| 2012 American League Championship Series | ||||||||||
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| Dates | October 13–18 | |||||||||
| MVP | Delmon Young (Detroit) | |||||||||
| Umpires | Jeff Kellogg (crew chief),Rob Drake,Sam Holbrook,Jeff Nelson,Gary Cederstrom,Mike Winters[1] | |||||||||
| Broadcast | ||||||||||
| Television | TBS MLB International | |||||||||
| TV announcers | Ernie Johnson Jr.,Ron Darling,John Smoltz, andCraig Sager (TBS) Gary Thorne andRick Sutcliffe (MLB International) | |||||||||
| Radio | ESPN | |||||||||
| Radio announcers | Dan Shulman andOrel Hershiser | |||||||||
| ALDS |
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The2012American League Championship Series was abest-of-seven playoff inMajor League Baseball's2012 postseason pitting the top-seededNew York Yankees against the third-seededDetroit Tigers for the American League pennant and the right to play in the2012 World Series. The series, the 43rd in league history, began on Saturday, October 13 in New York and ended on Thursday, October 18 in Detroit. The Tigers swept the Yankees, winning the series 4–0.[2]TBS televised all games in the United States. In global markets,MLB International broadcast the ALCS in its entirety, with long-timeBaltimore Orioles announcerGary Thorne andESPN'sRick Sutcliffe calling the games.
This was the third postseason meeting between the Yankees and the Tigers, but the first in the ALCS. The Tigers previously beat the Yankees in the2006 ALDS (3–1) and the2011 ALDS (3–2). The last appearance for each team in the ALCS resulted in a loss to theTexas Rangers; the Yankees in the2010 ALCS and the Tigers in the2011 ALCS.
The Tigers would go on to lose in a sweep to theSan Francisco Giants in theWorld Series. As of 2025, this is the last time a Detroit-based team won a conference championship in any of the four major leagues.
Detroit won the series, 4–0.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 13 | Detroit Tigers – 6, New York Yankees – 4(12) | Yankee Stadium | 4:54 | 47,122[3] |
| 2 | October 14 | Detroit Tigers – 3, New York Yankees – 0 | Yankee Stadium | 3:18 | 47,082[4] |
| 3 | October 16 | New York Yankees – 1,Detroit Tigers – 2 | Comerica Park | 3:28 | 42,490[5] |
| 4 | October 18† | New York Yankees – 1,Detroit Tigers – 8 | Comerica Park | 3:27 | 42,477[6] |
†: postponed from October 17 due to rain
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | R | H | E | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Drew Smyly (1–0) LP:David Phelps (0–1) Home runs: DET:Delmon Young (1) NYY:Ichiro Suzuki (1),Raúl Ibañez (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Yankees threatened in the first inning when they loaded the bases on three walks, butJhonny Peralta robbedAlex Rodriguez of an RBI single with a diving stop to end the inning. Peralta also took away a run in the second when, with the bases loaded via three singles and two outs once again,Robinson Canó hit a ball that glanced off the wrist of Tiger starterDoug Fister and caromed to shortstop. Peralta fielded it and just nipped Canó at first, which was revealed to be the wrong call but was not overturned. The Yankees would leave the bases loaded for the third time in the game in the sixth inning, and were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, with the only hit being an infield single byIchiro Suzuki that did not score a run.[8]
Buoyed by Peralta's defense, Tigers starter Fister threw shutout ball into the seventh inning, scattering six hits. Postseason veteranAndy Pettitte almost matched him, pitching five shutout innings (and 6 2/3 innings overall) for the Yankees before cracking in the sixth.Austin Jackson hit a triple and after retiringOmar Infante, Pettitte intentionally walkedMiguel Cabrera before giving up back-to-back RBI singles toPrince Fielder andDelmon Young. A home run by Delmon Young and an RBI single byAvisaíl García after a Peralta double in the eighth offDerek Lowe andBoone Logan, respectively, gave Detroit a 4–0 lead. In the bottom of the ninth, Detroit brought inJosé Valverde to get the final three outs.
Russell Martin led off the Yankees ninth with a single, andIchiro Suzuki followed two batters later with a home run to cut the lead in half. Canó then struck out for the second out, and Valverde got to 0–2 onMark Teixeira before walking him.Raúl Ibañez hit a game-tying home run, forcing extra innings.
