Tigers Potential AL Central Collapse Would Be Historically Horrific
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The Detroit Tigers are in the middle of a complete free fall at the moment, dropping seven of their last eight and seeing their hated rival Cleveland Guardians pull within 2.5 games of the lead for the American League Central.
Detroit has been through some ebbs and flows this season as is the case even for the very best teams in baseball every year, but right now it feels different. A divisional race that felt over during the dog days of summer is all of the sudden very much an open battle, and the advantage may be tipping towards a Guardians team which has won nine of their last 10.
Needless to say, finding a way to squander this would be a complete and utter disaster, however it goes deeper than just that. It would be a historic collapse the likes of which Major League Baseball has never seen before.
Tigers Have Chance to Blow Largest Division Lead in MLB History
After being swept by Cleveland over the weekend, the lead was cut to 3.5 games and Detroit had the chance to hit the reset button and go into a new series against the Atlanta Braves with a new mindset.
Instead, they followed it up with a 10-1 beatdown at the hands of Atlanta in the first game on Friday night, not exactly inspiring confidence that they are going to be okay.
At one point this season, the Tigers held a 15.5-game lead in the division over the rest of the pack with nobody in their rearview mirror.
The current record for the largest lead squandered belongs to the 1978 Boston Red Sox, who allowed the New York Yankees to take the American League East title after leading by 14 games in July.
To make matters even worse in Detroit, they held a 10-game lead in the month of September, a reality that now feels like a lifetime ago. It can't be sugar-coated; this would be the kind of unacceptable and absurd collapse that could potentially result in some major changes.
Where Do Tigers Go From Here?
After wrapping up two more games against the Braves this weekend, it's six games left, all of them on the road for Detroit and two massive opponents standing in their way. First up, it's a three -game set against the Guardians in Cleveland,which very well could wind up deciding the division.
If things don't go well there, the Tigers may be fighting for their playoff lives against the Red Sox in Boston, who are going into Saturday holding a 1.5 game lead over the Guardians for the final Wild Card spot in the American League.
This team has shown a ton of fight over the last couple of years, but the next week is going to be their most critical test yet. Will they be remembered as the team that won the division for the first time in over a decade and made a deep run, or will they be the disgrace that blew it?
Time will tell, but time is the one thing Detroit doesn't have when it comes to figuring this thing out.
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Michael Brauner is a 2022 graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Sports Media. He covers various MLB teams across the On SI network and you can also find his work on Yellowhammer News covering the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers as well as on the radio producing and co-hosting 'The Opening Kickoff' every weekday morning on 105.5 WNSP FM in Mobile, Alabama.