The season was winding down. Time was of the essence. It was getting close to start using all those cliches: There’s no tomorrow; backs to the wall; do or die—-all that rot.

The Tigers had just come-from-ahead to blow a game against the first-place Toronto Blue Jays—-a game the Tigers absolutely had to have if they were to stay alive in the 1987 AL East race. It was Saturday, September 26—-NBC’s Game of the Week. The Tigers went into Toronto a mere half-game behind, set to take on the Jays for a crucial—-another cliche word for you—-four-game series that could very well determine the division winner, for after that quartet of games, only one week would remain in the season.

The Tigers had flat out blown it on Saturday, losing 10-9 after holding a 9-4 lead. Just one night earlier, the Tigers took a 2-0 lead into the ninth yet walked off the field 3-2 losers before getting the required three outs. That made three straight losses to the Jays, putting the Tigers three-and-a-half games behind. And Kirk Gibson tried mightily to put a positive spin on things, while his teammates showered and dressed somberly, stunned by the turn of events.

“Well,“ Gibby said, standing among the reporters, refusing to hide from them, “maybe we just set the biggest bear trap in history.“

The reporters jotted that one down, furiously. Maybe it would be a gem that would mean something when the season was over with. Maybe.

Meanwhile, the Blue Jays’ Magic Number to clinch was just seven after Saturday’s monumental comeback. Their lead was three-and-a-half games with seven to play for them, eight to play for the Tigers. Three of those games would be played in Detroit, on the season’s final weekend. But it looked as if those games might be moot, meaningless.

Unless Kirk Gibson’s bear trap somehow managed to snap on the Blue Jays’ legs.

On Sunday, the Blue Jays three outs away from a 1-0 win and a gigantic four-game sweep, Gibson stepped to the plate against Blue Jays closer Tom Henke. And Gibby smoked a home run off Henke—-because that’s what Kirk Gibson does in big game situations—-to send the game into extras.

Gibson wasn’t done.

In the 13th, with little-used utility man Jim Walewander on second base, Gibson grounded a single into center field, plating Walewander with the eventual winning run.

The Tigers, instead of being four-and-a-half games back, had now crept to within two-and-a-half. It was a helluva difference.

The Tigers split four games at home against lowly Baltimore, while the Jays, apparently still out of sorts after Sunday’s loss, dropped three straight at home to Milwaukee.

The bear trap was on the verge of snapping shut, after all.

The three-game weekend set in Detroit would matter, for sure. The Jays’ lead was a mere one game. If the Tigers could take two of three, they’d force a one-game playoff. If they swept….

Fans of both teams didn’t dare think of a Tigers sweep, for different reasons.

The Tigers fell behind 3-0 on Friday night, but stormed back to win, 4-3.

The teams were now tied for the division. The Blue Jays’ gagging job was now at five straight games.

On Saturday, Alan Trammell singled home Walewander—-that guy again—-in the bottom of the 12th for the game-winning run. The Tigers now edged in front, leading by one game—-their first lead since September 20—-almost two weeks prior.

The Tigers and Blue Jays had played six games in the previous 10 days, and all had been decided by one run. It was a pennant race that defied description, especially considering the Tigers started the ‘87 season 11-19 and listless.

One game remained, or did it? If the Jays could win on Sunday, a one-game playoff would be needed.

It was yet another tight ballgame—-typical of this race for the ages. Detroit’s Larry Herndon hit a home run to dead center field, into the teeth of a stiff wind, in the second inning for a 1-0 lead. Tigers starter Frank Tanana was vexing the Jays with his mixture of various junk.

The Blue Jays outhit the Tigers, 6-3, but trailed 1-0 heading into the ninth. Tigers manager Sparky Anderson, aka “Captain Hook,“ wouldn’t have any of the bullpen. This was the veteran Tanana’s game to win…or not.

Cecil Fielder—-he’d become better known to Tigers fans a few years later—-struck out to lead off the ninth. Manny Lee grounded out. As Tiger Stadium rocked, Tanana induced Garth Iorg to tap one back to the mound. Tanana underhanded the ball to Darrell Evans, and the Tigers were divisional champs.

SNAP!!

Kirk Gibson’s bear trap got the Blue Jays, after all.

At press time, the Tigers of 2009 hold a precarious two-game lead over the Twins in the AL Central. Looming are four big games in Detroit between the two teams, beginning on Monday.

Does another exciting, heart-thumping ending to a divisional race beckon us?

Only, you can’t use “bear trap.“ Kirk Gibson already copyrighted that one.