2009 American League Central tie-breaker game
The Twins celebrate after winning the game 6–5.
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| Teams | |
|---|---|
| Date | October 6, 2009 |
| Venue | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome |
| City | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Umpires | Randy Marsh, Dale Scott, Jerry Layne, Gary Cederstrom, Fieldin Culbreth, Bruce Dreckman |
| Attendance | 54,088 |
The 2009 American League Central tie-breaker game was a one-game extension to Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2009 regular season, played between the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins to determine the champion of the American League's (AL) Central Division. It was played at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on October 6, 2009. The Twins won the game 6–5 in extra innings and advanced to the 2009 AL Division Series where they were swept by the New York Yankees; the Tigers failed to qualify for the postseason.
A tie-breaker was necessary after both teams finished the season with identical win–loss records of 86–76. The Twins, who had won the regular season series against the Tigers, 11 games to 7, were thus awarded home field due to a rules change prior to the 2009 season. It was the third tie-breaker played in MLB from 2007–2009. It was also the second consecutive tiebreaker for the AL Central title after 2008, when the Chicago White Sox defeated the Twins to win the division. The tie-breaker is counted as the 163rd regular season game played by both teams and all events in the game are added to regular season statistics. This was the Twins' final regular season game at the Metrodome as the team moved to Target Field for the 2010 season. The tie-breaker was later named the Best Regular-Season Game of the Decade by Sports Illustrated.
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