Major League Baseball has its hands full in 2013 if it’s hoping to top, or even match, the drama and excitement 2012 provided.
Between the white lines we witnessed, perhaps, the most exciting round in playoff baseball history as all four LDS went the maxium five games, capped off by the St. Louis Cardinals stunning rally from a 7-5 deficit in the ninth inning of Game 5 to eliminate the host Washington Nationals.
Speaking of comebacks, the eventual World Series champion San Francisco became just the second team in NL history to rally from a 2-0 deficit in a playoff series when they won three straight games in Cincinnati to take their NLDS.
As for individual performances 2012 gave us seven no-hitters (including three perfect games), baseball’s first triple crown winner (Miguel Cabrera) since 1967, and pair of super rookies (Mike Trout and Bryce Harper) who took their respective leagues by storm.
In the boardrooms, MLB added a second wild card team in each league prior to the start of the season, and despite some scheduling concerns surrounding the new playoff format, their inclusion was an unqualified success.
But ask any owner, or a player for that matter, what the most significant news of 2012 was and they’ll simply point in the direction of a television.
In October, MLB signed new eight-year agreements (beginning in 2014) with Fox and TBS worth $6.8 billion, on the heels of a new eight-year, $5.6 billion deal it reached with ESPN in August.
The $12 billion-plus in new TV cash is more than double what MLB fetched from the networks in their previous deals, and it all but guarantees the profitablity of each team despite ever-rising player salaries.
But enough of what’s to come. Here’s a look back at some of the memorable plot lines from MLB in 2012…
After assuming control of the club from Frank McCourt back in March for a cool $2 billion, the new Dodgers ownership group, fronted by Magic Johnson and bankrolled by financial services company Guggenheim Partners, said they would spend whatever it takes to put a winner on the field and return the once-proud franchise to prominence.
We just had no idea how much.
After opening 2012 with a $93-million payroll, the Dodgers are now projected to open 2013 with the highest payroll in the majors at more than $212 million following a series of splashy trades and free agent signings that netted them the likes of Zack Greinke, Hanley Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford. Those five players alone will earn a combined $91 million in 2013.
And thanks to a new local TV deal with Fox that will pay the Dodgers roughly $240 million per season over the next 25 years, luxury tax or not, money will remain no object for baseball’s biggest financial superpower.
Honourable mention: Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos.
The Montreal native worked small miracles over the past several weeks re-making his club’s roster via two blockbuster trades with the Miami Marlins and New York Mets and a pair of shrewd free agent signings.
Most Improved Major League Teams this off-season: 1. Toronto 2. Boston 3. Dodgers 4. Angels 5. Royals — JIM BOWDEN (@JimBowdenESPNxm) December 22, 2012
Most Improved Major League Teams this off-season: 1. Toronto 2. Boston 3. Dodgers 4. Angels 5. Royals
— JIM BOWDEN (@JimBowdenESPNxm) December 22, 2012
A year ago at this time some prognosticators (cough, right here) believed the 2012 A’s had a shot of matching the 2003 Detroit Tigers AL record for most losses in a season with 119.
Seems ridiculous now, doesn’t it? Lest we forget…
Last winter coming off a 74-win season, A’s GM Billy Beane decided it was time to rebuild (again). Or so it seemed. In three separate deals he traded away closer Andrew Bailey and starters Trevor Cahill and Gio Gonzalez. Josh Willingham, the A’s top home run hitter in 2011, left via free agency.
The trades netted Beane his top two starters in 2012 (Tommy Milone and Jarrod Parker), hard-throwing setup man/closer Ryan Cook and outfielder Josh Reddick, who slugged 32 home runs in right while playing Gold Glove defence.
Toss in the shrewd off-season signings of Cuban slugger Yeonis Cespedes (.861 OPS), first baseman Brandon Moss and starter Bartolo Colon and the could-have-been brutal A’s shocked the baseball world by winning 92 games and the AL West title over the heavily-favoured Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels.
