1984 Tigers

kyro · #1 05-21-2007, 01:20 PM

Forgive my ignorance.

I was watching a Sox game recently, and they were discussing their record and whatnot and I thought I heard them mention that the Tigers started out the season 35-5 one year.

I figured I heard wrong so I googled and found out that, yes, the 1984 Detroit Tigers started out 35-5, and finished 104-58.

Holy Christ. That is insane. After 1/4 of the season, they were on pace to win 141 games, 25 more than the all-time record of 116. I just find it amazing that a team could put together a streak like that at all, never mind in the beginning of the season. Also, I have NEVER heard about this. I'm not a baseball fanatic, but I certainly follow it to a certain extent. Why isn't this talked about more? Will we ever see anything like that in baseball ever again?

zer0 · #2 05-21-2007, 01:27 PM

i'm "working" right now, so i can't exactly go and fact check myself, but don't most teams that win 98+ games have amazing runs like that at some point? the '02/03 a's had ridiculous 2nd halves, and the '04 red sox won something like 23 out of 25 in august. it sure does look pretty when you start the season like that, however.

Triumph36 · #3 05-21-2007, 01:31 PM

it's brought up fairly often I think.

The 84 Tigers had only 4 players with a negative VORP, pitchers or hitters - and only 200 PAs and 60 innings of -VORP baseball. Also, both Willie Hernandez and Aurelio Lopez pitched an incredible amount coming out of the bullpen - 70+ games and 130+ IP for both of them, and they held up.

kyro · #4 05-21-2007, 01:36 PM

I may just be more impressed because their record was 35-5 at one point, and not just had a run of 35/40 games won at some point in the season. But I'd be surprised if any team has won 35/40 games at any point of the season. Winning 23/25 is nice, but the Tigers pretty much did that twice....in a row.

And for something talked about often, triumph, I've never heard of it. I'll look to sell the rock I've been living under.

Triumph36 · #5 05-21-2007, 01:41 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I may just be more impressed because their record was 35-5 at one point, and not just had a run of 35/40 games won at some point in the season. But I'd be surprised if any team has won 35/40 games at any point of the season. Winning 23/25 is nice, but the Tigers pretty much did that twice....in a row.

And for something talked about often, triumph, I've never heard of it. I'll look to sell the rock I've been living under.

[/ QUOTE ]

meh, i dunno, i was a huge baseball history buff when i was younger, and a lot of the players from that team went on to fame elsewhere - Kirk Gibson and Jack Morris for their World Series play, and Alan Trammell was a manager for a few years.

I feel like Ken Singleton mentions it a lot on Yankee broadcasts.

tuq · #6 05-21-2007, 01:44 PM

One thing that's always strange to me about great seasons in football and baseball is how they're rarely sustainable. I understand that 1984 Tigers season was a kind of perfect storm of talent young and old having career years, but to finish around .500 the next year? Injuries, free agency, blah blah blah I get it, but it just seems odd that some of the best single season teams in sports history have been bookended by mediocre ones, like the 1985 Chicago Bears.

Triumph36 · #7 05-21-2007, 01:53 PM

[ QUOTE ]
One thing that's always strange to me about great seasons in football and baseball is how they're rarely sustainable. I understand that 1984 Tigers season was a kind of perfect storm of talent young and old having career years, but to finish around .500 the next year? Injuries, free agency, blah blah blah I get it, but it just seems odd that some of the best single season teams in sports history have been bookended by mediocre ones, like the 1985 Chicago Bears.

[/ QUOTE ]

For the Tigers, the problem looks to be that the bullpen got a lot worse, and they gave too many ABs to bad players. They also made the arguably foolhardy decision to trade Howard Johnson for Walt Terrell.

Hollywade · #8 05-21-2007, 02:05 PM

I'm from Michigan and I talk about this all the time. Outside the Detroit area, I doubt it's a very big deal to anybody. People remember them winning the World Series more than the way they started the year I'm guessing.

Four years ago, Oakland won 20 straight games late in the season. I don't hear many people talk about that anymore, even though it's an amazing feat. Imagine sweeping six consecutive series.

kyro · #9 05-21-2007, 02:14 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I'm from Michigan and I talk about this all the time. Outside the Detroit area, I doubt it's a very big deal to anybody. People remember them winning the World Series more than the way they started the year I'm guessing.

Four years ago, Oakland won 20 straight games late in the season. I don't hear many people talk about that anymore, even though it's an amazing feat. Imagine sweeping six consecutive series.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hasn't Oakland won 20 straight games in the second half the season 4 years in a row?

Seriously, I keep meaning to bet against them first half, and on them the second half.

rwperu34 · #10 05-21-2007, 03:30 PM

I remember this team well. I was on my annual vacation in Seal Beach, CA at the time, and I remember checking the box scores with my Godfather every morning. He was from Detroit (where I was born, although I moved to AZ when I was 2) and the Tigers were 12-1 before I went home.

I'll bet that 35-5 at any point during the season is something that's difficult to do. Just a quick look shows that neither the '98 Yankees or '01 Mariners had a run that good.