Major League Baseball

Tigers stick together on way to AL Central crown

Published Sep. 17, 2011 8:20 p.m. ET

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For all his years on the top dugout step in four managerial stops, Jim Leyland has never been a believer in chemistry carrying a club. He figures that simply winning is what brings a team together.

Yet these resilient 2011 Detroit Tigers have their old-school skipper changing his tune ever so slightly. One glimpse of this group celebrating its new AL Central crown might have done the trick: puffs of cigar smoke and swigs of champagne between the hugs, handshakes and cheers.

Detroit captured its first division title since 1987 on Friday night, continuing a sensational September by securing a spot to play in October.

No question there's chemistry here, a commitment to play together despite the doubters - and plenty of on-field swagger to back it up.

Ace Justin Verlander and the Tigers are returning to the playoffs for the first time since their 2006 World Series run fell short against St. Louis.

Now, the 66-year-old Leyland is gearing up for another postseason with his rebuilt roster.

He has received key contributions from the reliable regulars like slugger Miguel Cabrera and closer Jose Valverde, the role players such as Don Kelly, and new additions Delmon Young and Doug Fister.

Everybody has been important along the way, making it all the more memorable for Leyland this time around.

''That's why you coach a team,'' he said, emotional as ever. ''This is something Donnie Kelly will never forget. That's what makes it special to me. There's a guy a lot of people don't know about, don't talk about very much.''

They might now. Kelly hit a solo home run in the seventh after an earlier RBI single in the Tigers' 3-1 win at Oakland on Friday night to wrap up their first division title since capturing the AL East in 1987, three years after their last World Series championship.

To think this team was eight games back and four below .500 in early May.

''At that point in the season we all believed we were a very talented team. Coming out of spring training this was one of our goals and we believed we'd be able to do this,'' catcher Alex Avila said. ''We thought we'd get there and win the games necessary to put us in this position. It's just a lot of fun to be on this ballclub right now. This is the first step.''

Leyland said he feels fortunate things clicked when they did. He has also been on the other side of it during the stretch drive.

Detroit had a 12-game winning streak before losing the series opener to the Athletics on Thursday night. In that stretch, there were two sweeps of the White Sox, one against Minnesota and another at Cleveland.

The Tigers also took three straight from the Indians from Aug. 19-21.

''If somebody would have told me 15 games before that that we'd sweep Cleveland twice, Chicago twice and Minnesota once, I'd have said, 'You're out of your mind,' and so would anybody else, I think,'' Leyland said. ''You always have the pressure. Sometimes it's self-inflicted, and sometimes you can't help the pressure that comes from the outside. That's why my theory has been do your job and stay positive and let the rest take care of itself. ... When you've got a good team, it's good pressure. When you've got a bad team, it's bad pressure.''

Has this September success shaped the way others see the Tigers? Leyland isn't sure.

But he will be among the first to defend Detroit, and also the first to note, ''I'm not saying we're some kind of perfect team.''

''I don't want to come off as all of a sudden I'm popping off. That's not my style. Believe me, I'm low key. I want to lay under the weeds,'' Leyland said. ''If you looked, even after the break, if you watched the TVs and stuff, how it was: 'The White Sox are going to win this thing. The Tigers they have bad second halves, they won't win.'''

Leyland acknowledges even he wasn't sure. Then, optimism grew as general manager Dave Dombrowski got to work making improvements.

Fister and Young have fit right in since they came aboard.

Young was acquired in a three-player deal with the Twins on Aug. 15, veteran infielder Wilson Betemit came from Kansas City for a pair of prospects in July and Jhonny Peralta at the trade deadline last year from Cleveland.

Leyland has worked to keep everybody involved. By playing everyone, ''I think you win your team over,'' he said. ''I believe they really appreciate that.''

Fister sure does.

The 6-foot-8 right-hander pitched eight impressive innings in the clincher to improve to 6-1 since he joined the Tigers in a six-player trade with Seattle on July 30. He is 5-0 over his last six starts and has given Leyland another front-line starter behind Verlander, an AL Cy Young Award contender.

Fister has allowed only four earned runs in his last 44 2-3 innings for an 0.81 ERA over that stretch.

''This is very special for me. It's been a whirl of emotions all year long,'' Fister said. ''To be able to spend this night with these guys is something that I've only dreamed of. Obviously we still have a long road ahead of us.''

A road Leyland is happy to be leading. He and Dombrowski each received contract extensions Aug. 8, and the Tigers have been nearly unbeatable since.

Victor Martinez, specifically, has the manager reconsidering his longtime beliefs about chemistry.

The Tigers surely wouldn't have clinched their first division title in nearly a half-century this soon without his timely swings this month. Martinez had two more hits Friday and was batting .339 (20 for 59) in 15 games during September heading into Saturday afternoon's contest.

''Victor Martinez has been huge. He's relentless. He's been a god send for us,'' Leyland said. ''I'm not a big chemistry guy but he has helped that. ... The reason Victor's presence has meant so much is the fact he's hitting .330 and knocking in big run after big run. If Victor was hitting .230 or .240, the chemistry might not be the same.''

The Tigers won Friday for the 23rd time in 28 games dating to Aug. 19 and 25th time in the club's last 36 road games.

Leyland is signed through the 2012 season. He takes pride in the fact that he is coming back when plenty of people didn't picture that scenario for this franchise moving forward.

''I've been around a long time. I don't think any one is more special than the other, but you always find a reason to make this one special,'' Leyland said. ''This one's special to me for personal reasons. I'm just glad I'm managing the Tigers next year. There probably weren't a lot of people who thought I would be.''

These Tigers have taken a big step.

They came so close two years ago, when Detroit held a three-game lead with four games left. Minnesota caught up and then handed the Tigers a heartbreaking loss in a one-game playoff for the division title. Leyland thought his '06 team should have won the Central, too.

''I think we're a good team. I think we're a legitimate opponent for anybody,'' he said. ''I'm not all of a sudden bragging, saying, 'Oh, we're going to win everything.' Nobody's making any silly statements like that.

''I don't think anybody's saying they'll just breeze through the Tigers,'' he said. ''I think people throughout baseball think we're a pretty good team. ... I don't think people will look at us like, 'That's a piece of cake, we'll waltz through them, who are we playing next?' At least I hope not.''