2012 Major League Baseball season

Wild Card Game

American League

National League

Division Series

American League

National League

League Championship Series

American League

National League

World Series

Managerial changes

General managers

Off-season

Field managers

Off-season

In-season changes

League leaders

American League

National League

Milestones

Reached

Batters

• Adam Dunn :
• *Tied the Major League record for most opening-day home runs by hitting his eighth against the Texas Rangers on April 6. He tied the record held by Frank Robinson and Ken Griffey, Jr..
• *Set the Major League record to strikeout at least once in each of his team's first 15 games of a season, by striking out in the first inning against the Seattle Mariners on April 22. He broke the record that was held by Howie Goss, who struck out in each of Houston's first 14 games in 1963. Dunn continued to 32 games before not striking out May 11 against the Kansas City Royals.
• *Recorded his 1000th career RBI in the ninth inning on August 13 against the Toronto Blue Jays. He became the 273rd player to reach this mark.
• *Hit his 400th career home run against the Kansas City Royals on August 18. He became the 50th player to reach this mark.
• José Reyes :
• *Recorded his 100th career triple in the ninth inning against the Cincinnati Reds on April 8. He became the 162nd player to reach this mark.
• Alex Rodriguez :
• *Tied Ken Griffey, Jr. for fifth place on the career home run list with his 630th home run on April 13. Then one week later on April 20, Rodriguez hit his 631st home run to pass Griffey for fifth place on the career home run list.
• *Tied Lou Gehrig for most career grand slams with his 23rd against the Atlanta Braves on June 12.
• Adrián Beltré :
• *Scored his 1000th career run in the ninth inning against the Minnesota Twins on April 14. He became the 314th player to reach this mark.
• Todd Helton :
• *Recorded his 350th career home run in the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 21. He became the 85th player to reach this mark.
• Rafael Furcal :
• *Scored his 1000th career run in the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs on April 24. He became the 315th player to reach this mark.
• Paul Konerko :
• *Hit his 400th career home run against the Oakland Athletics on April 25. He became the 48th player to reach this mark.
• Miguel Cabrera :
• *Collected his 1000th RBI against the New York Yankees on April 27. He became the 272nd person to reach that mark.
• *Hit his 300th career home run on July 22 against the Chicago White Sox.
• *Became the first player to win the batting "Triple Crown" since Carl Yaztremski in 1967.
• Torii Hunter :
• *Scored his 1000th career run in the fourth inning against the Minnesota Twins on May 2. He became the 316th player to reach this mark.
• Josh Hamilton :
• *Hit four home runs in a game against the Baltimore Orioles on May 8. He became the 16th player in Major League history to accomplish this feat.
• *Became the first player in Rangers' franchise history to exceed 20 home runs by the end of May.
• Plácido Polanco :
• *Recorded his 2000th career hit with a two-run home run in the eighth inning against the Houston Astros on May 14. He became the 269th player to reach this mark.
• Jamie Moyer :
• *With his two-run single against the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 16, Moyer became the oldest player in Major League history to record an RBI.
• Albert Pujols :
• *Hit his 450th career home run against the Seattle Mariners on May 24, becoming the 35th player and fourth-youngest to reach this mark.
• Melky Cabrera :
• *Set the Giants' franchise record for most hits in May with his 50th hit on May 29 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He broke the record that was set by Willie Mays. On May 30, Cabrera singled in the eighth inning and tied the franchise record for most hits in any month with 51 that was set by Randy Winn in September 2005.
• Steve Lombardozzi, Jr./Bryce Harper :
• *Became the first pair of rookies in Major League history to hit back-to-back home runs beginning with a first-inning leadoff shot on June 3 against the Atlanta Braves.
• Carlos Beltrán :
• *Became the first switch hitter in Major League history with 300 home runs and 300 steals with his stolen base on June 15 against the Kansas City Royals.
• Ichiro Suzuki /:
• *Recorded his 2500th MLB career hit in the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 19. He became the 95th player to reach this mark.
• Jim Thome /:
• *Hit his 13th career walk-off home run of his Major League career against the Tampa Bay Rays on June 23. The home run set a Major League record for most career walk-off home runs, breaking the record he shared with Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle and Frank Robinson.
• José Bautista :
• *With his home run against the Boston Red Sox on June 27, Bautista set the Jays' franchise record for most home runs in a calendar month with 13. He broke the record that he shared with Carlos Delgado, José Cruz, Jr. and himself from May and August 2010. Bautista finished the month with 14 home runs.
• Aaron Hill :
• *Hit for the cycle on June 18 against the Seattle Mariners and on June 29 against the Milwaukee Brewers. Hill became the fourth player to hit for the cycle twice in the same season, and the first to do so in a calendar month since John Reilly in 1883.
• Yasmani Grandal :
• *Became the first player in Major League history to hit a home run from each side of the plate for his first two Major League hits.
• David Ortiz :
• *Hit his 400th career home run in the fourth inning against the Oakland Athletics on July 4. He became the 49th player to reach this mark.
• Derek Jeter :
• *With two hits on August 11 against the Toronto Blue Jays, Jeter increased his season total to 150 and joined Hank Aaron as the only players in Major League history to post 150 or more hits in each of 17 consecutive seasons.
• David Wright :
• *Hit his 200th career home run on August 24 against the Houston Astros, becoming only the third player in Mets history do accomplish this feat.
• *Set the franchise record for most hits in team history on September 26 with 1,420. He broke the record that was held by Ed Kranepool.
• Mike Trout
• *With his 25th home run on August 28 against the Boston Red Sox, Trout became the youngest player in Major League history and first rookie to amass 25 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season.
• *Became the first rookie in Major League history to amass at least 30 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a season. At age 21, he also became the youngest player in Major League history with a 30–30 season.
• *Became the first player in Major League history to hit 30 homers, steal 45 bases and score 125 runs in one season.
• Bryce Harper :
• *Became the third teenager in Major League history to record at least two multi-homer games in a single season with this two home runs against the Chicago Cubs on September 5. The other teenagers that accomplished this feat were Mel Ott and Ken Griffey, Jr..
• Ryan Braun :
• *With his 200th career home run on September 16 against the New York Mets, Braun reached the combination of 200 home runs and 100 stolen bases faster than anyone else in Major League history.
• Ryan Howard :
• *With his 300th home run against the Atlanta Braves on September 22, Howard reached the 300-homer plateau in his 1093rd game, which is the second-fewest games that any player in Major League history has needed to get to that milestone. Ralph Kiner needed 1087 games to hit 300 home runs.

