2006 Major League Baseball postseason

Last updated

2006 Major League Baseball postseason
Tournament details
DatesOctober 3–27, 2006 [1]
Teams8
Final positions
Champions St. Louis Cardinals
(10th title)
Runners-up Detroit Tigers
(10th World Series appearance)
Awards
MVP David Eckstein
(STL)
←  2005
2007  →

The 2006 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2006 season. The winners of the League Division Series would move on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series.

Contents

In the American League, the New York Yankees made their twelfth straight postseason appearance, the Minnesota Twins returned for the fourth time in five years, the Oakland Athletics returned for the fourth time in seven years, and the Detroit Tigers ended almost two decades of futility by clinching their first postseason berth since 1987.

In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals returned for the third straight year, the New York Mets returned for the first time in six years, the Los Angeles Dodgers returned for the second time in three years, and the San Diego Padres made their second straight postseason appearance. This would be San Diego’s last postseason appearance until 2020, and as of 2025, their most recent postseason appearance as a division champion. [2]

This was the first postseason since 1990 to not feature the Atlanta Braves, who had previously made fourteen straight appearances from 1991 to 2005, excluding 1994, when the season was cancelled due to a strike. It was also the first time since 1995 in which neither team from the previous year’s World Series appeared in the postseason. This phenomenon would only occur twice since - in the next season and in 2024. [3] [4]

The postseason began on October 3, 2006, and ended on October 27, 2006, with the 83-win underdog Cardinals upsetting the heavily-favored Tigers in five games in the 2006 World Series. It was the Cardinals' first title since 1982 and their tenth overall. The Cardinals became the first National League team to win double-digit World Series championships and the second team to do so in MLB overall, joining the New York Yankees. [5]

Playoff seeds

Red pog.svg American League Teams Blue pog.svg National League Teams

The following teams qualified for the postseason:

American League

  1. New York Yankees – 97–65, AL East champions [6]
  2. Minnesota Twins – 96–66, AL Central champions [7]
  3. Oakland Athletics – 93–69, AL West champions [8]
  4. Detroit Tigers – 95–67 [9]

National League

  1. New York Mets – 97–65, NL East champions [10]
  2. San Diego Padres – 88–74, NL West champions (13–5 head-to-head record vs. LAD) [11]
  3. St. Louis Cardinals – 83–78, NL Central champions [12]
  4. Los Angeles Dodgers – 88–74 (5–13 head-to-head record vs. SD) [13]

Playoff bracket

Division Series
(ALDS, NLDS)		League Championship Series
(NLCS, ALCS)		 World Series
1NY Yankees1
4Detroit3
4Detroit4
American League
3Oakland0
2Minnesota0
3Oakland3
AL4Detroit1
NL3St. Louis4
1NY Mets3
4LA Dodgers0
1NY Mets3
National League
3St. Louis4
2San Diego1
3St. Louis3

American League Division Series

(1) New York Yankees vs. (4) Detroit Tigers

Detroit won the series, 3–1.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 3 Detroit Tigers – 4, New York Yankees – 8 Yankee Stadium (I) 3:1456,291 [14]  
2October 5† Detroit Tigers – 4, New York Yankees – 3 Yankee Stadium (I) 3:1556,252 [15]  
3October 6 New York Yankees – 0, Detroit Tigers – 6 Comerica Park 3:0543,440 [16]  
4October 7 New York Yankees – 3, Detroit Tigers – 8 Comerica Park 2:5443,126 [17]

†: Game was postponed due to rain on October 4

This was the first postseason meeting between the Tigers and Yankees. The Tigers defeated the Yankees in four games to advance to the ALCS for the first time since 1987.

Chien-Ming Wang pitched six solid innings and home runs from Jason Giambi and Derek Jeter would help secure a Game 1 victory for the Yankees. In Game 2, the Yankees held an early 3-1 lead thanks to a three-run homer from Johnny Damon in the bottom of the fourth, but the Tigers would put up three unanswered runs across the next three innings to take the lead for good, capped off by an RBI triple from Curtis Granderson in the top of the seventh that scored Marcus Thames. When the series shifted to Detroit for Game 3, Kenny Rogers pitched pitched 7+2⁄3 innings of shutout ball as the Tigers shut out the Yankees 6-0 to take a 2-1 series lead. Game 3 was Randy Johnson’s final postseason game. In Game 4, home runs from Magglio Ordóñez and Craig Monroe would ignite the Tigers’ offense as they blew out the Yankees to advance to the ALCS. This was the first playoff series win by the Tigers since the 1984 World Series.

