October 14, 2006: Magglio Ordoñez blasts Detroit Tigers into World Series

The Detroit Tigers were one win from their first World Series appearance in over 20 years. After 12 straight losing seasons from 1994 through 2005, the Tigers carried a commanding three-games-to-none lead over the Oakland Athletics in the 2006 American League Championship Series into a cool Saturday evening in the Motor City. They appeared unstoppable, outscoring the Athletics 16-6 during those first three games.

The Game Four date, October 14, was significant in Tigers history as the 22nd anniversary of Detroit’s 1984 World Series win over the San Diego Padres.1

The 95-67 Tigers entered the playoffs as the AL wild card after losing the AL Central Division title to the Minnesota Twins by one game.2 In the AL Division Series, Detroit defeated the New York Yankees three games to one.

The Tigers’ strength was their pitching staff, which led the AL with a 3.84 ERA. Forty-one-year-old Kenny Rogers and Rookie of the Year Award winner Justin Verlander anchored a rotation that also included standout hurlers Nate Robertson and Jeremy Bonderman.

The offense was led by veteran shortstop Carlos Guillén and right fielder Magglio Ordoñez. Manager Jim Leyland, who piloted the Pittsburgh Pirates to three straight National League East Division titles from 1990 through 1992, and won the World Series with the Florida Marlins in 1997, had overseen a 24-win improvement in his first season with Detroit.

The 93-69 Athletics won the AL West Division by four games over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, then swept the Twins to reach the ALCS. Oakland was led by 30-homer sluggers Frank Thomas and Nick Swisher, with Dan Haren and Barry Zito creating a formidable one-two pitching duo. The Athletics spent much of the early season in second place; a 10-game June winning streak propelled them into the division lead. They never fell more than a half-game from first for the remainder of the season.

Oakland hosted the first two ALCS games. Detroit won the opener 5-1, led by Brandon Inge’s three hits and Robertson’s five shutout innings. A four-run fourth inning and Todd Jones escaping a bases-loaded jam to end the game overcame Milton Bradley’s two-homer, four-RBI performance in the Tigers’ 8-5 win in Game Two. Detroit won Game Three 3-0 on home turf. Rogers, Fernando Rodney, and Jones combined on a two-hitter, with only one Athletic reaching second base.

Bonderman started Game Four for Detroit. The 23-year-old right-hander had completed his fourth year in the majors, establishing career highs with 14 wins, 214 innings pitched, and 202 strikeouts. He was second in the AL in strikeouts and his 34 games started tied for the league high. Bonderman threw a high-90s fastball, devastating curveball, and a developing changeup.3 In his first playoff start, in ALDS Game Four, Bonderman allowed two runs over 8⅓ innings to earn the series-clinching win. Drafted 26th overall by Oakland in 2001 but traded to Detroit during the 2002 season, he downplayed any grudge against his former ballclub: “I’ve beaten them. They’ve beaten me. I really don’t have any hard feelings anymore.”4

The A’s got to Bonderman for two first-inning runs. With one out, Mark Kotsay walked on five pitches. Bradley, Oakland’s best hitter during the ALCS, drove a fastball down the left-field line that landed just foul and just beyond Detroit left fielder Craig Monroe’s reach. On a full count, Bradley powered a double deep into the left-center gap to score Kotsay for a 1-0 lead.

Thomas, who had signed with the A’s in January 2006 after 16 seasons with the Chicago White Sox, fouled out after a nine-pitch plate appearance, making him 0-for-11 during the ALCS. Eric Chavez hit a hard grounder down the right-field line that a fan collected, resulting in a ground-rule double and Bradley scoring Oakland’s second run. Bonderman’s shaky control led to delivering over 30 pitches during the first inning.

Haren started for Oakland. Like Bonderman, Haren, a 26-year-old righty, had completed his fourth big-league season; his second as a full-time starting pitcher. Haren finished with a 14-13 record, 4.12 ERA, and 176 punchouts over 223 innings. His repertoire included a low-90s fastball, solid changeup, splitter, and cutter using a herky-jerky, deceptive delivery.5 Haren also won the ALDS clincher for the A’s, pitching six solid innings, allowing two runs on nine hits.

In the first, Haren walked leadoff hitter Curtis Granderson but set down the next three Tigers. Oakland led 2-0 after one inning.

Bonderman bounced back with a one-two-three second inning and an 11-pitch third inning. Haren silenced the Detroit crowd with six strikeouts while allowing only one hit over his first three innings.

Oakland added one run in the fourth. After two good innings, Bonderman hung an 0-and-1 pitch that Jay Payton deposited in the left-field bleachers, increasing the Athletics’ lead to 3-0.

Haren stranded two runners in the fourth, but Detroit broke through in the fifth. Inge singled and reached second on third baseman Chavez’s throwing error. Successive hard-hit doubles by Granderson and Monroe scored Inge and Granderson, cutting Oakland’s lead to a lone run. Amid 42,967 fans springing to life and waving rally towels, Polanco lined a 3-and-1 fastball straight at second baseman D’Angelo Jiménez, who threw to shortstop Marco Scutaro and doubled off Monroe.

Bonderman was improving as the game progressed. After a sixth-inning leadoff walk to Thomas, the Athletics hit three consecutive groundouts as fans could sense momentum shifting.

