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in: MLB History

1972 in baseball

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This year in baseball

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See also
Sources

The following are the baseball events of the year 1972 throughout the world.  


Champions[]

Major League Baseball[]

Other champions[]

  • Caribbean World Series: Leones de Ponce (Puerto Rico)
  • College World Series: USC
  • Japan Series: Yomiuri Giants over Hankyu Braves (4-1)
  • Little League World Series: Taipei, Taiwan

Awards and honors[]

Statistical Leaders[]

  American League National League
Type Name Stat Name Stat
AVG Rod Carew MN .318 Billy Williams CHC .333
HR Dick Allen CHW 37 Johnny Bench CIN 40
RBI Dick Allen CHW 113 Johnny Bench CIN 125
Wins Wilbur Wood CHW &
Gaylord Perry CLE		 24 Steve Carlton PHI 27
ERA Luis Tiant BOS 1.91 Steve Carlton PHI 1.97

Major League Baseball final standings[]

American League final standings[]

American League
Club Wins Losses Win %   GB
East Division
Detroit Tigers 86 70 .551 --
Boston Red Sox 85 70 .548 0.5
Baltimore Orioles 80 74 .519 5
New York Yankees 79 76 .510 6.5
Cleveland Indians 72 84 .462 14
Milwaukee Brewers 65 91 .417 21
West Division
Oakland Athletics 93 62 .600 --
Chicago White Sox 87 67 .565 5.5
Minnesota Twins 77 77 .500 15.5
Kansas City Royals 76 78 .494 16.5
California Angels 75 80 .484 18
Texas Rangers 54 100 .351 38.5

National League final standings[]

National League
Club Wins Losses Win %   GB
East Division
Pittsburgh Pirates 96 59 .619 --
Chicago Cubs 85 70 .548 11
New York Mets 83 73 .532 13.5
St. Louis Cardinals 75 81 .481 21.5
Montreal Expos 70 86 .449 26.5
Philadelphia Phillies 59 97 .378 37.5
West Division
Cincinnati Reds 95 59 .617 --
Houston Astros 84 69 .549 10.5
Los Angeles Dodgers 85 70 .548 10.5
Atlanta Braves 70 84 .445 25
San Francisco Giants 69 86 .445 26.5
San Diego Padres 58 95 .379 36.5

Events[]

  • May 14 - In front of a Mother's Day crowd of 35,000 in New York's Shea Stadium, Willie Mays makes a triumphant return to New York with the Mets, hitting a game-winning home run against his old teammates (the Giants). He scores in the 1st inning on Rusty Staub's grand slam and his solo homer in the 5th inning snaps a 4-4 tie. The final score: Mets 5, Giants 4.
  • May 28 - The Milwaukee Brewers fire manager Dave Bristol, replacing him with Del Crandall. Coach Roy McMillan takes over until Crandall arrives and guides the team to a 4-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox.
  • July 2 - San Francisco's Willie McCovey hits his 14th career grand slam home run to pace the Giants 9-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Pitcher Randy Moffitt wins his first major league game and receives a congratulatory telegram from his sister Billie Jean King, who is playing at Wimbledon.
  • July 11 - At Oakland, Boston's Marty Pattin has his no-hit bid foiled when Reggie Jackson hits a 1-out single in the 9th inning. Boston wins 4-0.
  • July 25 - At Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, the National League wins the All-Star Game over the American League 4-3, behind hometown hero Hank Aaron's two-run home run and Joe Morgan's 10th-inning RBI single. Morgan is named MVP. It is the seventh time the classic has gone into extra innings.
  • September 30 - During the Pirates' 5-0 win over the Mets at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, Roberto Clemente hits a double off New York's Jon Matlack in the 4th inning to get his 3,000th and final regular season hit in the major leagues.
  • October 3 - The Detroit Tigers clinch the American League East as Woody Fryman beats Luis Tiant of the Boston Red Sox 3-1 for his 10th win. Detroit's Chuck Seelbach picks up his 14th save and Al Kaline singles in the winning run for Detroit.
  • November 27 - In a great trade for New York, the Cleveland Indians swap third baseman Graig Nettles and catcher Gerry Moses to the New York Yankees for catcher John Ellis, infielder Jerry Kenney, and outfielders Charlie Spikes and Rusty Torres.
  • December 10 - The American League votes unanimously to adopt the designated hitter rule on a 3-year experimental basis. The DH will replace the pitcher in the lineup unless otherwise noted before the start of the game. In the December 1975 meeting, the AL will vote to permanently adopt the DH. The National League declines to follow suit.

