2012 Oakland Athletics season

2012 Oakland Athletics
American League West champions
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record 94–68 (.580)
Divisional place 1st
Other information
Owner(s) Lewis Wolff, John Fisher
General manager(s) Billy Beane
Manager(s) Bob Melvin
Local television Comcast SportsNet California
(Glen Kuiper, Ray Fosse, Scott Hatteberg)
Local radio KGMZ
(Ken Korach, Vince Cotroneo, Ray Fosse)
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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 division 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, who led the league with 15 walk off wins, managed this with the second lowest payroll in baseball, at $59.5 million.[1] They lost to the Detroit Tigers in the Divisional Series.

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 Gonzalez 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, though the team then suffered a nine-game losing streak to bring 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, and erased their deficit with a 19-5 surge in July, including 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 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 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 of Anaheim. With the Rangers leading the A's by two games, the teams faced off in the last three game 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 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

American League West W L Pct. GB Home Road
Oakland Athletics 94 68 0.580 — 50–31 44–37
Texas Rangers 93 69 0.574 1 50–31 43–38
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 89 73 0.549 5 46–35 43–38
Seattle Mariners 75 87 0.463 19 40–41 35–46

American League Wild Card

Division Winners W L Pct.
New York Yankees 95 67 0.586
Detroit Tigers 88 74 0.543
Oakland Athletics 94 68 0.580
Wild Card teams
(Top 2 qualify for 1-game playoff)		 W L Pct. GB
Baltimore Orioles 93 69 0.574 —
Texas Rangers 93 69 0.574 —
Tampa Bay Rays 90 72 0.556 3
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 89 73 0.549 4
Chicago White Sox 85 77 0.525 8
Seattle Mariners 75 87 0.463 18
Toronto Blue Jays 73 89 0.451 20
Kansas City Royals 72 90 0.444 21
Boston Red Sox 69 93 0.426 24
Cleveland Indians 68 94 0.420 25
Minnesota Twins 66 96 0.407 27

Record against opponents

Team BAL BOS CWS CLE DET KC LAA MIN NYY OAK SEA TB TEX TOR NL
Baltimore – 13–5 6–2 4–4 3–3 5–4 2–7 5–2 9–9 4–5 8–1 10–8 2–5 11–7 11–7
Boston 5–13 – 6–2 5–3 5–5 4–3 0–6 4–3 5–13 1–8 5–4 9–9 2–6 7–11 11–7
Chicago 2–6 2–6 – 11–7 6–12 6–12 3–5 14–4 5–2 3–3 8–1 4–3 6–3 6–4 9–9
Cleveland 4–4 3–5 7–11 – 10–8 8–10 5–4 6–12 1–5 2–8 4–4 4–4 4–5 2–4 8–10
Detroit 3–3 5–5 12–6 8–10 – 13–5 5–5 10–8 4–6 4–3 1–5 5–2 3–7 4–2 11–7
Kansas City 4–5 3–4 12–6 10–8 5–13 – 4–5 7–11 3–4 5–4 1–7 4–2 4–5 2–6 8–10
Los Angeles 7–2 6–0 5–3 4–5 5–5 5–4 – 6–3 4–5 9–10 11–8 1–9 10–9 4–4 12–6
Minnesota 2–5 3–4 4–14 12–6 8–10 11–7 3–6 – 3–4 4–5 2–8 1–5 2–8 2–5 9–9
New York 9–9 13–5 2–5 5–1 6–4 4–3 5–4 4–3 – 5–5 6–3 8–10 4–3 11–7 13–5
Oakland 5–4 8–1 3–3 8–2 3–4 4–5 10–9 5–4 5–5 – 12–7 5–4 11–8 5–4 10–8
Seattle 1–8 4–5 1–8 4–4 5–1 7–1 8–11 8–2 3–6 7–12 – 4–6 9–10 6–3 8–10
Tampa Bay 8–10 9–9 3–4 4–4 2–5 2–4 9–1 5–1 10–8 4–5 6–4 – 5–4 14–4 9–9
Texas 5–2 6–2 3–6 5–4 7–3 5–4 9–10 8–2 3–4 8–11 10–9 4–5 – 6–3 14–4
Toronto 7–11 11–7 4–6 4–2 2–4 6–2 4–4 5–2 7–11 4–5 3–6 4–14 3–6 – 9–9

Offseason

At the end of the regular season, the club quickly dismissed bench coach Joel Skinner, pitching coach Ron Romanick, and hitting coach Gerald Perry. Oakland received OF prospect Eliezer Mesa from Colorado as the PTBNL from the Mark Ellis trade. Former Mets' 3B coach, Chip Hale, will serve as bench coach under Bob Melvin. After spending one year in Boston, pitching coach Curt Young returned on a one-year deal. RHP Evan Scribner and OF Cedric Hunter were both claimed off waivers from San Diego and later outrighted to AAA and RHP Michael Wuertz was released. The beginning of November saw RHP Trystan Magnuson DFA'd and traded back to Toronto for cash considerations. OF Jermaine Mitchell was protected from the Rule 5 draft by being added to the 40-man roster. Former big leaguer Chili Davis was named hitting coach. In December, the team traded pitchers Trevor Cahill and Craig Breslow to Arizona for pitchers Jarrod Parker, Ryan Cook and outfielder Collin Cowgill. Next to go were pitchers Gio Gonzalez and minor leaguer Robert Gilliam to Washington for pitchers A.J. Cole, Tom Milone, Brad Peacock, and catcher Derek Norris. DFA'd OF Jai Miller (Traded to Baltimore) and C Landon Powell (cleared waiver, assigned to AAA). January, signed P Bartolo Colón and OF Jonny Gomes, removed IF Adrian Cardenas from 40-man roster (claimed by the Chicago Cubs in January). Traded P Josh Outman and P Guillermo Moscoso to Colorado for OF Seth Smith. Re-signed OF Coco Crisp. In February, the team signed Manny Ramirez to a minor league contract. On March 3, the team announced officially signing Cuban defecting OF Yoenis Céspedes to a 4-year, $36 million contract.

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 Gonzalez
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

The Athletics played the Detroit Tigers in the Division Series.

Game 1, October 6

6:07 p.m. (EDT)[2] at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Oakland 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 1
Detroit 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 X 3 7 0
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

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Oakland 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 4 9 1
Detroit 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 1 5 11 0
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

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Detroit 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Oakland 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 5 0
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

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Detroit 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 3 10 1
Oakland 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 4 8 0
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

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Detroit 0 0 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 6 9 0
Oakland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1
WP: Justin Verlander (2–0)   LP: Jarrod Parker (0–2)

Farm System

Farm system affiliates

Level Team League Manager
AAA Sacramento RiverCats 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
Raul Alcantara
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 3, 2012.
  2. ↑ "2012 MLB postseason schedule". MLB.com.
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