Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers are a charter member of the American League, and their history is inseparable from the story of Detroit itself. Founded in 1901, the franchise produced some of baseball's most fearsome competitors, beginning with Ty Cobb, whose ferocious playing style and record-setting batting averages made him one of the most dominant -- and controversial -- figures in the game's early decades. The Tigers won their first World Series in 1935, added another in 1945, and then produced one of the most culturally significant championships in sports history in 1968, when the team's triumph helped unite a city still reeling from the devastating riots of 1967.

The 1984 Tigers, who started the season 35-5 and cruised to a World Series title behind Kirk Gibson, Jack Morris, and Alan Trammell, are remembered as one of the most dominant wire-to-wire champions ever. The franchise enjoyed another sustained run of excellence in the 2010s under Jim Leyland, with a roster featuring Miguel Cabrera -- who won the Triple Crown in 2012, the first in 45 years -- and Justin Verlander. Two World Series appearances in that era ended in defeat, but they reestablished the Tigers as a premier American League franchise.

Comerica Park, which replaced the beloved Tiger Stadium in 2000, anchors the Woodward Avenue sports corridor in downtown Detroit alongside Ford Field. Its sprawling dimensions and fountain-laden outfield have given the Tigers a distinctive home, even as fans still speak wistfully of the old corner of Michigan and Trumbull. The Tigers are woven into Detroit's identity as deeply as the automobile industry, and their fan base -- tested by economic hardship and long rebuilds -- remains one of the most knowledgeable and loyal in baseball.