Football can wait. We finally have a Tigers playoff race in Detroit

DETROIT – I know I’ll be in the minority on this one.

It’s the middle of September. No, it doesn’t feel like fall, but most people in Michigan have probably moved on from summer. Kids are back in school, Halloween decorations are going up, and everyone’s talking about the Detroit Lions.

But you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you’ve closed the book on baseball.

I certainly didn’t expect to be writing this two months ago. The Tigers were one of the most disappointing teams in the league -- nine games below .500 and selling once again at the trade deadline.

Most (if not all) of us thought the season was over. The Tigers were 10 games out of the playoff race, after all. But the past six weeks have breathed new life into this franchise.

Detroit is the hottest team in baseball, winning 25 of the last 35 games. That 10-game deficit in the wild card race has shrunk to a half-game.

That’s right: The Tigers could be tied for a playoff spot as soon as today.

This isn’t just a cute story anymore. It has a chance to be legitimately one of the most improbable runs to the playoffs in league history. How many teams have come back from 10 games down after trading away four key contributors?

If you haven’t been watching the Tigers night in and night out, fix that while there’s still time! With nine games left, we’re basically already watching playoff baseball.

Man, does it feel good to say that.

Months like this are the reason baseball became my favorite sport. The 2006 Tigers laid the foundation, and the 2011-2013 teams dominated my college summers.

Watching this franchise flounder since 2014 has been sad. And frankly, really frustrating. But it’s made these last few weeks even more rewarding.

There’s no prime Miguel Cabrera on this team. But Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter have been mashing since coming back from the injured list.

Parker Meadows isn’t quite Curtis Granderson, but he’s made more than an Austin Jackson-like impact at the top of the lineup since returning from Triple-A.

It’s hard to compare this team to anything we’ve seen in the past. Maybe the Goin’ To Work Pistons? Sure, Tarik Skubal is going to win the Cy Young award, and Greene was an all-star, but beyond that, it’s mostly just a bunch of solid young players.

I mean, who had Jace Jung basically winning the Tigers a game with an acrobatic slide to dodge a tag at home plate? Or Zach McKinstry taking key at-bats? Not many thought Spencer Torkelson would return to the middle of the order after his first-half struggles.

And the pitching staff: whew. The Tigers traded away Jack Flaherty and lost both Reese Olson and Casey Mize to long-term injuries. What did they do? Rolled with Skubal, rookie Keider Montero, and a bunch of unproven bulk relievers.

Yeah, the Twins and Royals have Carlos Correa and Bobby Witt Jr., but the Tigers have made up all this ground on the backs of... Brant Hurter? Sean Guenther? Brenan Hanifee?

It’s unbelievable.

These guys were eating meaningless spring training innings six months ago. Now they’re shutting down playoff teams in September.

It’s fun to root for a team that nobody expected to be here, and it’s even more fun because you can never count these guys out.

In the opening game of the Kansas City series, the Tigers gave up an early grand slam to Witt but stormed back to win 7-6. A few weeks ago, Meadows hit a game-winning grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning and the Tigers down by three runs.

The second-half 2024 Tigers are never dead. Since Aug. 22, they’ve lost seven games -- three went to extra innings and none were by more than three runs.

So you should tune in. And stick around until the end. There’s a good chance you’ll like what you see.

Thursday is a day off, and for many fans, it’s a chance to catch our breaths. That Royals sweep was a doozie. It’s the most fun I’ve had watching Tigers baseball since Jim Leyland retired.

This weekend’s series in Baltimore could very well determine Detroit’s fate. It’s the most difficult opponent left on the schedule, and the Tigers need to stay at least within a game of the Twins since they don’t own the tiebreaker.

But no matter what happens, the fact that the Tigers are on the doorstep of a playoff spot is a reward on its own, considering where they were.

Detroiters love their Lions -- there’s no doubt about that. But this is a baseball town, too. A baseball town that’s waited eight long summers for meaningful games.

So, yeah, you should watch Michigan and Michigan State on Saturday. And the Lions on Sunday.

But carve out some time for these Tigers, too. They’ve earned it.