This marked the Giants' seventh World Series title in franchise history, their second in San Francisco (they won five in New York), and their second in a three-year period (2010–2012).

This was also the first World Series since 1988 to feature both of that year's League MVPs (Miguel Cabrera for the AL and Buster Posey for the NL).

In accordance with the standard since 2003, the outcome of the All-Star Game decided whether the American or National League would hold home field advantage in the World Series.

The Giants finished the regular season atop the National League West with a 94–68 record, eight games ahead of the second place Los Angeles Dodgers and good enough to secure the #3 seed in the NL.

[2] In the second round of the playoffs, the National League Championship Series, they came back from a three-games-to-one deficit to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals.

[13] Relief pitcher Sergio Romo contributed to team success by converting 14 out of 15 save opportunities after an injury sidelined closer Brian Wilson a few days after the season began.

In October, Scutaro tied a League Championship Series record with 14 hits (and a .500 average) against the Cardinals, and he received the NLCS MVP.

In the World Series, his Game 4 tenth-inning single drove home a run that gave the Giants a lead the team would not relinquish.

The Tigers entered the postseason as the third seed in the AL, and defeated the second-seeded Oakland Athletics in the American League Division Series three games to two.

[18] The Tigers entered the World Series as heavy favorites to win the title, despite the Giants having home-field advantage and the better regular season record.

[24] In January 2012, prior to the start of the season, the Tigers signed first baseman Prince Fielder to a nine-year, $214 million contract.

With his work in this Series, Davis set a new record for postseason games umpired in American major league history, with 115.

He joined Babe Ruth (in 1926 and 1928), Reggie Jackson (in 1977) and Albert Pujols (in 2011) as the only players to ever hit three home runs in one World Series game.

The Giants scored their final two runs in the seventh inning off Tiger relief pitcher José Valverde, who failed to convert saves in previous stages of the postseason.

In the bottom of the second, Doug Fister was struck in the head by a Blanco line drive but stayed in the game, pitching out of a bases-loaded jam.

Hunter Pence led off with a single, Brandon Belt drew a walk, then Blanco executed a perfect bunt down the third base line.

In the eighth, with the bases loaded and one out, Pence hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Ángel Pagán with the second and final Giant run of the game.

(The 1966 Orioles, who threw three straight shutouts in Games 2–4, also swept the World Series, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers.)

Marco Scutaro's RBI single in the top of the tenth, which allowed Ryan Theriot to score, proved the difference in the Giants' 4–3 victory.

In the bottom of the same inning, Delmon Young tied the game with a home run to right, off Giant pitcher Matt Cain, that landed over the fence in right-center.

After a leadoff walk in the bottom of the eighth, Giant pitcher Jeremy Affeldt struck out the heart of the Tigers batting order.

Coke set a World Series record by striking out seven consecutive batters, dating back to his appearances in Games 2 and 3.

Ken Rosenthal also appeared on the Fox telecasts as a field reporter, with Erin Andrews and Chris Myers joining him for select games.

However, on August 24, Tribune removed Fox-affiliate WTIC-TV from Cablevision systems in Connecticut, causing viewers to miss Games 1 and 2 of the series.

ESPN Deportes Radio aired the Series for Spanish language listeners, with Ernesto Jerez and Guillermo Celis announcing.

An estimated crowd of over 1 million people attended a Halloween Day victory parade along Market Street in San Francisco.

San Francisco led the National League West early in the season, but critical injuries (including the loss of Pagan for three months) and subpar play on both ends doomed the Giants.

They were eliminated from the playoff race on September 11, 2013, becoming the second defending World Series champion in three years to not make the postseason, after the 2011 Giants.

The Tigers lost the 2013 ALCS to the eventual champions Boston Red Sox in six games, which was also Jim Leyland's final season as manager.

[58] The reunion would not last, however, and the Mets traded both Scherzer and Verlander to in-state rivals Texas Rangers and Houston Astros respectively, after struggling to begin the season.