The Tigers' Miguel Cabrera clinches the AL Triple Crown, becoming the 1st player to do so since 1967 when Carl Yastrzemski accomplished the feat with Boston -- making him the 1st player to do it in my lifetime. The 29-year-old native of Maracay, Venezuela leads the circuit with a .330 batting average, 44 home runs and 139 RBIs. Naturally, he was named the AL's Most Valuable Player. He would receive the MVP again the next season.
He helped the Florida Marlins win the World Series as a rookie in 2003. But their cheapness led to his being traded to the Tigers for the 2008 season. They moved him from 3rd base to 1st base. He helped them win the Pennant in 2012. At the close of the 2022 season, he is a member of the 500 Home Run Club, and is just short of the 3,000 Hit Club.
UPDATE: He retired after the 2023 season, with a lifetime batting average of .306; 3,174 hits including 627 doubles, 17 triples and 511 home runs; 1,881 RBIs; a career OPS+ of 142, and 12 All-Star Game appearances. He will be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2029. It is expected that, upon his election, the Tigers will retire his Number 24.
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October 3, 2012 was a Wednesday. Football was in midweek, and the NBA and NHL seasons were about to start. Elsewhere in baseball:
* The greatest moment in Washington Nationals "Racing Presidents" history. After getting off to a slow start in the regular-season finale against Philadelphia, Teddy Roosevelt finally beats George Washington, Abe Lincoln, and Tom Jefferson to the finish line, winning the race for the 1st time since it made its debut at RFK Stadium in 2006.
The victory, the mascot's 1st after 525 losses, is assured when a green furry creature, who bears a striking resemblance to a phony Phillie Phanatic, waylays the other 3 Presidential contenders in right field. The reason the Phake Phanatic was there was that the Nats were playing the Philadelphia Phillies, and beat them, 5-1.
The Nats had already clinched the National League Eastern Division, ending the Phils' 5-year reign at the top. Beset by injuries, they had fallen to 81-81, ending their greatest run ever: 5 seasons, 5 Division titles, 2 Pennants, and the 2008 World Championships.
In 2019, Teddy finally had a season in which he won the most races, 31.
In 2019, Teddy finally had a season in which he won the most races, 31.
* In other dubious baseball action, Texas Rangers center fielder Josh Hamilton's 4th inning-error opens the floodgates that allow the Oakland Athletics to erase a 5-run deficit when they score 6 times, en route to their 12-5 victory at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the O.co Coliseum).
The A's had been 13 games out of 1st place in the AL West on June 30, and 6 games out on August 25. But their hot streak and the Rangers' nosedive leaves the A's as AL Western Division Champions, and puts the Rangers into the new best-2-out-of-3-games AL Wild Card Series.
This comes after the Rangers' pathetic performance in the 2010 World Series and their embarrassing choke job in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series. They do not yet have the choke reputation of, say, the Red Sox, the Cubs, or the Indians — but they should.
* The New York Yankees clinch the AL Eastern Division title, finishing off a tough race against the Baltimore Orioles, and doing so by beating the Auld Enemy, the Boston Red Sox, 14-2 at the new Yankee Stadium. The O's are relegated to the AL Wild Card Series, against the Rangers.
Hiroki Kuroda went 7 innings for the win, while Daisuke Matsuzaka didn't get out of the 3rd inning. Curtis Granderson hit his 42nd and 43rd home runs of the season, while Robinson Canó hit his 32nd and 33rd. Canó had 6 RBIs, Granderson 4. Derek Jeter went 1-for-4.
That one felt pretty good. But it would take the Yankees 7 years to win another Division title -- because, or so it seemed, Brian Cashman's priority wasn't putting the Yankees in the best possible position to advance in the postseason, but rather to sell tickets and stay under the luxury tax threshold.
* Two Cleveland Indians legends each play their last major league game -- but neither does so for the Indians. The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-1 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida,, and Jim Thome goes 0-for-4 as the O's DH.
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Minnesota Twins, 2-1 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, and Omar Vizquel, at 45 the oldest man ever to play shortstop in the major leagues, and the last remaining MLB player from the 1980s, goes 1-for-3 for the Jays.
* Having already clinched the NL Central Division, the Cincinnati Reds lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 1-0 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Matt Carpenter provides the only run in the bottom of the 8th, singling home Shane Robinson.
It takes 5 pitchers for the Cards to finish a 3-hit shutout: Shelby Miller allowed 1 hit and 2 walks over 6, and only threw 72 pitches; Sam Freeman allowed a hit and no walks in the 7th, Victor Marté allowed a hit in the 8th and became the winning pitcher, Marc Rzepczynski got the 1st out in the 9th, and Jason Motte got the last 2, neither of them allowing a baserunner.
* The San Francisco Giants had already clinched the NL Western Division, but it probably still bothered them that they lost their regular-season finale to their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Clayton Kershaw outpitched Ryan Vogelsong.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-0 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. How many Braves pitchers does it take to pitch a 3-hit, no-walk shutout? This may be a record: 8. Ben Sheets pitched the 1st inning, Luis Avilán the 2nd, Julio Teherán the 3rd and the 4th, Randall Delgado the 5th, Cory Gearrin the 6th, Eric O'Flaherty the 7th, Jonny Venters the 8th, and Craig Kimbrel the 9th.
What were the Braves thinking? They had the NL Wild Card Series with the Cardinals coming up, and I guess they didn't want to "waste" a starting pitcher.
* The New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins, 4-2 at Marlins Park (now LoanDepot Park) in Miami.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 9-0 at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Gavin Floyd goes 7 innings, and 2 relievers help him complete the 5-hit shutout.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros, 5-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-6 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.
* The Colorado Rockies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 2-1 at Chase Field in Phoenix.
* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 12-0 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle. There were 5 shutouts on the final day of the season, and this was the only one that required as little as 2 pitchers: Blake Beavan allowed 7 hits and a walk over the 1st 8 innings, and Stephen Pryor pitched a perfect 9th.
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