2012 Oakland Athletics season

The Oakland Athletics' 2012 season was the organization's 45th in Oakland, California and the 112th in club history. The team finished with a final record of 94–68, claiming first place in the American League West and reaching the postseason for the first time since 2006. After winning their last game of the season, they took sole possession of the West for the first time all year, overtaking the Texas Rangers. The A's had trailed Texas by 13 games on June 30, and had a five-game deficit with nine days left in the season. The 2012 team, which led the league with 15 walk-off wins, managed this with the second-lowest payroll in baseball, at $59.5 million.[1] They lost in five games to the Detroit Tigers in the Divisional Series.

2012 Oakland Athletics
American League West champions
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record94–68 (.580)
Divisional place1st
Other information
Owner(s)Lewis Wolff, John Fisher
General manager(s)Billy Beane
Manager(s)Bob Melvin
Local televisionComcast SportsNet California
(Glen Kuiper, Ray Fosse, Scott Hatteberg)
Local radioKGMZ
(Ken Korach, Vince Cotroneo, Ray Fosse)
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Season summary

Following a 74-88 finish in 2011, general manager Billy Beane largely dismantled the team's starting rotation. All-Star starters Trevor Cahill and Gio González were traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Washington Nationals, respectively. The trades yielded a number of highly touted prospects; among these were catcher Derek Norris, starting pitchers Tommy Milone, Brad Peacock and Jarrod Parker, and reliever Ryan Cook. An additional trade sent All-Star closer Andrew Bailey (along with Ryan Sweeney) to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for outfielder Josh Reddick and a pair of prospects. With power-hitting outfielder Josh Willingham becoming a free agent, Beane's next move was to sign highly regarded Cuban outfielder Yoenis Céspedes on February 13, 2012. The 4-year, $36 million deal seemed out of character, especially given the Athletics' low payroll and generally frugal nature. The move followed a number of earlier (and lower-cost) free-agent signings, including the additions of veterans Jonny Gomes, Seth Smith, and Bartolo Colón.

Despite these additions, expectations were still not high for the Athletics in 2012, as a number of experts picked the Athletics to lose as many as 100 games in the highly competitive AL West. The A's managed to play winning baseball through mid-May and held a 22-21 record on May 21, before a nine-game losing streak brought them down to a season-low eight games under the .500 mark. In Bob Melvin's first full season as manager, the team began to gel in the month of June. Between June 2 (the day the nine-game losing streak ended) and June 30, the A's posted a 15-12 record; then erased their deficit with a 19-5 surge in July, highlighted by the first-ever four-game sweep of the New York Yankees in Oakland. This stellar play put the once-dead Athletics into the heat of the AL West race: while they had trailed the division-leading Rangers by 13 games on June 30, they were only 3.5 back on July 28. A 5-8 start to August, however, widened the Rangers' lead to six games. Additionally, veteran pitcher Bartolo Colón was suspended after testing positive for synthetic testosterone on August 22. Facing these problems, the A's won 13 of their final 15 August games, due in part to the season debut of injured ace Brett Anderson and capped off with a 20-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on August 31.

The A's continued to play well through the first days of September, though they began to decline as the month progressed. On September 5, Opening Day starter Brandon McCarthy was seriously injured when a line drive impacted his head. The injury, which resulted in an epidural hemorrhage, a brain contusion, and a skull fracture, was considered life-threatening for a number of days. Although McCarthy made a recovery over the following two months, the injury ended his season. An additional injury to Brett Anderson further impacted the A's starting rotation. From September 13 to 24 the A's would lose six out of eight games, with the final loss being a 5-4 defeat at the hands of the Rangers that put the A's five games behind the division leaders (with only nine left to play), though the A's were not mathematically eliminated. After winning two of their next three games against the Rangers, they then swept the Seattle Mariners (highlighted by their last regular-season walk-off), while the Rangers lost two games out of three to the division-rival Los Angeles Angels. With the Rangers leading the A's by only two games, the teams faced off in Oakland for the final three games of the season. The A's took the first two games by scores of 4-3 and 3-1, respectively; the first win clinched a postseason berth for the Athletics, while the second momentarily tied the A's with the Rangers for first place and set up a winner-take-all game for the division crown. In the final game, a 5-1 Rangers lead after the 2nd inning was not enough as the Athletics scored six runs in the 4th (including two off a fly ball that was misplayed by Josh Hamilton) and scored five more runs in the eventual 12-5 victory.

