Counting Down the Most Memorable 2012 MLB Headlines

This is solely my opinion, and it may be pretty biased. That is what is so special about blogging on here. These are my opinions, and I get to voice them to you. Whether you read or not, my words are out there. Something made me realize, you never know who is reading your material. I started this as an exercise just to keep my mind working. I didn't expect to put in so much time, thought, and research into this blog entry that seems quite meaningless. If you don't know a thing about baseball I tried to word this so you could feel like you have an idea of how memorable this season really was. If I did what I set out to do, please let me know. If I didn't, please let me know. With all that said, how about we get into some baseball material?

15. Exit Sandman - If there's been a constant Yankee (not named Derek Jeter) in the past 15 years, it's been the heart and soul of their bullpen, Mariano Rivera. On May 3, Rivera laid on the warning track at after injuring his right knee in a freak accident while chasing a fly ball hit by Alex Rodriguez during the Yankees batting practice. As he tracked down the ball near the center-field wall, Rivera's knee buckled, he crashed into the wall, and fell down wincing in pain as he clutched onto his knee. He was taken to a nearby hospital in Kansas City where tests revealed that he tore his right ACL and would require season-ending surgery. During spring training, Mo indicated he planned to retire at the end of this year, but since suffering the injury Rivera has expressed his hopes to return next season.

14. The Journey of Luis Cruz - A feel good story of the year could be found on any team. Since I'm a Dodgers fan, how could I not pick Luis Cruz? The 28 year old played for five different organizations before finding a home with the Dodgers. Cruz was called up on July 2, with a career batting average of .221 in 154 at bats. Cruz instantly won the hearts of Dodgers fans when he was credited with stealing home following a wild pitch from Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto. The love turned into chants of "Cruuuuuz" followed by t-shirts with "Cruuuuuz" on the back where a players last name is printed - not to mention his Twitter followers increased by the game.
 It was a breath of fresh air for Mexican Dodgers' fans as they had a Mexican contributing to the team's success since Nomar Garciaparra did it when he was with the team. Cruz filled in admirably at shortstop when Dee Gordon was sidelined with injury. After the Dodgers traded for Hanley Ramirez, they switched positions and Cruz manned third base the remainder of the season. "Cochito" ended the season batting .297, with 6 HRs, 40 RBIs, 26 Runs. Following a season where it can be argued he was the team's second half MVP, Cruz should feel content heading into spring training looking to keep his job as the starting third baseman.

13. Melky Cabrera Suspension - "The MELK Man" was on a tear this season. In May, he tied a franchise record set by Randy Winn of 51 hits in a month. His stat line for may was an impressive .429 avg., three HRs, seven Doubles, five Triples, 17 RBIs, and 24 Runs. That performance helped him into the starting lineup of the NL All Star team as Cabrera received a total of 7,521,784 votes. In the fourth inning of the Mid-Summer Classic, he hit a two-run home run helping  the NL to a 8-0 victory. Cabrera ended 2-for-3 with two RBIs and was named the All-Star Game MVP. Then the milk turned sour (no pun intended).
On August 15, Cabrera was suspended 50 games after testing positive for high levels of testosterone. He admitted he used a banned substance and accepted the suspension. In an awkward turn of events, an associate of Cabrera's purchased a website for $10,000 and set up the site that would allow Cabrera to appeal the suspension - claiming the positive test was caused by a substance purchased off the website. The MLB and federal investigators traced that website back to Cabrera. Cabrera finished his season with 159 hits, .346 avg.,  11 HRs, 60 RBIs, 84 Runs, and 13 SB. With the season winding down, Cabrera ruled himself ineligible to win the  NL Batting Title.