  Pitchers

Perfect games">List of Major League Baseball perfect games">Perfect games

• Philip Humber :
• *Threw the 21st perfect game in Major League history, defeating the Seattle Mariners 4–0 on April 21. This was the third perfect game in the White Sox's history, the last being Mark Buehrle's perfect game on July 23, 2009.
• Matt Cain :
• *Threw the 22nd perfect game in Major League history, defeating the Houston Astros 10–0 on June 13. This was the first perfect game in the Giants' history. Cain tied Sandy Koufax's strikeout record in a perfect game with 14.
• Félix Hernández :
• *Threw the 23rd perfect game in Major League history, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 1–0 on August 15. This was the first perfect game in the Mariners' history, and the franchise's fourth no-hitter. It also marked the first time in Major League history three perfect games were thrown in one season. Safeco Field became the first Major League ballpark to host two perfect games in the same season. As of 2019, this is the most recent perfect game in the Major Leagues.

  No-hitters">List of Major League Baseball no-hitters">No-hitters

• Jered Weaver :
• *Threw the 10th no-hitter in Angels history by defeating the Minnesota Twins 9–0 on May 2. This was Weaver's first career no-hitter. Weaver allowed a passed ball on Chris Parmelee and a walk on Josh Willingham while striking out nine.
• Johan Santana :
• *Threw the first no-hitter in Mets history by defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 8–0 on June 1. This was Santana's first career no-hitter. He walked five batters while striking out eight. With the Mets' first no-hitter, the San Diego Padres are the only remaining team without a no-hitter. This was also the first no-hitter to be thrown against a defending World Series champion since the Oakland Athletics in their 1990 pennant season.
• Kevin Millwood/Charlie Furbush/Stephen Pryor/Lucas Luetge/Brandon League/Tom Wilhelmsen :
• *Threw the third no-hitter in Mariners history by defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 1–0 on June 8. Each pitcher earned their first career no-hitter except for Millwood, who pitched his second. The Mariners pitching staff combined for three walks and nine strikeouts. The combined no-hitter was the first since the Houston Astros used six pitchers against the New York Yankees in 2003, also in interleague play. The Mariners tied the all-time league record of the former for the most pitchers used in a no-hitter, while recording a new American League record previously set by Oakland in 1975 and Baltimore in 1991.
• Homer Bailey :
• *Threw the 15th no-hitter in Reds history by defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates 1–0 on September 28. This was Bailey's first career no-hitter. Only two men reached base, Clint Barmes on a fielding error by Scott Rolen in the third and a walk by Andrew McCutchen in the seventh. Todd Frazier's sacrifice fly, scoring Brandon Phillips in the first was the lone run of the game. Bailey struck out ten during his 115 pitch effort. Bailey's effort tied the modern era record for most no-hitters in a season, matching only the 1990 and 1991 seasons with seven no-hitters.

