The 2012 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the 123rd for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their 55th season in Los Angeles. The Dodgers celebrated the Golden Anniversary of Dodger Stadium, their home since 1962. It was a transitional year as the sale of the team from Frank McCourt to Guggenheim Baseball Management was not finalized until May 1. The new ownership group put their stamp on the team quickly by making a number of big trades and putting more money into the team than McCourt did. After a fast start, the team faded down the stretch and finished eight games behind the World Series Champion Giants. To date, this remains the last year the Dodgers missed the playoffs.
Offseason
Ownership situation
The Dodgers muddled ownership situation which had been in question since Frank McCourt's separation from his wife at the end of the 2009 season started to resolve itself. First McCourt and estranged wife Jamie McCourt reached a settlement in their bitter divorce case, in which she gave up her claims on the team for $130 millionRisling, Greg(October 17, 2011)McCourt Divorce Settlement: Jamie No Longer Wants Control Of The Dodgers . huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-02. and then McCourt agreed to a settlement with Major League Baseball in which the team was to be put up for sale in a bidding process with the bankruptcy court.Shaikin, Bill(November 2, 2011)Frank McCourt agrees to sell Dodgers. LAtimes.com Retrieved on 2011-11-02. Several groups of potential owners placed bids on the Dodgers, including Magic Johnson and Mark Walter, Steve Cohen, Rick Caruso and Joe Torre, Stanley Gold, Dennis Gilbert and Larry King, Mark Cuban and Orel Hershiser and Steve Garvey.Jackson, Tony(January 28, 2012)Source: Dodgers begin narrowing bids. LAtimes.com Retrieved on 2012-02-03.
On March 27, 2012, it was announced that an agreement had been reached on the sale of the Dodgers between Frank McCourt and Guggenheim Baseball Management LLC, a group of investors fronted by Guggenheim CEO Mark Walter and including former Los Angeles Lakers player Magic Johnson, baseball executive Stan Kasten and film mogul Peter Guber. Magic Johnson-led group is picked as Dodgers' next owner By Bill Shaikin and David Wharton, LOS ANGELES TIMES March 27, 2012 The total sale price for the Dodgers (which includes Dodgers Stadium) exceeded $2 billion, making the sale the largest for a professional sports team in history, exceeding the approximately $1.5 billion purchase of Manchester United F.C. by Malcolm Glazer in 2005, On the same day, it was also announced that the members of the group would partner with McCourt in purchasing the property surrounding the stadium. The sale price of the Dodgers was considered to be far higher than what the team was actually worth at the time of sale. Estimates made by Forbes placed the value of the Dodgers at approximately $1.4 billion, and the winning bid was more than 30% higher than the next highest bid. On April 13, the sale was approved by the bankruptcy court and the deal was finalized on May 1.
Coaching staff On September 30, 2011, the Dodgers announced the return of the entire coaching staff for the 2012 season. Dave Hansen, who had previously been hired as an interim hitting coach, was officially promoted to hitting coach.Gurnick, Ken(September 30, 2011)KMattingly's full coaching staff to return in 2012 . Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-03.
Departing players
The Dodgers got their offseason moves under way on October 4, 2011, when they declined the 2012 options on third baseman Casey Blake and pitcher Jon Garland and outrighted utility player Eugenio Vélez to the minor leagues.Gurnick, Ken(October 4, 2011)Dodgers buy out contracts of Garland, Blake . Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-04. The Dodgers other free agents at the end of the 2011 season were pitchers Jonathan Broxton, Hiroki Kuroda, Mike MacDougal and Vicente Padilla, catcher Rod Barajas, infielders Jamey Carroll and Aaron Miles and outfielder Juan Rivera.Gurnick, Ken(October 29, 2011)Colletti focused on adding big bat -- if he can . Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-29. Outfielder Jamie Hoffmann was claimed off waivers by the Colorado Rockies on December 5.Gurnick, Ken(December 5, 2011)Hoffmann claimed off waivers by Rockies . Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-06. On December 8, the Dodgers traded starting pitcher Dana Eveland to the Baltimore Orioles for two minor leaguers.Gurnick, Ken(December 8, 2011)Dodgers send Eveland to Orioles in trade . Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-08. On December 12, the Dodgers chose not to offer a contract to relief pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo, making him a free agent. Kuo had been the longest tenured Dodger at the time of his release.Gurnick, Ken(December 12, 2011)Dodgers sign Gwynn to two-year contract . Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-14.
Player signings
The Dodgers re-signed outfielder Juan Rivera to a one-year contract with a 2013 option.Gurnick, Ken(November 3, 2011)Dodgers ink Rivera to one-year contract . Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-14. They filled two of their open spots in rapid succession on November 15 by signing second baseman Mark Ellis to a two-year contractGurnick, Ken(November 15, 2011)Dodgers sign Ellis to two-year, 75M deal . Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-15. and backup catcher Matt Treanor to a one-year contract.Gurnick, Ken(November 15, 2011)Dodgers set their sights on veteran Treanor . Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-15. The Dodgers signed infielder Adam Kennedy to a one-year contract on December 1 to provide some infield depth and they signed veteran starting pitcher Chris Capuano to a two-year contract on December 2 to fill the void left by Kuroda's departure. They added to their bench on December 5 by signing veteran utility player Jerry Hairston Jr. to a 2-year contract.Gurnick, Ken(December 5, 2011)Dodgers add J. Hairston, close with Harang . Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-06. The Dodgers finished their rebuilding of the rotation on December 8 by signing Aaron Harang to a 2-year contract, with a vesting option.Gurnick, Ken(December 5, 2011)Dodgers round out rotation, add Harang . Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-06. The Dodgers chose to re-sign relief pitcher Mike MacDougal, agreeing to a one-year contract (including a 2013 option) with him on January 5.Gurnick, Ken(January 6, 2012)MacDougal remains in 'pen with one-year deal . Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved on 2012-01-06. They added another relief pitcher on February 3 by signing veteran Todd Coffey to a one-year contract.Gurnick, Ken(February 3, 2012)Dodgers, veteran reliever Coffey agree to deal . Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved on 2012-02-07.
