All those people who kept doubting the Detroit Tigers, take a week off and think again. Jim Leyland, Magglio Ordonez and the rest of the Tigers will be spending that time getting ready for the World Series.
Written off by the entire baseball world only three years ago, the Tigers made it official Saturday. They're back, and on the prowl.
Ordonez hit his second homer of the game, connecting for a three-run shot with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning that lifted Leyland's team over the Oakland Athletics 6-3 for a startling four-game sweep of the AL championship series.
"I think early on in spring training we had a lot of good players. We didn't have a good team," Leyland said. "And today I can make the statement that we've got a good team, and that's the thing that I'm proudest of."
With the crowd of 42,967 at Comerica Park in delirium, joined by fans watching from distant downtown buildings and all over Michigan, the Tigers rejoiced after their seventh straight postseason win.
The wild-card Tigers now get to rest up for Game 1, at home next Saturday night against either the New York Mets or St. Louis Cardinals. It will be their first Series appearance since winning it all exactly 22 years ago Saturday on Oct. 14, 1984.
In those days, Sparky Anderson, Kirk Gibson and Jack Morris were among the big names at Tiger Stadium, making history at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull.
Starting next week, these Tigers get a chance to make their mark at the address of baseball's most surprising story - Woodward and Montcalm.
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