Matt Stairs spent 14 games with the World Series-bound Detroit Tigers this season. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Matt Stairs is enjoying life again as a full-time dad, while remaining the biggest Detroit Tigers fan in Bangor, Maine.

Stairs was the team's designated hitter for the final 14 regular-season games but wasn't eligible for the playoffs after being claimed off waivers from Texas on Sept. 15 – two weeks after the deadline for submitting post-season rosters.

"I definitely wanted to stay around and give the team moral support, but I understand it," the Fredericton native told CBC Sports Online, referring to management's suggestion that he return to his off-season home.

"Detroit is so organized with scouting reports and [game] video that they didn't really need an extra guy crowding the bench putting things in their ear.

"If I didn't have a family [wife Lisa and three daughters] it would have been a lot harder to sit out. It's nice to get home, relax and see them play soccer and do gymnastics."

In his spare time, Stairs has played the role of Tigers cheerleader and will watch them compete for a World Series title for the first time since they beat San Diego in the 1984 championship.

Detroit, by virtue of the American League's victory in this year's all-star game, will host Games 1 and 2 against St. Louis or the New York Mets.

On Saturday night, fans jammed the streets outside Comerica Park in Detroit as whistles blew, car horns honked and strangers slapped high fives more than two hours after Magglio Ordonez completed a four-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics with a game-winning ninth-inning home run.

"It's hard not to [follow the team]," said Stairs, "even though I was only [in Detroit] for two-and-a-half weeks. They treated me so well."

Stairs left the team before it opened a best-of-five AL Division Series against the New York Yankees, the first time the Tigers had tasted the post-season since 1984.

After splitting the first games in the Bronx, Detroit put the Yankees on the brink of elimination, thanks to a masterful pitching performance by 41-year-old starter Kenny Rogers in Game 3 at Comerica Park.

Rogers's gem before a raucous crowd of 43,440 set up a much-anticipated Game 4 in Detroit on Oct. 7, a big soccer day in the Stairs household.

With Lisa attending nine-year-old daughter Chandler's match, Stairs drove big sister Nicole, 15, to her house-league game in nearby Hampton.

Sitting in the stands at Hampton Park, Stairs watched Nicole play while listening to the first seven innings of ESPN Radio's broadcast of the Tigers-Yankees game on his cellphone.

The veteran major leaguer provided frequent scoring updates to three parents and two teenagers who were hovering over his shoulder.

"Whenever something bad happens to the Yankees, as far as losing a game, people here in Maine are extremely happy," Stairs said. "They were cheering as the game went on."

Stairs, seen here playing for Team Canada, says he's still capable of hitting 25 homers at the big-league level. (Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press)

Stairs caught the final two innings of Detroit's series-clinching 8-3 win at home and later left a voice mail for Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge.

"I just told him how proud I was of the guys and that I would be supporting them at home. They played great and didn't let the Yankees intimidate them," Stairs said. "Nicole also won her game 5-0 and she scored, so it was a great night all around."

Great is one way Stairs could describe his brief time in Detroit.

After beginning the 2006 season with a young, rebuilding team in Kansas City followed by a 26-game stint in Texas – where he was surrounded by several all-stars – Stairs felt rejuvenated in Detroit competing for his first pennant since 2000 with Oakland.

"I enjoyed it," said Stairs, who posted a .244 batting average with two home runs and eight RBIs in 14 games with the Tigers. "Being 38-years-old, I felt like I was 22 and 23 again. It was a nice way to end the season."

When he first showed up in the Tigers' clubhouse, Stairs found a softball and three cans of Budweiser at his locker, a tribute to his slow-pitch softball swing, courtesy of Inge.

"The biggest thing was how quick I was accepted as part of the team," Stairs said. "I felt like I had been there all year. In Detroit, not one guy stands out and thinks he's an all-star. Everyone is treated as an equal."

The person responsible for creating such a positive atmosphere is manager Jim Leyland, who guided the Florida Marlins to a World Series victory in 1997.

Before the playoffs, Tigers pitcher Jeremy Bonderman and Inge credited the two-time National League manager of the year for getting the team back to the playoffs.

"He's the type of manager who leaves the locker room to the players," Stairs said. "When he walked in the room you knew he had something to say and it would be important.

"He knew the type of player I was. I'll give you a professional at-bat every time. He treated me like a pro and expected me to play hard, and I did."

A no-nonsense approach and strong leadership qualities might be enough to earn Stairs – a soon-to-be free agent – another contract. The left-handed hitter would like to play two more seasons before pursuing a managerial position at the big-league level.

"I was happy about this season," said Stairs, who broke into the majors in 1992 with the Montreal Expos. "I had the opportunity to drive in 50 runs [in 348 at-bats].

"I think when you play in such a big ballpark like [Kauffman Stadium] in Kansas City you lose five to seven home runs a year. I still think I can hit 25 homers [over a full season]."

As for the Tigers, Stairs is confident they can win the World Series if the starting pitchers – Bonderman, Rogers, Nate Robertson and rookie Justin Verlander – perform to their capabilities.

"The big thing for them is to keep the same intensity they showed against the Yankees," he said.

If not, Stairs might have to place another phone call to Inge and remind them.