The Tigers and Yankees would meet in the postseason twice more, in the 2011 ALDS and 2012 ALCS, both of which were won by the Tigers.

(2) Minnesota Twins vs. (3) Oakland Athletics

Oakland won the series, 3–0.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 3 Oakland Athletics – 3, Minnesota Twins – 2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 2:1955,542 [18]  
2October 4 Oakland Athletics – 5, Minnesota Twins – 2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 3:0255,710 [19]  
3October 6 Minnesota Twins – 3, Oakland Athletics – 8 McAfee Coliseum 2:5535,694 [20]

This was the second postseason meeting between the Athletics and Twins. They previously met in the 2002 ALDS, which was won by the Twins. The Athletics swept the Twins to return to the ALCS for the first time since 1992.

Barry Zito pitched seven solid innings as the Athletics stole Game 1 in Minneapolis. Mark Kotsay hit a rare inside-the-park home run in a 5-2 Athletics victory in Game 2 to go up 2–0 on the series headed back home. In Game 3, the Athletics blew out the Twins to complete the sweep.

This was the Athletics’ first playoff victory since winning the AL pennant in 1990. It was also the last time the Athletics won a playoff series until 2020, which would ultimately be their last during their time in Oakland, as the team would move to Las Vegas.

National League Division Series

(1) New York Mets vs. (4) Los Angeles Dodgers

New York won the series, 3–0.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 4 Los Angeles Dodgers – 5, New York Mets – 6 Shea Stadium 3:0556,979 [21]  
2October 5 Los Angeles Dodgers – 1, New York Mets – 4 Shea Stadium 2:5757,029 [22]  
3October 7 New York Mets – 9, Los Angeles Dodgers – 5 Dodger Stadium 3:5156,293 [23]

This was the second postseason meeting between the Mets and Dodgers. They last met in the 1988 NLCS, which was won by the Dodgers in seven games en route to a World Series title. The Mets swept the Dodgers to return to the NLCS for the third time in seven years.

The Mets prevailed in an offensive slugfest in Game 1. Tom Glavine pitched six innings of shutout ball as the Mets won 4-1 to take a 2-0 series lead heading to Los Angeles. Game 3 was yet another slugfest that was won by the Mets as they completed the sweep.

Both teams would meet again in the 2015 NLDS and the 2024 NLCS, with the Mets winning the former and the Dodgers winning the latter.

(2) San Diego Padres vs. (3) St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis won the series, 3–1.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 3 St. Louis Cardinals – 5, San Diego Padres – 1 Petco Park 2:5443,107 [24]  
2October 5 St. Louis Cardinals – 2, San Diego Padres – 0 Petco Park 2:5443,463 [25]  
3October 7 San Diego Padres – 3, St. Louis Cardinals – 1 Busch Stadium (III) 3:3346,634 [26]  
4October 8 San Diego Padres – 2, St. Louis Cardinals – 6 Busch Stadium (III) 2:4446,476 [27]

In the third postseason meeting between these two teams, the Cardinals once again defeated the Padres, this time in four games, to return to the NLCS for the third straight time.

The Cardinals stole Game 1 on the road in San Diego off a solid pitching performance from Chris Carpenter. Jeff Weaver and four other relievers helped shut out the Padres in Game 2, 2–0, to go up 2–0 in the series headed back home. In St. Louis, the Padres won Game 3 by a 3–1 score despite leaving 14 runners on base. However, Carpenter and Adam Wainwright would shut down the Padres' offense in Game 4 as the Cardinals won 6–2 to advance to the ALCS.

Both teams would meet again during the Wild Card round of the 2020 postseason, and in that series the Padres would prevail. This was also San Diego’s last postseason appearance until 2020.

