The 1972 National League Championship Series was played between the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

and the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

from October 7 to 11. It was the fourth

NLCS The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two National ...

. Cincinnati won the series three games to two to advance to the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

against the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

. The Reds became the first team in major league history to advance to the World Series without the best record in their respective league, made possible by the Junior and Senior Circuits each splitting into two divisions in 1969. In the previous three post seasons, the team with the best record in each league advanced to the World Series. The 1972 NLCS ended with a dramatic ninth inning rally in the fifth and deciding game. The series was also notable as the last on-field appearance by Pittsburgh's future Hall of Famer

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his early death, he was pos ...

, who would die in a plane crash on December 31.

Summary

Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Game summaries

Game 1

The Reds got a first-inning homer from second baseman

Joe Morgan Joe Leonard Morgan (September 19, 1943 – October 11, 2020) was an American professional baseball second baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Colt .45s / Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, ...

to take a short-lived 1–0 lead. But Pittsburgh bounced back with three in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by an RBI triple from Al Oliver and an RBI double from

Willie Stargell Wilver Dornell Stargell (March 6, 1940 – April 9, 2001), nicknamed "Pops" later in his career, was an American professional baseball left fielder and first baseman who spent all of his 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1962–1982) ...

. Pittsburgh never looked back, getting a two-run homer from Oliver in the fifth and coasting to the win behind the strong pitching of Steve Blass. The frustrated Reds ultimately stranded 11 baserunners, and their manager

Sparky Anderson George Lee "Sparky" Anderson (February 22, 1934 – November 4, 2010) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player, coach, and manager. He managed the National League's Cincinnati Reds to the 1975 and 1976 championships, then added a third ...

was ejected in the fourth inning. The time of game was a brisk 1 hour and 57 minutes.

Game 2

Cincinnati bounced back to even the series in Game 2. Pittsburgh starter

Bob Moose Robert Ralph Moose Jr. (October 9, 1947 – October 9, 1976) was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates from through . Moose was a mem ...

allowed five consecutive hits to start the game. Bobby Tolan and

Tony Pérez Atanasio "Tony" Pérez Rigal (born May 14, 1942) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and third baseman from through , most notably as a member of the ...

both hit two-run doubles to give the Reds a 4–0 lead and chase Moose. The Pittsburgh bullpen stopped the Reds offense, though, and the Pirates came back to make it a 4–3 game with single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth, as

Milt May Milton Scott May (born August 1, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from to for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, and San ...

and Dave Cash picked up RBIs.

homered in the eighth to give the Reds a crucial insurance run, and Cincinnati reliever

Tom Hall Tom Hall is an American game designer best known for his work with id Software on titles such as '' Doom'' and ''Commander Keen''. Career Hall attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he earned a B.S. in Computer Science. In 1987 ...

finished a long and strong relief stint to get the victory.

Game 3

The series moved to Cincinnati and produced a tense, low-scoring contest. Cincinnati's

Darrell Chaney Darrel Lee Chaney (born March 9, 1948) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1969 to 1979, most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Red ...

and Bobby Tolan hit RBI singles in the bottom of the third to give the Reds a 2-0 lead. In the fifth, Pittsburgh catcher

Manny Sanguillén Manuel De Jesus Sanguillén Magan, better known as Manny Sanguillén or "Sangy" (born March 21, 1944), is a Panamanian former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher in and from through , most notably as a ...

homered to cut the lead in half, and

Rennie Stennett Reinaldo Antonio Stennett Porte (April 5, 1949 – May 18, 2021) was a Panamanian professional baseball second baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1971–79) and San Francisco Giants (1980–81). He ba ...

tied the game at 2 in the seventh with an RBI single. The Pirates scored the go-ahead run in the eighth on a groundout by Sanguillen. Pirates closer

Dave Giusti David John Giusti, Jr. (born November 27, 1939) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1962 to 1977, most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams that won f ...

, came on in the eighth to shut the door on the Reds and earn the save.

Game 4

The Reds evened the series in Game 4 behind a sparkling two-hitter from left-handed hurler Ross Grimsley. The Reds scored three runs off Pirates starter

Dock Ellis Dock Phillip Ellis Jr. (March 11, 1945 – December 19, 2008) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams ...

, aided by Pittsburgh errors in the first and fourth. Grimsley singled in another run in the sixth and the Reds eventually added three more. The run support was more than enough for Grimsley as he held the typically potent Pirates' offense in check. He yielded just two hits, both by

. Pittsburgh got its lone run on a seventh-inning homer by Clemente.

Game 5

Game 5 proved to be one of the more memorable postseason contests in baseball history. After rain delayed the start of the game for 90 minutes, Pittsburgh took an early 2–0 lead with second-inning RBIs from

Richie Hebner Richard Joseph Hebner (born November 26, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from through , most prominently as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams that ...

and Dave Cash. The Reds got one back in the third on an RBI double by

Pete Rose Peter Edward Rose Sr. (born April 14, 1941), also known by his nickname "Charlie Hustle", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. Rose played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a membe ...

. But Pittsburgh inched further ahead with another run-scoring hit from Cash in the fourth.

César Gerónimo César Francisco Gerónimo Zorrilla (born March 11, 1948), known as César Gerónimo, is a Dominican former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from through , most notably as a member of ...

cut the Pirates' lead to 3–2 with a homer in the fifth. The Pirates held onto their 1-run margin until a dramatic bottom of the ninth. With the defending World Series champion Pirates three outs away from returning to defend their title, Reds catcher

Johnny Bench John Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted from through , with the Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher. Bench was the leader of t ...

hit a 1-2 backdoor changeup off Pittsburgh closer

over the right field wall for a home run to tie the game.

singled and was replaced by pinch-runner George Foster.

Denis Menke Denis John Menke (July 21, 1940 – December 1, 2020) was a professional baseball infielder and coach. He played all or parts of 13 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1962 to 1974. He played for the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1962–67), Hou ...

followed with another single as Foster moved to second base. With the count 2-0 on Geronimo, Giusti was replaced with Game 2 starter

. Geronimo's fly ball out advanced Foster to third base, but Moose induced shortstop

to pop out as Foster stayed at third. Just when it looked like Moose may wiggle out of a tough two-on, no out situation, he uncorked a wild pitch to pinch-hitter

Hal McRae Harold Abraham McRae (; born July 10, 1945) is a former left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds (1968, 1970–72) and Kansas City Royals (1973–87). Utilized as a designated hitter for most of his career, Mc ...

scoring Foster with the winning run, as the hometown fans and the Reds players celebrated a return to the World Series to face the

Oakland A's The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. It was only the second time a postseason series ended on a wild pitch, the other being the

1927 World Series The 1927 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1927 season. The 24th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion New York Yankees against the National League champion Pittsburgh Pirat ...

in which the Pirates lost to the Yankees in a four-game sweep.

Composite line score

1972 NLCS (3–2):

over

References

External links

Baseball-reference.com
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