throwing an incredible 376 innings and completing 29 of his 45 starts. Coleman paid immediate dividends for Detroit, winning 20 games, while McLain went 10–22 for the Senators and was out of baseball by age 29. 1972 AL East Champions Joe Coleman, Eddie Brinkman and Aurelio Rodríguez all played critical roles in 1972, when the Tigers captured their first AL East division title. Oddities of the schedule due to an early season strike allowed the 86–70 Tigers to win the division by just ½ game. Brinkman was named Tiger of the Year by the Detroit Baseball Writers, despite a .203 batting average, as he committed just 7 errors in 728 chances (.990 fielding percentage) and had a 72-game errorless streak during the season. Mickey Lolich was his steady self for the Tigers, winning 22 games with a sparkling 2.50 ERA, while Coleman won 19 and had a 2.80 ERA. Starter Woodie Fryman, acquired on August 2, was the final piece of the puzzle as he went 10–3 over the last two months of the regular season and posted a minuscule 2.06 ERA. Fryman was also the winning pitcher in the division-clinching game against the Boston Red Sox, a 3–1 victory on October 3. 1972 ALCS In the 1972 American League Championship Series, Detroit faced the American League West division champion Oakland Athletics, who had become steadily competitive ever since the 1969 realignment. In Game 1 of the ALCS in Oakland, Mickey Lolich, the hero of '68, took the hill and allowed just one run over nine innings. The Athletics' ace, Catfish Hunter, matched Lolich, surrendering only a solo home run to Norm Cash, and the game went into extra innings. Al Kaline hit a solo homer to break a 1–1 tie in the top of the 11th inning, only to be charged with a throwing error on Gonzalo Marquez's game-tying single in the bottom half of the frame that allowed Gene Tenace to score the winning run. Blue Moon Odom shut down Detroit 5–0 in Game 2. The end of Game 2 was marred by an ugly incident in which Tigers reliever Lerrin LaGrow hit A's shortstop and leadoff hitter Bert Campaneris on the ankle with a pitch. An angered Campaneris threw the bat at LaGrow, and LaGrow ducked just in time for the bat to sail over his head. Both benches cleared, and though no punches were thrown, both