2006 Detroit Tigers season

2006 Detroit Tigers
American League Champions
Major League affiliations
Location
Other information
Owner(s) Mike Ilitch
General manager(s) Dave Dombrowski
Manager(s) Jim Leyland
Local television FSN Detroit
WDWB
(Mario Impemba, Rod Allen)
Local radio The Detroit Tigers Radio Network
(Jim Price, Dan Dickerson)
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The 2006 Detroit Tigers won the American League Pennant. They represented the AL in the World Series before falling to the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 1. The season was their 106th since they entered the AL in 1901. It was their 7th season since opening Comerica Park in 2000.

Regular season

The Detroit Tigers were baseball's surprise success story of 2006.[1] After years of futility, including an AL-record 119 losses in 2003, the 2006 season had the Tigers surging to the top of the major league standings in May, a position they did not relinquish until the final day of the season.[2] 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 erstwhile 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 against the team about its 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.[3] Leyland repeatedly preached the concept of playing hard for nine full innings, and the players took up that mantra, as evidenced not just by their words but also by the team's propensity for late-inning clutch hits, rallies and comebacks.[4]

Statistically, the biggest factor in the team's success was its pitching, which led the major leagues in ERA and shutouts.[5] 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 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 who had never seen winning baseball in Detroit before.[6] 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.[7]

The major doubt many fans and pundits had was whether the Tigers could compete against other top-tier American League teams. Early in the season, the team lost series to the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, and lost five of six games to the reigning World Series champion (and AL Central rival) Chicago White Sox.[8] However, on July 20, at a game which featured a particularly stirring rendition of the national anthem by local opera singer Eugene Zweig,[9] and a standing-room-only crowd that included actor Tom Hanks and director Ron Howard,[10] the Tigers beat White Sox pitching ace José Contreras to take the series two games to one from the White Sox, the team's first series victory against an upper-echelon AL team in 2006. In their next two series, against the AL West division-leading Oakland Athletics, and the red-hot Minnesota Twins, who were 34-8 over their previous 42 games, the Tigers also won two out of three.

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.[11] The move added a left-handed bat to the lineup, especially necessary after Dmitri Young was released in September.

On August 7, the Tigers were 40 games above .500 (76-36) and cruising. They would lose their next five games, and the last six weeks of the season were punctuated by a nosedive, as Plácido Polanco's separated shoulder and suddenly silent bats led to a 19-31 record in the last 50 games of the season.

Only the big cushion built in the summer saved the Tigers from what would have been baseball's most statistically infamous collapse, as they clinched a playoff berth on September 24 with an 11-4 win over the Kansas City Royals. But even that cushion couldn't save a division title. 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 Royals in their last regular season game. Detroit lost their last five 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 wild card entrant in the American League Playoffs. Their opening-round opponent would be the New York Yankees. The Tigers ended the regular season with a 95-67 record.

Highlights

There were many memorable moments during the regular season. Some of the highlights:

Season standings

AL Central W L Pct. GB Home Road
Minnesota Twins 96 66 0.593 — 54–27 42–39
Detroit Tigers 95 67 0.586 1 46–35 49–32
Chicago White Sox 90 72 0.556 6 49–32 41–40
Cleveland Indians 78 84 0.481 18 44–37 34–47
Kansas City Royals 62 100 0.383 34 34–47 28–53

Record vs. opponents

2006 American League Records

Sources:

Team BAL BOS CWS CLE DET KC LAA MIN NYY OAK SEA TB TEX TOR NL 
Baltimore — 3–15 2–5 4–2 3–3 5–1 4–6 3–6 7–12 2–4 4–6 13–6 3–6 8–11 9–9
Boston 15–3 — 4–2 3–4 3–3 4–5 3–3 1–5 8–11 3–7 4–6 10–9 5–4 7–12 16–2
Chicago 5–2 2–4 — 8–11 12–7 11–8 6–3 9–10 2–4 3–3 5–4 3–3 5–5 5–4 14–4
Cleveland 2–4 4–3 11–8 — 6–13 10–8 4–5 8–11 3–4 3–6 4–5 6–1 5–4 4–2 8–10
Detroit 3–3 3–3 7–12 13–6 — 14–4 3–5 11–8 2–5 5–4 6–3 5–3 5–5 3–3 15–3
Kansas City 1–5 5–4 8–11 8–10 4–14 — 3–7 7–12 2–7 4–5 3–5 1–5 3–3 3–4 10–8
Los Angeles of Anaheim 6–4 3–3 3–6 5–4 5–3 7–3 — 4–2 6–4 11–8 10–9 7–2 11–8 4–6 7–11
Minnesota 6–3 5–1 10–9 11–8 8–11 12–7 2–4 — 3–3 6–4 5–3 6–1 4–5 2–5 16–2
New York 12–7 11–8 4–2 4–3 5–2 7–2 4–6 3–3 — 3–6 3–3 13–5 8–2 10–8 10–8
Oakland 4–2 7–3 3–3 6–3 4–5 5–4 8–11 4–6 6–3 — 17–2 6–3 9–10 6–4 8–10
Seattle 6–4 6–4 4–5 5–4 3–6 5–3 9–10 3–5 3–3 2–17 — 6–3 8–11 4–5 14–4
Tampa Bay 6–13 9–10 3–3 1–6 3–5 5–1 2–7 1–6 5–13 3–6 3–6 — 3–6 6–12 11–7
Texas 6–3 4–5 5–5 4–5 5–5 3–3 8–11 5–4 2–8 10–9 11–8 6–3 — 4–2 7–11
Toronto 11–8 12–7 4–5 2–4 3–3 4–3 6–4 5–2 8–10 4–6 5–4 12–6 2–4 — 9–9

Roster

2006 Detroit Tigers
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

 Manager

Coaches

Game log

2006 Game Log
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
Postseason

Player stats

Batting

Note: Pos = Position, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg. = Batting average, HR = Home runs, RBI = Runs batted in

Player Pos G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Carlos Guillén SS 153 543 174 .320 19 85
Iván Rodríguez C 136 547 164 .300 13 69
Magglio Ordóñez RF 155 593 177 .298 24 104
Plácido Polanco 2B 110 461 136 .295 4 52
Vance Wilson C 56 152 43 .283 5 67
Brent Clevlen OF 31 39 11 .282 3 6
Omar Infante 2B 78 224 62 .277 4 25
Chris Shelton 1B 115 373 102 .273 16 47
Alexis Gómez LF 62 103 28 .272 1 6
Curtis Granderson CF 159 596 155 .260 19 68
Marcus Thames LF 110 348 89 .256 26 60
Craig Monroe LF 147 541 138 .255 28 92
Brandon Inge 3B 159 542 137 .253 27 83
Dmitri Young DH 48 172 43 .250 7 23
Sean Casey 1B 53 184 45 .245 5 30
Matt Stairs DH 14 41 10 .244 2 8
Ramón Santiago SS 43 80 18 .225 0 3
Neifi Pérez 2B 21 65 13 .200 0 5
Jack Hannahan 1B 3 9 0 .000 0 0
Mike Rabelo DH 1 1 0 .000 0 0