  Other accomplishments

• Edwin Jackson :
• *Became the first pitcher since 1900 to record a win as a starter for seven different teams before turning 29 years old by defeating the Cincinnati Reds on April 14.
• Jamie Moyer :
• *With his victory against the San Diego Padres on April 17, Moyer became the oldest pitcher in Major League history to win a game. He broke the record that was held by Jack Quinn who set the record on September 13, 1932, for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
• R.A. Dickey :
• *Set the Mets' franchise record for most consecutive scoreless innings at breaking the record that was held by Jerry Koosman. Koosman set the record at innings in 1973. He finished with innings without allowing an earned run when Mark Teixeira's sacrifice fly ended the streak on June 24 against the New York Yankees.
• *Became the first pitcher in modern Major League history to throw back-to-back complete games while striking out 10-or-more batters and allowing either one hit or no hits in each game.
• Steve Delabar :
• *Became the first pitcher in Major League history to record four strikeouts in an extra inning in one game on August 13 against the Chicago White Sox.
• Milwaukee Brewers:
• *Became the first pitching staff in Major League history to record 10 or more strikeouts in seven straight games in modern-day history. They broke the record that was previously held by the 1990 New York Mets, the 2006 Chicago Cubs and 2008 Cubs.
• Félix Hernández :
• *With his 1–0 shutout on August 27 against the Minnesota Twins, this was his third 1–0 shutout for the month, tying the Major League record for most 1–0 shutouts in a calendar month. He tied the record that is held by Carl Hubbell and Dick Rudolph.
• Zack Greinke :
• *Became the first pitcher since 1900 to strike out 13-or-more batters while pitching five-or-fewer innings in a game on September 25 against the Seattle Mariners.
• Zack Greinke/Garrett Richards/Scott Downs/Kevin Jepsen/Ernesto Frieri :
• *Became the fourth team to achieve 20 strike outs in a nine inning game on September 25 against the Seattle Mariners. They are the first to do it with multiple pitchers, as it was previously done twice by Roger Clemens and once by Kerry Wood.
• Doug Fister :
• *Set an American League record by striking out nine consecutive batters in his start against the Kansas City Royals on September 27. The previous record of eight was previously done on multiple occasions.
• David Price :
• *With his victory on September 30 against the Chicago White Sox, Price became the first 20-game winner in franchise history. He finished the season with a 20–5 record.
• Kris Medlen :
• *With the Braves victory on September 30 against the New York Mets, the Braves won for a Major League record 23rd straight time in games started by Medlen. This broke the record that was held by Whitey Ford and Carl Hubbell.
• Fernando Rodney :
• *Set the Major League record for the lowest ERA with at least 50 appearances at 0.60. Rodney broke the record of 0.61 that was set by Dennis Eckersley in 1990.

