# 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. They lost in five games to the Detroit Tigers in the Divisional Series.

## 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

vteAL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Oakland Athletics | 94 | 68 | .580 | — | 50‍–‍31 | 44‍–‍37 |
| Texas Rangers | 93 | 69 | .574 | 1 | 50‍–‍31 | 43‍–‍38 |
| Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 89 | 73 | .549 | 5 | 46‍–‍35 | 43‍–‍38 |
| Seattle Mariners | 75 | 87 | .463 | 19 | 40‍–‍41 | 35‍–‍46 |

### American League Wild Card

vteDivision Winners :
| Team | W | L | Pct. |
| New York Yankees | 95 | 67 | .586 |
| Oakland Athletics | 94 | 68 | .580 |
| Detroit Tigers | 88 | 74 | .543 |
vteWild Card teams (Top 2 teams qualify for postseason) :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| Texas Rangers | 93 | 69 | .574 | — |
| Baltimore Orioles | 93 | 69 | .574 | — |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 90 | 72 | .556 | 3 |
| Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 89 | 73 | .549 | 4 |
| Chicago White Sox | 85 | 77 | .525 | 8 |
| Seattle Mariners | 75 | 87 | .463 | 18 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 73 | 89 | .451 | 20 |
| Kansas City Royals | 72 | 90 | .444 | 21 |
| Boston Red Sox | 69 | 93 | .426 | 24 |
| Cleveland Indians | 68 | 94 | .420 | 25 |
| Minnesota Twins | 66 | 96 | .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 |
* view
* talk
* Source: MLB Standings Grid – 2012

## 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 outfield prospect Eliezer Mesa from Colorado as the "player to be named later" from the Mark Ellis trade on June 30.
* On October 4, 2011, Mets' third base coach Chip Hale signed a two-year deal to become bench coach under Bob Melvin.
* After spending one year in Boston, pitching coach Curt Young returned on October 21 on a one-year deal.
* On October 25, 2011, right-handed pitcher Evan Scribner and outfielder Cedric Hunter were claimed off waivers from San Diego and later outrighted to AAA. That same day, RHP Michael Wuertz was released.
* On November 4, 2011, RHP Trystan Magnuson was designated for assignment and traded back to Toronto for cash considerations.
* On November 18, outfielder Jermaine Mitchell was protected from the Rule 5 draft by being added to the 40-man roster.
* Former big leaguer Chili Davis was named the A's new hitting coach on November 25, 2011.
* On December 9, 2011, the team traded pitchers Trevor Cahill and Craig Breslow to Arizona for pitchers Jarrod Parker and Ryan Cook and outfielder Collin Cowgill.
* Next to go were pitchers Gio González and minor leaguer Robert Gilliam, traded to Washington on December 23, 2011, for pitchers A. J. Cole, Tommy Milone, and Brad Peacock, and catcher Derek Norris.
* To make room for the prospects yielded in the Gonzalez trade, on December 23 assignment designations were given to outfielder Jai Miller (traded to Baltimore) and catcher Landon Powell (cleared waiver and assigned to AAA).
* On December 28, 2011, former closer Andrew Bailey and outfielder Ryan Sweeney were dealt to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for outfielder Josh Reddick and minor-leaguers Miles Head and Raúl Alcántara.
* Outfielder Coco Crisp re-signed with the team on January 3, 2012, on a two-year, $14 million deal.
* In January, the Athletics signed pitcher Bartolo Colón (January 14) and outfielder Jonny Gomes (January 20). Infielder Adrian Cárdenas was removed from the 40-man roster in favor of Gomes on January 26; Cardenas was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs the next month.
* On January 16, 2012, A's traded pitchers Josh Outman and Guillermo Moscoso to Colorado for outfielder Seth Smith.
* On February 20, the team signed Manny Ramirez to a minor league contract.
* On March 3, 2012, the team announced the official signing of defecting Cuban outfielder 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 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