12. The Bobby Valentine Debacle - It only took 162 games, but Bobby Valentine's hurrah in Boston is over. It took only a few weeks before Valentine’s relationship with his players started to deteriorate. In April he questioned the commitment of third baseman and fan favorite Kevin Youkilis stating, “I don’t think he’s as physically or emotionally into the game as he has been in the past for some reason.” That comment didn't set well with the fans or the team. Dustin Pedroia was among the most vocal questioning why Valentine would even question Youkilis' commitment to the game.
The Boston Redsox were a disaster to watch, in a town that expects to see a winning team on the field on a day by day basis. A mere 14 hours after the Red Sox lost the final game of the season to the Yankees, Boston announced they have cut ties with Valentine. Valentine insists he wasn't run out of town, but anybody that knows anything about the situation knows Valentine over welcomed his stay after the Youkilis statement.

11. Stephen Strasburg's Shut Down - Nationals' Manager Davey Johnson informed Stephen Strasburg something that wasn't a surprise to anybody - he would not pitch again this season, ending Strasburg’s season after 159 1/3 innings with 24 games remaining on the schedule. Washington's brass imposed a 160 innings pitched limit as it was Strasburg's first full season back following Tommy John surgery. The Ace ended his season with a 15-6 record, 3.16 ERA (fourth in the Nationals’ rotation), 197 Ks, 48 BBs, and a 1.15 WHIP. It's a gutsy move in the middle of a pennant race as Washington has reached the playoffs for the first time since 1933. On September 20, the Nationals clinched their playoff birth with a 4-1 victory over the Dodgers.

10. Matt Kemp's Month of April - If you didn't hear about the monster tear Matt Kemp was on to start the season, I have no idea what planet you were on in April. Entering the 2012 season, Kemp said he would become the first ever to hit the 50/50 mark. In 23 games he he belted 12 HRs but ONLY had two SBs. Kemp wasn't running wild, but he was busy in the batters box as he was hitting .417 to go along with a .490 on-base percentage, 16 extra-base hits, 25 RBIs, and 24 Runs.
Jayson Stark of ESPN compared Kemp's month of April to the likes of Barry Bonds, Reggie Jackson, and Ron Cey. While Stark said Cey had the better month of April in franchise history, he mentioned starts like these don't come around often and we should just enjoy the display Kemp is putting on. Kemp's season was plagued with injury, it sure would have been a sight to see, watching him chase the elusive 50/50 club. On May 1, Kemp had 139 games left to steal 48 bases and hit 38 HRs. Would it have been accomplished if Kemp wouldn't have missed time due to injury? We will never know. If I had to bet my life's savings on it - I would bet all $27.50 on Kemp's chances.

9. The Turnaround of the Los Angeles Dodgers  - Entering the 2012 season, the franchise was in turmoil. We prayed Frank McCourt would rid himself of the team for good. When that moment came, and the Guggenheim Group led by Magic Johnson purchased the Dodgers for $2 Billion, LA fans rejoiced. The Dodgers got off to a hot start, owning the best record in baseball until June 21 having lost key parts of their lineup in May - Matt Kemp and Mark Ellis. That day is when the Dodgers hit a skid that would last nearly the rest of the season. Glimmers of hope presented themselves when the Dodgers pulled off a trade with the Miami Marlins for the enigmatic Hanley Ramirez. In the deal the Dodgers sent pitchers Nathan Eovaldi and Scott McGough for Ramirez and reliever Randy Choate. They weren't done there, after the trade deadline, the Dodgers pulled off the trade of the decade with the Boston Red Sox. On August 25, the deal sending James Loney and four prospects for perennial all star Adrian Gonzalez, pitcher Josh Beckett, injured outfielder Carl Crawford and utilityman Nick Punto.
The Dodgers took on salaries totaling more than a quarter of a billion dollars in the trade. Gonzalez is owed $127 million over the next six seasons - Beckett $31.5 million - Punto $1.5 million - Crawford is on the books for  $102.5 million the next five seasons. It was a deal showing just how deep the pockets of the new ownership really is and showed a commitment to putting a winning team on the field day in and day out. The deals didn't propel the Dodgers into the playoffs, but they were in contention amid a struggling offense in the first half of September. The lineup involving it's newly acquisitions showed just how scary it can be over the final week of the season when the team won seven of the last eight games. The Dodgers didn't punch their ticket to play October baseball but over the course of the season, it felt like a winning season. The new ownership looks to spend more money this Winter to bolster the pitching staff and find Clayton Kershaw a bit of help to over throw the San Francisco Giants in 2013.

