and the next title will be 3 times as long (or maybe they never win it again in my lifetime). There's has been a lot of good baseball, and a whole lot more bad baseball in the last 40 years, but the 1984 team literally made me a fan for life. I was a fan for life long before 1984, but 1984 is the year I'll never forget. That team was near perfect and had no weakness. They had starting pitching, bullpen, hitting, fielding and depth. It was also a mostly home grown team which stayed together for several years. The Leyland era Tigers was great too, but didn't quite have the same feeling for me. Even if they won the World Series, it probably wouldn't have been quite the same because I was older and more cynical! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1776 Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 56 minutes ago, Tiger337 said: Even if they won the World Series, it probably wouldn't have been quite the same because I was older and more cynical! Same here. If I recall, I believe you ordered the Lance Parrish book as well? I’m about half way through the book and I’m constantly reminded that 1984 was something that will never be equalled, by any team. Forty years removed and still searching. The reason I continue to be a Tigers fan is their rich history through the years, good and bad. I’d just like to find some good years again soon. I’m afraid their futility is going to outlast me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger337 Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 Just now, 1776 said: Same here. If I recall, I believe you ordered the Lance Parrish book as well? I’m about half way through the book and I’m constantly reminded that 1984 was something that will never be equalled, by any team. Forty years removed and still searching. The reason I continue to be a Tigers fan is their rich history through the years, good and bad. I’d just like to find some good years again soon. I’m afraid their futility is going to outlast me. I ordered it, but haven't started reading yet. It is next on my list. I got a chance to chat with the author Tom Gage on the phone recently about another book he is writing. He wanted my opinion on a statistical formula he was using to rank players. He was very humble. He said he was sorry to bother me and glad that I remembered him. Really? Gage is a Detroit media legend. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oblong Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 1 hour ago, Tiger337 said: I was a fan for life long before 1984, but 1984 is the year I'll never forget. That team was near perfect and had no weakness. They had starting pitching, bullpen, hitting, fielding and depth. It was also a mostly home grown team which stayed together for several years. The Leyland era Tigers was great too, but didn't quite have the same feeling for me. Even if they won the World Series, it probably wouldn't have been quite the same because I was older and more cynical! They also weren't as good. I'm not saying that because they didn't win a WS, but just in terms of record. They never had home field advantage in their playoff years except for the 2006 WS, which they got because of the ASG. They sort of stumbled into the playoffs in 2012, they were tied with Chicago with about a week left and they fell off a cliff. Teams like Oakland and Baltimore had better records during the run. But I did enjoy the recent run more because I was only 10 during the summer of 84 and most of the games were not on TV and I was busy playing with my friends. The atmosphere and reach of the recent era was larger. Nothing beat a weekend night at Comerica Park when they were riding high.... it was a party. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger337 Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 3 minutes ago, oblong said: They also weren't as good. I'm not saying that because they didn't win a WS, but just in terms of record. They never had home field advantage in their playoff years except for the 2006 WS, which they got because of the ASG. They sort of stumbled into the playoffs in 2012, they were tied with Chicago with about a week left and they fell off a cliff. Teams like Oakland and Baltimore had better records during the run. But I did enjoy the recent run more because I was only 10 during the summer of 84 and most of the games were not on TV and I was busy playing with my friends. The atmosphere and reach of the recent era was larger. Nothing beat a weekend night at Comerica Park when they were riding high.... it was a party. I was 21 during 1984 and it was my peak as a sports fan. I was really into the Celtics and I still liked the NFL (especially the Browns). Sports was a bigger deal to me then and there was more emotion. Now, I've gotten way more analytical about everything. And yes 1984 was better than any of their recent teams. You could make a case that the recent team had a better run than the 80s team, but they never had a team as good as 1984. There were no questions about who was the best team in 84 from start to finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1776 Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 37 minutes ago, Tiger337 said: Gage is a Detroit media legend. The book he did with Mickey Lolich was very good. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCalTiger Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 6 hours ago, RatkoVarda said: I cannot believe it has been 40 years! I delivered the Detroit News in the afternoon and would read the stories and scan every box score bit by bit through my route. I would try to catch both CNN's Sports Tonight and ESPN's SportsCenter recaps each night. From 35-5, to Morris' no hitter early on, to the title, it was a genuinely magical season. One of the great North American Champions that never got the attention they were due. In part because, outside of Sparky, Gibby and Morris, everyone was a low-key professional. Not trying to be negative, but the gap between 1968 and 1984 was 16 years. The gap between 1984 and the next title will be 3 times as long (or maybe they never win it again in my lifetime). There's has been a lot of good baseball, and a whole lot more bad baseball in the last 40 years, but the 1984 team literally made me a fan for life. My hook began August 1967 which was cemented in 1968 when I was 10 and 11. Most definitely agree that if your in early your in for Life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gehringer_2 Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 (edited) 49 minutes ago, SoCalTiger said: My hook began August 1967 which was cemented in 1968 when I was 10 and 11. Most definitely agree that if your in early your in for Life. I was pretty much hooked at birth. The first article of