The Cardinals finished the regular season 83–78. This is the second-worst record ever for a league champion (the 1973 New York Mets finished 82–79) and the worst record ever for a World Series champion. Previously the 1987 Minnesota Twins finished 85–77 and defeated that year's Cardinals team in the 1987 World Series.[3]
This World Series would be the last time until 2023 in which both teams failed to make the next season's playoffs.
Since Interleague Play began in 1997, this marked the third time a World Series would be a rematch of the regular season. The Tigers swept the Cardinals in three games at Comerica Park from June 23–25.
Neither team was given much chance to advance far into October by many baseball pundits.[4] Both teams stumbled through the second halves of their seasons. The Tigers, only three years removed from having the most losses in a season by an AL team and enjoying their first successful season after 12 years of futility, surprised the baseball world by building a ten-game lead in the American League Central, but eventually the lead evaporated in the final months and they lost the division to the Minnesota Twins on the last day of the season after being swept by the last-place Kansas City Royals at home, settling for a playoff berth as the AL Wild Card. The Cardinals held a seven-game advantage in the National League Central over the Cincinnati Reds and an 8+1⁄2-game lead over the Houston Astros with just two weeks to play. However, the combination of a seven-game losing streak by St. Louis and an eight-game winning streak by the Astros (highlighted by a four-game sweep of the Cardinals in Houston) caused the Cardinals' lead to shrink to half a game with only a few games left. However, the Cardinals held on to clinch the division after an Astros' loss to the Atlanta Braves on the last day of the season.
Thus, both the Tigers and Cardinals were clear underdogs in their matches, against the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres, respectively. The Tigers' pitching took care of the vaunted Yankees lineup, and won their series 3–1. The Cardinals also won their series 3–1, including the first two games in San Diego. The Tigers then swept the Oakland Athletics in the ALCS, winning game four on a three-run walk-off home run by Magglio Ordóñez in the bottom of the ninth. The Cardinals won their series against the New York Mets with the help of a ninth-inning home run by Yadier Molina in a tense Game7.
The Tigers had home-field advantage in the Series, due to the AL's 3–2 win over the NL in the 77th Major League Baseball All-Star Game on July 11 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. These two teams had already played against each other in a three-game series in June 2006, where the Tigers swept the Cardinals 3–0 in Detroit, part of an eight-game Cardinals losing streak. This was the first time since 2000 that teams meeting during the regular season met again in the World Series.
The Series marked the third time in a row that both teams sought to win a championship after at least a 20-year drought. In 2004, the Boston Red Sox ended their 86-year hiatus by defeating the Cardinals; in 2005 the Chicago White Sox ended an 88-year drought by defeating the Houston Astros, who were competing in their first World Series after 43 seasons. The Tigers had not appeared in the World Series since winning it in 1984. The Cardinals last won in 1982, losing three times since then, in 1985, 1987 and 2004.
The Tigers were the eighth wild card team to compete in the World Series since MLB introduced the wild card in 1994. A wild-card team participated in the Series from 2002 to 2007.
Riding the momentum they built up during their surprisingly easy ALDS and ALCS victories, Detroit entered the Series as a prohibitive favorite.[5]Bob Nightengale of USA Today expressed popular sentiment when he said "Tigers in three".[6]
Two veteran managers return to postseason play
St. Louis' managerTony La Russa joined his mentor, Sparky Anderson, as only the second manager to win the World Series with teams in both leagues. La Russa won in 1989 with the Athletics. Coincidentally, Anderson first accomplished the feat by managing Detroit to their previous championship in 1984. He was chosen to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game2. If the Tigers had defeated the Cardinals, Jim Leyland would have joined Anderson for this feat instead of LaRussa as he had already won the 1997 World Series with the Florida Marlins. When he came to St. Louis, La Russa wore number 10 to symbolize the team's drive to their 10th championship and pay tribute to Anderson, who wore number 10 while manager of the Cincinnati Reds.[7] After winning the championship, he chose to continue wearing number 10 to pay tribute to Anderson.[8]
Additionally, the opposing managers are close friends. Leyland was La Russa's third base coach for the Chicago White Sox in the early 1980s. Leyland also served as a Pittsburgh-based advance scout for the Cardinals before he was hired by the Tigers.
