The 2012 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 112th season. On October 1, the Tigers clinched the AL Central title, the club's first repeat title since 1934–1935.Tigers are the ones to reclaim AL Central title MLB.com, October 1, 2012 They finished the regular season 88–74. They defeated the Oakland Athletics in the American League Divisional Series, 3 games to 2.Verlander sends Tigers to second straight ALCS MLB.com, October 12, 2012 It was the Tigers' second consecutive ALDS win. The Tigers went on to sweep the New York Yankees in the American League Championship SeriesParty to the Max: Tigers sweep way to Series MLB.com, October 18, 2012 before being swept themselves by the San Francisco Giants in the World Series.Fall cleaning: Giants sweep Series in Detroit MLB.com, October 28, 2012
Roster moves
Releases
On October 29, the Tigers released relief pitcher Joel Zumaya to free agency. On November 1, the Tigers released outfielder Magglio Ordóñez, infielder Carlos Guillén, and starting pitcher Brad Penny to free agency. On December 12, the Tigers released utility infielder Will Rhymes to free agency.Tigers Do Not Tender Will Rhymes a Contract For the 2012 Season MLB.com December 12, 2011 On March 12, the Tigers released relief pitcher David Pauley. On March 15, Pauley cleared waivers and became a free agent. On April 26, the Tigers released veteran infielder Brandon Inge after 12 seasons.Detroit Tigers sever ties with Brandon Inge, but 'heart will always be in Detroit' MLive.com, April 26, 2012
Key injuries On December 16, the team announced that relief pitcher Al Alburquerque had surgery on his pitching elbow, to replace a stress fracture.Tigers Al Alburquerque Undergoes Elbow Surgery to Fix Stress Fracture MLB.com December 16, 2011 On January 17, it was reported that designated hitter/catcher/infielder Víctor Martínez tore his ACL and needs surgery to repair it. On March 12, the team placed Martinez on the 60-day disabled list and declared him out for the season.Tigers injury report MLB.com
Signings and key returns
On October 28, the Tigers picked up the option on closer José Valverde.Tigers exercise 2012 team option on Valverde MLB.com October 28, 2011 On November 18, the Tigers signed catcher Gerald Laird to a one-year contract. Laird had been the Tigers' primary catcher for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Also on November 18, the club purchased the minor league contracts of pitching prospects Casey Crosby, Tyler Stohr and Matt Hoffman; outfielder Avisaíl García and infielder Hernan Perez. On November 30, the Tigers re-signed second baseman Ramón Santiago to a two-year deal.Tigers re-sign Santiago to a two-year contract MLB.com November 30, 2011 On December 9, the Tigers announced a one-year deal with relief pitcher Octavio Dotel. There is an option for the 2013 season. On January 16, the Tigers avoided arbitration with starting pitcher Rick Porcello and reliever Phil Coke, signing both to one-year deals. The following day, the team agreed on one-year deals for starting pitcher Max Scherzer, outfielder Delmon Young and utilityman Don Kelly. This helps the team avoid an arbitration hearing for the 10th year in a row. On January 24, the Tigers signed first baseman Prince Fielder to a nine-year, $214 million deal. As a result, Miguel Cabrera moved to third base.Cabrera, Prince will anchor the corners for Tigers FoxSportsDetroit.com January 26, 2012 On April 20, the Tigers re-acquired pitcher Zach Miner from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for cash. Miner will report to the AA Erie SeaWolves.Tigers Re-Acquire Zach Miner From Royals MLB.com April 20, 2012
Trades
On December 9, the Tigers traded relief pitcher Ryan Perry to the Washington Nationals for fellow reliever Collin Balester. On July 23, the Tigers traded pitcher Jacob Turner and two minor league prospects (catcher Rob Brantly and pitcher Brian Flynn) to the Miami Marlins for starting pitcher Aníbal Sánchez and infielder Omar Infante.Rosecrans, C. Trent. CBS Sports, July 23, 2012. "Tigers land Aníbal Sánchez, Omar Infante from Marlins." On August 6, the Tigers acquired utilityman Jeff Baker from the Chicago Cubs for two minor league players to be named later. He was traded to the Atlanta Braves on August 31 for a player to be named later.Braves acquire Jeff Baker from Tigers CBSSports.com Retrieved on August 31, 2012
Delmon Young's arrest On April 27, 2012, an intoxicated Delmon Young was arrested for third-degree assault and an "aggravated harassment hate crime" in New York City after a confrontation with a group of Jewish tourists in which he made antisemitic remarks outside of their hotel before a series against the Yankees. Later in the day, Young issued a statement apologizing for his actions. On April 30, Young was suspended without pay for seven games, and ordered to undergo therapy.