Sorry Billy, we’ll never underestimate you again.
Honourable mention:The Baltimore Orioles.
No one, I mean no one, saw Buck Showalter’s squad winning 93 games in 2012. It’ll be an even bigger surprise if they can do it again in 2013.
There’s plenty of hate to go around in this category, and much of it depends on what city you’re in, but you’d be hard pressed to find a more be-loathed — yes I just made that word up — character in all of Major League Baseball in 2012 than Loria. At last year’s winter meetings, the Miami Marlins owner was throwing cash around like he was Evander Kane, signing free agents Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell to expensive — and backloaded — free agent contracts.
But following a disastrous 69-win season in his new and largely tax-payer funded Marlins Park, Loria did what any cynical, short-sighted, penny-pinching owner would do: he gutted the team.
In November’s 12-player trade with the Blue Jays alone, Loria managed to shave close to $40 million off his 2013 payroll. The Marlins opened 2012 with a $107.7 million payroll. As things stand today, the Marlins have just $34.3 million in payroll commitments for 2013 and $5.5 million committed for 2014.
Now that’s a salary floor the NHL board of governors can only dream of.
The good news for South Florida baseball fans: there’s good reason to believe Loria will sell the team after 2015. You see, as part of the stadium-funding agreement he agreed to, beginning in 2015, Loria will no longer be obligated to share a percentage of the profits resulting from a sale of the team with the tax-payers of Miami-Dade County.
Dishonurable mention: Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell.
We have a feeling the mild-mannered Farrell doesn’t realize the hornet’s nest of hate he unleashed in Toronto when he bolted for Boston in November. He should have a better idea on April 5 when his Red Sox make their first 2013 appearance in Toronto.
“If I were there right now, I’d punch you right in the mouth.” – Bobby Valentine, Sept. 5, 2012.
How’s that for a response to a question?
On the afternoon in question, the now former Red Sox skipper was making his weekly guest appearance on Boston radio station WEEI when he was asked whether he had ‘checked out’ on the team because he had arrived at the ballpark later than usual one day on a recent road trip.
You can hear the verbal fireworks here:
“What an embarrassing thing to say,” snarled Valentine. “If I were there right now, I’d punch you right in the mouth. Ha, ha. How’s that sound?”
Actually, it sounds a lot like this Ron Burgundy line, but in the eyes of Red Sox Nation, Bobby Valentine’s one year reign of error was no joke. Or if you prefer, a Year of Chaos, as chronicled here by Alex Speier of WEEI.
Honourable mention: Bryce Harper.
OK, so it’s not much of a rant, but no year-end piece would be complete without a space for arguably the most memorable line (now trademarked) of 2012.
Anyone know where we’re supposed to send Bryce’s cheque?
Say it with me now: ulnar collateral ligament.
The medical term for the elbow ligament repaired during Tommy John surgery was a hot topic around baseball in 2012, especially in Toronto where three young pitchers (Kyle Drabek, Drew Hutchison and Luis Perez) were lost to the procedure.
Think the Blue Jays had it bad? How about the Kansas City Royals who lost four pitchers in 2012 (starters Felipe Paulino and Danny Duffy, closer Joakim Soria, and reliever Blake Wood) to UCL injuries.
And then there was Stephen Strasburg.
The Washington Nationals prized right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery in 2010 and was enjoying a tremendous 2012 season (3.16 ERA, 1.155 WHIP, 11.1 K/9) when club officials made the controversial decision to shut him down for the year at 159 innings.
It was an extrodinary move for a team with legitimate World Series aspirations. Can you imagine the Pittsbugh Penguins benching Sidney Crosby in the playoffs because they fear he might sustain another concussion?
Now you can understand why so many were left scratching their heads over the Nationals decision.
The 2012 spike in UCL business for Dr. James Andrews and others has led some organizations, including the Blue Jays, to re-examine their throwing programs for pitchers at all levels.
In all, More than 30 MLB players underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012.