This was the first World Series in 22 years to have two previous World Series-winning managers facing each other, but at the helms of new teams. As previously mentioned, Leyland previously won the 1997 World Series with the Florida Marlins, and La Russa won the 1989 World Series with the Oakland Athletics. Overall, it was the first World Series since 1999 to have two previous Series-winning managers facing each other.
Two rookies faced off in Game1 for the first time in history: Anthony Reyes for St. Louis and Justin Verlander for Detroit. It looked like the Tigers were going to get to Reyes early in the bottom of the first, when Craig Monroe doubled and Magglio Ordóñez walked. Carlos Guillén singled Monroe in, giving the Tigers a 1–0 lead. However, in the top of the second, Scott Rolen hit a long home run to left field, tying the score at 1–1. Rolen was 0-for-15 in his career in the World Series before hitting the home run. The previous mark had been 0-for-13, set by Benny Kauff of the New York Giants in the 1917 World Series. In the third inning the Cards broke through, first when Chris Duncan's RBI double scored Yadier Molina to give the Cardinals the lead. On Verlander's next pitch, 2005 National League MVP Albert Pujols banged a two-run home run, punishing the rookie who elected to pitch to the dangerous Pujols, rather than walk him with first base open and two outs and pitch to Jim Edmonds.
Meanwhile, Anthony Reyes was the story. The pitcher who had the fewest regular season wins of a Game1 World Series starter (5)[14] at one point retired 17 in a row from the first inning to the sixth inning, a World Series record for a rookie. The previous record was thirteen (John Stuper, STL, 1982, and Dickey Kerr, CHW, 1919). Reyes' final line was eight-plus innings, four hits, two runs, and four strikeouts. The Cards took advantage of Detroit's mistakes again in the sixth, when Brandon Inge made two errors in one play. With runners on second and third, Inge threw to home wild to score a run and then obstructed Scott Rolen, who was running home, to score another run. Craig Monroe hit a home run off Reyes in the bottom of the ninth, which led to Reyes being pulled from the game, as Braden Looper came in to finish the game. The final score was 7–2 Cardinals, marking the first time since 2003 that the National League had won a World Series game, and the first World Series game won by St. Louis since Game5 of the 1987 World Series.
Craig Monroe hit a home run for the second consecutive game in the series.
Game 2
October 22, 2006 8:23pm (EDT) at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan 44°F (7°C), rain
Before the game's start, John Mellencamp and Little Big Town performed "Our Country". With a starting temperature of 44°F (7°C),[15] controversy surrounded the start of Game2 when Tigers starting pitcher Kenny Rogers was found to have a substance on a patch of the palm of his pitching hand during the first inning. Although Cardinals hitters claimed that the ball was doing "weird things" in the first inning, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa did not request an inspection of Rogers' hand to determine what the substance was. Rogers claimed it was a combination of dirt and rosin (both legal), but complied with a request from the umpires to wash his hands before the second inning.[16]
Unfazed, Rogers would go on to pitch eight shutout innings while surrendering only two hits, running his postseason streak to 23 straight shutout innings. Craig Monroe hit his second home run in the series, and Carlos Guillén, who was a home run away from the cycle, and Sean Casey each drove in runs to give the Tigers a 3–0 lead going into the ninth. Todd Jones then came into the game to close it out but got into a heavy jam (he had an error which contributed to the jam), with Scott Rolen being driven in by Jim Edmonds before a force-out at second with the bases loaded won the game for the Tigers. Craig Monroe became the fifth player to hit a home run in each of his first two World Series games. The others were Barry Bonds for the Giants in 2002, Ted Simmons for the Brewers in 1982, Dusty Rhodes for the New York Giants in 1954, and Jimmie Foxx for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1929. St. Louis pitcher Jeff Weaver (the same pitcher who as a Yankee had surrendered the walk-off home run in game 4 of the 2003 World Series) surrendered all three Detroit runs in his five innings of work and took the loss for the Cardinals.