On the first pitch in the bottom of the sixth, Ordoñez delivered a game-tying home run. The homer was only his third hit, and first extra-base hit, of the Series. Guillén singled into right. Haren had allowed five straight hard hits off Detroit bats, and A’s manager Ken Macha called on Joe Kennedy. Guillén advanced to second on an Iván Rodríguez groundout, then aggressively took third base on a wild pitch. Alexis Gomez struck out, and Inge was intentionally walked. Ramon Santiago flied out to end the sixth, but the game was now tied, 3-3.

Bonderman maintained his effectiveness. In the seventh inning with one out, he struck out Jiménez on a 1-and-2 pitch – a 96-mph fastball at the knees. Jason Kendall singled up the middle, hitting Bonderman’s right foot and ricocheting into right field. Bonderman’s day was done as a precautionary measure, and Jamie Walker was the new Tigers pitcher. After a rough first inning, Bonderman had allowed only one run on four hits. On a full count, Walker struck out Kotsay.

Both teams missed opportunities to take the lead their next time up. In the seventh with one out, Monroe walked. Placido Polanco singled on a two-strike pitch. Kiko Calero relieved Kennedy and walked Ordoñez. Closer Huston Street was summoned to face Detroit’s best hitter with the bases loaded. The first pitch was a 95-mph fastball for a strike. On the second pitch, Guillén hit into a double play. The game remained 3-3 after seven frames.

Jason Grilli relieved Walker for the eighth inning. Bradley singled, but Thomas, still hitless this Series, grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.6 Leyland visited the mound but didn’t change pitchers; “I was psyched that he left me in,” Grilli commented.7 Grilli, however, couldn’t find the strike zone, walking Chavez, Payton, and Swisher on 12 consecutive pitches. With the bases loaded, Leyland brought in Wil Ledezma. Scutaro fouled out, ending the threat. During the bottom half, Street clamped down on the Tigers with two strikeouts and a groundout.

Without set-up man Joel Zumaya, who was nursing an inflamed right wrist, and closer Jones, who had pitched the previous night, Leyland stuck with Ledezma for the ninth inning. Leyland’s move paid dividends, as Kendall harmlessly singled around a popout and two fly outs.

Macha went back to Street for another inning. He retired the first two Detroit batters, but Monroe and Polanco singled. Ordoñez, whose sixth-inning homer tied the game, took ball one inside. Street’s next pitch was his 28th of the night. Ordoñez clobbered the next pitch, immediately raising his right arm toward the sky.

From the moment Ordoñez connected, everyone knew the game was over as the winning blast sailed over the left-field wall. Ordoñez’s walk-off home run propelled Detroit to its 10th World Series.

Monroe, representing the winning run at second base, raved about Ordoñez’s hit, “I had the best view of it. He got there and was ready to hit, and he took an outstanding swing. I just thought about, ‘We’re going to the World Series’ because I knew when he hit it, it was gone.”8 Ordoñez’s longball was the first game-ending home run in Tigers postseason history.9 Chavez applauded the winning Tigers: “We ran into a buzz saw.”10

During the postgame festivities, Ordoñez connected with his son, Magglio Jr., who celebrated his 11th birthday with tears and disbelief in his eyes.11

Detroit faced the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, a rematch of the 1968 Series when the Tigers won in seven games. This time, the Cardinals were crowned World Champions, beating the Tigers in five games.

Acknowledgments

The author thanks Kurt Blumenau, Gary Belleville, and John Fredland for their recommendations, Ray Danner for his fact-checking, and Lisa Gattie for her meaningful input. This article was copy-edited by Len Levin.

Sources

Besides the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, Retrosheet.org, and the following:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET200610140.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2006/B10140DET2006.htm

2006 ALCS Game Four:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfv9YMNwCNY

Notes

1 October 14 was also the date the Chicago Cubs defeated the Tigers in the 1908 World Series.

2 The Tigers led the division by one game on September 26 but lost their final five games of the season, including a three-game sweep at home to the Kansas City Royals, who finished last in the five-team AL Central Division.

3 Thom Henniger, Tony Nistler, and Don Zminda, The Scouting Notebook 2004 (St. Louis: The Sporting News, 2004), 124.

4 Jon Paul Morsi, “Bondy: A’s Past Not Important,” Detroit Free Press, October 14,2006: 75.

5 The Scouting Notebook 2004 (St. Louis: The Sporting News, 2004), 635

6 Thomas’s ALCS struggles are noteworthy considering he hit 5-for-10 with two home runs in the AL Division Series against Minnesota. In addition, Ordoñez was Thomas’s protégé in Chicago and Thomas would’ve been Chicago’s leadoff hitter in the 10th inning.. Carl Steward, “Big Hurt Smiles Through Own Big Hurt,” Oakland Tribune, October 15, 2006: 11.

7 Jon Paul Morosi, “Tigers’ Pen, Ledezma Essential in ALCS Victory,” Detroit Free Press, October 15, 2006: 44.

8 Michael Rosenberg, “Magnificent Magglio! Ordonez Knew Street’s Fastball Would Be Right Up His Alley,” Detroit Free Press, October 15, 2006: 39.

9 John Lowe, “What a Blast! Maggs’ 2nd Dinger Gives Tigers 7th Straight Playoff Victory,” Detroit Free Press, October 15, 2006: 39.

10 Josh Suchon, “Swept Out the Door: Ordonez Puts Away A’s with Walk-Off Blast,” Oakland Tribune, October 15, 2006: 11.

11 Bill McGraw, “Tigers Live,” Detroit Free Press, October 15, 2006: 40.