The 2012 Cleveland Indians season was the 112th season for the franchise. The team attempted (but failed) to improve on its 2011 campaign in which was 80-82 and finished 2nd in the American League Central division. The team was also looking to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2007. The team played all of its home games at Progressive Field, which will be in its 19th season.
The Indians were in playoff contention for much of the first four months of the season. The team had a record of 44-41 at the All Star Break, and were just a few games back in both the AL Central and Wild Card races. However, the team struggled through the second half, going just 24-53 after the break, for a final record of 68-94, placing 4th in the division.
This marked the third and final season under the leadership of manager Manny Acta. Acta was fired on September 27 with six games remaining. Bench coach and former Indians' catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. was named the interim manager for the team's final six games.
Spring training
The Indians had a 7–22 win–loss record in spring training, their .241 winning percentage being the worst among all MLB teams during pre-season. Three of their games finished tied and were therefore not included in the standings.
Regular season
Opening Day lineup
Michael Brantley – CF
Asdrúbal Cabrera – SS
Shin-Soo Choo – RF
Carlos Santana – C
Travis Hafner – DH
Shelley Duncan – LF
Casey Kotchman – 1B
Jason Kipnis – 2B
Jack Hannahan – 3B
Justin Masterson – SP
April
For the fourth straight season, the Indians would lose the season opener, in record fashion. The Indians played host to the Toronto Blue Jays and had a 4–1 lead before allowing the Blue Jays to even the score in the ninth inning. The game would last 16 innings before the Indians fell 7–4 in what would be the longest season-opener in Major League history, besting the previous record of 15 innings (done in 1926 and 1960). The next day when the clubs had finished their second meeting, a 7–4 win for Toronto in 12 innings, it was the first time since 1969 that two games to open the season had gone 12 innings or more.
On the road against Seattle, the Indians had their largest comeback win since May 25, 2009 when they rallied from a 7-run deficit before eventually winning 11–10. The Indians won two of three against the Oakland Athletics and thus for the first time since 1988 won their first three road series on the year.
After a 13–7 win over the Kansas City Royals, the Indians had for the first time in the club's 111-year history scored at least 8 runs in their first 3 road games of the season. The team failed to hit a home run in 11 straight games to end April, the franchise's longest homer-less streak since the 1983 season when they went 14 games.
The Indians would go 11–9 in the month, finishing with a game lead over the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central. The team was 7–2 on the road.
May
The Indians started May with a stretch of 21 games in 20 days. The Indians went 13-8 in this stretch. The Tribe started the month on the road and when they won the third game of a three-game series with the Chicago White Sox, it was their fourth road series win in a row to start the season, which was last done by the 1961 Indians (although the 1961 club opened the season with a one-game "series" at Detroit). They would lose their next road series to stop the streak, losing to the Boston Red Sox in three of four games. The club would have their first day off of the month on the 21st, and continued their good play with a home sweep over Detroit that would give the Indians a 3-game lead over second place Chicago and a 6-game lead over Detroit. However, this lead was short-lived as the Indians were immediately swept by Chicago in a three-game road series en route to ending May with losses in five of their last six games. Injuries contributed to this poor performance, as shortstop Asdrúbal Cabrera (hamstring), designated hitter Travis Hafner (knee), and catcher Carlos Santana (concussion) all suffered injuries late in the month. Despite being in first place during most of May, the attendance at Progressive Field was last in the majors.