An Ode to Ordonez

Magglio Ordonez. Magglio. Maggs.                                                                                           

He’s been a playoff hero, a batting-title winner, everyone's favorite Tiger. He's had the best hair in the leagues, and he’s been the not-so-secret crush of many of of our friend’s mothers.  He was perfect.        

He was never more perfect than in 2006, when delivered The Home Run--that beautiful walk off homer against Oakland in the ALCS that seemed to stay in the air for years. He earned then eternal love and adoration of Tigers fans everywhere after that one, no matter how many times we suffered short term memory loss whenever Maggs was in an occasional rut.  And whenever he got in said rut, he would bounce back in full, fantastic Magglio fashion.

 In 2007 he had a phenomenal year, with a .363 (WOW) batting average, 139 RBI, 28 HRs, and was runner up for the AL MVP behind ARod. (One of the many MORE reasons to hate that guy.)  His numbers have since trickled down, and some traitors fair-weather fans losers people didn’t think he had it in him this year.

Well, he showed them.  The second half of his season was great, and he was a clutch badass against the Yankees. He was phenomenal, even in his old age. It was like the Magglio of old had graced us with his presence, showing all the haters of the world exactly just who had helped bring the D back to prominence.                                                                                                                               

Unfortunately, it was not to last. Now that he has re-broken his ankle, hope is officially GONE. He will not come back to play with us next year.  Dombrowski has rightfully ended his (and Carlos') time with the Tigers, and as much as we agree with this decision, it hurts our hearts to know we won't see his Antonio Banderas-esque face in the Tigers dugout. We hope Magglio can settle down and retire with his wife and kids (who's names bear the proof of Magglio's humility) and re-grow his mane of curly locks.

 The spirit of Magglio, and that magical 2006 team,  will always be with us.  He never gave up.  He embodies the fighting spirit of our Tigers.  They don’t stop until they are physically incapable of doing so.  We saw it with Delmon, with Alex, with V-Mart, and even Inge in this year. But no one more so than sweet Magglio. He is a man of inspiration.  Inspiration to his team, to his fans, and to the WORLD.  We know we are getting sappy and melodramatic, but only because he deserves it.  And only because we know its all true. 

We love you, Magglio Ordonez. Thank you for all you have given us.