  Miscellaneous

• Toronto Blue Jays/Cleveland Indians:
• *Played the longest opening-day game ever in the major leagues on April 5. The game lasted 16 innings and the Blue Jays won 7–4. The game eclipsed the previous longest openers between Cleveland and Detroit on April 19, 1960, and between Philadelphia and Washington on April 13, 1926.
• Cincinnati Reds:
• *Became the sixth franchise to reach 10,000 wins in Major League history with a 9–4 win against the Chicago Cubs on April 20. The Reds amassed a record of 10,000–9,710.
• Kansas City Royals:
• *With their loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on April 23, the Royals lost all ten games on their homestand. Only two other teams in Major League history went 0–10 or worse on a homestand: the Seattle Pilots went 0–10 on a homestand in August 1969, and the Arizona Diamondbacks went 0–11 on a homestand in July 2004.
• Baltimore Orioles:
• *Became the first team in American League history to start a game with three consecutive home runs by doing this against the Texas Rangers on May 10 in the first game of the doubleheader. Ryan Flaherty, J. J. Hardy and Nick Markakis hit the record setting home runs against Colby Lewis.
• *With their victory on September 13 against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Orioles won their 81st game of the season which officially ended a franchise-record run of 14 consecutive losing seasons.
• *Chris Davis became the first position player to be credited with a win since Rocky Colavito pitched in 1968. The May 6 game was also notable in that both teams used a position player to pitch in relief, the first time since 1925.
• Los Angeles Dodgers:
• *By being shutout in the three-game series against the San Francisco Giants June 25 through June 27, this marked the first time in franchise history that the Dodgers failed to score in a series of three or more games.
• New York Yankees:
• *Set a franchise record by scoring at least three runs in their 39th consecutive game on July 15 against the Los Angeles Angels. This broke a team record set in 1933. Only two other Major League teams have scored three runs or more in each of at least 39 straight games in one season: the 1994 Indians and 1930 Athletics. The streak ended at 43 games after a 3–2 loss to the Oakland Athletics on July 20.
• St. Louis Cardinals:
• *Tied a Major League record seven doubles in one inning in the seventh inning against the Chicago Cubs on July 21. They tied the mark set by the Boston Bees in 1936. The 12 runs they scored in the inning also tied a franchise record set by the 1926 Cardinals.
• Washington Nationals:
• *Became the third team in Major League history to hit at least six home runs in consecutive games on September 4 and 5 against the Chicago Cubs, joining the 2003 Los Angeles Angels and the 1996 Los Angeles Dodgers.
• Chicago Cubs/Houston Astros:
• *On September 11, 2012, the Cubs and Astros combined to use 11 pitchers in a game in which Houston came away with a 1–0 victory at Minute Maid Park. It is the most pitchers used in a 1–0 nine-inning game in Major League history breaking the record of ten pitchers in games of that type: Colorado vs. San Diego on September 17, 2008, San Francisco vs. San Diego on September 10, 2010, and the Pittsburgh vs. Houston on June 14, 2011.
• Oakland Athletics:
• *Set the American League record for most team strikeouts in a season by passing the record of 1,324 strikeouts that the Tampa Bay Rays set in 2007. Chris Carter was the victim as the Rangers right-handed pitcher Roy Oswalt struck out Carter in the third inning on September 26. The Major League record is 1,529 strikeouts and is currently held by the 2010 Arizona Diamondbacks.
• *Set the Major League record for wins by rookie pitchers with their 53rd win against the Texas Rangers on October 2.
• Pittsburgh Pirates:
• *With their loss to the Cincinnati Reds on September 30, the Pirates extended their record for most consecutive losing seasons to 20. Their last winning record was in 1992.
• Division Series:
• *This postseason marks the first time that all four division series went the full five games since the divisional round and wild cards were introduced in 1995.

  Awards and honors

Regular season

Other awards

• The Sporting News Player of the Year Award: Miguel Cabrera
• Comeback Players of the Year: Fernando Rodney ; Buster Posey
• Hank Aaron Award: Miguel Cabrera ; Buster Posey
• Roberto Clemente Award : Clayton Kershaw
• Delivery Man of the Year : Fernando Rodney
• Rolaids Relief Man Award Jim Johnson, Craig Kimbrel
• Warren Spahn Award : Gio González

