2012 in baseball


Champions

Major League Baseball

  • Regular Season Champions
LeagueEastern Division ChampionsCentral Division ChampionsWestern Division ChampionsWild Card Qualifier 1Wild Card Qualifier 2
American LeagueNew York YankeesDetroit TigersOakland AthleticsTexas RangersBaltimore Orioles
National LeagueWashington NationalsCincinnati RedsSan Francisco GiantsAtlanta BravesSt. Louis Cardinals

BBWAA awards
Major League Baseball awards
Sporting News Awards
  • Player of the Year: Miguel Cabrera, DET
  • Rookie of the Year: Mike Trout, LAA ; Wade Miley, AZ
  • Comeback Player of the Year: Adam Dunn, CWS ; Buster Posey, SF
  • Manager of the Year: Buck Showalter, BAL ; Davey Johnson, WSH
  • Executive of the Year: Billy Beane, OAK
Players Choice Awards
  • Player of the Year: Miguel Cabrera, DET
  • Marvin Miller Man of the Year: Chipper Jones, ATL
  • Outstanding Players: Miguel Cabrera, DET ; Andrew McCutchen, PIT,
  • Outstanding Pitchers: David Price, TB ; R. A. Dickey, NYM
  • Outstanding Rookies: Mike Trout, LAA ; Todd Frazier, CIN
  • Comeback Players of the Year: Adam Dunn, CWS ; Buster Posey, SF
Silver Slugger Awards
Gold Glove Awards
Other awards

January

  • January 6 - The Chicago Cubs acquired Anthony Rizzo and Zach Cates from the San Diego Padres in exchange for Andrew Cashner and minor leaguer Kyung-Min Na.
  • January 9 – former Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin is the only player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, getting 86.4 percent of the vote by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He would later be honored July 22 in Cooperstown, along with the late Ron Santo, who is elected by the Golden Era Committee. The day before the induction ceremony, the Hall presented Toronto Sun baseball writer Bob Elliott, with the BBWAA's J.G. Taylor Spink Award and Tim McCarver with its own Ford C. Frick Award.
  • January 12 – Major League owners vote to approve a contract extension for two years for commissioner Bud Selig through the 2014 season.
  • January 13 – In a cost-efficient effort to bolster the rotation, prized New York Yankees catching prospect Jesús Montero and pitcher Héctor Noesí are traded to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for power-pitching right hander Michael Pineda and minor leaguer José Campos. The Yankees build upon the trade agreement in a matter of hours with the addition of free agent Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year deal worth around 10 million dollars.
  • January 17 – At White House, President Barack Obama dubs the St. Louis Cardinals the "greatest comeback team in the history of baseball" thanks to their thrilling late-season charge into the playoffs and death-defying, seven-game triumph in last November's World Series. Leading off at the event is First Lady Michelle Obama, celebrating her 48th birthday. Two key figures of the championship season are absent: Manager Tony La Russa retired after the series, while star Albert Pujols signed a $240 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels in the offseason.

    February

  • February 6 – Dominican Republic's Leones del Escogido are soundly defeated by Venezuela's Tigres de Aragua, 7–0, but still clinched the 2012 Caribbean Series title when Mexico's Yaquis de Obregón loses to Puerto Rico's Indios de Mayagüez in the early game, 4–3, to play itself out of contention.
  • February 23 – 2011 National League MVP Ryan Braun wins his appeal against a 50-game suspension. The suspension was overturned by baseball arbitrator Shyam Das. The Braun case marks the first time a big leaguer has successfully challenged a drug-related penalty in a grievance. According to ESPN sources, Major League Baseball is weighing the possibility of suing in federal court to reverse the decision.

    March

  • March 2 – Major League Baseball expands its playoff format to 10 teams for the 2012 season, adding a second wild card in each league. The decision establishes a new one-game, wild-card round in each league between the teams with the best records.
  • March 16 – Andy Pettitte comes out of retirement to a $2.5 million deal with the New York Yankees.
  • March 23 - The Chicago White Sox release Delwyn Young.
  • March 28 – At Tokyo Dome, Japanese baseball legend Ichiro Suzuki has four hits and drives in a run, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 3–1 win over the Oakland Athletics in Major League Baseball season opener.
  • March 30 – At the age of 49, Jamie Moyer becomes the oldest starting pitcher ever on an Opening Day roster. Moyer joined the Colorado Rockies on this date, which was the 20th anniversary of his being released by the Chicago Cubs. At that time, he had been released three times in three years. He would turn 50 in November 2012.

