FanPost

Light in the Darkness: Top 10 2015 Tigers moments

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It was the best of times, it was ... well let's be honest. It was pretty much the worst of times for most of this season. But despite the disappointing pitching, the multiple injuries, and the instability in the front office, there were a few bright spots for the Tigers this year. We have a whole off season to complain about the bad. Here's the good we can see from 2015. Feel free to add your own in the comments.

10. Miggy's 400th Home Run

I'm going to mention Miggy twice on this list, but I'm pretty sure Tigers fans will be OK with that. We had a lot to celebrate with Miggy this year, including his 400th career home run in St. Louis. We can celebrate that he's ours and he is the best and hopefully, he'll hit his 500th in a few years for the home crowd at Comerica Park.

9. Iggy's Back

Tigers fans were finally treated to what we missed in 2014 -- Jose Iglesias' stunning defense. It seemed like every game he was making a play that looked normal, but was by no means normal. Not to mention he batted .300 this year. And sidestepped third base as he rounded the bases for his home run, just like Miggy. And added a great energy to the team. They may not be Trammell and Whitaker, but Iggy and Kinsler make a hell of a double play team.

8. McCannon

With Avila on the DL for a good part of the early season, James McCann, McCannon, Captain America, saw a lot of playing time this year. What catcher gets his first MLB home run as an inside the park home run? And his second was a walk off? But more importantly, he showed a lot of leadership on this team, and with Avila likely gone after this year, it's that leadership that will work with whatever new pitchers come our way. I feel all right about that.

7. Wild Dogs

Anibal Sanchez had a bad year pitching, but he had a great year with Instagram. Early in the season, we were treated to pictures of our sharp dressed team. And if we can't win on the field, we can at least win at social media, right?

6. Daniel Norris - Detroit Tiger

Giving up our best pitcher meant we needed something big in return, and Daniel Norris was it. Pitchers joke about hitting home runs in the NL; Norris stepped up to the plate and did it. But based on his pitching so far this year, I sincerely hope that he's the future of this team. He's a unique individual with a great work ethic and a hell of an arm. I'd get his jersey.

5. Our Brief, Wonderful Time with Yoenis Cespedes

I knew that A's fans were sad when they saw Cespedes traded away, and this year we found out why. I loved him from Day One. La Potencia lived up to his reputation, fitting right into our powerful line up. I understood why we traded him, and hoped he meant it when he said he wanted to come back. Like any brief but memorable affair, I'm realizing that we won't see him again in a Tigers uniform. I'm not quite ready to move on yet, either.

4. Ian Kinsler's Second Half

If I were a ball player, I'd be Ian Kinsler. And in the second half of the season, he proved why. Not only was he excellent defensively (as always), but he batted over .300 and had many multiple hit games. And who doesn't love a guy who's not afraid to tell the umpires what we wish we could?

3. JD's Three Dinger Father's Day

I'd like to remind some of my friends on Twitter that they thought JD Martinez should be sent down to Toledo during his slump in May. You know who you are. OK, back to the good stuff. JD earned the nickname "Just Dingerz" this year, which isn't exactly fair. He was all around fantastic this year, at the plate and in right field. His work ethic should be emulated by the younger guys. I hope we have him for years and years. Hitting three home runs against the Yankees - in New York - made for one of the more memorable and happy games for Tigers fans this year.

2. Miggy's 4th Batting Title

There's no better hitter in baseball than Miguel Cabrera, and there's no one who looks like they're enjoying baseball more than Miguel Cabrera. From hitting home runs to joking with players at first base to tossing balls to kids in Cleveland, Miggy is the best. In another season dealing with injury, he managed to hit .338, securing a fourth batting title. Can you imagine what a completely healthy Miggy could do? Can we make this a reality? Please Miggy!

1. JV's Near No-Hitter

In a year of bad pitching, Justin Verlander's almost no-hitter on August 26 (my birthday!) let us and the rest of MLB know that #MustSeeJV was back. As fans, we've gone from the best rotation a couple years ago to one of the worst. We've also seen the best and worst from JV. But when he came back from the DL this year, he showed us that he might not be the Cy Young/MVP of his younger days, but he was a consistent strong pitcher for our team, and that's what we needed from him.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the <em>Bless You Boys</em> writing staff.