The Detroit Tigers are back in their rightful spot atop the American League Central.

The Royals’ day in the sun appears to have been short-lived, J.D. Martinez has suddenly turned into the league’s hottest hitter, and a berth in the playoffs again looks like a strong probability.

If current standings hold for the next 90 games or so, that would mean a fourth consecutive division crown. It’s a period of sustained excellence that must be given proper respect. Even in today’s watered-down playoff format, such an accomplishment warrants a genuine tip of the cap.

This will be the ninth season since the Tigers officially rejoined the Major Leagues as a team not only to be considered, but reckoned with on an annual basis. There have been four playoff appearances, all resulting in at least one series win.

Trips to the World Series occurred twice, in 2006 and 2012. Ditto for the ALCS in ’11 and ’13. Tight regular season chases came up empty in a pair of other years.

Above .500 in 7 of 8 Seasons

All told, the Tigers have finished under .500 just once in the past eight seasons. Include what will assuredly be a plus campaign in 2014, and you have one really bad apple out of nine.

Such respectable marks would simply have been unheard of during the 90’s and first half of the 2000’s. In short, this was by far the worst franchise in the bigs.

Every year from 1994 to 2005, the Tigers’ losses outnumbered their wins. And it wasn’t even close.

Everyone remembers the epic 119-loss debacle in 2003. Don’t be mistaken. That season had plenty of company.

The Buddy Bell led-squad in 1996, with Brad Ausmus behind the plate and Alan Trammell making his farewell tour, lost a healthy 109 games.

The 2002 model finished a whopping 51 games under .500 (55-106), with no player reaching the 20-HR mark and Dean Palmer literally batting .000 on the season (he was 0-for-12).

There were also a slew of 90-plus loss squads along the way. Long story short, this was THE place to watch bad baseball for a period of about a dozen years.

Which brings us back to the here and now and how we classify this most recent stretch of Detroit Tigers history. The question is this.

Is World Series Necessary?

Do the Tigers need to win a World Series in order for this period in time to be considered a success?

If we are sitting here in November of 2015 and the Tigers have made six playoff trips in ten years, but without a single championship, do we look back with a sense of accomplishment, taking into account just how far the organization has come since the dark days of Omar Olivares masquerading as the team’s ace?

Or is it pure regret and heartbreak, a run remembered not for its many highs and countless victories, but for the inevitable crash and burn each October?

The Pistons of 2002-08 come to mind. Those teams were at or near the top of the Eastern Conference every year. They were blessed with a unique blend of outside shooting, tenacious defense, and a constantly weight-fluctuating Lindsey Hunter.

The squad was good enough to probably win two, three, or four titles. Instead, they got just one. But history now tells us it was enough.

Those teams are looked back on with (almost) nothing but pride by Detroit sports fans.

Were there missed opportunities? Sure.

There was Darko. Everything associated with him and that draft.

There was Lebron coming back from 2-0 down to win four straight and capture the East in 2007.

And of course, if Rasheed Wallace had just stayed on the greatest postseason shooter in league history (Robert Horry), you’re most likely looking at back-to-back champs.

But that glorious 2004 championship, the famed thrashing of the hated Los Angeles Lakers, washes virtually any bitterness away, acting as an ageless exclamation point for that era of basketball. Without it, we would assuredly have been left with a wholly different way of looking back on that near-decade of title-contending teams.

Which makes a full run to the roses so important for these Tigers.

While the “perennial contender” label sure beats that of the “perennial cellar dweller,” if the end result is still a big goose egg in the Championships Won column, how happy can the lasting images be?

The 2014 Tigers have the opportunity to put their stamp on this era and make certain that any memories or feelings related to this period are those of elation and not frustration.

A great movie can do everything right for 115 minutes.

But if it bungles the last five, oftentimes that’s all you remember.