    April

  • April 4 – The St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Miami Marlins 4–1 in the first regular-season game at Marlins Park. The ceremonial first pitch is thrown by Muhammad Ali, who won his first of three heavyweight boxing championships by defeating Sonny Liston in Miami in 1964. The game marks Mike Matheny's managerial debut; he replaced Tony La Russa, who retired after managing the Cardinals to the 2011 World Series title.
  • April 5 – The longest MLB Opening Day game is played, with the Toronto Blue Jays defeating the Cleveland Indians, 7–4, at Progressive Field in 16 innings. A three-run homer by J. P. Arencibia marks the difference. The marathon eclipses the previous longest openers – 15 innings between Cleveland and the Detroit Tigers on April 19,, and 15 innings between the Philadelphia Athletics and the Washington Senators on April 13,.
  • April 7
  • *Rajai Davis hits a two-run double in the 12th inning, as the Toronto Blue Jays rally for the second straight game against Cleveland Indians' bullpen, to win in extra innings again, by the same score of 7–4.
  • *Robin Ventura earns his first career victory as a manager, as the Chicago White Sox defeat the two-time defending American League champion Texas Rangers, 4–3, at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
  • April 8 – The Boston Red Sox lose to the Detroit Tigers, 13–12, while the New York Yankees are defeated by the Tampa Bay Rays, 3–0. These results mark the second time in Major League history that both the Red Sox and Yankees started with a 0–3 record. The other was in the 1966 season, in which Boston started 0–5 and finished next-to-last with a 72–90 record, and New York started 0–3 and finished last with a 70–89 record.
  • April 10 – The Miami Marlins suspend manager Ozzie Guillén for five games because of his controversial comments about Fidel Castro.
  • April 13
  • *The Boston Red Sox begin their 101st season at Fenway Park by winning their eighth straight home opener, 12–2, over the Tampa Bay Rays.
  • *Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Aaron Harang sets a franchise record by striking out nine consecutive batters against the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers go on to win 9–8. Harang falls one strikeout short of the all-time major league record of 10 set by Hall of Famer Tom Seaver of the New York Mets on April 22,, also against San Diego. Harang breaks the 50-year-old Dodgers mark of eight consecutive strikeouts, which was recorded by Johnny Podres against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 2,.
  • April 17 – At Coors Field, Colorado Rockies pitcher Jamie Moyer, at 49 years 5 months, becomes the oldest pitcher to record a Major League victory as the Rockies defeat the San Diego Padres 5–3. The previous record was held by Jack Quinn, who recorded his last Major League victory in, two months after his 49th birthday.
  • April 18
  • *Bartolo Colón of the Oakland A's pitches eight shutout innings in a 6–0 win over the Los Angeles Angels. The game includes a stretch, from the fifth to the eight inning, in which Colon pitches 38 consecutive strikes, the longest such streak since major league baseball began recording the statistic in 1988.
  • *Cliff Lee of the Philadelphia Phillies scatters seven hits over 10 innings against the San Francisco Giants to become the first starting pitcher to throw ten shutout innings since Mark Mulder of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2005. Giants starter Matt Cain, meanwhile, allows only two hits until being lifted for a pinch-hitter after 9 innings. The two become the first pair of starting pitchers to combine for at least 19 shutout innings since 1999. The Giants win the game 1–0 in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the 11th inning.
  • April 19 – Jose Altuve, Brian Bogusevic, and Matt Downs of the Houston Astros each hit a triple in the top of the first inning in an 11–4 victory over the Washington Nationals. This was the first time in Astros history that they hit 3 triples in an inning and also tied the club record for most in a game. 1995 was the last time a team had 3 triples in the first inning.
  • April 20 – Fenway Park celebrates its 100th birthday, with about 200 former Boston Red Sox players, managers and coaches coming out for the pre-game introduction. Among those players are first baseman Bill Buckner, pitcher Pedro Martinez, and first baseman Kevin Millar. The New York Yankees, however, spoil the party and defeat the Red Sox 6–2 on five home runs, all off starter Clay Buchholz. One of the home runs is Alex Rodriguez' 631st and puts him past former teammate Ken Griffey Jr. for fifth place on the all-time list. In the first game at Fenway exactly 100 years earlier, the Red Sox had defeated the Yankees' forerunner, the New York Highlanders, 7–6 in 11 innings.
  • April 21
  • *At Safeco Field, Philip Humber pitches the first perfect game in the majors in almost two years, leading the Chicago White Sox to a 4–0 victory over the Seattle Mariners. It is the 21st perfect game in major league history and first since the Philadelphia Phillies' Roy Halladay threw one against the Florida Marlins on May 29,. It is also the third in White Sox history, joining Mark Buehrle against the Tampa Bay Rays on July 23,, and Charles Robertson against the Detroit Tigers on April 30,.
  • *At Fenway Park, the New York Yankees tie a franchise record by overcoming a nine-run deficit to defeat the Boston Red Sox, 15–9. Trailing 9–0 after five innings, the Yankees begin their comeback in the sixth inning on the first of Mark Teixeira's two home runs, which come from both sides of the plate, the 13th time he has done so. The Yankees score seven runs in the seventh on a Nick Swisher grand slam, followed by Teixeira's second home run; then another seven runs in the eighth inning, with the tying and go-ahead runs scored by Eduardo Núñez and Derek Jeter on a Swisher double. Teixeira and Swisher each drive in six runs for the Yankees, who last overcame a nine-run deficit to win on June 26,, also against the Red Sox.
  • April 25
  • *Paul Konerko of the Chicago White Sox becomes the 48th player in major league history to join the 400-home run club with a solo shot against the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum.
  • *David Wright hit a two-run home run off Mark Buehrle in the 6th inning, guiding the New York Mets to a 5–1 victory over the Miami Marlins. With his two runs batted in, Wright becomes the all-time RBI leader in Mets franchise history with 735, passing Darryl Strawberry. Knuckle baller R. A. Dickey is credited as the winning pitcher. In addition, the Marlins becomes the first team in MLB history to walk four consecutive batters using four consecutive pitchers, when Josh Johnson, Randy Choate, Steve Cishek and Mike Dunn throws free passes to Lucas Duda, Justin Turner, Scott Hairston and Josh Thole, respectively.
  • April 26
  • *Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants goes 1-for-5, extending his season-opening hitting streak to 19 games, a franchise record. Sandoval enters the game tied with Johnny Rucker, who hit in the first 18 games of the season with the then-New York Giants.
  • *The New York Mets field an entire starting lineup of home-grown talent for the first time since September 19,. With former Mets farmhand José Reyes batting lead-off for the Miami Marlins, all ten players on the field at the game's start began their careers with the Mets.
  • April 27 – Ryan Cook of the Oakland Athletics becomes the 60th pitcher in MLB history to strike out four batters in an inning. J. J. Hardy, Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, and Matt Wieters of the Baltimore Orioles each strike out swinging in the bottom of the eighth inning, with Jones reaching first base as the result of a third-strike wild pitch.