So that's what those are like?

I have to admit, I had never covered a playoff celebration before. A large part of it had to do with the fact that until this year, I hadn’t been a beat writer on a winning team since I was still in college. I’ve covered two playoff series with MLB.com, but I was helping cover a Twins team that lost to the Yankees in back-to-back first-round series. Add it all up, and I’m having a hard time remembering the last time I’d seen champagne on a day other than New Year’s Eve. I had no idea how these celebration things worked.

That said, watching the Tigers Sunday made it clear I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t seen one of these before. A lot of players looked like they really weren’t sure what to do, which really gives you an appreciation for how young this team is and how long this club has gone without winning. Fortunately for them, Ivan Rodriguez, Carlos Guillen and Magglio Ordonez clearly know how these things work.

The scene that keeps playing in my mind is Leyland and his coaching staff standing outside the dugout and watching the players celebrate on the field for a while. You could tell he was soaking it in, but not until talking with him later did we know that he was crying during that time. He’s been close to tears on a few occasions this season, but he’s usually cut off his interview at that point, presumably so no one would see him crying. He couldn’t hold it back very well Sunday, and it would be hard to blame him. He didn’t expect this team to be this good, this quickly, and on days like this or when Kenny Rogers won his 200th, you really see how it hits him.

I think this team kind of hits some of the players the same way, but not in a crying fashion. Brandon Inge admitted Saturday that he had been so focused on the division race that he hadn’t stopped to think about what it means simply making the playoffs. By Sunday, he was like a 12-year-old kid. Judging from afar, he seemed to have as much or more fun with this than anyone who was on that 2003 team. Of course, I’m not sure how many others among those players would be willing to speak to the media with a bottle of champagne being inserted upside-down down the back of his jersey.

One more thing: It didn’t make any of my stories, but Vance Wilson made a point of mentioning Alan Trammell and the old coaching staff among those in his thoughts after the game, that this was a three- or four-year process. It was good to hear Trammell remembered on a day like this. Deservedly or no, he’ll probably go down as the Doug Collins to Leyland’s Phil Jackson, but when you look around, he’s not forgotten on this team.