Detroit Tigers (97-67) v New York Giants (93-61)
Best-of-seven, Tigers with the home-field advantage.
DETROIT TIGERS S+ PAGE
NEW YORK GIANTS S+ PAGE
On paper, I am finding it almost impossible to separate these two top-notch ballclubs.
On the one hand, you have the Tigers who simply by dint of their having seen off the super-strong Red Sox have shown they aren’t to be underestimated. John Beckwith has taken all before him and has shown he is a money player during his time at the Bucs. Even should he unexpectedly go quiet, there’s Rogers Hornsby, Charlie Gehringer, Harry Heilmann, Mickey Cochrane and others there to pick up the slack. If they do have a weakness it is their pitching, with the loss of McCall a huge blow. John Williams has been great but there are question marks about how he’ll handle the pressure here.
On the other there’s the Giants, who came oh so close to knocking off those same Red Sox this time last year. Led by Mel Ott, their lineup is also incredibly solid, even if not quite the match of the Tigers, and I think they have a slight edge in the pitching ranks, despite Rube Curry being unavailable. The absence of Topper Rigney will also hurt them.
In the end, the home-field advantage has swayed me in Detroit’s favour. But I think it will go the distance and be an epic series indeed.