Note: pitchers' batting statistics not included

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched, IP = Innings pitched, W = Wins, L = Losses, ERA = Earned run average, SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Justin Verlander 30 186 17 9 3.63 124
Kenny Rogers 34 204 17 8 3.84 99
Nate Robertson 32 208⅔ 13 13 3.84 137
Jeremy Bonderman 34 214 14 8 4.08 202
Mike Maroth 13 53⅔ 5 2 4.19 24
Zach Miner 27 93 7 6 4.84 59
Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched, W = Wins, L = Losses, SV = Saves, HLD = Holds, ERA = Earned run average, SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV HLD ERA SO
Chad Durbin 3 0 0 0 0 1.50 3
Joel Zumaya 62 6 3 1 30 1.94 97
Jamie Walker 56 0 1 0 11 2.81 37
Colby Lewis 2 0 0 0 0 3.00 5
Chris Spurling 9 0 0 0 0 3.18 4
Fernando Rodney 63 7 4 7 18 3.52 65
Wilfredo Ledezma 24 3 3 0 2 3.58 39
Todd Jones 62 2 6 37 0 3.94 28
Jason Grilli 51 2 3 0 9 4.21 31
Román Colón 20 2 0 1 3 4.89 25
Andrew Miller 8 0 1 0 1 6.10 6
Jordan Tata 8 0 0 0 0 6.14 6
Bobby Seay 14 0 0 0 0 6.46 12

Playoffs

American League Division Series

The New York Yankees were heavy favorites over the Tigers to win the series because of their "modern-day Murderers' Row" lineup. All nine batters were current or former All-Stars. The Yankees won the first game, 8-4.

In Game 2, the Tigers took an early 1-0 lead before Johnny Damon hit a three-run homer for New York in the 4th inning. The Tigers came back with single runs in the 5th, 6th, and 7th, including a game-tying home run by Carlos Guillén and a go-ahead RBI triple by Curtis Granderson, to come from behind to win, 4-3.

In Game 3, which was the first postseason game played in Detroit since 1987, the Tigers shut out the Yankees, 6-0. Kenny Rogers pitched 7⅔ scoreless innings and struck out eight in winning for the first time in his postseason career[31] and defeated the Yankees for the first time since 1993.

In Game 4, the Tigers defeated the Yankees 8-3 to win the American League Division Series, 3 games to 1. Jeremy Bonderman threw a perfect game through five innings, and allowed just one run on five singles over his 8⅓ innings in giving the Tigers a second straight dominating starting pitching performance.

The final out kicked off a joyous celebration of players and fans throughout Comerica Park and Downtown Detroit. The celebration even included Kenny Rogers pouring champagne over a police officer's head (he can be seen on video clearly asking permission before doing so). In the process of winning the final three games, the Tigers held the fearsome Yankees lineup scoreless for 20⅔ consecutive innings (from the 4th inning of Game 2 until the 7th inning of Game 4) while scoring 17 runs in that span.

American League Championship Series

The Tigers faced the Oakland Athletics, winners of the American League Western Division. The A's had defeated the Minnesota Twins in a three-game sweep in the ALDS.

The Tigers won Game 1, 5-1, as Nate Robertson scattered six hits and three walks over his five shutout innings. In the fourth inning, with men on second and third and nobody out, Robertson memorably struck out the side to preserve his own victory.[32]

Detroit also won Game 2, 8-5. Oakland had an early two-run lead before the Tigers' four-run fourth inning gave them the lead for good. Seldom-used outfielder Alexis Gómez got the surprise start as the designated hitter. Gómez hit a homer and drove in four runs, providing another example of Jim Leyland pushing all the right buttons this season.[33]

Returning to Comerica Park for Game 3, the Tigers shut out the A's, 3-0. Kenny Rogers was masterful again, allowing only two singles and running his scoreless streak to 15 innings, and the A's did not get a hit off relievers Fernando Rodney and Todd Jones. The two hits were the fewest allowed in a post-season game in franchise history.[34]

In Game 4, Oakland jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. Detroit, looking to sweep the A's, fought back with two runs in the fifth inning, on RBI doubles by Curtis Granderson and Craig Monroe, before Magglio Ordóñez tied it at 3-3 with a solo home run in the sixth. In the bottom of the ninth with two outs and runners on first and second base, Ordóñez hit his second home run of the night, a three-run walk-off home run off of A's closer Huston Street that sent the Tigers to their first World Series since 1984. The American League Pennant was the tenth in Tigers history, and the pennant was won with a walk-off home run for only the third time ever.[35] (The last team to do so was the 2003 New York Yankees, when Aaron Boone hit a walk off home run to defeat Boston.)

