The 2012 Major League Baseball season saw many exciting moments and performances, including a record amount of perfect games and the first Triple Crown winner in over 40 years. There were seven no hitters pitched around baseball and the San Francisco Giants won the World Series for the second time in two years.
Here are some of the best performances and games of the 2012 Major League Baseball season:
Miguel Cabrera wins the American League Triple Crown
Detroit Tigers 1, Kansas City Royals 0
Oct. 4, 2012
This is a season-long achievement, but Cabrera actually achieved the feat while playing in this game against the Royals. He went 0 for 2 in the game with a strikeout before being taken out of the game, ending the season with .330 average, 44 homers and 139 RBIs.
The fans in Kansas City played it classy, giving Cabrera a standing ovation since they knew they were witnessing history. No player had won the Triple Crown since Boston's Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 and Cabrera posted the most RBIs for a Triple Crown winner since Joe Medwick in 1937 with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Reaching the accomplishment helped Cabrera to win the MVP over Mike Trout, who many thought was better than Cabrera this season overall. The rookie hit .326 with 30 home runs and 83 RBIs while also leading the AL in stolen bases with 49. Cabrera also led the league in slugging percentage and in on-base plus slgging percentage.
Josh Hamilton hits four home runs against the Baltimore Orioles
Texas Rangers 10, Baltimore Orioles 3
May 8, 2012
Hamilton is making the big bucks now after signing a five-year, $125 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels, but during the 2012 season he had one of the best games of his career and showed why he is worth all that cash. Hamilton has a game for the ages against the Orioles, smashing four two-run home runs.
He became the 16th player to hit four home runs in one game and did against three different pitchers, with two homers coming off of Jake Arrieta in the first and third innings. Hamilton later hit one off of Zach Phillips in the seventh and finished his feat with another dinger against reliever Darren O'Day.
Making the accomplishment even more amazing, Hamilton hit all four home runs while shortstop Elvis Andrus was on base to become the first player in history to hit four two-run bombs in one game with the same runner on base. Hamilton is the sixth player in the American League to hit four home runs and the first since Carlos Delgado in 2003.
Hamilton set an American League record with 18 total bases in the game and finished 5-5 with four runs and eight RBIs and one double. It was the fifth multi-homer game for Hamilton in his career and left him leading the American League with 14 homers and 36 RBIs at the time.
Orioles' DH Chris Davis earns the win against Boston
Baltimore Orioles, 9, Boston red Sox 6, 17 innings
May 6, 2012
One of the most exciting games of the season had one of the rarest results. Baltimore was leading the Red Sox 6-5 in the eighth inning before Boston tied it up and that's when things got interesting.
Both teams battled back and forth for inning after inning, running out of pitchers in the process. Both the Orioles and the Red Sox were forced to use position players in the later parts of the game, including designated hitter Chris Davis, who earned the win after Adam Jones hit a three-run home run off of infielder Darnell McDonald.
Davis was awful at the plate, becoming the first player in 110 years to earn the win in a game while going to 0-for-8 with five strikeouts. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time it happened was when Rube Waddell did it on July 4, 1905.
Making the game even more historic, it was the first time the winning and losing pitchers were both position players since Sept. 28, 1902 when Sam Mertes of the White Sox defeated Jesse Burkett of the Browns, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Mariners throw a combined no-hitter with six pitchers
Seattle Mariners 1, Los Angeeles Dodgers 0
June 8, 2012
Kevin Millwood started the game for the Mariners and was throwing some of his best stuff of the season before being forced to leave the game after six innings due to a groin injury. It was then up to the Mariners bullpen to finish the job.
Charlie Furbush came into the game for Millwood and was followed by Stephen Pryor, who earned the win for Seattle. Luke Luetge got one batter out and was followed by Brandon League, who struck out one batter and got two out. Tom Wilhelmsen earned the save for Seattle and closed out the game without realizing the no-hitter was even still alive.
"He was surprised," catcher Jesus Montero said of Wilhelmsen after the game. "He didn't know. ... I jumped on him and I was like, 'Hey, it's a no-hitter!' And he went, 'What?!' And then he was so happy after that. He was so focused on the game. That's what happened."
It was the fourth no-hitter in the major leagues at the time and the second at Safeco Field following Philip Humber's perfect game. Millwood had previously thrown a no-hitter in his career and became just the fourth pitcher to throw a a complete-game no-hitter and be part of a combined no-hitter, joining Vida Blue, Mike Witt and Kent Mercker, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
In true Seattle fashion, the low-scoring Mariners scored just one run, the same amount they would later score in the perfect game pitched by Felix Hernandez in August. That game along with the six-pitcher no-hitter and Humber's perfect game set a record since all three were thrown in Safeco Field in Seattle.
Even crazier, Brian Runge was the home plate umpire for this game and was also behind the plate at Safeco for Humber's perfect game in April. The Mariners had eight hits in the game, including a 3-for-4 day from Ichiro Suzuki, who scored the lone run on an RBI from third baseman Kyle Seager.