Regular season
Season standings
NL West standings
NL Wild Card
Opening day lineup +Opening Day lineupName PositionDee GordonShortstopMark Ellis Second basemanMatt Kemp Center fielderAndre Ethier Right fielderJuan Rivera Left fielderJames Loney First basemanJuan UribeThird basemanA. J. EllisCatcherClayton Kershaw Starting pitcher
April The Dodgers opened the 2012 season on April 5, 2012, against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Reigning NL Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw started for the Dodgers, despite suffering from severe flu. He pitched three scoreless innings before being replaced by several relief pitchers. Matt Kemp hit his first home run of the season, a 2-run shot, and the Dodgers won 5–3.Gurnick, Ken. (April 6, 2012) Kershaw's moxie sets tone as LA tops Friars . Losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com. Retrieved on April 6, 2012. The Dodgers won the next game as Chad Billingsley pitched 8 1/3 scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts and Andre Ethier drove in 4 runs in the 6–0 victory.Gurnick, Ken. (April 7, 2012) Ethier's four RBIs back K-happy Billingsley . Losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com. Retrieved on April 8, 2012. The Dodgers rushed to a 5–0 lead on April 7 but the Padres tied it in the fifth when Dodger pitchers walked five, hit one and issued a wild pitch. The Dodgers managed to win 6–5 in 11 innings. Dee Gordon was the star as he went 3–4 with three stolen bases, two walks and two runs scored as well as bringing home catcher A. J. Ellis with the go-ahead single.Gurnick, Ken. (April 8, 2012) key in 11-inning victory over Padres . Losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com. Retrieved on April 8, 2012. After starting the season 3–0 for the first time since 1999, the Dodgers dropped the finale of the 4-game opening series to the Padres 8–4 as new addition Aaron Harang struggled in his season debut.Gurnick, Ken. (April 8, 2012) Harang struggles to settle in vs. former team . Losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com. Retrieved on April 9, 2012.
For their home opener, the Dodgers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2–1. Ethier celebrated his 30th birthday by hitting an eighth-inning home run for the deciding run. Kershaw recovered from the flu by allowing only one earned run in seven innings of work, while striking out seven.Gurnick, Ken. (April 10, 2012) Ethier's homer beats Bucs in home opener . Losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com. Retrieved on April 10, 2012. The Dodgers improved to 5–1 on the season by beating the Pirates 4–1 the next day behind another strong start by Billingsley.Gurnick, Ken. (April 12, 2012) Kemp, Rivera notch three hits each in win . Losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com. Retrieved on April 12, 2012. The Dodgers beat the Pirates again the next night, 3–2, to complete the sweep of the series. The Dodgers 6–1 record to start the season was their best start since 1981.Gurnick, Ken. (April 13, 2012) Dodgers sweep Bucs for best start since 1981 . Losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com. Retrieved on April 13, 2012. On April 13, Aaron Harang struck out 9 consecutive batters after giving up a single to set the all time Dodgers record against the Padres. The record was previously held by Johnny Podres with 8 in 1962. The streak was stopped by Will Venable when he hit an opposite field home run. Harang finished one strikeout short of tying Tom Seaver's Major League record of 10 in a row set in 1970 and tied his career high with 13 total strikeouts in the game. The Dodgers won the game 9–8 after the bullpen allowed the Padres to tie the score.Roberts, Quinn. (April 14, 2012) Harang fans 13; Dodgers walk off in ninth. Losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com. Retrieved on April 14, 2012. The Dodgers continued their hot start by beating the Padres 6–1 behind two home runs by Kemp and one by Ethier. Ted Lilly made his first start of the season and pitched seven dominant innings for the win.Roberts, Quinn. (April 15, 2012) Kemp clubs two homers for surging Dodgers . Losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com. Retrieved on April 15, 2012. The Dodgers swept the Padres with a wild 5–4 win on April 15. After taking a 4–1 lead, partially thanks to Matt Kemp's league leading 6th home run, the Dodgers allowed the Padres to tie the game at 4 heading to the ninth. With two on and no outs in the top of the ninth, Javy Guerra threw the ball inside on Jesús Guzmán, somehow the ball hit his bat and dribbled into fair Territory where A.J. Ellis threw it to third for the start of a triple play, the Dodgers first since 1998. The Padres protested that umpire Dale Scott had signaled that the ball was dead originally before changing his call. In the bottom of the inning, the Dodgers won the game on a walk-off single by Dee Gordon.Cassavell, A.J.. (April 15, 2012) Gordon delivers walk-off hit to cap wild ninth . Losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com. Retrieved on April 16, 2012.