2006 Detroit Tigers: Where are they now?

Magglio Ordonez

The lasting image of Detroit’s 2006 season is Magglio Ordonez blasting his iconic walk-off home run to sweep the Oakland A’s and send the Tigers to their first World Series since 1984. In fact, Ordonez’s home run was hit 22 years to the day of the Tigers winning it all in 84.

“Maggs” as he was affectionately known, spent the first eight seasons of his big league career playing for the White Sox. He hit .307 with 187 home runs before the Tigers signed him in 2005 to a five-year, $85 million dollar contract. At the time it was the second largest contract in team history.

Ordonez suffered a sports hernia in 2005 that cost him a good chunk of the season. However, he returned to form in 2006 and hit .298 with 24 home runs and 104 RBI. His playoff heroics aside, Ordonez went limp in the World Series, going 2-for-19.

2007 was the best season of Maggs’ career. He won the batting title with a .363 average, while also leading the league with 54 doubles. He blasted 28 home runs and had 139 RBI while also making the All-Star team and finishing second in MVP voting.

Injuries eventually derailed Ordonez’s career, causing him to retire midway through the 2012 season. He still hit .300 over his last four seasons in Detroit, and finished his Tigers career with a .312 average.

Ordonez reached the Hall of Fame ballot last season and received 0.7% of the vote. While his career was solid, it was not deemed Hall of Fame worthy.

However, Ordonez has been more worried about another ballot since retirement: In 2013 Ordonez ran for office as the Mayor of Sotillo, a Venezuelan city of over 250,000 people. He won the race and is currently serving as their mayor. Ordonez is a member of the United Socialist party of Venezuela and supports current president Nicholas Maduro.