1996 American League Division Series
The 1996 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the 1996 American League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 1, and ended on Saturday, October 5, with the champions of the three AL divisions – along with a "wild card" team – participating in two best-of-five series. The teams were:
- (1) Cleveland Indians (Central Division champion, 99-62) vs. (4) Baltimore Orioles (Wild Card, 88-74): Orioles win series, 3-1.
- (2) Texas Rangers (Western Division champion, 90-72) vs. (3) New York Yankees (Eastern Division champion, 92-70): Yankees win series, 3-1.
The higher seed (in parentheses) had the home field advantage, which was not tied to playing record but was predetermined – a highly unpopular arrangement which was discontinued after the 1997 playoffs. Also, the team with home field "advantage" was required to play the first two games on the road, with potentially the last three at home, in order to reduce travel.
The Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees went on to meet in the AL Championship Series (ALCS). The Yankees became the American League champion, and defeated the National League champion Atlanta Braves in the 1996 World Series.
Managers:
- Joe Torre, New York; Johnny Oates, Texas
- Davey Johnson, Baltimore; Mike Hargrove, Cleveland
Umpires: Drew Coble, Greg Kosc, Tim Tschida, Tim Welke, John Shulock, Ted Hendry (Indians-Orioles, Games 1-2; Yankees-Rangers, Games 3-4); Jim Evans, Ken Kaiser, Durwood Merrill, Larry Young, Al Clark, Mark Johnson (Yankees-Rangers, Games 1-2; Indians-Orioles, Games 3-4)
Television:
| Series | Network(s) | Play-by-play | Color Commentator(s) |
| New York Yankees/Texas Rangers | NBC (Games 1, 3) FOX (Game 2) ESPN (Game 4) |
Bob Costas (Games 1, 3) Thom Brennaman (Game 2) Jon Miller (Game 4) |
Bob Uecker and Joe Morgan (Games 1, 3) Bob Brenly (Game 2) Dave Campbell (Game 4) |
| Baltimore Orioles/Cleveland Indians | ESPN (Games 1, 2, 3) and ESPN2 (Game 4) | Jon Miller (Games 1, 2) Chris Berman (Games 3, 4) |
Dave Campbell (Game 1) and Kirby Puckett (Game 1) Joe Morgan (Game 2) Buck Martinez (Games 3, 4) |
Cleveland Indians vs. Baltimore Orioles
Game 1, October 1
Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Baltimore | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | X | 10 | 10 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP: David Wells (1-0) LP: Charles Nagy (0-1) Home runs: Cle: Manny Ramirez (1) Bal: Brady Anderson (1), B.J. Surhoff (1, 2), Bobby Bonilla (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Game 2, October 2
Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Baltimore | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | X | 7 | 9 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP: Armando Benitez (1-0) LP: Eric Plunk (0-1) Sv: Randy Myers (1) Home runs: Cle: Albert Belle (1) Bal: Brady Anderson (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Game 3, October 4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Cleveland | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | X | 9 | 10 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP: Paul Assenmacher (1-0) LP: Jesse Orosco (0-1) Home runs: Bal: B.J. Surhoff (3) Cle: Manny Ramirez (2), Albert Belle (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Game 4, October 5
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | R | H | E | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cleveland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| WP: Armando Benitez (2-0) LP: Jose Mesa (0-1) Sv: Randy Myers (2) Home runs: Bal: Rafael Palmeiro (1), Bobby Bonilla (2), Roberto Alomar (1) Cle: None | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Texas Rangers vs. New York Yankees
Game 1, October 1
Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, New York
This was the Rangers' first ever postseason game. And in their first playoff game, John Burkett faced David Cone. The Yankees would get a run in the 1st on a groundout by Bernie Williams. But the Yankees' luck would run out in the 4th. Juan Gonzalez smashed a three run homer to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead. Later in the inning, Dean Palmer's two run shot made it 5-1. The Yankees would get a run in the bottom half on Mariano Duncan's RBI hit but they would get no more. The Rangers added an insurance run in the 6th on Mark McLemore's RBI single. Burkett would go the distance for the win. He would allow only 2 runs despite giving up 10 hits. The Rangers' win in Game 1 was their first and only postseason win.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| New York | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP: John Burkett (1-0) LP: David Cone (0-1) Home runs: Tex: Juan Gonzalez (1), Dean Palmer (1) NYY: None | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Game 2, October 2
Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, New York
Game 2 proved memorable as Ken Hill faced 21-game winner Andy Pettitte. In the top of the 2nd, Juan Gonzalez's 2nd homer of the series gave the Rangers a 1-0 edge. But a pair of defensive double clutches allowed the Yankees to tie the game in the bottom half on Jim Leyritz's forceout. In the 3rd, Gonzalez hit his 3rd homer of the series, this time a towering three run shot, to give the Rangers a 4-1 lead. With the Yankees behind once again and the Rangers looking like the better team, they would chip away at their lead. Cecil Fielder's solo shot in the 4th gave the Yankees hope. With the score 4-2 until the 7th, time was running out. But Charlie Hayes lifted a sac fly to make it a one run game. In the 8th, the Yankees were five outs away from losing when Fielder tied the game with an RBI hit. The game moved to extra innings and the Rangers blew scoring opportunities in the 10th, 11th, and 12th innings. They would put their leadoff men on but get nothing. In the 12th, the Yankees put their first two men on when Hayes laid down a sacrifice bunt. But Dean Palmer made an error on that bunt down the third base line and Jeter managed to score all the way from second base on it and the Yankees walked the game off in dramatic fashion.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | R | H | E | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| New York | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| WP: Brian Boehringer (1-0) LP: Mike Stanton (0-1) Home runs: Tex: Juan Gonzalez (2, 3) NYY: Cecil Fielder (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Game 3, October 4
The Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington, Texas
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP: Jeff Nelson (1-0) LP: Darren Oliver (0-1) Sv: John Wetteland (1) Home runs: NYY: Bernie Williams (1) Tex: Juan Gonzalez (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Game 4, October 5
The Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington, Texas
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP: David Weathers (1-0) LP: Roger Pavlik (0-1) Sv: John Wetteland (2) Home runs: NYY: Bernie Williams (2, 3) Tex: Juan Gonzalez (5) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||