Individual accomplishments On September 27, starting pitcher Doug Fister struck out 9 batters in a row, a new American League record. It was just one short of the Major League record of 10 in a row, accomplished by Tom Seaver in 1970.Fister sets AL strikeout mark against Royals MLB.com, September 27, 2012 With a .330 average, 44 home runs and 139 RBIs, slugger Miguel Cabrera became the first player in 45 years to win the Triple Crown, leading the American League in all three categories. The last player to accomplish this feat was Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.Miggy secures first Triple Crown since 1967 MLB.com, October 3, 3012 He went on to win the 2012 AL Most Valuable Player Award. He also won this year's AL Hank Aaron Award, and the AL Silver Slugger Award. Starters Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer finished first and second among the American League strikeout leaders, with 239 and 231, respectively.AL Strikeout Leaders CBS Sports Verlander finished second in a very close AL Cy Young Award race for 2012, collecting 149 points (12 first-place votes) to 153 points (13 first-place votes) for Tampa Bay Rays starter David Price.David Price wins 2012 American League Cy Young Award cbssports.com on November 14, 2012 On October 13, during Game 1 of the ALCS, Delmon Young hit his sixth career post-season home run, setting a new franchise record.Delmon Young delivers Game 1 victory to Detroit Tigers after José Valverde blows four-run lead MLive.com, October 14, 2012 Young later won the ALCS MVP Award. Outfielder Austin Jackson won the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award.
All-Stars The Tigers sent three players to the All-Star Game: pitcher Justin Verlander (fifth appearance), third baseman Miguel Cabrera (seventh appearance, third with the Tigers), and first baseman Prince Fielder (fourth appearance, first with the Tigers). Fielder was voted in as a starter, and won the Home Run Derby with 28 home runs, the second time in his career and his first with the Tigers. Fielder also won a Silver Slugger Award.
Standings
2012 American League Central
2012 American League playoff teams
Game log
Regular season
|- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 1 || April 5 || Red Sox || W 3–2 || Valverde (1–0) || Melancon (0–1) || || 45,027 || 1–0 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 2 || April 7 || Red Sox || W 10–0 || Below (1–0)|| Beckett (0–1) || || 44,710 || 2–0 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 3 || April 8 || Red Sox || W 13–12 (11) || Below (2–0) || Melancon (0–2) || || 30,788 || 3–0 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 4 || April 10 || Rays || W 5–2 || Coke (1–0) || McGee (0–1) || Valverde (1) || 22,574 || 4–0 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | 5 || April 11 || Rays || L 4–2 || Shields (1–0) || Verlander (0–1) || Rodney (3) || 28,180 || 4–1 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 6 || April 12 || Rays || W 7–2 || Balester (1–0) || Niemann (0–1) || || 30,288 || 5–1 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | 7 || April 13 || @ White Sox || L 5–2 || Peavy (1–0) || Scherzer (0–1) || Santiago (3) || 38,676 || 5–2 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | 8 || April 14 || @ White Sox || L 5–1 || Floyd (1–1) || Wilk (0–1) || || 33,025 || 5–3 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 9 || April 15 || @ White Sox || W 5–2 || Porcello (1–0) || Sale (1–1) || || 25,143 || 6–3 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 10 || April 16 || @ Royals || W 3–2 || Verlander (1–1) || Duffy (1–1) || || 14,039 || 7–3 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 11 || April 17 || @ Royals || W 3–1 ||Dotel (1–0) || Chen (0–1) || Valverde (2) || 13,851 || 8–3 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 12 || April 18 || @ Royals || W 4–3 || Scherzer (1–1) || Mijares (0–1) || Valverde (3) || 14,083 || 9–3 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | 13 || April 19 || Rangers || L 10–3 || Darvish (2–0) || Wilk (0–2) || ||30,029 || 9–4 |- bgcolor="#bbbbbb" | – || April 20 || Rangers ||colspan=6| Postponed (rain). Rescheduled for April 