After the Cardinals were shut out by Detroit pitcher Kenny Rogers for eight innings in Game2, St. Louis starter Chris Carpenter answered with eight innings of his own in a 5–0 Cardinals victory in Game3. Carpenter, making his World Series debut (he missed the entire 2004 World Series due to injury) gave up only three hits, struck out six and did not issue a walk, while throwing only 82 pitches. Only one Tiger reached second base.[14]
St. Louis began the scoring in the fourth inning on a bases-loaded two-run double by center fielder Jim Edmonds off of Nate Robertson. Two more runs would score in the bottom of the seventh on an error by Detroit pitcher Joel Zumaya, who overthrew third baseman Brandon Inge on what should have been a routine force out. St. Louis would add another run in the eighth on a wild pitch.
Reliever Braden Looper would pitch a perfect ninth to close out the game and give St. Louis a two-games-to-one advantage in the Series.
The Cardinals became the first team since the Cincinnati Reds in 1970 to host a World Series game in their first season in a new ballpark.
David Eckstein's RBI in the eighth inning provided the winning margin for the Cardinals.
Game 4
October 26, 2006 7:27pm (CDT) at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri 53°F (12°C), chance of rain
Game4 was pushed back a day because of rain, the first time a rainout had occurred in the World Series since Game1 in 1996. The fans from the game were to attend Game5. (Thus, fans who had tickets for Game5 went to Game4 instead.) The Cardinals won, taking a 3–1 series lead. The starters were Jeff Suppan for the Cardinals and Jeremy Bonderman for the Tigers. The Tigers took a 3–0 lead into the top of the third, after Sean Casey had two RBIs, including a home run. The other RBI came from Detroit's Iván Rodríguez, who singled in Carlos Guillén. Rodriguez, who had been hitless in the previous three games, also went 3-for-4.
Rainout of Game 4, October 25.
In the bottom of the third, the Cardinals struck back with a run-scoring double by David Eckstein, scoring Aaron Miles who had the first stolen base of the series by either team. Yadier Molina doubled in Scott Rolen in the fourth to cut the Tiger lead to 3–2. The score remained that way, until the bottom of the seventh, when Eckstein led off with a double over the head of Curtis Granderson, who had slipped on the wet Busch Stadium outfield grass. Eckstein then scored on an attempted sacrifice bunt by So Taguchi that was thrown over the head of second baseman Plácido Polanco, who was covering first by Fernando Rodney, and that tied the score at three. Later that same inning, Preston Wilson hit a single to left with two outs that scored Taguchi from third and Rodney was charged with a blown save. The Tigers tied the game in the top of the eighth on a Brandon Inge double that scored Iván Rodríguez. Adam Wainwright, the winning pitcher, was charged with a blown save but held on to win. In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Cardinals would regain and keep the lead when Miles scored on a double by Eckstein just off the glove of outfielder Craig Monroe, who had been playing shallow and dove for a ball just out of his reach.[14] This gave Joel Zumaya the loss.
Adam Wainwright pitched a scoreless ninth inning in relief to clinch the World Series for the Cardinals.
Game 5
October 27, 2006 7:27pm (CDT) at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri 46°F (8°C), partly cloudy
On a day in which it rained much of the day but stopped early enough so that the lack of a dome did not delay the game, the Cardinals won to clinch the championship four games to one, making this the first five-game series since the Yankees–Mets Series in 2000. The starter for Detroit was game 1 loser Justin Verlander and the Cardinals starter was game 2 loser Jeff Weaver. Weaver got an extra day of rest to avoid pitching on three days rest.
Justin Verlander pitched a sloppy first inning for Detroit, walking three and tying a World Series record for a single inning by throwing two wild pitches. He avoided allowing any runs, however, thanks to a good play by shortstop Carlos Guillén to get the third out on what was almost an infield hit.
