By beating the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, October 28, the San Francisco Giants won the World Series title for the second time in the past three years. During the 2012 postseason, the Giants played in six elimination games, three against the Cincinnati Reds and three against the St. Louis Cardinals, before sweeping the best-of-seven series against the American League Champions Detroit Tigers.
A total of ten teams made it into the playoffs this year with the new playoff format: the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, Oakland Athletics, and New York Yankees.
The St. Louis Cardinals beat out the Atlanta Braves to advance to the National League Division Series, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Texas Rangers to advance to the American League Division Series.
In the NLDS, the Wild Card winner St. Louis Cardinals played the Washington Nationals, who held the best record in the 2012 season. The Cardinals won the series in five games.
The San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds in five games. The Giants became the first National League team to win a five-game series after losing the first two games on the road when they rallied back to beat the Reds in the final three games of the series.
In the ALDS, the Wild Card winner Baltimore Orioles played the New York Yankees, who boasted the best record in the American League and the second-best record in baseball. The Yankees won the series in five games.
The Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics in five games.
The National League Championship series pitted the past two World Series winners against each other. The San Francisco Giants, 2010 World Series Champions, had home field advantage against the defending World Series Champions St. Louis Cardinals.
The Cardinals took a 3-1 lead in the series entering the fourth game, but then proceeded to lose the final three games of the series, allowing the Giants to advance to the World Series.
The New York Yankees opened up the American League Championship series against the Detroit Tigers with home field advantage. After losing their team captain, Derek Jeter, early on in the series, the Yankees went on to lose every game in the series, giving the Tigers their first American League pennant since 2006.
The Giants were able to carry the momentum from the NLCS into the World Series. They won the first of four games in the best-of-seven series to secure the seventh World Series title in franchise history and the second in the past three years.
Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers struck out looking to end the game. Pablo Sandoval, third baseman of the Giants, won the World Series Most Valuable Player award after he hit three homeruns in game three. He is currently the fourth player in World Series history to hit three homeruns in one World Series game, joining Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson, and Albert Pujols.