With the Tigers winning their 11th straight game and matching the club's longest winning streak since 1968, thanks to Justin Verlander's 11th straight win, the Tigers' magic number has fallen from six to four.
↵Four is also the number Bobby Higginson wore for -- you guessed it -- 11 seasons with the Tigers. Bobby Higginson makes us all depressed, though, so let's go with someone else on this joyous occasion.
↵Travel with me instead to the 1950s and let's talk about another lefty hitting outfielder who wore jersey four for the Tigers: Charlie Maxwell.
↵Maxwell played for the Tigers for eight seasons, sandwiched in between time with the Red Sox, Orioles (for four games) and the White Sox. Maxwell had a lengthy 14-year career, but his best days were while donning the Old English D, making the All-Star Game twice and receiving MVP votes in three seasons.
↵Maxwell's best season with the Tigers was his first full year with the Tigers in 1956 when he hit .326/.414/.948 and 28 home runs. He'd go on to hit 31 home runs in 1959, but his overall hitting line was never as good as it was in '56. A lot like Higginson in a way, actually (although his best season was his 2nd).