Sometimes it feels like a curse. The Tigers were good enough, for long enough, with enough elite caliber players, that their demise from contention is now always attended by former Tigers doing great things on all sides. Our old friend Max Scherzer accomplished such a thing on Tuesday, becoming just the 17th pitcher in the modern era to record 300 strikeouts in a season.
With strikeouts at historic rates, this isn’t quite so rare as it was at other times in the sport’s history. Chris Sale accomplished the feat just last season for the Boston Red Sox, and in the American League.