  Monthly Awards

Player of the Month

Pitcher of the Month

Rookie of the Month

Uniforms

New uniforms

Wholesale changes

Dodgers logo

Caps and jerseys

Throwbacks

Other uniforms

Patches

Anniversaries and special events

Memorials

• The New York Mets wore a patch honoring Gary Carter, who died of brain cancer on February 16, 2012. The patch features a black inverted home plate with Carter's number 8 and "KID" inscribed on it.
• The Chicago White Sox sported two black diamond patches on the right sleeve in honor of Bill Skowron and Kevin Hickey. Skowron died on April 27 of heart failure following a long battle with lung cancer, while Hickey died on May 16 of undisclosed causes.
• The Major League umpires wore black patches honoring former umpires Marty Springstead, who died January 17, 2012, and Harry Wendelstedt, who died March 9, 2012.
• The San Diego Padres added a black circle patch with the number 48 in honor of the passing of bullpen coach Darrel Akerfelds on June 24.
• The Boston Red Sox added a black circle patch with the number 6 in honor of legend Johnny Pesky, who died on August 13. The patch only applies to their home and alternate uniforms; the road uniforms were fitted with a black armband. On August 21, against the Angels, all Red Sox players and coaches wore No. 6 in Pesky's memory, similar to the approach of all players and coaches wearing No. 42 during Jackie Robinson Day. The Angels also wore the same black patch in Pesky's memory for the game, even though Pesky never worked for the Angels.
• The Oakland Athletics added a black circle patch with the initials "GJN" for pitcher Pat Neshek's day-old son, Gehrig John, who died right before the playoffs.
• At Comerica Park, underneath the American flag on the outfield flagpole, the Detroit Tigers flew a plain white flag with the initials CJ in the center. This was in memory of Charles P. Jones, the team's vice president, who died on August 13.

  New stadium

Anniversaries

Mets, Astros golden anniversaries

Television

National

Local

Team purchases

• On March 27, 2012, the Dodgers were sold to Guggenheim Baseball Management LLC, a group that included NBA legend Magic Johnson for $2.1 billion. The new management team, to include baseball executive Stan Kasten, still had to await approval by two different courts—one handling the Dodgers' bankruptcy, and the other overseeing the divorce of former owners Frank and Jamie McCourt. The sale was finalized on May 1, at which time the new management team officially took over.
• The San Diego Padres were sold to a group headed by Ron Fowler, golfer Phil Mickelson and Peter O'Malley, the former owner of the Dodgers for US $800 million in August.

  Retirements

• Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones announced on March 22, 2012, that he will retire after 19 seasons at the conclusion of the 2012 season.
• Catcher Iván Rodríguez officially announced his retirement on April 23, 2012. Playing for six different teams in a 21-year career, most notably with the Texas Rangers, Rodríguez set a record for most Gold Glove Awards at catcher with 13, while earning AL MVP honors in 1999 and a World Series title with the Florida Marlins. He also appeared in 14 All-Star Games and won seven Silver Slugger Awards at catcher, while appearing in 2,543 games behind the plate, a Major League record.
• Pitcher Kerry Wood of the Chicago Cubs announced his retirement on May 18, 2012.
• Detroit Tigers outfielder Magglio Ordóñez retired from baseball on June 3, 2012.
• Shortstop Omar Vizquel stated on June 26 that he plans to retire at the end of the season after a 24-year career.
• Pitcher Dontrelle Willis announced his retirement on July 2.
• Outfielder Jay Gibbons announced his retirement on July 9.
• Pitcher Ben Sheets announced his retirement on October 2 that he will start the Atlanta Braves regular-season finale on October 3 and then will retire after the start.

  Retired numbers

• The St. Louis Cardinals retired former manager Tony La Russa's No. 10 prior to the May 11 game against the Atlanta Braves. La Russa served as manager from 1996–2011 and managed in three World Series for the Cardinals, winning in and.
• The Atlanta Braves retired John Smoltz's No. 29 and inducted him into the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame prior to the June 8 game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Smoltz retired with a career record of 213–155 with a 3.33 ERA and 3,084 strikeouts. He also added 154 saves and was 15–4 in the post-season.
• The Cincinnati Reds retired Barry Larkin's No. 11 prior to the August 25 game against the St Louis Cardinals at Great American Ball Park. Larkin played shortstop for his hometown from 1986 to 2004 and was one of the pivotal players on the 1990 Reds' World Series championship team. Larkin was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in January 2012 and was inducted on July 22. Larkin is considered one of the top players of his era, winning nine Silver Slugger awards and three Gold Glove awards. He was selected to the Major League All-Star Game twelve times, and was elected the 1995 National League MVP.
• The Minnesota Twins retired former manager Tom Kelly's No. 10 prior to the September 8 game against the Cleveland Indians at Target Field. Kelly served as manager from 1986–2001, and led the Twins to their only World Series victories in and.