Baseball—with its cheap bleacher seats, Sunday doubleheaders, and working-class heroes—is the most blue-collar of all sports. It is therefore no surprise that one of the most famous, durable, and successful baseball teams should be from the bluest of blue-collar cities, Detroit, Michigan. With a professional club dating back to 1881, Detroit was one of the charter members of the American League in 1901. While never as successful as the New York Yankees, the Tigers have a rich history and tradition. Like the city's dominant economic force, General Motors, the Tigers have been a conservative force, resisting change to the game. When free-agent frenzy hit in the 1970s, the Tigers reacted to the new high salaries, according to baseball writer Bill James, "like a schoolmarm on a date with a sailor."

While the Tigers have not always had the best teams, many times they have...