A bit more battle-scarred than hoped for, the Tigers enter the playoffs with a fresh chance to write their story
The Detroit Tigers learned the difference between being the predator and being the prey in 2025.
It wasn't an easy lesson, being stalked in the final month of the season, a seemingly insurmountable lead in the American League Central in July dwindling day after day, loss after loss, until finally in late September the Tigers found themselves looking up at the Cleveland Guardians and on the verge of missing the playoffs completely -- an embarrassment that would have stuck with the players and fans for years to come, just as it did in 2009.