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While the overall result of the Tigers' play so far in 2015 hasn't been much to write home about, there have been plenty of in-game thrills to get excited about along the way, and radio play-by-play announcer Dan Dickerson makes those special moments even more thrilling with his inimitable style. From Miggy's bombs to Iggy's wizardry in the field, here are ten great moments from the first half which you'll want to relive.
1. Yoenis Cespedes robs a home run on Opening Day
Fun fact: according to Fangraphs' "Defensive Runs Saved" statistic, Yoenis leads all American League left fielders with eight, which is twice as many as Alex Gordon.
2. J.D. Martinez goes yard against Kyle Gibson, April 9
It's fun when J.D. flexes his muscle and goes deep. It's even more fun when it catches Dan Dickerson by surprise and a simple "fly ball, right field" suddenly becomes "WAY BACK IN RIGHT!"
3. Yoenis Cespedes hits a grand slam, April 19
With two outs in the bottom of the first, it looked like maybe the Tigers might squander a bases-loaded opportunity. Cespedes worked Jose Quintana to a 3-2 count (because, hey, drama) and then saw a four-seam fastball he liked.
4. Jose Iglesias makes a spectacular play, April 20
Any time Iglesias makes a play that gets both a "are you kidding me?!" out of Jim Price and a "WOW!" out of Dan Dickerson, you know something special has just happened.
5. James McCann's first home run is an inside-the-park surprise, April 29
Bet you never saw that one coming, did you? Neither did Dan Dickerson.
6. Miguel Cabrera hits career home run number 400, May 16
The moment we'd been waiting for ever since last year, when Miggy entered the 2014 season needing just 35 home runs to hit the milestone. It wasn't unreasonable to think he'd get there in 2014, but he only hit 25 home runs and fell just short of the mark. On May 16, 2015, in his first at-bat in the first inning against the Cardinals' Tyler Lyons, he finally got there.
7. James McCann hits a walkoff home run against the Astros, May 21
Bottom of the 11th inning, tied 5-5, McCann faced Tony Sipp as the first batter of the inning -- and, as it turns out, the last. Additional fun-fact: Sipp had McCann down 0-2 before he threw a slider that never came back. Those sliders will get you every time.
8. Miguel Cabrera hits a baseball into the center field camera well, June 12
Look, it's like this: baseballs just aren't supposed to fly that far. You can hope to hit one a few feet over the wall in dead center at Comerica, but to get one up into the camera well? No, that's just ridiculous. And also glorious.
9. J.D. Martinez has a three-home-run day on Father's Day, June 21
Chicks dig the long-ball, but so do dads, and in an absolute slug-fest against the New York Yankees that ended 12-4, J.D. Martinez put on a show that made it worth stepping away from the grill for a while.
10. James McCann hits another walkoff home run, June 28
Seems like this is just what McCann does. He hits walkoffs. In the bottom of the 9th in a 4-4 game against the White Sox, McCann once again found himself in an 0-2 count, this time against Zach Putnam. One failed 86 MPH splitter later, the Tigers were once again walkoff winners.