clothing I have any recollection of owning was a complete wool toddler Tiger Uniform, with stirrups. Funny thing is that my father was not a big baseball fan, but everyone else around growing up was. The first season I remember as a season was '61 - winning 101 and coming up 8 games short of the damn Yankees. I was just a little squirt but understood that winning 100 was supposed to be enough to get a pennant. The other funny thing was how few people went to the games. The population of the city was nearly 2 million in the early 60's and Baseball was still king, but the '61 team drew only 1.6M, and '68 team just barely 2M. Even with the exodus from Det, get anywhere near 1st place now and you can expect 3M for a season. Edited June 17 by gehringer_2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenacious D Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 1976–Year of the Bird. Hooked ever since. Was a HS senior in ‘84. Probably went to 30-40 games that season. Most in the bleachers, including the first game after they reopened them. (They had closed them temporarily for bad fan behavior—when they reopened, they only sold NA (non-alcoholic) beer. Also, those 30-40 games were often accompanied by the obligatory Windsor visit. My buddies and I were all ballet fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hongbit Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 I’m not a Tigers fan. I’ve just been trolling myself for the last 40 years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger337 Posted June 18 Share Posted June 18 3 hours ago, Tenacious D said: 1976–Year of the Bird. Hooked ever since. That was the most exciting individual season for a Tiger that I have witnessed. It's hard to explain what it was like if you were too young to remember. That Monday Night game versus the Yankees is required viewing for any Tigers fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasfh Posted June 19 Share Posted June 19 On 6/17/2024 at 7:52 AM, Tiger337 said: The Leyland era Tigers was great too, but didn't quite have the same feeling for me. Even if they won the World Series, it probably wouldn't have been quite the same because I was older and more cynical! “Cynical” is the right word to use here. The 1980s Tigers had the feeling of being a homegrown unit who hung around for a few years, and they felt like they were part of the community (and Kirk Gibson as the face of the team actually being from here). The 2010s Tigers just felt like hired guns, even Miggy, who was locked up for life here. I mean, just look around: Gibson and Dan Petry are still working for the team as a primary gig 40 years later, but only Andy Dirks is still hanging around the organization, and even that is on strictly a part-time basis. I bet you Miggy will never step foot in this town again unless he’s coming in for a sweet paycheck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stanley70 Posted June 19 Share Posted June 19 (edited) I was a huge fan in 1984, and had been for about 10 years so i followed as most of that team as they came up thorugh the minors. I subscribed to The Sporting News and Baseball Digest and bought a bunch of preseason mags like Streets and Smiths. It seemed like they were due for a divisional title, they were pretty good in 82 and 83 but from the start they exceded everyones expectations. I wasn't old enough to remember the last ttime they had been in the playoffs so 84 was the first time going through that for me. The rest of the Detroit sports teams were horrible during this era too. I enlisted in the Army after HS and went to basic on October 4, so i missed the entire playoff run. And the first few weeks in basic you aren't even allowed to read newspapers, so the only way i could follow them was looking at the front page of the USA Today at the PX as we walked by. My friends recorded it for me and so i was able to see the games later on. Edited June 19 by Stanley70 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMRivdogs Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 Not wanting to start a new thread... Lou Whitaker gets a baseball field named after him.... https://cardinalnews.org/2024/06/28/future-baseball-all-star-lou-whitaker-grew-up-playing-in-this-martinsville-park-now-its-named-after-him/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RatkoVarda Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 I hope they use 40th anniversary events as a springboard for Lou's HOF case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1776 Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 14 minutes ago, CMRivdogs said: Not wanting to start a new thread... Lou Whitaker gets a baseball field named after him.... https://cardinalnews.org/2024/06/28/future-baseball-all-star-lou-whitaker-grew-up-playing-in-this-martinsville-park-now-its-named-after-him/ Thank you for posting this. I wish I had known this in advance. I would absolutely have been there for the ceremonial opening of the park. It is a sham that Whitaker isn’t in the HOF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roarintiger1 Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 I became a fan in 1967. I got a transiter radio and would listen to Ernie every night. Another reason was the Toledo TV station carried the Tiger's games sometimes and it was the only baseball I could watch. It was really hard to take when in the last two times they were in the World Series, they played so poorly. Got to attend the 50th anniversary celebration game of the 68 team back in 2018. Actually seeing some of my childhood heroes was a great event. The 84 team was a lot of fun. I'm not sure the Tigers have ever had better 1-4 hitters in their lineup. Whitaker, Trammell, Gibson, and Parish were an awesome bunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1776 Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 Speaking of the old days… we walk frequently on the greenways near our house. About a year ago we were walking and a gentleman riding a bike went by us going in the opposite direction. As on most days, I was wearing a Detroit Tigers hat. A few minutes later he comes up beside us and asks if we’re from Michigan. I explained that we’re not but are just Tiger fans. He says, “I was up there for a while.” Long story short, it was Phil Mankowski who played in Detroit 1976-1979. We had a really good conversation that day and he had lots of good stories, really nice guy. Coincidentally, we crossed paths on the greenway again yesterday and it tuned into another great conversation. I told him I had just finished Lance Parrish’s new book and he took it from there reminiscing about Parrish and other good stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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