World Series

Regardless of the outcome for the 2006 World Series, one manager would join Sparky Anderson as the only skippers in history to manage teams from both the AL and NL to a title. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, who considers Anderson his mentor, won the 1989 World Series with the Athletics, while Tigers manager Jim Leyland had won the 1997 World Series with the Marlins.

The Cardinals won the first game of the World Series in Detroit 7-2, behind excellent pitching from unheralded Cardinals starter Anthony Reyes.

In Game Two, Kenny Rogers continued his astounding postseason, allowing two hits and no runs through eight innings, as the Tigers triumphed 3-1.

But the Tigers lost the next three games. They were shut out 5-0 in game three by Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter; they lost a 5-4 heartbreaker in game four; and in game 5, the Tigers committed two costly errors, lost a 2-1 lead, and fell 4-2. In the first inning rookie pitcher Justin Verlander threw two wild pitches, tying the Series record (AP); this was in sharp contrast to the five total that he had thrown in all of his previous games. Verlander would go on to commit a throwing error in the fourth inning, allowing the tying run to score.[36]

In the series, the Tigers committed eight errors, five by the pitching staff alone, the most in World Series history. While the Tigers' 4-1 World Series loss to the Cardinals was a complete disaster, it did not diminish the team's remarkable turnaround after 12 straight losing seasons.

Postseason player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg. = Batting average, HR = Home runs, RBI = Runs batted in

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Sean Casey 10 37 16 .432 2 9
Carlos Guillén 13 47 17 .362 1 4
Alexis Gómez 6 12 4 .333 1 4
Omar Infante 2 3 1 .333 0 0
Plácido Polanco 13 51 16 .314 0 4
Brandon Inge 13 44 12 .273 1 4
Craig Monroe 13 50 12 .240 5 9
Marcus Thames 8 21 5 .238 0 1
Curtis Granderson 13 53 12 .226 3 7
Magglio Ordóñez 13 51 10 .196 3 8
Iván Rodríguez 13 48 8 .167 1 5
Ramón Santiago 6 12 1 .083 0 0
Neifi Pérez 3 4 0 .000 0 0
Jeremy Bonderman 3 2 0 .000 0 0
Justin Verlander 4 2 0 .000 0 0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched, IP = Innings pitched, W = Wins, L = Losses, ERA = Earned run average, SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Kenny Rogers 3 23 3 0 0.00 19
Jeremy Bonderman 3 20⅓ 1 0 3.10 11
Nate Robertson 3 15⅔ 1 2 5.17 8
Justin Verlander 4 21⅔ 1 2 5.82 23
Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched, W = Wins, L = Losses, SV = Saves, HLD = Holds, ERA = Earned run average, SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV HLD ERA SO
Todd Jones 7 0 0 4 0 0.00 4
Jason Grilli 5 0 0 0 1 0.00 1
Zach Miner 1 0 0 0 0 0.00 0
Wilfredo Ledezma 4 1 0 0 1 2.25 2
Fernando Rodney 7 0 0 0 2 2.35 9
Joel Zumaya 6 0 1 0 1 3.00 6
Jamie Walker 5 1 0 0 0 4.15 3

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Toledo Mud Hens International League Larry Parrish
AA Erie SeaWolves Eastern League Duffy Dyer
A Lakeland Tigers Florida State League Mike Rojas
A West Michigan Whitecaps Midwest League Matt Walbeck
A-Short Season Oneonta Tigers New York–Penn League Tom Brookens
Rookie GCL Tigers Gulf Coast League Kevin Bradshaw

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Toledo, West Michigan[37]