The Cardinals took the lead in the second inning on a lead-off single by Yadier Molina followed by two advancing groundouts, and then an infield single by David Eckstein. Detroit third baseman Brandon Inge made a good play to stop the ball off Eckstein's bat, but then made a poor throw to first which got by first baseman Sean Casey and allowed Eckstein to advance to second. The throwing error was the seventh error of the series by the Tigers, also giving them at least one error in every game to that point.
Cardinals pitcher Jeff Weaver (an ex-Tiger) was cruising into the fourth inning, and he appeared to be nowhere near trouble with a lead-off groundout by Guillen, followed by a routine popup by Magglio Ordóñez. This popup turned out to be much more troublesome than it first appeared: right fielder Chris Duncan dropped the ball, apparently distracted by center fielder Jim Edmonds who was also going after the ball. With Ordóñez on via the error, the very next pitch of the game was hit by the hot-hitting Sean Casey into the right-field seats just inside the foul pole for a two-run homer that gave Detroit the lead, 2–1. The Cardinals would threaten immediately in the bottom of the inning, however, with Yadier Molina and So Taguchi each singling to put runners at first and second with one out. Pitcher Jeff Weaver then came up and attempted to bunt the runners over to second and third. The bunt was fielded cleanly by the pitcher Justin Verlander, but he attempted to force out Molina at third. The throw missed third baseman Brandon Inge and the ball went into the left-field foul area. This allowed Molina to score to tie it up, with Taguchi and Weaver arriving safely at third and second. Later, Verlander said "I picked it up and said, Don't throw it away, instead of just throwing it. I got tentative." The throwing error by Verlander was the fifth error by Detroit pitchers in the World Series, having committed one per game, setting a new World Series record. (A placard held by a Cardinals fan in the stands read "HIT IT TO THE PITCHER").[14] The next batter, David Eckstein, grounded out to score the runner from third, and St. Louis secured their lead, 3–2. Verlander kept Weaver from scoring by retiring Chris Duncan, but the damage was already done.
Chris Duncan misplayed another ball in the top of the sixth for a Sean Casey two-out double, but this time Casey would be stranded as Iván Rodríguez then struck out to end the inning. A David Eckstein single followed by a Preston Wilson walk in the bottom of the seventh put runners at first and second with none out for the heart of the Cardinals order: Pujols, Edmonds, and Rolen. Pujols popped out and Edmonds flied out, so it appeared Detroit might hold the Cardinals to a one-run lead. Instead, Scott Rolen singled and scored Eckstein, doubling the Cardinals lead to 4–2. Fernando Rodney, who gave up the single to Rolen and was charged with the run, managed to retire Ronnie Belliard to end the inning.
Jeff Weaver retired the side in order, and the Cardinals went to the ninth, three outs away from their first World Series title in 24 years. The man called on to get those three outs would be Adam Wainwright, who had won the job of closer after the star free agent brought to St. Louis in 2002, Jason Isringhausen, had season-ending surgery. Detroit's clean-up hitter, Magglio Ordóñez, led off the inning. He proceeded to work a full count but then grounded out. The second batter, Sean Casey, worked a full count and then doubled to bring the tying run to the plate. The third batter, Iván Rodríguez, got ahead in the count 2–0 but grounded back to Wainwright on the next pitch, putting the Cardinals one out away. The fourth batter, Plácido Polanco (who was hitless during the entire series), fell behind 1–2, but then worked a walk to put the tying run on. The fifth batter, Brandon Inge, fell behind 0–2, again putting the Cardinals one strike from a World Series championship. He did not extend the drama any longer, as he swung and missed at the next pitch (making it the first World Series to end on a strikeout since the 1988 World Series), giving the World Series title to the Cardinals. The final play of the 2006 season was made at 10:26pm Central Standard time.[14] After the game, Wainwright, who threw a curveball for strike three to win the pennant and a slider to Inge to win the Series, said "I'll probably never throw another curve or slider again without thinking of those two pitches."[7]
The Cardinals are honored as champions of the World Series by President George W. Bush at the White House on January 15, 2007.