American League Championship Series

(3) Oakland Athletics vs. (4) Detroit Tigers

Detroit won the series, 4–0.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 10 Detroit Tigers – 5, Oakland Athletics – 1 McAfee Coliseum 3:2035,655 [28]  
2October 11 Detroit Tigers – 8, Oakland Athletics – 5 McAfee Coliseum 3:0636,168 [29]  
3October 13 Oakland Athletics – 0, Detroit Tigers – 3 Comerica Park 2:5741,669 [30]  
4October 14 Oakland Athletics – 3, Detroit Tigers – 6 Comerica Park 3:2342,967 [31]

This was the first ALCS since 1990 to not feature either the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox or Minnesota Twins.

This was a rematch of the 1972 ALCS, which the Athletics won in five games en route to a World Series title. The Tigers swept the Athletics to advance to the World Series for the first time since 1984 (in the process denying a rematch of the 1931 World Series between the Athletics and Cardinals).

Nate Robertson kept the Athletics' offense at bay in Game 1 as the Tigers won 5–1. In Game 2, Justin Verlander won his first postseason game as the Tigers prevailed 8–5 to take a 2–0 series lead headed back to Detroit. In Game 3, Kenny Rogers and closer Todd Jones shut out the Athletics 3–0, and were now one win away from the pennant. The Tigers would complete the sweep with a 6–3 victory in Game 4, capped off by a walk-off three-run home run by Magglio Ordóñez in the bottom of the ninth inning.

As of 2025, this is the last postseason appearance outside of the divisional round for the Athletics. This would also be the Athletics’ final ALCS appearance during their time in Oakland, as the team would move to Las Vegas.

The Tigers returned to the ALCS in 2011, but lost to the Texas Rangers in six games. They would win their next and most recent pennant in 2012 in a sweep over the New York Yankees before falling in the World Series.

The Tigers and Athletics would meet two more times in the postseason, in the ALDS in 2012 and 2013, both won by the Tigers in five games.

National League Championship Series

(1) New York Mets vs. (3) St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis won the series, 4-3.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 12† St. Louis Cardinals – 0, New York Mets – 2 Shea Stadium 2:5256,311 [32]  
2October 13† St. Louis Cardinals – 9, New York Mets – 6 Shea Stadium 3:5856,349 [33]  
3October 14 New York Mets – 0, St. Louis Cardinals – 5 Busch Stadium 2:5347,053 [34]  
4October 15 New York Mets – 12, St. Louis Cardinals – 5 Busch Stadium 3:3146,600 [35]  
5October 17‡ New York Mets – 2, St. Louis Cardinals – 4 Busch Stadium 3:2646,496 [36]  
6October 18 St. Louis Cardinals – 2, New York Mets – 4 Shea Stadium 2:5656,334 [37]  
7October 19 St. Louis Cardinals – 3, New York Mets – 1 Shea Stadium 3:2356,357 [38]

†: Game 1 was postponed due to rain on October 11. Game 2 was subsequently pushed back a day as well.
‡: Game 5 was postponed due to rain on October 16.

This was a rematch of the 2000 NLCS, which the Mets won in five games before coming up short in the World Series. The Cardinals defeated the Mets in seven games to return to the World Series for the second time in three years.

In Queens, the first two games were split by both teams. Tom Glavine pitched seven innings of shutout baseball in Game 1 as the Mets won 2–0. Game 2 was an offensive slugfest which the Cardinals won 9–6 to even the series, thanks to home runs from Jim Edmonds and So Taguchi. When the series moved to St. Louis for Game 3, Jeff Suppan pitched eight shutout innings as the Cardinals won 5–0 to go up 2–1 in the series. The Mets then blew out the Cardinals in Game 4, as Carlos Beltrán, David Wright, and Carlos Delgado all homered for the Mets. In Game 5, the Mets went up 2–0 early, but the Cardinals responded with four unanswered runs to win and take a 3–2 series lead headed back to Queens. The Mets jumped out in the lead early and their bullpen held off a late rally by the Cardinals to force a seventh game. However, the Cardinals would win Game 7 by a 3–1 score, capped off by a two-run home run by Yadier Molina in the top of the ninth inning of Game 7, which put the Cardinals in the lead for good. Game 7 was the last postseason game ever played at Shea Stadium.

