Storybook Endings

When I was growing up both as a boy and as a baseball fan, there are two things that symbolize my youthful introduction into the beautiful game: Derek Jeter and Tiger Stadium. Seeing as my first Little League team was the Yankees, my dad would always call me in to watch some baseball if the Yankees were on. Even though I wasn't the same analytical nerd as I am now (some 7-year old I was), I knew there was something right about the way Jeter played the game. Maybe it was Joe Buck and Tim McCarver heaping their praises during the postseason when I would beg to stay up an extra half hour to watch the Subway Series, maybe it was the way my parents encouraged me to carry myself like Jeter, maybe it was because every single time I watched him, it seemed that he was at the center of the play, doing the right thing at the right time to bring home a win. 

While the Yankees were amidst their dynasty of 4 rings in 5 years, the Tigers were slowly scuffling along, churning out average Major Leaguers and playing semicompetitively for the most of the 90s and early 2000s. Either way, I always rooted for the Tigers because they were my hometown team and because of where they played. I don't remember a lot about Tiger Stadium but I remember one thing: huge. The roof was stories upon stories above my head and if I looked too long, my neck would hurt. I realize now that hitting it out of the park was actually something to be achieved usually by the likes of Cecil Fielder crushing one out to Michigan and Trumbull as opposed to now where the ball just carries the fence and lands in the stands at most parks. The outfield was expansive, and the flag pole in play would always give Gabe Kapler fits if the ball somehow rolled the 440 feet out to left-center. There was no break or hitter's eye, either - the field was surrounded 360 degrees by crazy Detroiters, amplifying the noise of the blue collar auto industry, which made me feel like every single pitch mattered. 

To a 7-year old new fan, Tiger Stadium felt larger than life; a perfect analogy for the game that was played there. 

Today is the 15th anniversary of Tiger Stadium's last home game, and I figured with Jeter's last home game and my home team's last home game, I should write a little about how truly perfect their sendoffs really were.

Any baseball fan by now knows that Jeter hit a walk-off single on Thursday against the Orioles in the bottom of the 9th. I had this gut feeling that Jeter would hit a walk-off home run, but looking back on it, that wouldn't be Jeter. He doesn't hit home runs, he hits inside pitches that would saw off 98% of hitters and turns them right around to right field to frustrate even the best pitchers. So when Jeter came up with a man on second with a huge gap on the right side of the infield (Orioles 2nd basemen Kelly Johnson was holding the runner on second), you just knew he would lace whatever he got to right field for the game winner. There's no other way to describe it other than saying it was so Jeter for a number of reasons. 

First, the hit. Just look at his spray chart for 2014. 

Courtesy of FanGraphs.

Jeter is notorious for turning balls the other way, no matter what type of pitch. Except for groundballs, the majority of his hits go the other way. That's why this one wasn't particularly surprising.

Second, the clutch situation. There are so many Jeter moments where he came up huge for the Yankees, especially in the postseason, and this is no exception. Jeter, also known as Captain Clutch, thrives on the high pressure situation and came through when it mattered most all throughout his career. That's why he was loved so dearly by one of the most ruthless sporting cities in the world. Check out his clutch stats: 

Courtesy of Baseball Reference.

Amazing.

Third and finally, the celebration. The first thing Jeter did even before rounding first was to make sure the run scored. Watch any replay from any angle from anybody filming and Jeter looks back and forth from right field to home plate. He didn't bask in his own glory that he was the hero, he was basking in a team victory. 

Courtesy of Ryan Field (@RyanFieldFS1) on Twitter

His teammates came out to mob him and celebrate the win, but here's the difference: while Jeter celebrated the win, the teammates celebrated Jeter.

On the Dan Patrick Show on Friday morning, Dan Patrick made a great point that it's almost a good thing that David Robertson blew the save because Jeter started to drift away into emotion. With a safe lead while sitting at shortstop, Jeter began to get caught up in the moment, finally realizing that it is the last time he would wear the pinstripes as a player. But then two home runs later, and he's back into uber-competitive-Jeter mode. When the game became tied, it didn't matter that it was his last game. It became another game to win. And that's just what he did.

Selfless, classy, driven, focused, Captain. There was no better way to end his career in pinstripes than a walk-off single to right field.

Now on to Tiger Stadium. 15 years ago today the Tigers and Royals suited up for the final game at The Corner. Unlike today, the Royals were 33.5 games back of first and the Tigers were 30, so even though this had absolutely no playoff implications, it was still special. 

Tiger Stadium had seen some amazing memories, the best being the 4 World Series Detroit won in 1935, 1945, 1968, and 1984. It saw Hall of Famers like Hank Greenberg, Al Kaline, Hal Newhouser, and Charlie Gehringer. It saw monster home runs that left the park from sluggers like Reggie Jackson, for one. It also saw infuriated right fielders as the overhang would take home runs instead of turning them into warning track outs. It saw some of the best of the Tigers and also some of the worst. As the 90s were coming to a close, the Tigers were playing bad baseball (when Dean Palmer is your best player, it might be time for some new talent) and Tiger Stadium was aging poorly. Before its deconstruction, some held it in regard with Wrigley Field and Fenway Park as one of the prototypical historical parks with more engaging stories than architectural sound. But with a new millennium, century, decade, and season around the corner, management found it fitting to move forward not only with the team but also with the stadium.

On September 27, 1999, with Comerica Park looming downtown on Woodward, the Tigers kissed the stadium goodbye with a better ending than Jeter's if you ask me. The Tigers took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the 8th, and any Tigers fan will remember that with Todd Jones in the bullpen, a little insurance was always welcome. The insurance to follow was perfect. Dean Palmer led off with a double down the left field line, followed quickly by a Damion Easley single off of Jeff Montgomery to advance Palmer to third. Karim Garcia walked, and Gabe Kapler grounded into a fielder's choice, reaching first but eliminating Palmer's run at home. What happened next was a combination of all the beautiful history of Tiger Stadium rolled into one single swing from DH Robert Fick: a moonshot of a grand slam that landed on the right field roof and landed softly in the grass in front of KC rightfielder Jermaine Dye, giving the Tigers an 8-2 lead. 

Fick rounded the bases as Tiger Stadium shook to the core from the Detroiters screaming their heads off. Even though the season was a wash to that point, Fick sent the home run to right and the fans into a nostalgic pandemonium. Jones retired the Royals in order in the top of the 9th and with that, baseball at The Corner was no more. It was the best final 6 outs you could have asked for to say goodbye to a stadium that had been standing since 1912.

As frustrating as sports can be sometimes, it's moments like these that make us all realize why we all care so much. When it really matters, someone will deliver.

It was an emotional night for Derek Jeter. It was an emotional night for Detroit 15 years ago today. But they are both nights we will ever forget.

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.