The 2012 Major League season ended on Wednesday with excitement as the Oakland Athletics clinched the AL West after winning 12-5 against the Texas Rangers. With the playoffs now set to begin, a range of players capped off great seasons by leading the league in statistical categories, including Miguel Cabrera, who won the first American League Triple Crown since 1967.
Cabrera finished the season with a .330 batting average, 44 homers and 139 RBIs, becoming the first player since Frank Robinson in 1966 to win it outright, meaning he had the sole lead in all three categories.
In the American League, Tampa Bay Rays starter David Price had an excellent season, putting himself as the top of the list for possible Cy Young winners.
Price finished with 20 wins on the year, tied with Jered Weaver for the league lead, and posted a 2.56 ERA, besting Detroit's Justin Verlander by a close margin of .08. Verlander took the strikeout title for the season, putting down 239 batters, eight better than his teammate Max Scherzer.
Price had an impressive season all around, finishing with a 20-5 record in 31 starts. He only walked 59 batters this season and also added 205 strikeouts. He was a finalist for the Warren Spahn Award, which is given to the best left-hander in the majors. He lost the award in a tiebreaker with Nationals starter by Gio Gonzalez, who had 21 wins to Price's 20.
Baltimore reliever Jim Johnson saved 51 games for the Orioles, beating out Fernando Rodney of the Rays (48) and Yankees closer Rafael Soriano (42) for the league lead. Johnson was a huge factor in returning the Orioles to the playoffs for the first time since 1997, posting a 2.49 ERA while appearing in 71 games.
In the National League, San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey made a case for winning the MVP award, finishing as the top hitter in the league with a .336 batting average.
"I don't think it's something that you ever think about doing," Posey said to the Associated Press. "It's such a long season, and from Day 1, you try to grind out at-bats no matter what the situation. And if you can go up there and are able to make some adjustments, good things will happen."
Last season Posey missed nearly the entire season after injuring his ankle in May. He was hurt in a collision at home plate in a game against the Marlins, tearing ankle ligaments and suffering a broken fibula. He recovered this season to become just the second San Francisco Giant to win a batting title since Barry Bonds in 2004.
According to ESPN.com: "The previous catcher to win the NL title was Ernie Lombardi of the Boston Braves, who hit .330 in 1942. The last catcher to win in the AL was Minnesota's Joe Mauer in 2009."
Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutcheon finished second with a .327 batting average. Posey's teammate Melky Cabrera was leading the league with a .346 average but was suspended after using performance enhancing drugs. He removed himself from the batting race after testing positive.
Last year's NL Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw finished the season as the ERA leader with a 2.53 ERA. Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, who is a favorite for this year's Cy Young, finished in second with a 2.73 ERA.
Kershaw finished the season with a 14-9 record, giving up 170 hits in 227 innings and also posting two shutouts.
"If we make the playoffs next season, it will be a great year," Kershaw said. "Not making the postseason, that's kind of what we play for."
Dickey and Kershaw flipped their ERA finish for the strikeout title, with Dickey striking out 230, one better than Kershaw with 229. According to ESPN.com, Kershaw is the first lefty to lead the league in ERA two years in a row since Randy Johnson did it in 2001-02 for Arizona.
The article also said that: "Kershaw became the first Dodgers pitcher to do so since Sandy Koufax accomplished the feat from 1962-66."
Washington starter Gio Gonzalez led the majors with 21 wins, finishing with a 21-8 record with a 2.89 ERA and 207 strikeouts.
Atlanta closer Craig Kimbrel, who had one of the most impressive seasons ever for a reliever, finished tied with St. Louis closer Jason Motte for the league lead with 42 saves.
"That's cool," Motte said. "He (Kimbrel) has been doing this for two years. This makes me feel good."
Kimbrel only blew three saves this year and finished with 116 strikeouts in 62.2 innings. Amazingly, he only gave up seven runs all year.
San Diego Padres third baseman Chase Headley finished the year as the RBI champion, adding two runs in the final game to bring his total to 115 for the year. He finished just ahead of last year's NL MVP Ryan Braun, who had 112.
"It was on my mind, but you couldn't think about it too much," Headley said. "To go out and compete against a guy like Ryan Braun, I was a little nervous, but everything turned out great.
Braun lost out on RBIs, but took home the NL home run title, bashing 41 on the season. He also finished first in extra-base hits, slugging percentage and total bases according to ESPN.com.
"I think ultimately we'll look back on the season as a positive," Braun said. "At the beginning of the year, if you would have told us we'd miss out on the postseason, I think we'd all be disappointed. But at the same time, you have to reassess your goals when you consider everything we've dealt with as a team."
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