The 2014 Giants won the WS from that one game wildcard position. It still counts. The fans won't care how their team made the postseason if they end up winning a championship. It's just about having that glimmer of hope/excitement.
Having said that I don't see the Tigers making the postseason anyway.
For every rule, there is an exception. Look over the stats from the 2014 Giants and most will wonder how they even made the Wild Card, let alone advance to the WS.
That said. We have seen our Tigers make the playoffs for 4 seasons in a row. Anything is possible. For the season of 2008, DET had 8 players 32 or over, 6 of whom played a critical role (12 of 25, 31 or older). Verlander, M. Cabrera and Bonderman were 25 and under for that team. They only won 78 games and that was there year some were saying before the season that DET would score 1,000 runs.
Last season, DET had N. Castellanos, Fulmer, Boyd and D. Norris 25 and under. This year, it will just be Nick, Fulmer and D.Norris. Why do I mention this? Because a player's peak years is between 25-31. Your team, properly constructed, should have an ample amount of your players peaking any given year, not regression. And it is your star players you want peaking, because there is more upside. DET's star players are pretty much in the regression phase. While it is possible for them to have spikes (i.e. 2016 Kinsler), history shows vast majority of players start their decline after 31-32. And even some very good players from 25-32, are out of baseball by 36-37.
For this team succeed, they need Nick, Fulmer, Boyd and D. Norris to not only repeat from last season, but to improve even more (collectively, as a group). Like I said. There has to have a lot of things go right for this team to make the playoffs, even as a Wild Card.