8. The Washington Nationals Division Champs - One question. Did you see this coming? Be honest! Did you? I for one can say, yes. I saw this coming. What made predict this in the preseason was the acquisition of pitcher Gio Gonzalez. I knew he would anchor the staff including Strasburg, Jordan Zimmerman, Ross Detwiler, and Edwin Jackson. The starting rotation compiled 68 Wins, a 3.28 ERA, 830 Ks, and 1.18 WHIP. Gonzalez ended his season in the mix for the Cy Young with a 21-8 record, 2.89 ERA, 207 Ks, and 1.13 WHIP. I didn't predict him winning the Cy Young, but he was the most valuable draft pick of the 2012 fantasy baseball season for me.
I did predict Ryan Zimmerman would be in contention for the NL MVP, that was off. Don't hold it against me, you probably didn't even give the Nats a shot of having a winning season this year. Kidding aside, the Nats offense was dynamite all season long. Adam LaRoche led the way for the Nats hitting 31 HRs, 100 RBIs, and .271 AVG. Ian Desmond, Bryce Harper, Zimmerman, Michael Morse and Danny Espinosa all hit over 17 jacks. The pitching and offensive production led to Washington finishing with a 98-64 record; the best record in the Majors. Washington's future looks bright with Strausburg and Harper careers just blossoming.

7. The Baltimore Orioles #BUCKleUp - The Orioles just as the Nationals were a afterthought to make the postseason. In a division with the Yankees, the Red Sox, the Rays, even the Blue Jays, nobody gave this team a chance. Ever since Joe Buck has been announced as the skipper in Baltimore, the O's have a record of 128-91 buying into whatever it is Buck has been selling. This year marks the first time since 1997 that the Orioles have made the playoffs. After beating the Rangers in the one game Wild Card round in Texas, Baltimore heads to face New York to face the Yankees. The last time the two teams squared up in the postseason in 1996, Jeffrey Maier altered the course of the season for the O's after interfering with a Derek Jeter pop fly that resulted in a home run.
The Orioles managed to battle the Yankees for the division title up until the final game of the season. If New York would have lost to Boston and Baltimore would have beat Tampa bay, a one game playoff would have settled the tie and would have crowned the division champs. The scenario didn't work in the Orioles favor, but here the teams are set to face off in a marquee match up between the powerhouse Yankees and the up and coming Orioles.

6. The Oakland A's Hollywood Ending - Moneyball Part Deux. Somebody get on the phone with Brad Pitt, tell him to expect assuming the role of Billy Beane in the future.
Those guys up in Oakland trailed the Rangers by as many as 13 games in the standings on June 30th and also trailed them by five with nine games left in the season. Oakland capped of one of the greatest comebacks on the final game of the season beating the Texas Rangers in a battle for the AL West Division championship. The A's finished the season 94-68 in a season where they stood no chance playing in a division with the Rangers and Angels.
Josh Reddick led "The Misfits"as their top HR hitter. Entering 2012, Reddick had never hit more than seven HRs in a season. This year he hit the 10th most in the AL, 32. Reddick was the ultimate misfit - long hair, travels with a wrestling championship belt, and a Spider-Man costume - Reddick is a misfit. Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes was inked to a four year $36 million contract in the off season that  left many people stunned. Why in the world would Billy Beane give so much money to a guy who has never played a game of baseball in the U.S.? Following a slow start, Cespedes finished the season strong hitting .292, with 23 HRs, and 82 RBIs. Brandon Moss was the biggest key for the A's down the stretch after beginning the season in Triple-A. Moss had 15 HRs in 678 career at bats in five big league seasons with three different teams.  In 265 at bats for Oakland, Moss hit 21 home runs while hitting .291 to go along with 52 RBIs. Free swinger Jonny Gomes contributed big also hitting 18 HRs and 47 RBIs.
Oakland's pitching staff was solid all season long, including rookies Jarrod Parker and Tommy Milone. Parker went 13-8 with 140 Ks, and a 3.47 ERA; Milone went 13-10, had 137 Ks, and a 3.74 ERA. Brandon McCarthy was great starting 18 games, compiling a 8-6 record, 73 Ks, and a 3.24 ERA. McCarthy's season was cut short after taking a line drive to the head off the bat of Erick Aybar on September 5th. Bartolo Colon was a candidate for Comeback player of the Year with a 10-9 record, 91 Ks, and a 3.43 ERA. Colon was shut down for the season after failing a drug test with elevated levels of testosterone, resulting in a 50-game suspension. Closer Grant Balfour might have been the biggest misfit of all on the team. The  Australian native was intimidating on the mound, yelling as he is pitching at himself, the hitter, his catcher, his glove, or anybody or anything nearby. Balfour ended his season with 24 Saves, 72 Ks, a 2.53 ERA, and a 0.92 WHIP in 74.2 innings of work.