Rafael Soriano andDavid Robertson each pitched one scoreless inning out of the bullpen, but the Yankees could not capitalize off Tiger relieversOctavio Dotel andDrew Smyly. Detroit finally broke the tie in the top of the 12th off relieverDavid Phelps. Phelps walked Cabrera to lead off, and Young followed with a double. Six pitches later,Derek Jeter broke his left ankle while stopping a groundball from Peralta, forcing him to miss the rest of the postseason. One batter later,Andy Dirks drove in an insurance run on a chopper that glanced off Phelps' pitching hand for an infield single. Smyly then pitched a scoreless bottom of the inning for the win and to put Detroit up 1-0 in the Series. Despite the loss, Ibañez's clutch homers in both the ALDS and ALCS brought him distinction as the only player to ever hit three home runs in the ninth inning or later in one postseason.[9]
This was Derek Jeter's 158th and final playoff game.[10] Before getting injured, Jeter recorded his 200th career postseason hit earlier in the game which is still the most all-time.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Detroit | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Aníbal Sánchez (1–0) LP:Hiroki Kuroda (0–1) Sv:Phil Coke (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hiroki Kuroda retired the first 15 Detroit Tigers he faced and held the Tigers scoreless through six innings, allowing only one hit and no walks while striking out eight—including seven of the first nine batters. The Tigers'Aníbal Sánchez was nearly as efficient while keeping the Yankees scoreless, allowing three hits, striking out five and walking two.
The Tigers finally broke through with a run off Kuroda in the seventh.Quintin Berry doubled to lead off the inning, and advanced to third on a single byMiguel Cabrera. After Kuroda struck outPrince Fielder,Delmon Young hit an RBI force out, on which the potential double play relay throw was mishandled byRobinson Canó.
In the eighth, Kuroda struck out the first two batters he faced, then allowed a single toOmar Infante.Austin Jackson then singled to right.Nick Swisher fielded the ball and threw it to second as Infante ran past the base and attempted to get back. BasemanRobinson Canó's tag on Infante beat him touching the base, but umpireJeff Nelson ruled him safe even thoughtelevision replays confirmed he was out. Yankees ManagerJoe Girardi argued during a pitching change and was ejected.[12] The play would have resulted in the inning's third out, and the Tigers took advantage by getting two insurance runs on RBI singles byAvisaíl García off ofBoone Logan and Miguel Cabrera off ofJoba Chamberlain.
Prior to the game, Tiger managerJim Leyland stated that struggling closerJosé Valverde, who had allowed seven runs in his last two postseason appearances, would not close Game 2 if the situation called for it.[13] He instead usedPhil Coke over the final two innings in this game, and Coke earned the save.
The Yankees' lineup continued its struggles in Game 2. Robinson Canó, batting second for the first time since September 2010, grounded out in all four times at bat, with this 0-for-4 performance resulting in an 0-for-26 hitless streak—the longest such barren streak in any single year of postseason play in MLB history.[14]Alex Rodriguez took a called third strike on a changeup in the second and struck out on a foul tip in the fourth, dropping to 2-for-21 with no RBIs in the postseason, including 0-for-18 with 12 strikeouts against right-handers.[15]Curtis Granderson fanned twice, falling to 3-for-25 with 13 strikeouts.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Detroit | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 2 | 7 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Justin Verlander (1–0) LP:Phil Hughes (0–1) Sv:Phil Coke (2) Home runs: NYY:Eduardo Núñez (1) DET:Delmon Young (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Game 3 sawJustin Verlander pitch for the third time against the Yankees in postseason play. In theprevious season's Division Series, Verlander struck out 11 batters, but in the process, he expended 120 pitches and gave up four runs. This time around was different, as the Yankees waited out pitches and struck out only three times against him. Nonetheless, Verlander took a shutout into the ninth inning. He allowed only a pair of singles byIchiro Suzuki and a leadoff homer byEduardo Núñez in the ninth. AfterBrett Gardner grounded out on Verlander's 132nd pitch of the night, the Tigers starter was lifted forPhil Coke. Coke induced a grounder from Suzuki for the second out of the inning, but then gave up consecutive singles toMark Teixeira andRobinson Canó (Canó's single ended a personal 0-for-29 slump). Postseason starRaúl Ibañez worked Coke to a 3–2 count before striking out on a slider, giving Coke his second save in two games.
Delmon Young hit a home run (his seventh post-season home run with the Tigers) in the fourth off of Yankees starterPhil Hughes, who was then lifted because of a stiff back, and managerJoe Girardi's lineup shuffle hadAlex Rodriguez benched again. Next inning,Quintin Berry reached first on Yankees third basemanEric Chavez's error, stole second and scored onMiguel Cabrera's double off ofDavid Phelps.
The home run by Núñez ended a streak of30+1⁄3 scoreless innings by Tigers starters in the postseason, breaking the 1974 record of 29 innings set by theOakland Athletics.[17] The Tiger starters had also gone 37 straight innings without surrendering an earned run.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Detroit | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | X | 8 | 16 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Max Scherzer (1–0) LP:CC Sabathia (0–1) Home runs: NYY: None DET:Miguel Cabrera (1),Jhonny Peralta 2 (2),Austin Jackson (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Game 4 was originally scheduled for October 17, 2012 - 8:07 pm (EDT), and was postponed due to rain.