The Cardinals’ 83-wins was the second lowest of any pennant winner in MLB history. The only team to win the pennant with fewer regular season wins were the Mets themselves, who won the 1973 NL pennant with only 82 wins. The Cardinals would win their next pennant in 2011 over the Milwaukee Brewers in six games en route to another World Series title.

The Mets would return to the NLCS in 2015, where they swept the Chicago Cubs before falling in the World Series.

2006 World Series

(AL4) Detroit Tigers vs. (NL3) St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis won the series, 4–1.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 21 St. Louis Cardinals – 7, Detroit Tigers – 2 Comerica Park 2:5442,479 [39]  
2October 22 St. Louis Cardinals – 1, Detroit Tigers – 3 Comerica Park 2:5542,533 [40]  
3October 24 Detroit Tigers – 0, St. Louis Cardinals – 5 Busch Stadium (III) 3:0346,513 [41]  
4October 26† Detroit Tigers – 4, St. Louis Cardinals – 5 Busch Stadium (III) 3:3546,470 [42]  
5October 27† Detroit Tigers – 2, St. Louis Cardinals – 4 Busch Stadium (III) 2:5646,638 [43]

†: Game 4 was postponed due to rain on October 25, forcing Game 5 to be subsequently pushed back a day as well.

This was the third World Series matchup between the Tigers and Cardinals. They had previously met in 1934 and 1968, with the Cardinals winning the former and the Tigers winning the latter. Like in 1968, the Tigers were once again down 3–1 in the series, however history would not repeat itself. The 83-win Cardinals finished an improbable upset of the heavily favored Tigers in Game 5 to win their first World Series title since 1982.

In the first World Series game in Detroit in 22 years, the Cardinals stunned the Comerica Park crowd in a blowout win, as Anthony Reyes had a solid eight-inning performance on the mound. In Game 2, the Tigers jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first thanks to a home run from Craig Monroe and RBI from Carlos Guillén and maintained it to even the series headed to St. Louis. Game 2 was marred by controversy, as Tigers’ starting pitcher Kenny Rogers was suspected for using pine tar. Rogers claimed it was a combination of dirt and rosin (both legal), but complied with umpire requests to wash his hands. Chris Carpenter pitched eight innings of shutout ball as the Cardinals won Game 3 by a 5-0 score to regain the series lead. In Game 4, the Tigers lead 3-2 after the fourth thanks to a solo home run from Sean Casey and RBIs from Casey and Iván "Pudge" Rodríguez. However, the Cardinals took the lead in the bottom of the seventh thanks to a sacrifice bunt from So Taguchi and an RBI single from Preston Wilson. The Tigers tied the game in the top of the eighth off an RBI double from Brandon Inge, but the Cardinals took the lead for good in the bottom of the inning off an RBI double from David Eckstein to take a 3–1 series lead. In Game 5, the Tigers took the lead in the top of the fourth off a two-run homer from Casey, but the Cardinals scored three unanswered runs to take the lead for good and secure the title, completing an improbable upset.

This was the Tigers’ first loss in the World Series since 1940. Previously, they had won the title in their last three appearances in 1945, 1968, and 1984. The Tigers would return to the World Series in 2012, but were swept by the San Francisco Giants, becoming the second victim of the Giants’ dynasty of three titles in five years from 2010 to 2014.

With their tenth championship, the Cardinals became the first National League team to win double digit World Series championships, and became only the second franchise in MLB to accomplish such a feat, joining the New York Yankees. The 2006 Cardinals’ 83-wins remain the fewest of any World Series team in MLB history, and became just the second team to win the World Series with 85 or fewer wins, joining the 1987 Minnesota Twins (the Twins, ironically, defeated the Cardinals in the World Series that season, and had also defeated the Tigers in the postseason en route to the championship, in the ALCS). [44] The Cardinals would return to the World Series again in 2011, where they defeated the Texas Rangers in seven games to win their most recent title.