References

  1. ↑ Tigers Have Baseball's Surprise Tale - washingtonpost.com Archived January 18, 2010, at WebCite
  2. ↑ http://www.startribune.com/179/story/579907.html
  3. ↑ Detnews.com | This article is no longer available online Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  4. ↑ Tigers rally past Cards, first to 50 wins - Baseball - MSNBC.com Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  5. ↑ USATODAY.com - Tigers could stand to solidify place on food chain Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  6. ↑ Detnews.com | This article is no longer available online Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  7. ↑ USATODAY.com - Telling tales of the Tigers Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  8. ↑ Article not found | February 11, 2008 | AHN Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  9. ↑ Raskin, D. "Trash the Tuxes", page 51. The Detroit Jewish News, August 3, 2006.
  10. ↑ ESPN - Tigers beat Contreras, win series from White Sox - MLB Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  11. ↑ ESPN - Tigers get Pirates 1B Casey, send Shelton to minors - MLB Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  12. ↑ The Official Site of The Detroit Tigers: News: Detroit Tigers News Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  13. ↑ The Official Site of The Detroit Tigers: News: Detroit Tigers News Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  14. ↑ Los Angeles Angels, Alexis Gómez, Brandon Inge, Jeff Weaver, Major League Baseball, Detroit Tigers - CBSSports.com Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  15. ↑ MLB - Cincinnati Reds/Detroit Tigers Recap Saturday May 20, 2006 - Yahoo! Sports
  16. ↑ The Official Site of The Detroit Tigers: News: Detroit Tigers News Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  17. ↑ The Official Site of The Detroit Tigers: News: Detroit Tigers News Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  18. ↑ Houston Astros vs. Detroit Tigers - Box Score - June 27, 2006 - ESPN
  19. ↑ Tigers' stars live up to their big contracts
  20. ↑ The Official Site of The Detroit Tigers: News: Detroit Tigers News Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  21. ↑ Chicago White Sox, Craig Monroe, Todd Jones, Jeremy Bonderman, Major League Baseball, Detroit Tigers, Hanshin Tigers - CBSSports.com Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  22. ↑ Chicago White Sox, Marcus Thames, Chris Shelton, Jose A. Contreras, Major League Baseball, Detroit Tigers - CBSSports.com Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  23. ↑ MLB - Detroit Tigers/Cleveland Indians Recap Monday July 24, 2006 - Yahoo! Sports
  24. ↑ Detroit Tigers, Craig Monroe, Zach Miner, Francisco Liriano, Major League Baseball, Minnesota Twins - CBSSports.com Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  25. ↑ Detroit Tigers, Carlos Guillen, Justin Verlander, Sean Casey, Major League Baseball, Tampa Bay Devil Rays - CBSSports.com Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  26. ↑ Rodriguez makes Carmona pay with walk-off in ninth - MLB - CBSSports.com Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  27. ↑ The article requested can not be found! Please refresh your browser or go back. (C4,20060831,SPORTS02,608310410,AR) Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  28. ↑ Seattle Post-Intelligencer: MLB Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  29. ↑ Tigers reduce playoff magic number to 1 - Baseball - MSNBC.com Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  30. ↑ ESPN - Win and in: Tigers clinch first playoff berth since 1987 - MLB Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  31. ↑ Rogers, Tigers shut down Yankees - Baseball - MSNBC.com Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  32. ↑ The Official Site of Major League Baseball: News: Major League Baseball News Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  33. ↑ ESPN - Gómez HR, four RBI spark Tigers to 2-0 ALCS lead - MLB Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  34. ↑ Tigers move one step closer Archived December 20, 2010, at WebCite
  35. ↑ The article requested can not be found! Please refresh your browser or go back. (C4,20061015,SPORTS02,610150666,AR) Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  36. ↑ Yahoo! Sports - Sports News, Scores, Rumors, Fantasy Games, and more
  37. ↑ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2006 Detroit Tigers season.
1st Half: Detroit Tigers Game Log on ESPN.com
2nd Half: Detroit Tigers Game Log on ESPN.com
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