2012 Yankees

The 2012 Yankees won 95 games, took the AL East, survived a five-game ALDS against Baltimore, and then got swept by the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS. But the stats don't tell you what this season felt like. This was the year Raul Ibanez became the most unlikely postseason hero you've ever seen. The year Ichiro put on pinstripes. The year Derek Jeter broke his ankle in the ALCS and we watched the Captain crumple to the ground on national television. And the year Alex Rodriguez hit rock bottom in October -- benched in the playoffs for the first time in his career. It was beautiful and brutal, sometimes in the same inning.

Ichiro Comes to the Bronx

On July 23, the Yankees traded a couple of minor leaguers to Seattle for the Ichiro Suzuki trade. The greatest hitter in Mariners history -- 10 straight seasons of 200-plus hits, a career .322 average in Seattle -- put on the pinstripes and instantly looked like he belonged. He hit .322 with the Yankees down the stretch, adding a .340 on-base percentage, 28 runs scored, five home runs, and 27 RBI in 67 games. On July 30, he hit his 100th career homer in pinstripes. That we got Ichiro for D.J. Mitchell and Danny Farquhar still doesn't feel real (it's like finding a Picasso at a yard sale).

The guy wasn't the prime Ichiro who'd slapped 262 hits in a single season, but watching him patrol right field in the Bronx felt special. He'd specifically requested to come to New York. Three players with 2,500-plus career hits on the same roster -- Ichiro, Jeter, and A-Rod. That hadn't happened since the 1927 Philadelphia Athletics.

The Regular Season Grind

Robinson Cano was sensational again -- .313, 33 homers, 94 RBI, a Gold Glove, and a Silver Slugger. He was the best all-around player on the team, and it wasn't particularly close. Curtis Granderson crushed 43 home runs to lead the club. CC Sabathia put together what would be his last truly dominant season -- 15-6 with a 3.38 ERA, 200 innings, 197 strikeouts, only 44 walks. The big man was still dealing.

On April 20, A-Rod hit his 631st career home run at Fenway Park during the 100th Anniversary celebration, passing Ken Griffey Jr. for sole possession of fifth place on the all-time list. He finished with 18 homers in just 122 games as injuries started piling up. Mark Teixeira hit 24 homers. Nick Swisher hit 24. Brett Gardner ran wild on the bases and played elite defense in left field. Andy Pettitte came out of retirement in March and went 5-4 with a 2.87 ERA in 12 starts before a broken leg ended his comeback early. The man was 40 years old and still gutting out quality starts. Classic Pettitte.

Mariano Rivera tore his ACL shagging fly balls during batting practice in Kansas City on May 3rd and was done for the year. Done. Just like that. We all wondered if that was the last time we'd ever see Mo pitch. (Spoiler: it wasn't. The man came back at age 43 the next year. Because of course he did.)

Ibanez Magic

Let's talk about Raul Ibanez. The man was 40 years old, signed in February for $1.1 million as a part-time designated hitter, and absolutely nobody expected what he was about to do in October. His postseason heroics rewrote the definition of clutch.

On September 22, Ibanez hit a game-tying homer in the 13th inning against Oakland. In the second-to-last game of the regular season, he delivered a pinch-hit homer in the ninth and a game-winning RBI single in the 12th to help clinch the division. He was warming up for the main event.

ALDS Game 3 against Baltimore, ninth inning, Yankees trailing. Ibanez pinch-hits for A-Rod and launches a game-tying homer. Then he walks off with another homer in the 12th. Two pinch-hit homers in the same playoff game -- by a 40-year-old. The conspiracy theorists on Twitter went nuts, but the rest of us were just screaming at our TVs.

He did it again in the ALCS opener against Detroit. Ninth inning, two-run homer to tie the game. That's three clutch homers in the ninth inning or later in a single postseason -- the only player in baseball history to do that. Raul Ibanez, of all people, was the most clutch hitter on the planet for two weeks in October 2012.

The Night Everything Changed

October 13, 2012 -- ALCS Game 1, 12th inning. Ibanez had just tied it with his dramatic homer. The game should've been ours. Then Jhonny Peralta hit a grounder toward short, and Jeter dove for it. He went down and didn't get up. Broken left ankle. The Captain was carried off the field on a stretcher, reaching for his ankle with both hands. That image is burned into every Yankees fan's memory.

We lost the game 6-4. We lost our shortstop for the rest of October. And it turned out we'd lose him for most of the next two seasons too. (Jeter played just 17 games in 2013. Seventeen.)

The ALCS Collapse

Without Jeter, the ALCS was a disaster. The Tigers swept us in four games -- the franchise's first playoff sweep since the 1980 ALCS against Kansas City. We never held a lead at any point in the series after Game 1. A-Rod was benched multiple times -- he went 3-for-25 in the postseason with 12 strikeouts. Girardi pinch-hit for him repeatedly. It was painful to watch the highest-paid player in baseball sitting on the bench during the biggest games of the year.

The Tigers clinched Game 4 with an 8-1 beatdown. Jhonny Peralta hit two homers. Delmon Young won ALCS MVP with a .353 average, two homers, and six RBI. We were outclassed in every way, and the ghost of Jeter's absence hung over every inning.

The whole thing ended with a whimper. 2009 felt like a lifetime ago.

Key Moments

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened to Derek Jeter in the 2012 ALCS?

Derek Jeter fractured his left ankle while fielding a ground ball hit by Jhonny Peralta in the 12th inning of ALCS Game 1 against the Detroit Tigers on October 13, 2012. He was carried off the field and missed the rest of the postseason. The injury also cost him most of the 2013 season -- he played only 17 games.

How did the 2012 Yankees do in the playoffs?

The 2012 Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 in the ALDS but were swept 4-0 by the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS. They never held a lead in the ALCS after Game 1. Raul Ibanez was the surprise hero of October, hitting three clutch homers in the ninth inning or later, but Alex Rodriguez was benched multiple times due to a 3-for-25 postseason slump.

When did the Yankees trade for Ichiro Suzuki?

The Yankees acquired Ichiro from the Seattle Mariners on July 23, 2012, sending minor league pitchers D.J. Mitchell and Danny Farquhar along with cash. Ichiro had specifically requested a trade to New York. He hit .322 with a .340 OBP in 67 games with the Yankees that season.

What was the last time the Yankees were swept in the playoffs before 2012?

The 2012 ALCS sweep by Detroit was the Yankees' first playoff sweep since the 1980 ALCS, when they were swept by the Kansas City Royals. That's 32 years between sweeps -- a streak that reflected the franchise's postseason consistency.