1972 American League Championship Series
The 1972 American League Championship Series was held October 7–12, and matched the Oakland Athletics () and Detroit Tigers () for the right to go to the 1972 World Series. The first two games were played at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, and the final three at Tiger Stadium. In each of the first four games, the home team prevailed; the A's won the deciding fifth game 2–1 on the road to take their first American League pennant since 1931. Overview The A's won the first two games of the series at home, and one of this series' most memorable moments came in the seventh inning of Game 2. Oakland shortstop Bert Campaneris came to bat, having had three hits, two runs scored, and two stolen bases in his first three at-bats in the game. Detroit reliever Lerrin LaGrow's first pitch hit Campaneris in the ankle; he staggered for a moment, glared at LaGrow and then flung his bat toward the mound. The bat spiraled at LaGrow off the ground, but LaGrow ducked, and the bat narrowly missed him, landing a few feet behind the mound. The benches cleared, and while there were no punches thrown or other incidents involving players, Tigers manager Billy Martin had to be restrained by umpires and teammates to prevent him from going after Campaneris. Both LaGrow and Campaneris were suspended for the rest of the ALCS. Interestingly, this was a rare case where a manager, in this case Billy Martin, would manage in the postseason against a team that they either once managed or would later manage as he did for the Oakland Athletics from 1980 through 1982. After Game 2, the Series moved to Detroit, where the Tigers fought back and won the next two. Game 4 was one of the best of the early LCS era, going ten innings, with the Tigers pulling out the victory. After it was 1–1 at the end of nine innings, the A's scored two runs in the top of the tenth, and it looked as if the series was over. However, the Tigers responded with three runs to win, 4–3. Detroit scored on two singles, a walk, and an error on a potential double play grounder which produced the first run. With the bases loaded, Norm Cash walked, forcing in the tying run. The A's infield and outfield were positioned shallow for a play at the plate; Jim Northrup hit a deep fly ball off Dave Hamilton to drive in the winning run. In Game 5, the starting pitchers were Blue Moon Odom of the A's and Woodie Fryman of the Tigers. In the second inning on a double steal, center fielder and cleanup hitter Reggie Jackson scored from third base, but was injured and was out for the season. After two innings, the game was 1–1. But by the fourth, it was clear runs wouldn't come easy, so when George Hendrick scored on a Gene Tenace RBI single, the Tigers knew they were in trouble. By