The World Series was televised in the United States by Fox, with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver as the booth announcers. The starting time for each television broadcast was 8:00 pm EDT/7:00 pm CDT.
On radio, the Series was broadcast nationally by ESPN Radio, with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan announcing. Locally, Dan Dickerson and Jim Price called the Series for the Tigers on WXYT-AM in Detroit (with retired longtime Tiger announcer Ernie Harwell returning to call the second inning of Game 1), while Mike Shannon and John Rooney called it for the Cardinals on KTRS-AM in St. Louis. Per contractual obligation, the non-flagship stations on the teams' radio networks carried the ESPN Radio broadcasts.
John Rooney had broadcast the 2005 World Series for the Chicago White Sox, and thus became the first announcer to call back-to-back World Series championships as an employee of different teams.
The ratings for the 2006 World Series were considered alarmingly poor at the time. The ratings for games 1, 3 and 4 were the lowest rated games 1, 3, and 4 in World Series history. Game 1, at 8.0, particularly set the record for lowest rated World-Series game of all-time (the 9.4 rating in Game 1 of the 2002 World Series was the prior lowest). The series overall averaged 10.1, sinking below the 11.1 of the 2005 World Series to become the lowest-rated World Series of all time.
However, those numbers look differently today, considering the performances of many of the World Series following 2006. The 10.1 overall rating is now the 8th lowest rated World Series (behind 2012, 2014, 2010, 2008, 2015, 2011, and 2013), and game 1's 8.0 is now the 15th lowest rated game all-time (behind, among others, five games from the 2014 Series). Since 2006, four series (2007, 2009, 2016, and 2017) have outdone the 2006 World Series' ratings.[19]
Neither team made the playoffs the next season. The Tigers finished with 88 wins, eight behind the division champion Cleveland Indians in the AL Central, while the Cardinals finished with 78 wins, seven behind the division champion Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. The 2007 Cardinals were the last defending World Series champion to finish with a losing record and miss the playoffs the next season until the San Francisco Giants followed up their 2012 championship season with a 76–86 record in 2013. Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt Jr. became enamored of a data-driven analytics and fired long-time general manager Walt Jocketty a day after the 2007 season ended.[20]
The Tigers would not make the playoffs again until 2011, when they won the AL Central title for the first time with their last division title being the 1987 AL East crown. The Tigers would win the AL Central in 2012 again and would return to the World Series in 2012 after winning the 2012 American League pennant where they would be swept by the San Francisco Giants in four games. The Cardinals would later make the playoffs in 2009, when the NL Central champions were swept by the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2009 NLDS. The Cardinals also made it to the playoffs as the Wild Card entry in 2011, winning the 2011 National League pennant and going on to beat the Texas Rangers in the 2011 World Series, but failing to defend that title in the 2012 NLCS, losing to the Giants in seven games.
Chris Carpenter, Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols were the only Cardinals to play in both the 2006 and 2011 World Series. Even though Skip Schumaker played a portion of the 2006 season with the Cardinals, he failed to make the postseason roster; however, he later won a World Series with the 2011 Cardinals. Adam Wainwright won a World Series with the 2006 Cardinals, but missed the entire 2011 championship season due to injury.
In 2022, Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina, who were the battery that closed out the World Series for St. Louis, broke the record for most games started by a starting pitcher and catcher.[21]
The 2004 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2004 season. The 100th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the National League (NL) champion St. Louis Cardinals; the Red Sox swept the Cardinals in four games. The series was played from October 23 to 27, 2004, at Fenway Park and Busch Memorial Stadium, broadcast on Fox, and watched by an average of just under 25.5 million viewers. The Red Sox's World Series championship was their first since 1918, ending the Curse of the Bambino.
The 1968 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1968 season. The 65th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the National League (NL) champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Tigers won in seven games for their first championship since 1945, and the third in their history.
