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The Detroit Tigers first season was in 1901. The Tigers won three consecutive American League pennants from 1907-1909 under manager Hugh Jennings and were led by Hall of Famer Ty Cobb.
In 1968 during a volatile time in Detroit the one thing that somewhat kept the city together was the Tigers. The team that year was led by 31 game winner Denny McLain and the Tigers took the pennant that year by 12 games and then defeated the highly favored St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series with Al Kaline and Mickey Lolich playing key roles.
The Tigers have had ups and downs through the years and the 1989 season being their rock bottom lowest season losing 103 games. The team moved out of legendary Tiger Stadium in 1999 and moved into the spacious Comerica Park.
2006 served as monumental for the Tigers after winning the AL Central division and advancing all the way to the World Series. They upset the New York Yankees and swept the Oakland Athletics, eventually losing the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Leading into 2007 the Tigers traded for Gary Sheffield, Brandon Inge, Jeremy Bonderman, and Carlos Guillen. Along with the new deals the Tigers returned 22 out of 25 players from their World Series roster.
Despite a new attendance record for Detroit they failed to make the playoffs, finishing with an 88-74 record. After acquiring Edgar Renteria, Miguel Cabrera, and Dontrelle Willis, expectations were high again for 2008. The talented roster never clicked and resulted in a74-88 regular season.
The Tigers are looking to turn things around in 2009 and hope to be contenders again in the AL Central. They signed closer Brandon Lyon to a one-year $4.25 million contract. If they are able to keep a healthy roster, Detroit should be able to fight for playoff contention.
Photo by Flickr user mrkumm
