The Detroit Tigers: Your 2018-19 Paper Cup Champs
The Detroit Tigers have had their share of struggles. Since mid-2017 they've seen the wins as hard to come by, their transactions providing little immediate help to the skids they've experienced. Their general manager issues have seen them a laughing stock to the league, and many think them as little of a threat in this league.
Those who do are foolish, however, because I am positive that the Detroit Tigers will win the 2018-19 Paper Cup. At least, I believe they have as big a chance as any major team in this league.
First, we need to discuss the full history of the Detroit Tigers. Started by now-OOTC powerhouse Zum Boehner, the fake millionaire was excited to bring the sport of fake baseball to the Detroit area. The team's draft was considered mid-tier, spurned by the first-round pick of now-Indian Valentino Rollin. Rollin and Morris Deratt would make a quick offensive powerhouse duo.
The team jumped out to a quick 3-0 start, largely considered the best club in the American League. Big Tuna was the ace of the MLR for the first few sessions.
After a 3-0 start, the Tigers battled the Phillies, however, who handed them their first loss, a close contest that ended in a walkoff by the Philadelphia club. It all went down from there.
"I said 'Aw well that's too bad,' but hey, 3-1 is still good. right?" Merodach Baladan, longtime Tiger, recalled about the game. All-Star outfielder Morris Deratt concurs.
"I was feeling really good and was kinda mad that we weren't first in the power rankings," Deratt said.
The Tigers would never be the same after that game. They would win one more game out of the remaining 4 to go 4-3 on the season, missing the playoffs on a tiebreaker. The season hadn't been planned to go 7 games, but rather 22. It was cut short after an expansion was planned.
When asked about the shortened season, Deratt gave a simple answer: "Lmao that sucks."
Tigers GM Zum Boehner was eager to start the next season on a new leaf, to cover the leak that had started mid-2017-18. The team had a hard time establishing itself as a consistent winner, however. They lost their first two games, one an 11-4 demolition from the Seattle Mariners. When the team had further troubles winning and Zum Boehner gained more and more responsibilities on the side of game umpiring, the longtime general manager hung up his hat. He was followed up by then-catcher and respected user Spaghetti Hitchens.
"There was a very involved process with the whole team," John Johnson Jr., a longtime member of the team, says about the new manager. "Multiple candidates [were] being brought before us by Zum. We ourselves chose Spags as our new GM."
"Spags was great," first baseman Tyler Phoenix says. "I was very hesitant to play for anyone other than Zum, but he won me over pretty quickly. He brought in really great energy and ideas. He had real GM talent that I think all of us saw pretty much immediately."
"I ended up voting for Spags largely because he had the coolest name of the three," Merodach Baladan, then new to the Discord, admits. "Granted, I didn't really know what it was like before he was hired, but I couldn't have been happier with his performance. He was super involved and really livened up the Discord and made people feel welcome. "
Jack Bing wrote a positive article on the new hiring, and many thought the Tigers would see stability here. After all, Hitchens was respected all throughout the community. They wouldn't, however, not yet. Around this time, the league fell into disarray as the Session 11 split occurred. Spaghetti Hitchens was a victim of this.
Though he would return, Hitchens would eventually leave for good after interlacing GM time with interim John Johnson Jr.
As their bad fortune began, however, did it suddenly end: with one game. In the midst of an ugly 6-game losing streak, with their GM situation once again uncertain and things looking pretty grim, the Expos took advantage of their misfortunes and pounced on them for 6 runs in the first two innings. Down 6-0 in the third, however, something magical happened. It was as if the Expos were the personification of the bullshit which had happened to them, and they were finished.
With Tyler Phoenix on base, Morris Derrat did what he does best, hitting a 2-run shot to bring them closer. A double, home run, and single later, and they tied the game in the 6th.
Hans Ali came to the plate with runners on in the 7th. An unknown in the MLR scene save for a brief cult around his name, he searched for a pitch he liked and made contact. It fell into left-center field. The Tigers had their lead, mounting a comeback with little precedence in the league's short history. they would end up winning that game 8-6.
Hans Ali would end up GMing the team, but once again the Tigers experienced woes with general managers. Ali disappeared and Johnson took the helm for the third time. However, this time he decided he would stay general manager.
The Ali saga didn't slow the Tigers down. With a newfound-spirit in their amazing comeback, they won 4 of their next 5. In the sixth game following the comeback, Session 17, they had a rematch with the Baltimore Orioles.
The Orioles, 4-12 at the time, were considered one of the worst teams in the league. If there was a game the Tigers could one, this would be the one.
"We were just looking to win given our playoff hopes had ended," John Johnson Jr. explains. "We were just looking to keep [our] run going"
The Orioles jumped out to a commanding lead, however. They lead 6-1 going into the 6th inning, with a rotation known for solid pitching. Any other team would consider themselves toast, even if they were against a 4-12 team.
This is what strikes me about the Tigers. They have a spirit, a kind of "we won't go down" attitude that blossomed in a time where many teams' spirits were waning, at the end of the season. With a new makeup and a new GM, this new identity was spurred by not only one comeback, but two.
They scored 9 runs in that 6th inning and beat the Orioles 10-6.
The Tigers go into Session 18 on the back of a largely underappreciated winning streak, but their eyes are on the next season, or more importantly, the offseason. They're looking to strengthen themselves in the offseason, and hope they can get the players they need to make a real push in the league's third season.
"Hopefully expansion and free agency won't hit us badly, maybe even strengthening us, but as it stands, I think this squad, which Spags practically built, is set to compete in season 3," Josh Johnson Jr. says. "Beating the Brewers, Blue Jays, Indians, Red Sox and Orioles all in a row to close the season (and hopefully Oakland!) is no joke."
I too think they're just a few players away. Their shallowest parts manifest themselves in pitching and catching. Finding themselves an ace or two could mean an unstoppable unit, capable of dishing out late explosions of offense on some terribly underrated bats. They have the spunk and have won more than most teams in the second half of the season. They already are a good team, and have the chance to be even better.
It depends mostly on John Johnson Jr., and whether or not he can follow in the footsteps of his predecessors. I believe there's no doubt he will. He's been here longer than most and is the Tigers' most active asset. He will be able to recruit who he needs to recruit, and build himself a clubhouse the likes of Tampa Bay and Philadelphia.
"I'm proud of the way we came together during the GM roundabout," Johnson says. "Honestly couldn't think of too many ways bar a catcher to improve on this set of lads."
Fake baseball is hard to predict. There's no doubt that a lot of it is random, and you need to pray on a lot of things to go right. Scouting and activity, however, go a huge way, and separate the mediocre teams from the superstars. The Tigers have what it takes. Look towards them in Season 3, because they could take the league by storm.
When asked for any further comments, Merodach Baladan simply held up the picture of a rally goose. One person jumped up for a last-minute comment, however: Penny Lane. A new signee, they came in only a session before and had one thing to say:
"Tell everyone that that Tigers are back."