Broadcasting

This was the fourth and final year that Division Series games aired across ESPN, ESPN2, and Fox. Fox then aired both League Championship Series and the World Series. MLB would then sign new deals with Fox and TBS to split postseason coverage.

References

  1. ↑ "2006 Major Leagues Schedule". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  2. ↑ Tapp, Jerry (May 25, 2023). "The last season each MLB team won a divisional title (since 1994)". Call To The Pen. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Mets-Braves doubleheader: Braves join Mets in postseason with Game 2 win, Diamondbacks out". Yahoo Sports. September 30, 2024. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  4. ↑ "MLB playoffs 2024: Final playoff bracket and postseason schedule with Mets, Braves splitting doubleheader to clinch wild cards". Yahoo Sports. September 30, 2024. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Teams with the most World Series titles". MLB.com . October 31, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  6. ↑ "2006 New York Yankees Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  7. ↑ "2006 Minnesota Twins Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  8. ↑ "2006 Oakland Athletics Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  9. ↑ "2006 Detroit Tigers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  10. ↑ "2006 New York Mets Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  11. ↑ "2006 San Diego Padres Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  12. ↑ "2006 St. Louis Cardinals Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  13. ↑ "2006 Los Angeles Dodgers statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  14. ↑ "2006 ALDS – Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees – Game 1". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  15. ↑ "2006 ALDS – Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees – Game 2". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  16. ↑ "2006 ALDS – New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers – Game 3". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  17. ↑ "2006 ALDS – New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers – Game 4". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  18. ↑ "2006 ALDS – Oakland Athletics vs. Minnesota Twins – Game 1". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  19. ↑ "2006 ALDS – Oakland Athletics vs. Minnesota Twins – Game 2". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  20. ↑ "2006 ALDS – Minnesota Twins vs. Oakland Athletics – Game 3". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  21. ↑ "2006 NLDS - Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets - Game 1". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  22. ↑ "2006 NLDS - Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets - Game 2". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  23. ↑ "2006 NLDS - New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers - Game 3". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  24. ↑ "2006 NLDS - St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres - Game 1". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  25. ↑ "2006 NLDS - St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres - Game 2". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  26. ↑ "2006 NLDS - San Diego Padres vs. St. Louis Cardinals - Game 3". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  27. ↑ "2006 NLDS - San Diego Padres vs. St. Louis Cardinals - Game 4". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  28. ↑ "2006 ALCS Game 1 – Detroit Tigers vs. Oakland Athletics". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  29. ↑ "2006 ALCS Game 2 – Detroit Tigers vs. Oakland Athletics". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  30. ↑ "2006 ALCS Game 3 – Oakland Athletics vs. Detroit Tigers". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  31. ↑ "2006 ALCS Game 4 – Oakland Athletics vs. Detroit Tigers". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  32. ↑ "2006 NLCS Game 1 - St. Louis Cardinals vs. New York Mets". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  33. ↑ "2006 NLCS Game 2 - St. Louis Cardinals vs. New York Mets". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  34. ↑ "2006 NLCS Game 3 - New York Mets vs. St. Louis Cardinals". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  35. ↑ "2006 NLCS Game 4 - New York Mets vs. St. Louis Cardinals". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  36. ↑ "2006 NLCS Game 5 - New York Mets vs. St. Louis Cardinals". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  37. ↑ "2006 NLCS Game 6 - St. Louis Cardinals vs. New York Mets". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  38. ↑ "2006 NLCS Game 7 - St. Louis Cardinals vs. New York Mets". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  39. ↑ "2006 World Series Game 1 - St. Louis Cardinals vs. Detroit Tigers". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  40. ↑ "2006 World Series Game 2 - St. Louis Cardinals vs. Detroit Tigers". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  41. ↑ "2006 World Series Game 3 - Detroit Tigers vs. St. Louis Cardinals". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  42. ↑ "2006 World Series Game 4 - Detroit Tigers vs. St. Louis Cardinals". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  43. ↑ "2006 World Series Game 5 - Detroit Tigers vs. St. Louis Cardinals". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  44. ↑ Davison, Everett (October 27, 2023). "10 WORST Teams To Win The World Series". Total Pro Sports. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
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