The 1984 Tigers were one of the greatest teams in baseball history. They streaked to a record 35-5 start, shook off pesky Toronto for the division title, and then swept the Kansas City Royals for the American League Championship.

When they overpowered the San Diego Padres in the World Series, they matched the ’27 Yankees of Babe Ruth and the ’55 Dodgers of Jackie Robinson to become just the third team in major-league history to lead wire to wire and also win the World Series.
Veteran sportscaster Eli Zaret re-creates that special season in exhilarating detail, from incredible start through midseason doubts and on through a dominating postseason. And Zaret reveals, for the first time, insights into the season from the key players themselves—the real behind-the-scenes story.

We hear from Kirk Gibson, whose home run blast against Goose Gossage clinched the final game of the World Series. Gibson candidly tells us how he pulled himself out of the worst year of his life to play such a key role in the ’84 season. We learn how Jack Morris, the mercurial leader of the Tigers pitching corps, sizzled in his early starts, fell into an inexplicable slump, and then recaptured his form to help Detroit claim the Series crown.

We share never-before-told moments with Alan Trammell, Lance Parrish, Willie Hernandez, Chet Lemon, and many more key players. And we hear Manager Sparky Anderson explain his philosophy of baseball and tell the inside story of how he melded a disparate collection of personalities and talents into a winning machine.

Zaret takes us along as General Manager Bill Lajoie painstakingly completes his ten-year project, unearthing hidden gems to blend with emerging superstars. We see role players suddenly thrust into the spotlight to perform as they never had before and never would again. And we go behind the closed doors of contract negotiations between agentless Tigers players and the penny-pinching CEO Jim Campbell.

Sports fans will be riveted by Zaret’s compelling retrospective into the beating heart of a championship team. And Tigers fans will savor untold stories that will enable them to once again thrill to that championship feeling, that glorious year—1984.

 

“This one has to be the best book about a baseball team that I’ve ever read.”

-Elmore Leonard, from the Foreword

“Eli Zaret was there through it all. His compelling retrospective brings to life the thrills we experienced that magical season. It is a wonderful, well-told story.”

-Ernie Harwell, from the Introduction

“Reading ’84—The Last of the Great Tigers made me feel like I was twenty-five again and wishing I was pitching tonight.”

-Dan Petry

“Man, he got it! It’s a must-read for lifelong Tigers fans. But more than that, it’s a book that all baseball fans will enjoy.”

-Sparky Anderson, Tigers manager

“I found it compelling and uplifting. I lived that year in my own world . . . now it’s fascinating to read this book and be able to understand how my teammates had seen it and lived it.”

-Kirk Gibson

“Eli’s book gave me the opportunity to relive the most exciting year of my life. People think we had a cakewalk that year, but I got chills remembering how tough Toronto was and how we never felt comfortable. Sparky’s speeches . . . the team meetings . . . the anecdotes. Great stuff.”

-Lance Parrish

“I really enjoyed this book. It made me feel like I was at a reunion, sharing great stories with the teammates I loved.”

-Alan Trammell