Factbox - American League champion Detroit Tigers

(Reuters) - Factbox on the Detroit Tigers, who beat the New York Yankees on Thursday to win the American League Championship Series and book a place in Major League Baseball's World Series.

DETROIT TIGERS

Manager: Jim Leyland

World Series titles: 4 (1935, 1945, 1968, 1984)

2012 regular season record: 88-74

Most home runs in 2012: Miguel Cabrera (44)

Most wins by a pitcher in 2012: Justin Verlander (17)

How they qualified: Won American League Central Division; Beat Oakland Athletics 3-2 in best-of-five American League Division Series; Swept New York Yankees 4-0 in best-of-seven American League Championship Series.

* Cabrera became the first player in 45 years to win the Triple Crown when he finished the 2012 Major League Baseball season leading the American League in batting average, home runs and runs batted in.

* Team played entire year without designated hitter Victor Martinez after the four-time All-Star injured his left knee in offseason conditioning, leading to a nine-year, $214 million deal for hard-hitting first baseman Prince Fielder.

* Team's nickname originated from the Detroit Light Guard military unit, who were known as the Tigers and played roles in Civil War battles.

* Tigers owner Mike Illitch, founder of fast food franchise Little Caesars Pizza, also owns the National Hockey League's Detroit Red Wings, who have won four Stanley Cup championships since he bought the team in 1982 for $8 million.

* Baseball Hall of Famer Ty Cobb is one of the best known Tiger players of all-time having spent 22 years with the team before retiring in 1928. A statue of Cobb is located in the walkway above left field in Detroit and his .367 career batting average remains MLB's all-time highest.

* Twenty-eight former Tigers players, managers and executives have earned enshrinement into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Ten of these 28 spent the majority of their careers in a Tigers uniform including: Sparky Anderson, Jim Bunning, Cobb, Sam Crawford, Charlie Gehringer, Hank Greenberg, Harry Heilmann, Al Kaline, George Kell and Hall Newhouser.

* Despite the economic slowdown that has hit Detroit in recent years, the Tigers have drawn over one million fans every year since 1965, the longest streak in the American League.

(Compiled by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Julian Linden)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/factbox-american-league-champion-detroit-tigers-000304337--mlb.html

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