5. R.A. Dickey's Emergence - Did you hear about the 37 year old Knuckleballer who is a contender for the NL Cy Young award? That would be R.A. Dickey. Dickey piled up a 20-6 record to go along with a 2.73 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and a NL leading 230 Ks. What is so surprising about this is, the road Dickey traveled to get here. Early in his career he discovered that his right arm was missing an ulnar collateral ligament. Dickey then learned to throw the Knuckleball as an effort to keep his career alive. He bounced around three different teams  before joining the New York Mets in 2010.
Dickey was artful through out the course of the season throwing an 83 mph Knuckleball that hitters couldn't get their bat on. Dickey's record in the first half of the season was 12-1 earning him a spot on the NL All Star team and was in contention to start the game. Dickey's memorable first half included  a 11 strikeout performance against the Pirates followed by 10 Ks in his very next start against the Padres. In the two games, Dickey allowed one run in 14.1 innings along with 21 Ks and was named NL Player of the Week. The day after his teammate after teammate Johan Santana threw the first no-hitter in franchise history, Dickey threw a seven-hit complete game shutout. On June 13, Dickey allowed only one hit, had 12 Ks, while facing 29 batters in a 9-1 victory over Tampa Bay. The hit allowed was an infield single hit to David Wright. Wright couldn't field the ball and it was ruled an infield hit. New York appealed looking to get the hit ruled as an error, but MLB denied their appeal. Also in the game, Dickey passed Jerry Koosman's franchise record of 31.2 consecutive scoreless innings pitched.
 In his following start, Dickey pitched another one-hit shutout against the Baltimore Orioles, became the first pitcher since 1988 to throw two consecutive one-hitters and the first in the NL since 1944. Dickey's scoreless innings streak came to an end on June 24, 2012, Dickey's streak of consecutive scoreless innings without an earned run came to an end at 44.1 innings against the New York Yankees. Dickey should win the Cy Young award, because he earned every single victory pitching for the offensively challenged Mets. The team finished in the bottom half of all offensive categories with the exception of doubles. Having won 20 of 26 possible decisions shouldn't go unnoticed in the voting. Dickey is on the verge of turning 38 and could sign a contract extension in the coming month.