Yadier Benjamín Molina, nicknamed "Yadi", is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher who played his entire 19-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB) and who is currently the team's Special Assistant to the President of Baseball Operations. Widely considered one of the greatest defensive catchers of all time for his blocking ability and his caught-stealing percentage, Molina won nine Rawlings Gold Gloves and six Fielding Bible Awards. A two-time World Series champion, he played for Cardinals teams that made 12 playoff appearances and won four National League pennants. Molina also played for the Puerto Rican national team in four World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournaments, winning two silver medals.
The 2005 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of the 2005 National League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 4, and ended on Sunday, October 9, with the champions of the three NL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. They were:
The 2005 National League Championship Series (NLCS), the second round of the 2005 National League playoffs, matched the Central Division champion and defending league champion St. Louis Cardinals against the wild card qualifier Houston Astros, a rematch of the 2004 NLCS. The Cardinals, by virtue of having the best record in the NL during the 2005 season, had the home-field advantage. The Astros won the series four games to two, and became the National League champions; they faced the American League champion Chicago White Sox in the 2005 World Series, where the Astros lost to the White Sox in a sweep in four games.
The 2006 National League Championship Series (NLCS), the second round of the 2006 National League playoffs, began on October 12 and ended on October 19; it was scheduled to begin on October 11, but was postponed a day because of inclement weather. The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the heavily favored New York Mets in seven games to advance to the 2006 World Series against the Detroit Tigers.
The 2006 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of the 2006 National League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 3, and ended on Sunday, October 8, with the champions of the three NL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. They were:
The St. Louis Cardinals 2007 season was the team's 126th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 116th season in the National League. The season started with the team trying to defend their 2006 World Series championship. During the offseason, the Cardinals were faced with the challenge of handling their starting rotation. Four of their five starters were free agents, including Jeff Suppan, Jeff Weaver, Mark Mulder, and Jason Marquis. In the end, Suppan, Weaver, and Marquis all signed with other teams. The Cardinals signed Mulder, who ended the 2006 season on the disabled list, to a new two-year contract, but Mulder remained on the disabled list after undergoing shoulder surgery.
The St. Louis Cardinals 2006 season was the team's 125th season in St. Louis, Missouri, their 115th season in the National League, and their first season at the newly-constructed Busch Stadium. The season started out with a bang, as the team raced out to a 31–16 record by late May. Momentum would be slowed by injuries, as starting pitcher Mark Mulder was lost for the year, while center fielder Jim Edmonds and shortstop David Eckstein missed large amounts of playing time in the second half. Poor performance from several key players also hampered the team: starting pitcher Jason Marquis compiled a 6.02 ERA, starting pitcher Sidney Ponson was cut due to ineffectiveness, closer Jason Isringhausen blew ten saves before undergoing season-ending hip surgery in September, and catcher Yadier Molina had a poor offensive year, batting .216.
The 2006 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 106th season. They won the ALCS. They represented the American League in the World Series before falling to the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 1. The season was their 106th since they entered the AL in 1901. It was their seventh season since opening Comerica Park in 2000, and the first since 1993 where the team finished with a winning record and made the playoffs for the first time since 1987.
The St. Louis Cardinals 2004 season was the team's 123rd season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 113th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 105–57 during the season, the most wins of any team in baseball that year, the most wins by any Cardinals team since 1944, and the first Cardinal team to win 100 or more games since 1985, and won the National League Central by 13 games over the NL Wild-Card Champion Houston Astros. In the playoffs the Cardinals defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3 games to 1 in the NLDS and the Astros 4 games to 3 in the NLCS to reach their first World Series since 1987. In the World Series the Cardinals faced the Boston Red Sox and were swept 4 games to 0. It was the final World Series played at Busch Memorial Stadium. Because the American League had home-field advantage as a result of winning the All-Star Game, Busch Memorial Stadium was where the Curse of the Bambino died.
The St. Louis Cardinals' 2008 season was the 127th season for the franchise in St. Louis, Missouri and the 117th season in the National League. The Cardinals, coming off a 78–84 season that was their worst since 1999, improved by eight games, going 86–76 in 2008. However, this was only good for fourth place in the National League Central, 11.5 games behind the division champion Chicago Cubs.