## Player stats
### Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | AVG | SLG |
| Josh Reddick | 156 | 611 | 85 | 148 | 29 | 5 | 32 | 85 | 11 | 55 | .242 | .463 |
| Yoenis Céspedes | 129 | 487 | 70 | 142 | 25 | 5 | 23 | 82 | 16 | 43 | .292 | .505 |
| Coco Crisp | 120 | 455 | 68 | 118 | 25 | 7 | 11 | 46 | 39 | 45 | .259 | .418 |
| Jemile Weeks | 118 | 444 | 54 | 98 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 20 | 16 | 50 | .221 | .304 |
| Cliff Pennington | 125 | 418 | 50 | 90 | 18 | 2 | 6 | 28 | 15 | 35 | .215 | .311 |
| Seth Smith | 125 | 383 | 55 | 92 | 23 | 2 | 14 | 52 | 2 | 50 | .240 | .420 |
| Brandon Inge | 74 | 283 | 31 | 64 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 52 | 0 | 24 | .226 | .389 |
| Jonny Gomes | 99 | 279 | 46 | 73 | 10 | 0 | 18 | 47 | 3 | 44 | .262 | .491 |
| Josh Donaldson | 75 | 274 | 34 | 66 | 16 | 0 | 9 | 33 | 4 | 14 | .241 | .398 |
| Brandon Moss | 84 | 265 | 48 | 77 | 18 | 0 | 21 | 52 | 1 | 26 | .291 | .596 |
| Kurt Suzuki | 75 | 262 | 19 | 57 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 9 | .218 | .286 |
| Chris Carter | 67 | 218 | 38 | 52 | 12 | 0 | 16 | 39 | 0 | 39 | .239 | .514 |
| Derek Norris | 60 | 209 | 19 | 42 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 34 | 5 | 21 | .201 | .349 |
| Stephen Drew | 39 | 152 | 21 | 38 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 1 | 18 | .250 | .382 |
| Kila Ka'aihue | 39 | 128 | 13 | 30 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 1 | 10 | .234 | .398 |
| Daric Barton | 46 | 113 | 8 | 23 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 22 | .204 | .292 |
| Collin Cowgill | 38 | 104 | 10 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 11 | .269 | .317 |
| Eric Sogard | 37 | 102 | 8 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 5 | .167 | .275 |
| Adam Rosales | 42 | 99 | 12 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 11 | .222 | .333 |
| George Kottaras | 27 | 85 | 10 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 19 | 0 | 8 | .212 | .471 |
| Brandon Hicks | 22 | 64 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 6 | .172 | .391 |
| Anthony Recker | 13 | 31 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .129 | .161 |
| Michael Taylor | 6 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .143 | .190 |
| Luke Hughes | 4 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .077 | .077 |
| Brandon Allen | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 |
| Pitcher Totals | 162 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .050 | .050 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 5527 | 713 | 1315 | 267 | 32 | 195 | 676 | 122 | 550 | .238 | .404 |
Source:

### Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Tommy Milone | 13 | 10 | 3.74 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 190.0 | 207 | 90 | 79 | 36 | 137 |
| Jarrod Parker | 13 | 8 | 3.47 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 181.1 | 166 | 71 | 70 | 63 | 140 |
| Bartolo Colón | 10 | 9 | 3.43 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 152.1 | 161 | 62 | 58 | 23 | 91 |
| Brandon McCarthy | 8 | 6 | 3.24 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 111.0 | 115 | 44 | 40 | 24 | 73 |
| Travis Blackley | 6 | 4 | 3.86 | 24 | 15 | 0 | 102.2 | 91 | 47 | 44 | 30 | 69 |
| A.J. Griffin | 7 | 1 | 3.06 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 82.1 | 74 | 29 | 28 | 19 | 64 |
| Grant Balfour | 3 | 2 | 2.53 | 75 | 0 | 24 | 74.2 | 41 | 21 | 21 | 28 | 72 |
| Ryan Cook | 6 | 2 | 2.09 | 71 | 0 | 14 | 73.1 | 42 | 18 | 17 | 27 | 80 |
| Tyson Ross | 2 | 11 | 6.50 | 18 | 13 | 0 | 73.1 | 96 | 56 | 53 | 37 | 46 |
| Jerry Blevins | 5 | 1 | 2.48 | 63 | 0 | 1 | 65.1 | 45 | 20 | 18 | 25 | 54 |
| Jordan Norberto | 4 | 1 | 2.77 | 39 | 0 | 1 | 52.0 | 37 | 17 | 16 | 22 | 46 |
| Jim Miller | 2 | 1 | 2.59 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 48.2 | 39 | 15 | 14 | 27 | 44 |
| Sean Doolittle | 2 | 1 | 3.04 | 44 | 0 | 1 | 47.1 | 40 | 18 | 16 | 11 | 60 |
| Dan Straily | 2 | 1 | 3.89 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 39.1 | 36 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 32 |
| Evan Scribner | 2 | 0 | 2.55 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 35.1 | 30 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 25 |
| Brett Anderson | 4 | 2 | 2.57 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 35.0 | 29 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 25 |
| Brian Fuentes | 2 | 2 | 6.84 | 26 | 0 | 5 | 25.0 | 30 | 19 | 19 | 10 | 18 |
| Pedro Figueroa | 0 | 0 | 3.32 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 21.2 | 16 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 14 |
| Graham Godfrey | 0 | 4 | 6.43 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 21.0 | 26 | 18 | 15 | 10 | 10 |
| Pat Neshek | 2 | 1 | 1.37 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 19.2 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 16 |
| Andrew Carignan | 1 | 1 | 4.66 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 9.2 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 8 |
| Jesse Chavez | 0 | 0 | 18.90 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 3 |
| Fautino De Los Santos | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Jeremy Accardo | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Rich Thompson | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 94 | 68 | 3.48 | 162 | 162 | 47 | 1470.0 | 1360 | 614 | 569 | 462 | 1136 |
Source:

## Game log

Legend :
| | Athletics win |
| | Athletics loss |
| | Postponement |
| Bold | Athletics team member |
2012 Game Log :
March/April (11–13)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1March 28Mariners (@ Tokyo, Japan)1–3 (11)Wilhemsen (1–0)Carignan (0–1)League (1)44,2270–1
2March 29Mariners (@ Tokyo, Japan)4–1Colón (1–0)Kelley (0–1)Balfour (1)43,3911–1
3April 6Mariners3–7Vargas (1–0)McCarthy (0–1)35,0671–2
4April 7Mariners7–8Hernández (1–0)Colón (1–1)League (2)16,6121–3
5April 9Royals1–0Milone (1–0)Mendoza (0–1)Balfour (2)10,0542–3
6April 10Royals0–3 (8)Duffy (1–0)Godfrey (0–1)Crow (1)10,6702–4
7April 11Royals5–4 (12)Carignan (1–1)Broxton (0–1)12,3903–4
8April 13@ Mariners4–0Colón (2–1)Hernández (1–1)46,0264–4
9April 14@ Mariners0–4Noesí (1–1)Milone (1–1)21,0714–5
10April 15@ Mariners3–5Beavan (1–1)Godfrey (0–2)League (4)19,6504–6
11April 16@ Angels0–6Weaver (2–0)McCarthy (0–2)27,3384–7
12April 17@ Angels5–3Fuentes (1–0)Jepsen (0–1)Balfour (3)41,0165–7
13April 18@ Angels6–0Colón (3–1)Santana (0–3)27,2176–7
14April 19@ Angels4–2Milone (2–1)Wilson (2–1)Balfour (4)27,8647–7
15April 20Indians3–4Jiménez (2–0)Godfrey (0–3)Perez (5)14,3407–8
16April 21Indians1–5Gómez (1–0)McCarthy (0–3)Perez (6)25,2587–9
17April 22Indians5–1Ross (1–0)Masterson (0–2)24,0498–9
18April 23White Sox0–4Peavy (3–0)Colón (3–2)10,5748–10
19April 24White Sox2–0Milone (3–1)Floyd (1–3)Balfour (5)11,1849–10
20April 25White Sox5–4 (14)Miller (1–0)Santiago (0–1)13,03210–10
21April 27@ Orioles5–2McCarthy (1–3)Arrieta (1–2)Balfour (6)18,29711–10
22April 28@ Orioles1–10Chen (2–0)Ross (1–1)26,92611–11
23April 29@ Orioles2–5Strop (3–1)Balfour (0–1)31,79311–12
24April 30@ Red Sox6–11Buchholz (3–1)Milone (3–2)37,35911–13 :
May (11–16)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
25May 1@ Red Sox5–3Parker (1–0)Doubront (1–1)Norberto (1)37,22512–13
26May 2@ Red Sox4–2McCarthy (2–3)Bard (2–3)Fuentes (1)37,43413–13
27May 4@ Rays2–7Price (5–1)Ross (1–2)Peralta (2)18,79913–14
28May 5@ Rays4–3 (12)Fuentes (2–0)Peralta (0–1)Balfour (7)23,89014–14
29May 6@ Rays9–5Milone (4–2)Moore (1–2)23,87315–14
30May 8Blue Jays7–3Balfour (1–1)Cordero (1–2)10,78416–14
31May 9Blue Jays2–5Morrow (4–1)Ross (2–2)Janssen (1)14,81516–15
32May 10Tigers6–10Scherzer (2–3)Colón (3–3)11,51316–16
33May 11Tigers11–4Milone (5–2)Porcello (3–3)26,72117–16
34May 12Tigers3–1McCarthy (3–3)Fister (0–1)Fuentes (2)20,07718–16
35May 13Tigers1–3Verlander (4–1)Parker (1–1)Valverde (7)17,14718–17
36May 14@ Angels5–0Ross (2–3)Haren (1–4)32,85119–17
37May 15@ Angels0–4Santana (2–6)Colón (3–4)31,76219–18
38May 16@ Rangers1–4Darvish (6–1)Milone (5–3)Nathan (8)46,37019–19
39May 17@ Rangers5–4 (10)Cook (1–0)Adams (0–2)Fuentes (3)47,18220–19
40May 18@ Giants6–8Zito (3–1)Parker (1–2)Casilla (10)41,47720–20
41May 19@ Giants0–4Vogelsong (2–2)Ross (2–4)41,41120–21
42May 20@ Giants6–2Colón (4–4)Lincecum (2–4)41,37821–21
43May 21Angels2–1Milone (6–3)Williams (4–2)Fuentes (4)11,29222–21
44May 22Angels0–5Wilson (5–4)Godfrey (0–4)12,89422–22