4. Chipper Jones, Omar Vizquel, and Ben Sheets Retire - 19 years into a first ballot Hall of Fame career passed us by, but did we really appreciate it? Chipper Jones' career ended with a questionable loss to the Cardinals in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Jones' last at bat saw him reach base after jogging down the line and questionably being called safe. That is not how I want to remember Larry Jones' career. I will remember Chipper for everything he did in a Braves uniform. Chipper ended his career with 2,726 Hits, .303 Avg., 468 HRs, and 1,623 RBIs. He also ends his career with one of the most impressive stats in Baseball, Jones drew 1,512 walks compared to 1,409 strikeouts.
Omar Vizquel, a 11-time Gold Glove winner and three time All Star hung up the spikes after a 24-year career. Vizquel broke into the bigs with Seattle in 1989, later playing with Cleveland, San Francisco, Texas, the Chicago White Sox, and finally in Toronto. Vizquel ended his career with one final start at shortstop for his 2,709th game at SS, the most in MLB history. In the seventh inning, he busted out into left field making an over the shoulder catch in gold-glove fashion. His final at-bat came in the bottom of the seventh, and fans cheered and chanted his name as he was at the plate. Vizquel slapped a single up the middle for hit number 2,877 of his career, 39th all-time in baseball. "Little O"ended his career with a .272 Avg., 456 Doubles, 951 RBIs, 1445 Runs, and 404 SBs.
Ben Sheets also called quits taking the mound on the final game of the season for the Braves to cap off an injury plagued 10 year career. Sheets pitched just one inning, striking out two including ending the inning striking out Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen. On July 1, Atlanta announced they inked Sheets to a minor league contract to attempt a comeback to the major leagues. On July 15, Sheets made his first start in nearly two years against the New York Mets, tossing six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and fanning five to earn the win. Over the course of 10 injury ridden seasons, Sheets compiled a 94-96 record, with 1,325 Ks, and a 3.78 ERA with Milwaukee, Oakland, and Atlanta.

3. The Year of the No-No - When Cincinnati Homer Bailey threw a No-Hitter on September 28, it was the seventh No-Hitter of 2012. The last time that happened was in 1991. We saw three perfect-games, and a combined No-Hitter by the Seattle Mariners.
Chicago's Phillip Humber got things started on April 21, tossing a perfect-game against the Seattle Mariners. Humber struck out nine batters while only throwing a total of 95 pitches. A couple of weeks later, Anaheim's Jered Weaver threw a no-hitter against the Minnesota Twins on May 2. Weaver also fanned nine batters, but walked one, in a emotional performance in front of his parents and the home crowd. About a month later on June 1, the New York Mets' ace Johan Santana tosses the first no-hitter in franchise history against the potent offense of the St. Louis Cardinals. The southpaw threw a total of 134 pitches, walking five and striking out eight Red Birds.
Seven days later the Seattle Mariners would be on the good side of a no-hitter. The memorable thing about this was it was a combined effort. Six Mariners no hit the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 8. Kevin Millwood pitched six innings only allowing a walk until leaving the game during his seventh inning warm up with a groin injury. Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Luetge, Brandon League, and Tom Wilhelmsen combined with Millwood to throw 114 pitches and tied the record for most pitcher used in a no-no. Five days after, Matt Cain threw a perfect game against the Houston Astros on June 13. Cain was brilliant in his performance mowing down 14 Astros, throwing 86 of his 114 pitches for strikes.
We didn't see another such performance until August 15, when Seattle's Felix Hernandez was perfect against the Tampa Bay Rays. King Felix was masterful against Tampa Bay's lineup piling up 12 strikeouts on 113 pitches. Hernandez was every bit a King and a former Cy Young Award winner courting the Rays in the afternoon matinee. Cincinnati's Homer Bailey tossed the seventh and final no-hitter of the season on September 28 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bailey continued the double-digit strikeout trend with 10 Ks on 115 pitches and walked one batter.
If history repeats itself, next year seven pitchers will also throw no-hitters and two will be combined efforts. In 1990 there were a total of seven no-hitters with one combined no-no, the following year seven were also thrown with two being combined efforts. Do we have any takers?

