October 7, 2026
October 7, 2026
2012 Detroit Tigers: Triple Crown Season
The 2012 Detroit Tigers made a push for a deep postseason run, and the first indication to the rest of Major League Baseball that they were serious about winning a World Series championship came on January 24, when they signed free agent first baseman Prince Fielder to a contract worth 9 years and $214 million. As it turned out, however, Fielder’s stay in Detroit would only last two years, as he was traded to the Texas Rangers after the 2013 season.
The Tigers went 88-74 in 2012, winning the American League Central division by 3 games over the Chicago White Sox. The Tigers went 12-6 against the White Sox in head-to-head play, and they finished 50-31 at home and 38-43 on the road.
The story of the Detroit Tigers and Major League Baseball as a whole in 2012 was a first baseman who switched to play third base to make room for Prince Fielder. Miguel Cabrera had become a star in the game of baseball, and he put his stamp on the sport in 2012 by winning the batting Triple Crown in the American League for the first time in 45 years, since Boston Red Sox left fielder and first baseman Carl Yastrzemski accomplished the feat in 1967. Cabrera batted .330 with 44 home runs and 139 RBIs off 205 hits and 40 doubles. Along with the Triple Crown, Cabrera also won the Hank Aaron Award, the Silver Slugger Award for a third baseman, and would be named the American League Most Valuable Player.
Cabrera didn’t carry the offense alone, as the Tigers got contributions up and down the lineup throughout the season.
In 88 games, left fielder Andy Dirks batted .322 with 101 hits, 18 doubles and 5 triples. Center fielder Austin Jackson batted .300 with 16 home runs and 66 RBIs off 163 hits, 29 doubles, 10 triples and 12 stolen bases. The year 2012 didn’t start out so well for designated hitter Delmon Young, as he was suspended for 7 games on April 30 for third-degree assault in New York City. Thankfully, Young was able to turn things around in the regular season, finishing with 18 home runs and 74 RBIs off 153 hits and 27 doubles. Outfielder Quintin Berry had 75 hits, 10 doubles, 6 triples and 21 stolen bases, and right fielder Brennan Boesch had 12 home runs, 113 hits, 22 doubles and 6 stolen bases.
Prince Fielder himself did a great job in his first season in Detroit, batting .313 with 30 home runs and 108 RBIs off 182 hits and 33 doubles. Making the All-Star Game along with Cabrera, Fielder smashed 28 home runs in the Home Run Derby to win that competition and took home the Silver Slugger Award for a first baseman. Second baseman Omar Infante had 58 hits, 7 doubles, 5 triples and 7 stolen bases in 64 games. Shortstop Jhonny Peralta had 13 home runs and 63 RBIs off 127 hits and 32 doubles, while catcher Alex Avila had 89 hits and 21 doubles.
Justin Verlander was the unquestioned ace of the Detroit starting rotation, going 17-8 with 239 strikeouts and a 2.64 ERA while recording 6 complete games and 1 shutout. Along with an All-Star Game appearance, Verlander was also involved in an extremely tight race for the American League Cy Young Award, one he narrowly lost to David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays, 149 points and 12 first-place votes to 153 points and 13 first-place votes, respectively.
Max Scherzer went 16-7 with 231 strikeouts and a 3.74 ERA. Rick Porcello had 107 strikeouts despite going 10-12. Doug Fister went 10-10 with 137 strikeouts and a 3.45 ERA, recording 2 complete games and 1 shutout. Drew Smyly went 4-3 with 94 strikeouts and a 3.99 ERA. Despite going 4-6, Anibal Sanchez posted a 3.74 ERA, 1 complete game and 1 shutout.
Closer Jose Valverde was nearly automatic for the Tigers, recording 35 saves with a 3.78 ERA. Relief pitcher Joaquin Benoit went 5-3 with 2 saves and a 3.68 ERA, and Octavio Dotel went 5-3 with 1 save and a 3.57 ERA. Despite going 3-5 in 50 games, Brayan Villarreal posted a 2.63 ERA. Phil Coke had 1 save and a 4.00 ERA, Collin Balester went 2-0, Darin Downs went 2-1 with a 3.48 ERA, and Duane Below went 2-1 with a 3.88 ERA.
The Tigers went back and forth with the Oakland Athletics in the American League Division Series, going all 5 games deep.
In Game 1 on October 6 at Comerica Park, the Tigers won 3-1. Justin Verlander pitched 7 innings and gave up 3 hits, 4 walks and 1 run, but recorded an amazing 11 strikeouts. In the top of the 1st inning, Oakland got its only run on a solo home run by center fielder Coco Crisp. From that point it would be all Detroit: in the bottom of the 1st, Miguel Cabrera grounded into a double play to score Austin Jackson; in the bottom of the 3rd, Quintin Berry had an RBI infield single; and in the bottom of the 5th, Alex Avila hit a solo home run.