45May 23Angels1–3 (11)Walden (1–1)Norberto (0–1)Frieri (1)23,61722–23
46May 25Yankees3–6Nova (5–2)Ross (2–5)Soriano (4)33,55922–24
47May 26Yankees2–9Sabathia (6–2)Colón (4–5)27,11222–25
48May 27Yankees0–2Kuroda (4–6)Milone (6–4)Soriano (5)25,07822–26
49May 28@ Twins4–5Burnett (2–0)Cook (1–1)Capps (10)34,70922–27
50May 29@ Twins2–3Perkins (2–1)Fuentes (2–1)31,78122–28
51May 30@ Twins0–4Liriano (1–5)Ross (2–6)35,10322–29 :
June (15–13)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
52June 1@ Royals0–2Paulino (3–1)Colón (4–6)Broxton (12)29,52722–30
53June 2@ Royals9–3McCarthy (4–3)Hochevar (3–6)26,27623–30
54June 3@ Royals0–2Mazzaro (2–0)Milone (6–5)Broxton (13)21,11123–31
55June 4Rangers12–1Parker (2–2)Feldman (0–4)10,12024–31
56June 5Rangers3–6Holland (5–4)Blackley (0–1)Nathan (12)11,86124–32
57June 6Rangers2–0Colón (5–6)Lewis (4–5)Fuentes (5)15,04425–32
58June 7Rangers7–1McCarthy (5–3)Darvish (7–4)14,77926–32
59June 8@ Diamondbacks8–9Putz (1–3)Fuentes (2–2)25,78726–33
60June 9@ Diamondbacks3–8Cahill (4–5)Parker (2–3)28,06126–34
61June 10@ Diamondbacks3–4Saunders (4–4)Blackley (0–2)Putz (13)28,11226–35
62June 12@ Rockies8–5Colón (6–6)Guthrie (3–5)Cook (1)33,63527–35
63June 13@ Rockies10–8Blevins (1–0)Betancourt (1–2)Cook (2)32,15528–35
64June 14@ Rockies8–2Parker (3–3)White (2–5)32,52729–35
65June 15Padres10–2Blackley (1–2)Bass (2–7)Scribner (1)24,52830–35
66June 16Padres6–4Doolittle (1–0)Thatcher (0–2)Cook (3)17,13531–35
67June 17Padres1–2Richard (4–7)Colón (6–7)Street (8)21,63131–36
68June 19Dodgers3–0McCarthy (6–3)Harang (5–4)Cook (4)20,24432–36
69June 20Dodgers4–1Milone (7–5)Eovaldi (0–3)25,38333–36
70June 21Dodgers4–1Cook (2–1)Lindblom (2–1)23,33734–36
71June 22Giants4–5Hensley (3–3)Cook (2–2)Casilla (20)35,06734–37
72June 23Giants8–9Bumgarner (9–4)Ross (2–7)Hensley (2)36,06734–38
73June 24Giants4–2Miller (2–0)Casilla (1–3)36,06735–38
74June 25@ Mariners1–0Milone (8–5)Ramírez (0–2)Cook (5)17,10136–38
75June 26@ Mariners2–3Furbush (4–1)Miller (2–1)Wilhelmsen (6)12,41136–39
76June 27@ Mariners2–1Parker (4–3)Iwakuma (1–1)Cook (6)18,15837–39
77June 28@ Rangers6–7Feldman (2–6)Ross (2–8)Nathan (18)33,92737–40
78June 29@ Rangers3–4Harrison (11–3)Balfour (1–2)Scheppers (1)46,01337–41
79June 30@ Rangers2–7Pérez (1–0)Milone (8–6)46,71137–42 :
July (19–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
80July 1@ Rangers3–1Blackley (2–2)Darvish (10–5)Cook (7)45,74138–42
81July 2Red Sox6–1Parker (5–3)Matsuzaka (0–3)17,43439–42
82July 3Red Sox3–2Blevins (2–0)Aceves (0–6)35,06740–42
83July 4Red Sox3–2Balfour (2–2)Cook (2–2)Cook (8)28,24041–42
84July 6Mariners4–1 (11)Norberto (1–1)Pérez (0–1)10,81942–42
85July 7Mariners1–7Vargas (8–7)Parker (5–4)16,13642–43
86July 8Mariners2–1 (13)Norberto (2–1)Pérez (0–2)20,07543–43
87July 13@ Twins6–3Griffin (1–0)Liriano (3–8)Cook (9)33,23044–43
88July 14@ Twins9–3Milone (9–6)De Vries (2–2)39,08445–43
89July 15@ Twins9–4Parker (6–4)Duensing (1–6)36,58346–43
90July 17Rangers1–6Oswalt (3–1)Colón (6–8)15,11546–44