Births[]

January-June[]

July-December[]

Deaths[]

  • February 9 - Chico Ruiz, 33, infielder for the Cincinnati Reds and California Angels
  • February 28 - Dizzy Trout, 56, All-Star pitcher for the Detroit Tigers who led the AL in wins in 1943 and was MVP runnerup the following year
  • March 11 - Zack Wheat, 83, Hall of Fame left fielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers who held team career records for games, hits, doubles and triples, a lifetime .317 hitter who retired with the 10th-most hits in history
  • March 16 - Pie Traynor, 72, Hall of Fame third baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates who batted .320 lifetime and established a record for career games at third base; was named the best ever at his position in 1969
  • March 28 - Donie Bush, 84, shortstop of the Detroit Tigers for 14 seasons who led AL in walks five times and was a superlative bunter; later managed Pittsburgh to the 1927 NL pennant
  • March 30 - Davy Jones, 91, outfielder with the Detroit Tigers who organized a 1912 walkout to protest Ty Cobb's suspension for attacking a heckler
  • April 2 - Gil Hodges, 47, 8-time All-Star first baseman for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers who drove in more runs than any other player during the 1950s and managed the "Miracle Mets" to the 1969 World Series title
  • April 3 - Alvin Crowder, 73, pitcher who had three 20-win seasons with the Browns and Senators, known for his mastery against the Yankees
  • May 22 - Dick Fowler, 51, Canadian pitcher who won 66 games with the Philadelphia Athletics, including a no-hitter
  • May 29 - Moe Berg, 70, catcher who served as a spy for the U.S. government both during and after his playing career
  • June 9 - Del Bissonette, 72, first baseman who twice batted .300 for the Brooklyn Dodgers
  • July 31 - Rollie Hemsley, 65, All-Star catcher for seven teams, later a coach and minor league manager
  • August 13 - George Weiss, 77, executive who solidified the New York Yankees dynasty as the club's farm director and general manager from 1932 to 1960, then became the Mets' first team president
  • August 24 - J. Roy Stockton, 79, St. Louis sportswriter from the 1910s to the 1950s, also a sportscaster and author of books on baseball
  • September 6 - Charlie Berry, 69, American League catcher for eleven seasons, later an AL umpire from 1942 to 1962
  • September 16 - Eddie Waitkus, 53, All-Star first baseman who was shot in 1949 by a teenaged female admirer who lured him to her hotel room
  • October 9 - Dave Bancroft, 81, Hall of Fame shortstop for four NL teams, known for his defensive skill and also batting over .300 five times; captain of the New York Giants' pennant winners from 1921-1923
  • October 24 - Jackie Robinson, 53, Hall of Fame second baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers who broke baseball's color line in 1947 after starring in the Negro Leagues; he became the NL's 1949 MVP and batted .311 in a 10-year major league career
  • November 2 - Freddy Parent, 96, shortstop in the Red Sox' first seven seasons, and the last surviving participant of the inaugural 1903 World Series
  • November 26 - Wendell Smith, 58, sportswriter for Pittsburgh and Chicago newspapers since 1937 who became the BBWAA's first black member and helped ease Jackie Robinson's entry into the major leagues; also a Chicago sportscaster since 1964
  • December 20 - Gabby Hartnett, 72, Hall of Fame catcher for the Chicago Cubs who virtually clinched the 1938 pennant with a home run, he established career records for games and home runs as a catcher and was the NL's 1935 MVP
  • December 31 - Roberto Clemente, 38, right fielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates since 1972; a lifetime .317 hitter, 12-time All-Star and winner of 12 Gold Gloves who was a 4-time batting champion and the NL's 1966 MVP, he collected his 3000th base hit in September
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