FanPost

What was the greatest clutch play in Tigers history?

Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

As I see it, there are three prime contenders; if there were other pivotal plays that won pennants or World Series, I am unaware of them, and would appreciate learning about it. In chronological order then:

1: Hank Greenberg's 9th inning grand slam to clinch the 1945 pennant on the last day of the regular season.

2: Willie Horton throwing out Lou Brock at home plate to keep the Tigers within one run in the fifth game of the 1968 World Series.

3: Magglio Ordonez's walk-off three run homer to clinch the 2006 ALCS.

The Greenberg grand slam was all the more dramatic because Hank had returned to action just the previous July from military service. He had been drafted in 1940 (the first MLB player to register for the draft), served his time, and then reenlisted after Pearl Harbor, a remarkably admirable course of action from a very different time. The pennant clinching grand slam came with the Tigers down a run in the ninth and one out in St. Louis in the first game of a scheduled doubleheader against the old St. Louis Browns.

A few things to consider in evaluating this immortal moment: as I say, the Tigers were scheduled to play a doubleheader that day, and needed to win one of the games to clinch the pennant (it was a miserable day, so with the pennant decided, the second game was cancelled). If the Browns had swept them, the pennant would have been decided in a playoff with the Washington Senators. So the season was not exactly on the line; they could have won the second game of the doubleheader or the playoff against Washington.

Similarly, Maggs' magnificent shot down the left field line to put the Tigers into the 2006 Series did not quite have the season hinging on it. The game was tied, and the Tigers were up 2-1 in the ALCS. They could have won the game in extra innings or won the next game, albeit at the Oakland Mausoleum. We all were ecstatic when Maggs hit it, of course, but the season was not yet in the balance.

On the other hand, I would argue that Willie's throw to the plate in 1968 did indeed determine the outcome of the Series. The Tigers were down 3-1 in games, and down 3-2 in the game. The Cardinals had humiliated the Tigers in three of the first four games; none of them were really close. Brock and Curt Flood seemed unstoppable. If Brock had scored on the play, increasing the Cardinal's lead, it is hard to imagine the Tigers overcoming it. I am reminded of Winston Churchill's remark about a pivotal battle in World War 2: "Before El Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein, we never had a defeat." It is an exaggeration, but not much of one, to say nothing went right for the Tigers in the 1968 Series before that play and nothing went wrong for them after it.

A very good book covers the Series in detail: "Summer of 68" by Tim Wendel. He talks about how Horton came up as a catcher, and it was his old rival from the Detroit sandlots, Mickey Stanley, who taught him how to make the throws required from the outfield. The Tigers' scouting had picked up that Brock didn't always run full tilt coming around third to score, and often neglected to slide; it seems that teams assumed that there was no hope of throwing him out, so he stopped expecting them to try.

Horton's throw, then, is my choice for the greatest clutch play in Tigers history. It is the one play, in my view, that was absolutely indispensable to either a Tigers pennant or World Series championship. I would appreciate reading any differing views.

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