91July 18Rangers4–3Cook (3–2)Kirkman (0–1)20,24947–44
92July 19Yankees4–3Griffin (2–0)García (4–3)Cook (10)23,38248–44
93July 20Yankees3–2Cook (4–2)Eppley (0–1)24,14849–44
94July 21Yankees2–1Parker (7–4)Hughes (9–8)Doolittle (1)28,14250–44
95July 22Yankees5–4 (12)Blevins (3–0)Eppley (0–2)30,47051–44
96July 24@ Blue Jays7–2Blackley (3–2)Cecil (2–3)25,68652–44
97July 25@ Blue Jays16–0Griffin (3–0)Romero (8–7)23,94853–44
98July 26@ Blue Jays4–10Lyon (1–2)Milone (9–7)39,00353–45
99July 27@ Orioles14–9Blevins (4–0)Johnson (1–1)29,27854–45
100July 28@ Orioles6–1Colón (7–8)Hunter (4–6)21,14355–45
101July 29@ Orioles1–6Chen (9–6)Blackley (3–3)19,69855–46
102July 30Rays4–3 (15)Norberto (3–1)Farnsworth (0–3)12,56456–46
103July 31Rays0–8Shields (9–7)Milone (9–8)15,83656–47 :
August (18–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
104August 1Rays1–4Cobb (5–8)Parker (7–5)Rodney (31)18,16156–48
105August 2Blue Jays4–1Colón (8–8)Álvarez (7–8)Cook (11)10,82357–48
106August 3Blue Jays5–4 (15)Blackley (4–3)Loup (0–2)30,16958–48
107August 4Blue Jays1–3 (11)Chavez (1–1)Blevins (4–1)Oliver (2)17,12158–49
108August 5Blue Jays5–6Laffey (3–2)Milone (9–9)Janssen (14)18,30858–50
109August 6Angels0–4Weaver (15–1)Parker (7–6)13,34158–51
110August 7Angels10–4Colón (9–8)Wilson (9–8)15,45859–51
111August 8Angels9–8Neshek (1–0)Hawkins (2–3)Cook (12)21,15060–51
112August 10@ White Sox3–4Myers (1–5)Neshek (1–1)25,04160–52
113August 11@ White Sox9–7Cook (5–2)Thornton (4–8)Balfour (8)26,68661–52
114August 12@ White Sox3–7Sale (14–3)Colón (9–9)25,10661–53
115August 14@ Royals0–5Guthrie (5–12)Parker (7–7)16,10761–54
116August 15@ Royals2–3Smith (4–4)McCarthy (6–4)Holland (4)15,59161–55
117August 16@ Royals3–0Straily (1–0)Hochevar (7–11)Balfour (9)14,34562–55
118August 17Indians6–4Norberto (4–1)Smith (7–3)Balfour (10)13,96763–55
119August 18Indians8–5Colón (10–9)Kluber (0–2)Balfour (11)30,13264–55
120August 19Indians7–0Parker (8–7)Masterson (9–11)20,13065–55
121August 20Twins2–7Duensing (3–8)McCarthy (6–5)10,27465–56
122August 21Twins4–1Anderson (1–0)De Vries (2–5)Balfour (12)13,11666–56
123August 22Twins5–1Milone (10–9)Hendriks (0–6)16,65767–56
124August 23@ Rays0–5Cobb (8–8)Ross (2–9)11,61367–57
125August 24@ Rays5–4Cook (6–2)Peralta (1–6)Balfour (13)18,91368–57
126August 25@ Rays4–2McCarthy (7–5)Hellickson (8–9)Balfour (14)18,18769–57
127August 27@ Indians3–0Anderson (2–0)Hernández (0–3)Balfour (15)13,01870–57
128August 28@ Indians7–0Milone (11–9)McAllister (5–5)13,41371–57
129August 29@ Indians8–4Blackley (5–3)Kluber (0–3)Cook (13)14,41272–57
130August 30@ Indians12–7Parker (9–7)Masterson (10–12)14,50073–57
131August 31Red Sox20–2McCarthy (8–5)Cook (3–8)20,12174–57 :
September/October (20–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
132September 1Red Sox7–1Griffin (4–0)Doubront (10–7)20,31575–57
133September 2Red Sox6–2Anderson (3–0)Matsuzaka (1–4)25,31476–57
134September 3Angels3–8Wilson (11–9)Milone (11–10)20,18076–58
