The 1972

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

finished the season 85–70, good for a tie for second place with the Astros in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

West division. This was the first season where the players' last names appeared on the back of the uniforms.

Offseason

* October 21: Tommy Hutton was traded by the Dodgers to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

for

Larry Hisle Larry Eugene Hisle (; born May 5, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player and hitting coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies (1968–71), Minnesota Twins (1973–77), an ...

. * October 22, 1971:

Bobby Darwin Arthur Bobby Lee Darwin (born February 16, 1943) is an American professional baseball scout and a former Major League Baseball pitcher and outfielder who played for the Los Angeles Angels (), Los Angeles Dodgers (-), Minnesota Twins (-), Milwaukee ...

was traded by the Dodgers to the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

for Paul Powell. * October 24, 1971:

Maury Wills Maurice Morning Wills (October 2, 1932 – September 19, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) primarily for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1959 through 1966 and the latter part of ...

was released by the Dodgers. * December 2, 1971:

Doyle Alexander Doyle Lafayette Alexander (born September 4, 1950) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue J ...

Bob O'Brien Robert Allen O'Brien (born April 23, 1949) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball. He pitched in 14 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers during the 1971 season, including four starts and one shutout. He played college ball at three different ...

, Sergio Robles and

Royle Stillman Royle Eldon Stillman (born January 2, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player whose career lasted for 3 seasons (1975–1977). Beginnings An outfielder, he appeared in 75 Major League Baseball games, and played all or part of thr ...

were traded by the Dodgers to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

for

Frank Robinson Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams, from to . The only player to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of both ...

and

Pete Richert Peter Gerard Richert (born October 29, 1939) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1962–64, 1972–73), Washington Senators (1965–67), B ...

. * December 2, 1971:

Dick Allen Richard Anthony Allen (March 8, 1942 – December 7, 2020) was an American professional baseball player. During his fifteen-year-long Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played as a first baseman, third baseman, and outfielder, most notably ...

was traded by the Dodgers to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

for

Tommy John Thomas Edward John Jr. (born May 22, 1943), nicknamed "The Bionic Man," is an American retired professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 26 seasons between 1963 and 1989. He played for the Cleveland Indians, ...

and Steve Huntz. * December 2, 1971:

Tom Haller Thomas Frank Haller (June 23, 1937 – November 26, 2004) was an American professional baseball player, coach, and executive. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1961 to 1972, most notably as a member of the San Francisco Gi ...

was traded by the Dodgers to the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

for a player to be named later and cash. The Tigers completed the deal by sending Bernie Beckman (minors) to the Dodgers on March 31, 1972. * December 17, 1971:

Chris Cannizzaro Christopher John Cannizzaro (May 3, 1938 – December 29, 2016) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1960 to 1974 for the St. Louis Cardinals (1960–61), New York M ...

was claimed off waivers by the Dodgers from the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

. * March 27, 1972:

Bill Sudakis William Paul Sudakis (March 27, 1946 – September 15, 2021) was an American Major League Baseball infielder. He was primarily a third baseman, but also appeared as a catcher and first baseman. Early years During his senior year at Joliet Tow ...

was claimed off waivers from the Dodgers by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day lineup

Notable transactions

* April 14, 1972:

Dick Dietz Richard Allen Dietz (September 18, 1941 – June 28, 2005) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1966 to 1973, most prominently as a member of the San Francisco Giants wher ...

was claimed off waivers by the Dodgers from the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

.Dick Dietz
at ''Baseball-Reference''

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Awards and honors

* NL Player of the Month **

Don Sutton Donald Howard Sutton (April 2, 1945 – January 19, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 23 seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakla ...

(April 1972)

All-Stars

1972 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 1972 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the 43rd such game, was played on July 25, 1972. The all-stars from the American League and the National League faced each other at Atlanta Stadium, home of the Atlanta Braves. The National League ca ...

reserve *

Gold Glove Awards The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

** Wes Parker ** Willie Davis

Farm system

Teams in BOLD won League Championships

1972 Major League Baseball draft

This was the eighth year of a

Major League Baseball Draft The first-year player draft is the primary mechanism of Major League Baseball (MLB) for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on a lo ...

. The Dodgers drafted 42 players in the June draft and eight in the January draft. This was a weak draft class whose most notable player was

Dennis Lewallyn Dennis Dale Lewallyn (born August 11, 1953) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball and current Pitching coach for the AA Mississippi Braves. He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers and Cleveland Indians from 1975-1982. Lewally ...

, a pitcher who played for the Dodgers and two other teams from 1975 to 1981 with a 4–4 record and 4.48 ERA. The top draft pick was shortstop John Harbin from

Newberry College Newberry College is a private Lutheran college in Newberry, South Carolina. It has 1,250 students. Accreditation Newberry College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award ...

who played in only 83 games in the Dodgers farm system in 1972 and was quickly out of baseball.

Notes

References

Baseball-Reference season pageBaseball Almanac season page

External links

1972 Los Angeles Dodgers uniformLos Angeles Dodgers official web site
{{Los Angeles Dodgers Los Angeles Dodgers seasons Los Angeles Dodgers season Los Angel