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Tigers were toast so beat writer booked honeymoon. This crazy run started the next day
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- Tigers were toast so beat writer booked honeymoon. This crazy run started the next day
If you're wondering where the heck Evan Petzold is, well, we have a thrilling story for you.
Sure, it's a little painful for one man, but also a one-of-a-kind, hysterical story that will be told for decades to come.
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Petzold, the award-winning Detroit Tigers beat writer for the Detroit Free Press, covered the team from mid-February in spring training in Lakeland, Florida, through the entire 162-game regular season at the end of September.
But he is missing the first few rounds of the Tigers' first playoff experience in a decade, including this week's ALDS vs. the Cleveland Guardians .
Detroit Free Press Tigers beat writer Evan Petzold works at Joker Marchant Stadium during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024.
Petzold explained why at the end of last week's "Days of Roar" podcast he co-hosts for the Free Press with Mark Gorosh.
REQUIRED READING: A.J. Hinch protecting young Detroit Tigers from the truth: Game 2 vs Cleveland is vital
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Here's the story Petzold told:
"Okay, so, long story short, I'm going to be in Greece. Three islands on Greece from October 2nd through the 18th. So if you happen to be in Greece, either in Santorini, Milos or Crete, reach out to me and maybe we can link up in Greece. But, yeah, I booked my honeymoon and I booked my honeymoon on August 10th when the Tigers had a 0.2% chance of making the postseason .
Evan Petzold, Detroit Tigers beat writer for the Detroit Free Press, and his wife, Savannah Dynkowski, on their honeymoon Oct. 3, 2024 at the Acropolis of Athens in Athens, Greece.
"The long story to that is, got married on September 8th in 2023. So we just celebrated our first anniversary. But when we got married, we decided that we'd push back our honeymoon because we were trying to buy a house.
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"Now going into the baseball season, we decided we're going to do one of two things. We're either going to book the honeymoon for October, or we're going to book the honeymoon for next May. But as my wife and I were talking about it, we said, ok, we gotta wait though. We gotta wait until we know the Tigers are not going to make the postseason and then we can book our honeymoon for October if we're going to book it in October.
"If it looks like the Tigers are going to go to the postseason and be playing in October, well, then we'll just book it for next May. And I kid you not, August 10th. August 10th was the date. I have the receipts. I have shown them to many people. They exist.
"So there is proof, but yes, on August 10th, we booked everything. We booked flights. We booked hotel. We booked Airbnb. We booked rental car in Crete because Crete's a bigger island. We booked catamarans in Santorini. We literally booked everything for this trip, all on August 10th.
Evan Petzold's round-trip flight receipt to Greece shows he booked it Aug. 10 — when the Tigers were 11 games out of the playoffs with less than a 1% chance to make the 2024 MLB playoffs.
"And then obviously right after that, August 11th is when the Tigers started their 31-11 run. So if I had anything to do with that by booking my honeymoon that I pushed back by a year, I guess you can give me some credit for it. But it's kind of crazy how it all turned out, especially when you consider the fact that it was 0.2% chance when we booked it.
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"And it's interesting too, all right? Like I got to throw the other beat writers under the bus a little bit because I was walking into the clubhouse every day. And this was like, we're talking three weeks before I booked it.
"And I would ask these guys, I'd say, you know, hey, you know, Cody (Stavenhagen), Chris (McCosky), Jason (Beck), Evan (Woodbery), I'd ask them, I'd say, 'hey, you guys, like, I got to book this honeymoon. Like, you think I should book it yet or no? You think I should book it?'
"And everyone goes, 'dude, the Tigers aren't making the playoffs. Book your honeymoon, make your wife happy, make yourself happy, enjoy yourselves, enjoy your vacation. The Tigers are not gonna be playing baseball in October.'
Detroit Free Press reporters Carlos Monarrez (left), Evan Petzold (middle) and Jeff Seidel (right) talk about the Detroit Tigers ahead of the April 5, 2024, home opener at Comerica Park.
"And I was like, 'okay, well, I'm a little hesitant, so like, maybe I'll wait a few more days.' And then a few more days would go by and I'd be back in the clubhouse, you know, with these guys and I'd ask the same question. 'Hey, think I should book it?'
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"And I think they got sick and tired of hearing me ask over and over again because I was so worried the Tigers might make the playoffs, but they said I should book it.
"And well, Chris McCosky, I did it. And Cody Stavenhagen, I did it. And, you know, Jason Beck, I did it. Evan Woodbery, I did it. You guys all told me that I should. And I did it.
"So I blame you. I'm just kidding about that. But yeah, it's interesting how it worked out.
"And then, you know, as kind of the season's going along and the Tigers are going on this crazy run, I'm going back in there and I'm saying, 'you guys, like, they might make the postseason.' I got McCosky and Stavenhagen telling me, 'no, they're not going to make it like this. This thing isn't going to last. It's going to die out.'
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"Sure enough, it never died out.
"So, yeah, catch me in Greece, October 2nd to the 18th, and I'll catch up with everybody in the ALCS. Don't worry, I'll be there for the ALCS, I'll be there for the World Series, but you're going to have to live without me for a little bit."
If all goes right, Petzold would be back in Detroit on Oct. 19 for a potential Game 5 at Comerica Park of the best-of-seven ALCS. But first, the Tigers have to get past the Guardians.
The Tigers won two games in the wild-card series vs. the favored Houston Astros last week, their first postseason wins since 2013. They will host their first playoff game since 2014 on Wednesday at Comerica Park in Game 3 .
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers were toast so beat writer booked honeymoon. Playoff run started
