Remembering Comerica Park: A rare reason to smile in the Tigers’ 119-loss season

The 2003 Tigers did not give their fans much to celebrate. By the final weekend, following the team meant keeping track of whether Detroit could finish the season without matching the 1962 Mets’ modern-era record of 120 losses. That was the remaining goal, and even that required a strong finish.

But remembering Comerica Park should include the nights that mattered before October baseball became part of its identity. On Sept. 27, 2003, the Tigers gave the people still watching a reason to enjoy themselves, rallying from an eight-run deficit to beat Minnesota 9-8. In a season defined by everything that went wrong, it was a game worth keeping.

Alan Trammell’s team entered that Saturday at 41-119. Minnesota led 8-0 in the fifth, leaving Detroit in position to reach the number it had spent the final week trying to avoid. The Tigers scored once in the fifth, three times in the seventh and four in the eighth before finishing the comeback in the ninth. 

Carlos Peña drove in four runs, and Craig Monroe collected four hits. Brian Schmack supplied three scoreless innings before Fernando Rodney worked the ninth. The winning sequence belonged to Alex Sanchez, who walked, stole second and third, then scored when Jesse Orosco’s strikeout pitch to Warren Morris got away from catcher Rob Bowen. 

A walk-off strikeout was an appropriately unusual ending for this team. After months of finding different ways to lose, Detroit had managed to celebrate an at-bat that ended with its hitter striking out. Anyone who stayed with that game had earned the chance to enjoy the absurdity.

The box score also offers a collection of names that connect several different periods of Tigers baseball. Torii Hunter and Jacque Jones appeared for Minnesota, years before each would wear a Detroit uniform. Hunter’s Tigers years came in 2013 and 2014; Jones’ brief stay came in 2008. Doug Mientkiewicz was another future organizational connection, later managing the Toledo Mud Hens in 2018 and 2019. Lastly, Ron Gardenhire, at the helm for Minnesota, who would manage the Tigers later down the line. 

Then there was Chris Gomez, the former Detroit shortstop, appearing off Minnesota’s bench. For fans who remembered him as a young Tiger in the 1990s, his name brings another layer of familiarity to a game that already feels like a time capsule. Looking through those lineups is part of the appeal of revisiting an otherwise miserable season. 

For two Tigers, the end of that season also marked the end of their major league careers. Schmack’s three scoreless innings were his final MLB appearance, while Morris played his last major league game the following afternoon. Neither returned to the majors after 2003, making their involvement in this comeback a small detail worth remembering.

Detroit still needed to win Sunday to stay below 120 losses. The Tigers did, beating Minnesota 9-4 to finish 43-119 and close the year with five wins in six games. The distinction matters: Saturday’s comeback kept them from matching the Mets that night; Sunday’s victory ensured they would finish below that total. 

There is no need to turn those final victories into evidence that everyone should have seen 2006 coming. Fans watching in September 2003 had plenty of reason to question how long it would take to see competitive baseball again. A good final week could not erase the preceding months.

Knowing what followed gives this game a different place in Comerica Park’s history. Three years later, the Tigers were in the World Series, and the ballpark had postseason memories that would become part of the franchise’s permanent highlight reel. Fans who endured 2003 could appreciate that change in a way the standings alone cannot explain. Maybe this is why I didn't at times whenever the team struggled this season, I just went back in time in my head and remember this horrible season and getting excited about this "highlight".