Game 4 saw Detroit come out swinging early, going up 2–0 on RBI singles byDelmon Young in the first andAvisaíl García in the third. The Tigers broke this game open with a pair of two-run home runs by Miguel Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta. Yankee starter CC Sabathia exited after just3+2⁄3 innings and allowing six runs, eventually taking the loss. The Tigers' Max Scherzer, meanwhile, maintained a no-hitter until the sixth inning, and struck out 10 batters in his5+2⁄3 innings of work. The Yankees drove in one run in the sixth, when a triple by Eduardo Núñez was followed by a Nick Swisher double. Austin Jackson homered off ofDerek Lowe in the seventh inning, and Peralta closed the scoring with his second homer in the eighth off ofDavid Robertson, to give the Tigers an 8–1 lead. Former Yankee Phil Coke, who was on the 2009 World Series championship team, closed the game by pitching the final two innings, finishing the series and handing the Yankees their first postseason series sweep since the1980 American League Championship Series, when they were swept by theKansas City Royals. It was also the first time the Yankees were swept in a best-of-seven series since the1976 World Series against theCincinnati Reds and the 4th time overall.
Delmon Young, who hit .353 in the series with two home runs and six RBI, was named ALCS MVP for 2012.[19]
The Yankees finished the 2012 postseason hitting a dismal .188, including batting only .157 against Tiger pitching in the ALCS. Tiger starters allowed only two earned runs in the ALCS, posting a 0.66 ERA, and the Yankees never held a lead in any inning of the series.[20] Miguel Cabrera set a major league record by having at least one hit in all 17 of his League Championship Series games, besting the previous mark of 15 shared byManny Ramirez andPete Rose. Cabrera has also reached base safely in all 20 of his postseason games with the Tigers, a team record.[21] The Tigers also became the first team to ever win three consecutive postseason series against the Yankees, having previously won in2006 and2011.
It would be the last time where the #1 seeded teams from everymajor professional sports league in North America were defeated until2019.
2012 ALCS(4–0):Detroit Tigers overNew York Yankees
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | R | H | E | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Tigers | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 46 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| New York Yankees | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 22 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total attendance: 179,171 Average attendance: 44,793 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In regards to playoff baseball, this would be it for theCore Four era Yankees.Jorge Posada retired just before the 2012 season, after losing playing time toRussell Martin.[22]Andy Pettitte, who was the first player of the Core Four to retire on February 4, 2011, came out of retirement to pitch for the Yankees in2012 and2013, before retiring for good after the2013 season.[23][24]Mariano Rivera retired after the 2013 season as well, whileDerek Jeter retired after2014.[25][26][27] Rivera and Jeter were inducted into theNational Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019 and 2020, respectively (Jeter's 2020 induction was delayed a year due to theCOVID-19 pandemic).[28]
The Yankees would not return to the American League Championship Series until2017. ManagerJoe Girardi,C.C. Sabathia,Brett Gardner, andDavid Robertson were the only Yankees on the 2017 club that played for the team in 2012. Robertson left the Yankees in free agency in 2015, but returned to the team at the 2017 trade deadline.[29]
The 2017 Yankees also had trouble hittingJustin Verlander, just as the 2011-2012 teams did. During the 2017 ALCS, and now pitching for theHouston Astros, Verlander won theALCS MVP after helping the Astros beat the Yankees in seven games.[30] In that series, he allowed 1 run in 16 innings pitched, to go with 21 strikeouts.
The Tigers returned to theAmerican League Championship Series in 2013, but lost to the eventual championsRed Sox in six games. General managerDave Dombrowski aggressively sought pitching improvements, despite having a rotation that featured Justin Verlander,Max Scherzer,Rick Porcello, andAnibal Sanchez. At the 2014 trade deadline, the Tigers traded for 2012American League Cy Young award winnerDavid Price.[31] At the time, their rotation featured the last three Cy Young winners; 2011 (Verlander), 2012 (Price), and 2013 (Scherzer). Afterwards, Scherzer would win the National League equivalent of the award pitching for the Washington in 2016 and 2017, Porcello won an AL Cy Young pitching for Boston in 2016, and Verlander won the award again pitching for Houston in 2019 and 2022.[32] As for the team, Tigers won the divisionAL Central for the fourth straight year in 2014, but were upset by theOrioles in the2014 American League Division Series.
As of 2025, this is the most recent league or conference championship won by a Detroit-based team.