Having secured the division championship, the Athletics faced the Detroit Tigers in the 2012 American League Division Series. The A's were shut down by Detroit ace Justin Verlander in Game 1, and followed that loss with a 5-4 defeat in Game 2. The Athletics, now down 2-0 in a best-of-five series, returned to Oakland for Game 3. Brett Anderson saved the Athletics' season by shutting out the Tigers in a 2-0 Athletics victory. Then, trailing 3-1 heading into the bottom of the 9th inning, Oakland scored three runs (the final on a Coco Crisp walk-off single) to capture a come-from-behind 4-3 victory in Game 4. The A's comeback was not to be, however, as a dominant outing by Verlander ended the A's season in Game 5.

The Athletics' 94-68 record in 2012 was their best in nearly a decade. Manager Bob Melvin and General Manager Billy Beane were honored with the Greatness in Baseball Yearly (GIBBY) Award as the Manager of the Year and Executive of the Year, respectively.

Regular season

American League West
AL West W L Pct. GB Home Road
Oakland Athletics 9468 0.580 — 50–31 44–37
Texas Rangers 9369 0.574 1 50–31 43–38
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 8973 0.549 5 46–35 43–38
Seattle Mariners 7587 0.463 19 40–41 35–46

American League Wild Card
Division Winners W L Pct.
New York Yankees 9567 0.586
Oakland Athletics 9468 0.580
Detroit Tigers 8874 0.543
Wild Card teams
(Top two qualify for postseason)		 W L Pct. GB
Baltimore Orioles 9369 0.574 —
Texas Rangers 9369 0.574 —
Tampa Bay Rays 9072 0.556 3
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 8973 0.549 4
Chicago White Sox 8577 0.525 8
Seattle Mariners 7587 0.463 18
Toronto Blue Jays 7389 0.451 20
Kansas City Royals 7290 0.444 21
Boston Red Sox 6993 0.426 24
Cleveland Indians 6894 0.420 25
Minnesota Twins 6696 0.407 27

Record against opponents
Team BAL BOS CWS CLE DET KC LAA MIN NYY OAK SEA TB TEX TOR NL
Baltimore–13–56–24–43–35–42–75–29–94–58–110–82–511–711–7
Boston5–13–6–25–35–54–30–64–35–131–85–49–92–67–1111–7
Chicago2–62–6–11–76–126–123–514–45–23–38–14–36–36–49–9
Cleveland4–43–57–11–10–88–105–46–121–52–84–44–44–52–48–10
Detroit3–35–512–68–10–13–55–510–84–64–31–55–23–74–211–7
Kansas City4–53–412–610–85–13–4–57–113–45–41–74–24–52–68–10
Los Angeles7–26–05–34–55–55–4–6–34–59–1011–81–910–94–412–6
Minnesota2–53–44–1412–68–1011–73–6–3–44–52–81–52–82–59–9
New York9–913–52–55–16–44–35–44–3–5–56–38–104–311–713–5
Oakland5–48–13–38–23–44–510–95–45–5–12–75–411–85–410–8
Seattle1–84–51–84–45–17–18–118–23–67–12–4–69–106–38–10
Tampa Bay8–109–93–44–42–52–49–15–110–84–56–4–5–414–49–9
Texas5–26–23–65–47–35–49–108–23–48–1110–94–5–6–314–4
Toronto7–1111–74–64–22–46–24–45–27–114–53–64–143–6–9–9

Offseason

Notable 2011 Departures
Player Position OAK Tenure New Team Stats
Andrew Bailey
P
2009
BOS
4.1 IP, 2.08 ERA
Craig Breslow
P
2009
ARI/BOS
53 IP, 2.55 ERA
Trevor Cahill
P
2009
ARI
9-10, 156.1 IP, 3.86 ERA
David DeJesus
OF
2011
CHC
.267 AVG, 6 HR, 38 RBI
Gio González
P
2008
WAS
16-7, 159.1 IP, 3.28 ERA
Rich Harden
P
2003–2008, 2011
FA
Will miss 2012 season (Injury)
Hideki Matsui
DH
2011
TB/FA
.147, 2 HR, 7 RBI
Josh Outman
P
2008
COL
0-3, 31 IP, 9.00 ERA
Ryan Sweeney
OF
2008
BOS
.260 AVG, 16 RBI
Josh Willingham
OF
2011
MIN
.258 AVG, 31 HR, 91 RBI

Stats as of Aug 25

Roster
2012 Oakland Athletics
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

 Manager

Coaches

Game log
Legend
 Athletics win
 Athletics loss
 Postponement
BoldAthletics team member
2012 Game Log

Postseason

Division Series
Main article: 2012 American League Division Series

The Athletics played the Detroit Tigers in the Division Series.