2. The Phenoms, Mike Trout and Bryce Harper - April 28, 2012. The MLB would be turned upside down as two rookies would make their debuts. Washington's 19 year old Bryce Harper, was making his MLB debut and Anaheim's Mike Trout,20, would make his season debut. We knew we were going to witness something special. But we didn't envision what these two phenoms would eventually do in their rookie seasons.
Harper recorded his first hit in his third at bat, hitting a double against the Dodgers Chad Billingsley. Harper found himself in other types of headlines a week later when he was hit by Philadelphia's ace Cole Hamels. Harper would then go on to steal home after reaching third base. Hamels then admitted after the game that he intentionally hit Harper and was given a five game suspension. A week later Harper hit his first home run against San Diego's Tim Stauffer. Harper made the All Star team after Miami's Giancarlo Stanton was forced to miss the game with an injury. Harper's production hit a snag in the "Dog Days of Summer". He hit a mere .176 ultimately being benched by Davey Johnson. Harper would then start to heat up. On August 29, Harper would hit two HRs, then would be ejected in the ninth inning of the game for slamming his helmet on the ground after grounding into an inning ending double play. Harper would go on to finish his season hitting .270 along with 22 HRs, 59 RBIs, 98 Runs, and 18 SBs, cementing his Rookie of the Year campaign. Harper became the first player since Boston's Tony Conigliaro to hit 20 HRs under the age of 20. Those that know of Conigliaro know that Harper's potential to be an all time great in this game is looking pretty good.
And then there was Trout. In a nutshell, Trout became the first ever player in the AL's illustrious history to win the Rookie of the Month award and Player of the Month award in the same month when he did it in July. Trout hit .392, with 10 HRs, six doubles, two triples, 23 RBIs, 32 Runs and SB in 25 games in July. I can go on and on about Trout's accomplishments in which he was the first ever player to do so or the first player in quite some time to do so. The most significant was becoming the first rookie to drive in at least 55 RBIs and score 80 runs in 81 games since Joe DiMaggio did it in 1936. Joe DiMaggio! Trout ended his season with a .326 AVG., 30 HRs, 27 Doubles, eight Triples, 83 RBIs, 129 Runs, and 49 SB. His 129 Runs set a franchise record for most runs scored in a season passing Vladimir Guerrero's 124 Runs. Trout's incredible season was badly timed as some guy named Miguel Cabrera won the first Triple Crown since 1967. Had not for Cabrera's Triple Crown, Trout would be a runaway for the 2012 AL MVP.

1. Miguel Cabrera's Triple Crown - Detroit's Miguel Cabrera season was historic and exciting to watch in every sense. Cabrera's season began with a broken orbital bone. After the signing of first baseman Prince Fielder, Cabrera voluntarily moved back to playing third base.During a spring training game, Cabrera was below his right eye by a grounder which would break a bone. Cabrera was expected to be ready by opening day, and was the starting third baseman for the Tigers to start the season. Miggy was named to the All Star team as a reserve for the seventh time in his career. On July 22, Cabrera hit his 300th HR, becoming the second Venezuelan to reach the mark - Andres Galarraga hit 399. Miggy was awarded the American League Player of the Month in August. Cabrera batted .357 with eight HRs, six doubles, 24 RBIs, and 19 Runs in 26 games.
Cabrera solidified the MVP award when the slugger won the first Triple Crown since Boston's Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1967. Cabrera became the 15th player in history to win baseball's elusive Triple Crown, joining all-time greats such as Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, and Ted Williams. Cabrera topped the AL with a .330 AVG., 44 HRs and 139 RBIs. Many have come close, until ultimately losing in the final weeks of the season. Just last season Matt Kemp was a a couple batting average points behind Jose Reyes to win the Triple Crown.
What Miggy did this season was amazing and historic. How much longer will we have to wait to see another Triple Crown season? As time passes and we don't see another winner, we will be reassured just how big and historical winning the Triple Crown really is. Many people make the argument that Mike Trout deserves the MVP, and deservingly so. But you can't use the "what if Trout played the whole season" reason, because you never know what could have happened, good or bad. What Cabrera did is something we haven't seen in 45 years, what Trout did is something we haven't seen since..... Never mind  I'll end this now before I start contradicting myself and convince myself maybe Trout deserves the MVP.

-- Jose