Crossing the streams, I think the 1984 Tigers were similar to the 2004 Pistons in that they were teams that had a whole bunch of minor stars and no real superstar

Posted on September 2, 2026 at 02:17:24 PM by Paul

The 2004 finals were striking in that the two best players on the court were Lakers and then like the next eight best players in the series were on Detroit. The 1984 Tigers were an unusually balanced great team, in that they had a whole bunch of marginal HOF case guys and no oh yeah he goes in on the first ballot types.

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Crossing the streams, I think the 1984 Tigers were similar to the 2004 Pistons in that they were teams that had a whole bunch of minor stars and no real superstar - By Paul September 2, 2026 at 02:17:24 PM
- Alan Trammell was 4th in league WAR, Chet Lemon was 7th, and Willie Hernandez had one of the best seasons for a closer in the history of the game to that point. Like the Pistons, tho, I don’t think their true greatness was recognized until the analytics-era** - By Brad September 2, 2026 at 02:41:34 PM
  - 4th in bWAR despite missing 20 games. The thing I’m going to harp on is that it’s not just WAR. In 1984 Trammell hit .314/.382/.468 - By brick September 2, 2026 at 02:49:00 PM
    - His getting robbed of the 87 MVP by George Bell made a big difference I think* - By Rich September 2, 2026 at 02:54:17 PM
      - Ev’s hot take: Wade Boggs should’ve been MVP that year. Not trammell or bell.* - By Ev September 2, 2026 at 03:21:19 PM
      - Agree* - By brick September 2, 2026 at 02:59:16 PM
        
        Man, he hit .343!! 953 OPS to 957 for Bell while playing SS. - By Rich September 2, 2026 at 03:03:26 PM
        
        NL vote that year was bad too, though Dawson was a very sympathetic figure - By brick September 2, 2026 at 03:18:08 PM
- Trammell was a superstar and should’ve been considered one at the time - By brick September 2, 2026 at 02:21:48 PM
  - Unfortunately Tram decided to have his best season the same year Cal Ripken had one of the top-5 seasons of all time for a shortstop* - By Brad September 2, 2026 at 02:44:32 PM
    - Ripken OPS+ 112, Trammell 110. GG 4-2 Tram. Ripken first ballot, Trammell had to wait for old timers - By Rich September 2, 2026 at 02:59:26 PM
      - The meta-narrative for you and Paul. In the Whitaker/Tranmell/Lemon era, the Tigers’ pitchers consistently had ERAs that were below, often WELL below their FIPs (eg 1984; 3.74 FIP, 3.49 ERA). They also usually had excellent - By brick September 2, 2026 at 03:08:58 PM
        
        No doubt the Tiger D was strong up the middle. Not great on the edges though but middle matters more - By Rich September 2, 2026 at 03:19:37 PM

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Crossing the streams, I think the 1984 Tigers were similar to the 2004 Pistons in that they were teams that had a whole bunch of minor stars and no real superstar