Tigers vs A’s Notes
One of Baseball’s four divisional series will match the Detroit Tigers against the Oakland A’s.
It will be the second straight year that these teams play each other in the divisional series. Last year, the Tigers won the series in 5 games.
The Tigers and A’s have also met in two American League Championship Series. Each team won one.
In 2006, the Tigers swept the A’s in four straight games. Magglio Ordonez hit a game ending home run to end the series in the fourth game. The Tigers lost the subsequent World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in five games.
The other League Championship Series between the two clubs was a great one. It was in 1972 and the A’s won the decisive fifth game in Detroit.
Gene Tenace, who would go on to be the World Series MVP as the A’s won their first World Series in 41 years, broke out of a big slump and delivered the game winning hit in the final game of the series.
The great clutch player, Reggie Jackson scored the tying run in the decisive game, getting credit for a steal of home. He was hurt on the play and saw no further action that post season.
George “Easy Rider” Hendrick, who would start on the St.Louis Cardinals’ title team a decade later, replaced “Reginald Martinez”(Jackson) and caught the last out.
Normally a starting pitcher, Vida Blue pitched in relief and saved the game getting Tony Taylor to end the series.
Coincidentally, by far the most memorable post season meeting between the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates was also a 1972 LCS (the NLCS). The Pirates’ “play in game” vs the Reds tomorrow night will be the fifth post season meeting between those two clubs. I have great memories thinking back to both League Championship Series of 1972.
Andy B Sports 