21. |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | 14 || April 21 || Rangers || L 10–4 || Harrison (3–0) || Porcello (1–1) || || 41,427 || 9–5 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 15 || April 21 || Rangers || W 3–2 || Verlander (2–1) || Feliz (1–1) || Valverde (4) || 35,001 || 10–5 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | 16 || April 22 || Rangers || L 3–2 (11) || Ross (3–0) || Weber (0–1) || Nathan (4) || 36,255 || 10–6 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | 17 || April 24 || Mariners || L 7–4 || Vargas (3–1) || Scherzer (1–2) || League (6) || 30,073 || 10–7 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | 18 || April 25 || Mariners || L 9–1 || Hernández (2–1) || Wilk (0–3) || || 28,527 || 10–8 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | 19 || April 26 || Mariners || L 5–4 || Furbush (1–1) || Porcello (1–2) || League (7) || 31,451 || 10–9 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | 20 || April 27 || @ Yankees || L 7–6 || Rivera (1–1) || Villarreal (0–1) || || 41,200 || 10–10 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 21 || April 28 || @ Yankees || W 7–5 || Smyly (1–0) || García (0–2) || || 44,686 || 11–10 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | 22 || April 29 || @ Yankees || L 2–6 || Sabathia (3–0) || Scherzer (1–3) || || 43,084 || 11–11 |- bgcolor="#bbbbbb" | – || April 30 || Royals ||colspan=6| Postponed (rain). Rescheduled for September 24.
|- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 23 || May 1 || Royals || W 9–3 || Porcello (2–2) || Hochevar (2–2) || || 30,159 || 12–11 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | 24 || May 2 || Royals || L 3–2 || Collins (1–0) || Benoit (0–1) || Broxton (4) || 33,187 || 12–12 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 25 || May 4 || White Sox || W 5–4 || Valverde (2–0) || Thornton (1–1) || || 33,165 || 13–12 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | 26 || May 5 || White Sox || L 3–2 || Jones (1–0) || Valverde (2–1) || Reed (1) || 42,404 || 13–13 |- bgcolor="bbffbb" | 27 || May 6 || White Sox || W 3–1 || Porcello (3–2) || Axelrod (0–1) || Valverde (5) || 39,558 || 14–13 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | 28 || May 7 || @ Mariners || L 3–2 || Delabar (1–0) || Dotel (1–1) || || 14,462 || 14–14 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 29 || May 8 || @ Mariners || W 6–4 || Verlander (3–1) || Millwood (0–4) || Valverde (6) || 13,455 || 15–14 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | 30 || May 9 || @ Mariners || L 2–1 || Vargas (4–2) || Putkonen (0–1) || League (8) || 15,655 || 15–15 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 31 || May 10 || @ Athletics || W 10–6 || Scherzer (2–3) || Colón (3–3) || || 11,513 || 16–15 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | 32 || May 11 || @ Athletics || L 11–4 || Milone (5–2) || Porcello (3–3) || || 26,721 || 16–16 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | 33 || May 12 || @ Athletics || L 3–1 || McCarthy (3–3) || Fister (0–1) || Fuentes (2) || 22,077 || 16–17 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 34 || May 13 || @ Athletics || W 3–1 || Verlander (4–1) || Parker (1–1) || Valverde (7) || 17,147 || 17–17 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | 35 || May 14 || @ White Sox || L 7–5 || Stewart (1–1) || Putkonen (0–2) || Reed (3) || 25,538 || 17–18 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 36 || May 15 || @ White Sox || W 10–8 || Balester (2–0) || Ohman (0–2) || Dotel (1) || 21,473 || 18–18 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | 37 || May 16 || Twins || L 11–7 || Burnett (1–0) || Below (2–1) || || 33,955 || 18–19 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | 38 || May 17 || Twins || L 4–3 || Walters (1–1) || Fister (0–2) || Capps (8) || 37,840 || 18–20 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 39 || May 18 || Pirates || W 6–0 || Verlander (5–1) || Morton (2–4) || || 41,661 || 19–20 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | 40 || May 19 || Pirates || L 4–3 || Burnett (2–2) || Smyly (1–1) || Hanrahan (9) || 42,953 || 19–21 |- bgcolor="#bbffbb"