In Game 2 on October 7, the Tigers won 5-4. In the top of the 3rd inning, left fielder Yoenis Cespedes, who became a sensational story out of Cuba for the Athletics, had an RBI single. In the bottom of the 3rd, Delmon Young had an RBI groundout. In the top of the 7th, second baseman Cliff Pennington had an RBI single, and in the bottom of the 7th, Cabrera reached on an error to score Jackson. In the top of the 8th, Cespedes scored on a wild pitch, and right fielder Josh Reddick followed with a solo home run. In the bottom of the 8th, outfielder, third baseman and first baseman Don Kelly scored on a wild pitch, and Kelly then delivered a game-winning sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 9th to score Omar Infante.
In Game 3 at O.co Coliseum on October 9, the Athletics woke up and blanked the Tigers 2-0. Brett Anderson pitched 6 innings and gave up 2 hits and 2 walks while recording 6 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 1st inning, Cespedes had an RBI single, and in the bottom of the 5th, designated hitter Seth Smith hit a solo home run.
The Athletics then beat the Tigers again, 4-3, in Game 4 on October 10. Max Scherzer did pitch well for Detroit, going 5.1 innings and giving up 3 hits, 1 walk and 1 run while recording 8 strikeouts. In the top of the 3rd inning, Austin Jackson had an RBI single, and in the top of the 4th, Prince Fielder hit a solo home run. In the bottom of the 6th, shortstop Stephen Drew had an RBI double, and in the top of the 8th, pinch-hitting right fielder Avisail Garcia had an RBI single. The bottom of the 9th was where Detroit’s wheels came off, as Jose Valverde blew a save opportunity in 0.2 of an inning: Smith had a 2-run double, and then Crisp delivered the game-winning single.
Things came back together nicely for the Tigers in the deciding Game 5 on October 11, as they blanked the Athletics 6-0, quietly sending Oakland baseball fans home. This was mostly due to Justin Verlander’s great performance, as he pitched a complete game, giving up 4 hits and 1 walk while recording an amazing 11 strikeouts. In the top of the 3rd inning, Jackson had an RBI double, and he then scored on a wild pitch. Jackson came back to add an RBI single in the top of the 7th, but he got plenty of offensive help: Cabrera was hit by a pitch to score Infante, Fielder had an RBI single, and Young reached on an error to score Berry.
The American League Championship Series proved to be much easier than the previous series for the Tigers, as they swept the New York Yankees 4 games to none to claim the American League pennant.
In Game 1 on October 13 at Yankee Stadium III, the Tigers beat the Yankees 6-4. Doug Fister pitched 6.1 innings and gave up 6 hits and 4 walks while recording 5 strikeouts. In the top of the 6th inning, Fielder and Young both had RBI singles. In the top of the 8th, Young came back to hit a solo home run, and Garcia followed with an RBI single. The Yankees tied the game in the bottom of the 9th when both left fielder Ichiro Suzuki and designated hitter Raul Ibanez belted 2-run home runs. The tie was broken in the top of the 12th by Delmon Young’s RBI double and Andy Dirks’s RBI infield single.
The Tigers then blanked the Yankees 3-0 in Game 2 on October 14. Anibal Sanchez pitched 7 innings and gave up 3 hits and 3 walks while recording 7 strikeouts. Young had an RBI groundout in the top of the 7th, and then Garcia and Cabrera both had RBI singles in the top of the 8th.
Returning to Comerica Park for Game 3 on October 16, the Tigers won 2-1. Justin Verlander was on point again, pitching 8.1 innings and surrendering only 3 hits and 1 run while recording 3 strikeouts. Young hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 4th inning, and then Cabrera had an RBI double in the bottom of the 5th. Shortstop Eduardo Nunez, filling in for the injured Derek Jeter, hit a solo home run in the top of the 9th, but it was one run too little.
The Tigers then dealt the final blow to the pinstripes in Game 4 on October 18 with a convincing 8-1 win. Max Scherzer pitched 5.2 innings and gave up 2 hits, 2 walks and 1 run while recording a stunning 10 strikeouts. Young had an RBI single in the bottom of the 1st inning. In the bottom of the 3rd, Garcia had an RBI infield single, and in the bottom of the 4th, both Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta launched 2-run home runs. In the top of the 6th, right fielder Nick Swisher gave the Yankees their only run with an RBI double, and the Tigers finished things off with a solo home run by Jackson in the bottom of the 7th and another by Peralta in the 8th.
Coming back from a rocky start to his season, Delmon Young finished very well, batting .353 with 6 hits in the ALCS and earning the series’ Most Valuable Player award in the process.
For what was otherwise an amazing and historic season, the 2012 Detroit Tigers ran into the unstoppable San Francisco Giants in the World Series and fell in a 4-game sweep. Despite this bittersweet result, the Tigers looked primed to get back into position for another shot at the Commissioner’s Trophy.
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