THIS DAY IN BÉISBOL January 17: Victor Martinez injures knee, misses 2012 season

The Tigers’ quest to win the World Series after losing the 2011 ALCS was dealt a serious setback when DH Victor Martinez blew out his knee on this day in béisbol, January 17, 2012.

Martinez, who tore his ACL, was out for the entire year after tearing his ACL during an off-season training session. He was one of Detroit’s best hitters in 2011, batting .330 and knocking in 103 runs on just 12 homers.

The Tigers won only 88 games in 2012 without Martinez in the lineup but won the AL pennant, only to be swept by the Giants in the World Series.

The Venezuela native bounced back from his injury in 2013 with a solid 14 homers, 83 RBI and .301 average campaign. By 2014 he was back to his old mashing self, hitting 32 homers with a .335 average and a MLB-leading .974 OPS, good for second in American League MVP voting behind Steve Trout.

Also on this day: The 2013 World Baseball Classic announced team rosters filled with dozens of familiar names, thanks to a recent ruling allowing MLB players to participate in the international tournament held every four years.

Lineups included 2012 Triple Crown winner and American League MVP Miguel Cabrera playing for Venezuela, Jose Abreu (Cuba), Adrian Gonzalez (Mexico), Carlos Beltran (Puerto Rico) and Robinson Cano (Dominican Republic).

The Dominican team, led by tournament MVP Cano, went 8-0 and defeated Puerto Rico for the championship.

Keith Allison on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; LatinoBaseball.com illustration