The Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers get to play an intra-division AL Wild Card series beginning Tuesday.
But in one way, there’s something even more at stake than a spot in the ALDS.
The numbers have worked out in a wild way heading into this series, with this stat courtesy of MLB.com:
“The AL charter members have split 2,344 games since 1901 including the postseason, with each team winning 1,166 and 12 ties.”
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The all-time series is tied through an astonishing 2,344 games, 1166-1166-12.
No matter what happens, it won’t be tied after this series.
And while that doesn’t actually mean much of anything, it’s also an absurd confluence of numbers.
It’s not the first time a huge series like this has been so close, either. The Dodgers only just passed the Giants at the end of the regular season to become the new leaders in their all-time series for the first time since 1896.
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The Guardians are the team on fire, having chased down the Tigers from 15.5 games back in the AL Central Division, a truly historic and unprecedented chasedown.
Detroit gives ace Tarik Skubal the ball in Game 1 on Tuesday afternoon, though, which could prove to be the great equalizer.
If the all-time record is any indication, these games will be classics.
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