Game 1, October 6

6:07 p.m. (EDT)[6] at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan

Team123456789RHE
Oakland100000000141
Detroit10101000X370
WP: Justin Verlander (1–0)   LP: Jarrod Parker (0–1)   Sv: José Valverde (1)
Home runs:
OAK: Coco Crisp (1)
DET: Alex Avila (1)

Game 2, October 7

12:07 p.m. (EDT) at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan

Team123456789RHE
Oakland001000120491
Detroit0010002115110
WP: Al Alburquerque (1–0)   LP: Grant Balfour (0–1)
Home runs:
OAK: Josh Reddick (1)
DET: None

Game 3, October 9

9:07 p.m. (EDT) at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, California

Team123456789RHE
Detroit000000000040
Oakland100010000250
WP: Brett Anderson (1–0)   LP: Aníbal Sánchez (0–1)   Sv: Grant Balfour (1)
Home runs:
DET: None
OAK: Seth Smith (1)

Game 4, October 10

9:37 p.m. (EDT) at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, California

Team123456789RHE
Detroit0001100103101
Oakland000001003480
WP: Ryan Cook (1–0)   LP: José Valverde (0–1)
Home runs:
DET: Prince Fielder (1)
OAK: None

Game 5, October 11

9:37 p.m. (EDT) at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, California

Team123456789RHE
Detroit002000400690
Oakland000000000041
WP: Justin Verlander (2–0)   LP: Jarrod Parker (0–2)

Farm System

Farm system affiliates
See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Sacramento River Cats Pacific Coast League Darren Bush
AA Midland RockHounds Texas League Steve Scarsone
A Stockton Ports California League Webster Garrison
A Burlington Bees Midwest League Aaron Nieckula
A-Short Season Vermont Lake Monsters New York–Penn League Rick Magnante
Rookie AZL Athletics Arizona League Marcus Jensen

In September, the organization announced a two-year player development contract with the Class A Beloit Snappers, replacing Burlington after two seasons.

Arizona Fall League

Gary Daley, Grant Green, Shawn Haviland, Miles Head, Brett Hunter, Max Stassi, James Simmons will represent the organization on the Phoenix Desert Dogs

MLB Top Prospects

as of 8/26/12

Player Position Rank Acquisition 2012 Levels
1
Michael Choice
OF
Drafted 1st Rd (2010)
AA
2
Brad Peacock
SP
Gonzalez Trade
AAA
3
Sonny Gray
SP
Drafted 1st Rd (2011)
AA
4
A.J. Cole
SP
Gonzalez Trade
A+, A
5
Grant Green
OF/IF
Drafted 1st Rd (2009)
AAA
6
Yordy Cabrera
SS
Drafted 2nd Rd (2010)
A+
7
Ian Krol
P
Drafted 7th Rd (2009)
A+
8
Dan Straily
P
Drafted 24th Rd (2009)
AA, AAA
9
Raúl Alcántara
SP
Bailey/Sweeney Trade
A
10
Vical de la Cruz
OF
Int'l FA (2010)
R
11
A. J. Griffin
SP
Drafted 13th Rd (2010)
AA, AAA
12
Blake Hassebrock
SP
Drafted 8th Rd (2010)
A+
13
Aaron Shipman
OF
Drafted 3rd Rd (2010)
A
14
David Freitas
C
Suzuki Trade
15
Jermaine Mitchell
OF
Drafted 5th Rd (2006)
AAA
16
Renato Núñez
3B
R
17
Stephen Parker
3B
Drafted 5th Rd (2009)
AAA
18
Max Stassi
C
Drafted 4th Rd (2009)
A+
19
Miles Head
IF
Bailey/Sweeney Trade
A+, AA
20
Michael Taylor
OF
Wallace Trade
AAA

Bold has played in Oakland during 2012 season. Carter, Cowgill, Norris and Parker have been removed.

Baseball America named Céspedes (14), Parker (26), Peacock (36), Cole (57), Gray (65), and Choice (80) to their Top 100 Prospects list. Baseball Prospectus named Choice (39), Parker (50), Cole (60), Peacock (64), Gray (72), Norris (96), and Green (100) to their Top 101 Prospects list.

References
  1. "Athletics overwhelm Rangers, complete improbable run to AL West title". ESPN.com. Associated Press. October 3, 2012. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012.
  2. Gilbert, Steve (December 9, 2011). "D-backs pick up Cahill, Breslow from A's". MLB.com. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  3. "Nationals acquire All-Star lefthander Gio González from Athletics as part of six-player trade". Nationals Press Release. December 23, 2011. Archived from the original on January 21, 2012.
  4. A's Press Release (December 23, 2011). "A's designate Powell and Miller for assignment". Oaklandathletics.com.
  5. ESPNBoston.com (December 28, 2011). "A's ship Andrew Bailey to Boston". ESPN.com.
  6. "2012 MLB postseason schedule". MLB.com.
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