EAST LANSING- The Detroit Tigers’ miracle playoff run has come to an end, after losing game five to the Cleveland Guardians, 7-3.

This is a tough one. A season that no one expected ended up being one of the most memorable in Detroit sports history. 

It is unfortunate that the season had to end like this, but I could not have asked for a better experience as a lifelong Tigers fan. 

This is a team that defied all odds. A team that was tied for the longest postseason drought in baseball. A team that completely sold at the deadline. A team full of young guys, with few veteran players, would go on to make a name for themselves and shock the world.

August 11th, 2024, the Detroit Tigers were 11 games back of the AL Wild Card. No hope for the future of the season, Tigers fans were ready to pack it in.

That was until the Tigers went on a historic run, going 31-13 to clinch a trip to the postseason for the first time in 10 years.

Comerica Park was alive again. The Tigers were nearly unstoppable because they had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

The Tigers continued winning, sweeping the Houston Astros in the Wild Card, a team that has made seven consecutive postseason appearances since 2017.

Astros pitcher Josh Hader’s 2024 salary was $19 million, which was more than the entire 26-man playoff roster of the Detroit Tigers at $18.8 million.

This team of underdogs continued to stress the fact that you can’t buy championships, and sometimes it just takes the power of friendship and some grit to bring down a baseball dynasty. 

The Tigers waltzed out of the Wild Card round, where they would soon meet their match in division rival, the Cleveland Guardians.

An equal matchup would tie the series at 2-2, forcing a game five back in Cleveland.

The Detroit offense was less than stellar throughout games four and five and competing with the Guardians bullpen was no easy task.

The Tigers could not get it done, and the Guardians would walk away victorious. 

By no means should this season hold any disappointment. It is difficult to lose when you have so much hope, and you have high expectations of finishing the story with a perfect fairytale ending.

But that’s life. This is a young team with so much potential and so much room for growth. They did the unthinkable when everyone doubted them and made it further than anyone expected.

This experience can only be taken as a learning lesson from which they will return even stronger. 

The perseverance and never-say-die attitude of the 2024 Detroit Tigers will always be remembered. 

This is the type of team they make movies about.