There were tears, and also a few beers, in the Tigers' clubhouse. There were hugs and slaps on the back. There weren't many smiles, but "disappointment is the wrong word," said Riley Greene. The Tigers were heartbroken that they failed to go all the way, and heartened that they're just getting started.
"We definitely have a core here," said Parker Meadows.
A charmed run came to a halt in Cleveland. For two months, the Tigers turned the odds upside down. They went from a 0.2 percent chance of making the playoffs to one game -- a few innings, really -- of playing for the pennant. And then, with one swing, the odds turned on the Tigers. The best pitcher in the game gave up a grand slam and the Guardians closed the book on one of the most improbable stories in baseball.
"Nobody thought we'd be here besides us, if you really think about it," said Greene, the Tigers' lone position-playing All-Star. "It’s going to hurt for a little bit, but whenever it stops hurting, maybe in a week, maybe in a month, I don’t know ..."
Greene's thought trailed off, as if he'd just realized how long it will be until the Tigers play another game. It's a long offseason and a longer road back to October, where every player in Detroit's clubhouse but one just experienced win-or-go-home baseball for the first time. As A.J. Hinch told his team after its 7-3 loss on Saturday, "Once you play in one October, you never want to miss one the rest of your career."
"There’s really nothing like it," said Greene. "The energy and the emotions, you just can’t beat it, man. I want to do it every year."
That's what contenders do. The Tigers believe they're building one. It will take more than the pieces already in place, but what the Tigers did over the past two months can be more than just a fun chapter of baseball. They fell short of the ultimate goal and still accomplished something bigger than themselves. As Hinch put it, "We're back to being a winning organization."
The Tigers crawled out of a 10-game hole and clawed their way to the playoffs for the first time in a decade. They got there thanks to homegrown players like Greene, Meadows and Kerry Carpenter, whose heroic pinch-hit RBI in the fifth inning Saturday -- "He's limping to first base Kirk Gibson style," said Meadows -- briefly gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Those three can form a dynamic outfield, especially against right-handed pitching. The picture in the infield isn't as clear, though Colt Keith is a keeper.
"We’re here to stay," said Carpenter. "We have a bunch of young guys and a bunch of people who want to get better. Everybody in this organization is really excited, and I think we put the world on notice that we can do big things in this clubhouse with these guys."
The Tigers have a core worth spending around. It was all the more evident when their young offense reared its ugly head in Game 5, going 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and striking out 16 times, that upgrades are needed. If Tigers president of baseball ops Scott Harris is true to his word, and Chris Ilitch is true to his, upgrades will be made. A third baseman should be a serious consideration. A proven right-handed bat feels like a must.
Tarik Skubal pitched his heart out for the Tigers this season, and reached even deeper this month. He shouldn't have been on the receiving end of the biggest blow of the year. When Carpenter called him "the best pitcher in the world," it felt like an understatement. Skubal was the rock in Detroit's rotation from Opening Day to the final day. The Tigers, said Greene, "wouldn't be here without him." They also won't go anywhere further without reinforcements around him.
"He had one of the greatest years I’ve ever seen," said Greene.
The Tigers just had two of the greatest months in franchise history. They rode a young, athletic lineup, an unheralded and sometimes unhittable bullpen and a 27-year-old ace to the precipice of the ALCS. They brought playoff baseball back to Comerica Park, which roared its approval. The organization is smarter and healthier than it's been in recent memory, with development happening at every level.
"We never thought that we shouldn't be here, and that is going to fuel us moving forward," said Hinch. "We're going to be a problem for people if we can continue that mindset and that hunger."
Harris and Hinch have the brains to sustain the momentum, which starts "with a good offseason," said Hinch. It's just as important for the core to continue to grow. Greene should aim to be one of the best all-around bats in the majors next year, after an admittedly disappointing postseason. Keith belongs among the top hitters at second base. Carpenter will have to figure out lefties, while continuing to crush righties. Meadows can be a star in center field if he hits like he did since August.
"We’re going to use this as the floor," said Meadows. "I think expectations are now going to be through the roof. A lot of guys got their feet wet in the playoffs, including me, and now that’s all we’re going to want."
Meadows' star rose quickly as the Tigers took off. The 24-year-old has a way of touching every game, and turning lots of them into wins. Reliever Beau Brieske couldn't help but smile as he reflected on the last two months and said, "The moment we were like, 'Damn, I think there’s a chance here,' was the walk-off home run in San Diego." That came courtesy of Meadows, who stood motionless in the Tigers' dugout and watched the Guardians celebrate when this joyride came to an end.
"It hurts," he said, about an hour later. "It still hurts. "But I think everyone in this locker room can look back on the year and be satisfied. We proved a lot of people wrong. ... We can compete with anyone."