135September 4Angels1–6Greinke (13–5)Parker (9–8)11,68876–59
136September 5Angels1–7Haren (10–10)McCarthy (8–6)15,40476–60
137September 7@ Mariners6–1Griffin (5–0)Hernández (13–7)17,12877–60
138September 8@ Mariners6–1Anderson (4–0)Iwakuma (6–4)23,17778–60
139September 9@ Mariners4–2Milone (12–10)Vargas (14–10)Balfour (16)14,40379–60
140September 10@ Angels3–1Parker (10–8)Haren (10–11)Balfour (17)36,06480–60
141September 11@ Angels6–5Straily (2–0)Williams (6–8)Blevins (1)37,79481–60
142September 12@ Angels4–1Griffin (6–0)Santana (8–12)Cook (14)38,09782–60
143September 13@ Angels0–6Weaver (17–4)Anderson (4–1)38,02982–61
144September 14Orioles3–2Milone (13–10)Saunders (8–12)Balfour (18)35,06783–61
145September 15Orioles5–2Parker (11–8)Britton (5–3)Balfour (19)20,34284–61
146September 16Orioles5–9Matusz (6–10)Straily (2–1)Johnson (43)20,53984–62
147September 18@ Tigers2–12Downs (2–1)Griffin (6–1)31,24384–63
148September 19@ Tigers2–6Verlander (15–8)Anderson (4–2)29,73484–64
149September 20@ Tigers12–4Neshek (2–1)Sánchez (8–13)34,63585–64
150September 21@ Yankees1–2 (10)Robertson (2–7)Doolittle (1–1)40,75985–65
151September 22@ Yankees9–10 (14)Wade (1–1)Ross (2–10)44,02685–66
152September 23@ Yankees5–4Blevins (5–1)Kuroda (14–11)Balfour (20)43,86786–66
153September 24@ Rangers4–5Nathan (3–4)Ross (2–11)43,04486–67
154September 25@ Rangers3–2 (10)Scribner (1–0)Lowe (0–2)Balfour (21)43,87487–67
155September 26@ Rangers9–3Parker (12–8)Pérez (1–3)46,68988–67
156September 27@ Rangers7–9Harrison (18–10)Blackley (5–4)Nathan (36)43,79688–68
157September 28Mariners8–2Griffin (7–1)Beavan (10–11)16,37689–68
158September 29Mariners7–4 (10)Balfour (3–2)Pérez (1–3)21,51790–68
159September 30Mariners5–2Doolittle (2–1)Kelley (2–4)Balfour (22)21,05791–68
160October 1Rangers4–3Parker (13–8)Pérez (1–4)Balfour (23)21,16292–68
161October 2Rangers3–1Blackley (6–4)Harrison (18–11)Balfour (24)30,66093–68
162October 3Rangers12–5Scribner (2–0)Holland (12–7)36,06794–68 :

## Postseason
### Division Series

The Athletics played the Detroit Tigers in the Division Series.

#### Game 1, October 6

6:07 p.m. (EDT) 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 |
| Starting pitchers: OAK: Jarrod Parker (0–0) DET: Justin Verlander (0–0) --> 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 |
| Starting pitchers: OAK: Tommy Milone (0–0) DET: Doug Fister (0–0) --> 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 |
| Starting pitchers: DET: Aníbal Sánchez (0–0) OAK: Brett Anderson (0–0) --> 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 |
| Starting pitchers: DET: Max Scherzer (0–0) OAK: A. J. Griffin (0–0) --> 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 |
| Starting pitchers: DET: Justin Verlander (1–0) OAK: Jarrod Parker (0–1) --> WP: Justin Verlander (2–0) LP: Jarrod Parker (0–2) |||||||||||||

## Farm System
### Farm system affiliates

| 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 August 26, 2012
| 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.