The St. Louis Cardinals' 2010 season was the 129th season for the franchise in St. Louis, Missouri and the 119th season in the National League. The Cardinals began their season on the road against the Cincinnati Reds on April 5. St. Louis was coming off a 91–71 (.562) season and first place in the National League Central, followed by a quick playoff exit when they were swept in the NLDS versus Los Angeles. In 2010, however, the Cardinals fell back to the same record of 2008 (86–76), finishing second in the National League Central to the Reds by five games.
The 2010 Cincinnati Reds season was the 141st season for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their eighth at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The Reds began their season at home against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 5, losing 11 to 6. Cincinnati was coming off a 78-84 (.481) season and fourth place in the National League Central. The Reds were managed by Dusty Baker, who was in his third season with the team. His coaches were Mark Berry, Billy Hatcher, Brook Jacoby (hitting), Juan Lopez (bullpen), Bryan Price (pitching), and Chris Speier (bench). For the second year in a row, Cincinnati hosted the Major League Baseball Civil Rights Game. They played St. Louis Cardinals and won 4 to 3. The majority owner of the Cincinnati Reds was Robert Castellini; the general manager was Walt Jocketty. Their home field was Great American Ball Park.
The 2011 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2011 season. The 107th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Texas Rangers and the National League (NL) champion St. Louis Cardinals; the Cardinals defeated the Rangers in seven games to win their 11th World Series championship and their second in six seasons.
The 2011 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 111th season. The season began on March 31 at New York against the Yankees, and the home opener was on April 8 against the Kansas City Royals. The Tigers honored the late Sparky Anderson during the season. The Tigers sent five players to the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game: starting pitcher Justin Verlander, first baseman Miguel Cabrera, catcher Alex Avila, shortstop Jhonny Peralta, and closer José Valverde. The regular season concluded September 28 at home against the Cleveland Indians, with the Tigers holding a 95–67 record.
The St. Louis Cardinals 2012 season was the 131st season for the franchise in St. Louis, Missouri, the 121st season in the National League, and the seventh at Busch Stadium III. The Cardinals made their 25th trip to the postseason in 2012 after taking the NL Wild Card title by one game over the Atlanta Braves on the last day of the regular season in 2011. They began the 2012 season away against the Miami Marlins on April 4. St. Louis was coming off a 90–72 (.556) season, a second-place finish in the National League Central Division, the aforementioned wild card berth, and their National League-leading 11th World Series championship.
The 2012 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2012 season. The 108th edition of the World Series, the series was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion San Francisco Giants and the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers; the Giants won in a four-game sweep. This marked the Giants' seventh World Series title in franchise history, their second in San Francisco, and their second in a three-year period (2010–2012). Their World Series sweep was the first by an NL team since the Cincinnati Reds swept the Oakland Athletics in the 1990 series and the first NL sweep not by the Reds since 1963, when the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the New York Yankees. This was also the first World Series since 1988 to feature both of that year's League MVPs. The Giants' Pablo Sandoval, who in Game 1 tied a record by hitting three home runs in one World Series game — two off Tigers' ace pitcher Justin Verlander — was named the World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP).
The 2012 National League Division Series were two best-of-five-game series to determine the participating teams in the 2012 National League Championship Series. The three divisional winners and a fourth team—the winner of a one-game Wild Card playoff—played in two separate series.
The 2012 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2012 season. The winners of the Division Series moved on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series. A new Wild Card Game was introduced as the opening round of the postseason, which features the #4 and #5 seeds of each league, and the winner faced the team with the best record in the Division Series, marking the first expansion of the postseason since 1995. As a result of this new format, two teams from the same division can now meet in the Division Series. In the past, if the team with the best record in their league and the wild card resided in the same division, the wild card would instead be assigned to face the second-seeded division champion while the team with the best record in their league to face the third-seeded division champion. This meant that the only way two teams in the same division could meet in the postseason would be the League Championship Series, provided both teams won their respective Division Series.
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