2012 Oakland Athletics

Lore & Background

After trailing the Texas Rangers by 13 games on June 30, the A's overcame a five-game deficit with nine days left to win the division on the final day of the season. The team led the league with 15 walk-off wins and had the second-lowest payroll in baseball at $59.5 million. They lost to the Detroit Tigers in five games in the Division Series.

In Their Own Story

The Coliseum lights hummed to life on a humid August evening, the kind of night where the bay fog crept under the overhang and the 3,000-seat section smelled of hot dogs and cheap beer. Chris Sale stepped onto the mound, rolled his shoulders, and stared at the batter's box like he was solving an equation. Behind him, in the bullpen, Brandon League was already warming up, fingers laced through the glove, jaw set. The crowd didn't know it yet, but this was the season that would make them believe in something bigger than a single October. The ball left Sale's hand at 96, the runner on second scrambled, and the green-and-gold crowd roared like a single lung. For one night, Oakland wasn't a stopover. It was the destination.

Reader's Guide

Key offseason moves included trading pitchers Trevor Cahill and Gio González for prospects such as Jarrod Parker, Tommy Milone, Brad Peacock, Derek Norris, and Ryan Cook. Andrew Bailey was traded to Boston for Josh Reddick. The A's signed Cuban outfielder Yoenis Céspedes to a 4-year, $36 million deal, and also added veterans Jonny Gomes, Seth Smith, and Bartolo Colón. The team's young starters included Parker, Milone, and Peacock; key hitters included Céspedes, Reddick, and Coco Crisp. The closer role is not specified in the source.

Did You Know?

• The A's had a 13-game deficit on June 30 but won the division on the last day.
• They led MLB with 15 walk-off wins in 2012.
• The payroll was the second-lowest in baseball at $59.5 million.
• Brandon McCarthy suffered a life-threatening head injury on September 5.
• The A's swept the Yankees for the first time in Oakland in July.