1972 In Baseball

Labor strife and more moving

1972 was tainted by a players' strike over pension and salary arbitration. The strike erased the first week and a half of the season, and the Leagues decided to just excise the lost portion of the season with no makeups. As a result, an uneven number of games were cancelled for each team; some as few as six, some as many as nine. The lack of makeups of those games, even when they affected playoffs, led to the Boston Red Sox losing the American League East by half a game to the Detroit Tigers.

1972 marked the first year for the Texas Rangers, who had moved to Arlington from Washington, D.C. (where they played as the Washington Senators), after the season. There would be no baseball in D.C. until . The team was one of the worst ever fielded by the franchise, losing 100 games for the first time since . Manager Ted Williams hated living in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and resigned at the end of the season.

1972 would mark the Kansas City Royals' final year at Kansas City Municipal Stadium, as the next year they would move to Royals Stadium (later named Kauffman Stadium) at the Truman Sports Complex in suburban Kansas City.

The World Series was won by the Oakland Athletics, the first of three straight behind the bats of Reggie Jackson and Bert Campaneris, and the pitching cadre of Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers and Vida Blue. The year ended on a sad note when Roberto Clemente died in an airplane crash off the coast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, on New Year's Eve, while participating in aid efforts after the 1972 Nicaragua earthquake.

Champions

Major League Baseball

*World Series MVP: Gene Tenace
*All-Star Game, July 25 at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium: National League, 4–3 (10 innings); Joe Morgan, MVP

Other champions

* Amateur World Series: Cuba
*College World Series: USC
*Japan Series: Yomiuri Giants over Hankyu Braves (4–1)
* Big League World Series: Orlando, Florida
*Little League World Series: Taipei, Taiwan
* Senior League World Series: Pingtung, Taiwan
Winter Leagues
* 1972 Caribbean Series: Leones de Ponce
* Dominican Republic League: Águilas Cibaeñas
*Mexican Pacific League: Algodoneros de Guasave
* Puerto Rican League: Leones de Ponce
* Venezuelan League: Tigres de Aragua

Awards and honors

*Baseball Hall of Fame
**Yogi Berra
** Josh Gibson
**Lefty Gomez
**Will Harridge
**Sandy Koufax
** Buck Leonard
** Early Wynn
**Ross Youngs
*Most Valuable Player
** Dick Allen, Chicago White Sox, 1B (AL)
**Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds, C (NL)
*Cy Young Award
** Gaylord Perry, Cleveland Indians (AL)
** Steve Carlton, Philadelphia Phillies (NL)
* Rookie of the Year
** Carlton Fisk, Boston Red Sox, C (AL)
** Jon Matlack, New York Mets, P (NL)
*Gold Glove Award
**(P) Jim Kaat, Minnesota Twins ( AL); Bob Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals ( NL)
**(C) Carlton Fisk, Boston Red Sox (AL); Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds (NL)
**(1B) George Scott, Milwaukee Brewers (AL); Wes Parker, Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)
**(2B) Doug Griffin, Boston Red Sox (AL); Félix Millán, Atlanta Braves (NL)
**(3B) Brooks Robinson, Baltimore Orioles (AL); Doug Rader, Houston Astros (NL)
**(SS) Ed Brinkman, Detroit Tigers (AL); Larry Bowa, Philadelphia Phillies (NL)
**(OF) Ken Berry, California Angels (AL); César Cedeño, Houston Astros (NL)
**(OF) Paul Blair, Baltimore Orioles (AL); Roberto Clemente, Pittsburgh Pirates (NL)
**(OF) Bobby Murcer, New York Yankees (AL); Willie Davis, Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)

Statistical leaders

Major league baseball final standings

American League final standings

National League final standings

Events

January

*January 13 – Bernice Gera wins a discrimination suit against organized baseball, opening the door for her to become the first female umpire in professional baseball.
*January 19 – The Baseball Writers' Association of America elects Sandy Koufax, Yogi Berra and Early Wynn to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Koufax makes it in his first try and, aged 36, is the youngest honoree in history.
*January 20 – The Chicago Cubs trade outfielder Johnny Callison to the New York Yankees for relief pitcher Jack Aker, a "Player to be Named Later"(PTBNL) who is added to the deal on May 17.

February

*February 8 – Commissioner Bowie Kuhn announces that the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues has selected Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard for the Hall of Fame.
*February 25 – The Philadelphia Phillies make one of the most important trades in their history, acquiring southpaw starting pitcher and future Baseball Hall of Famer Steve Carlton from the St. Louis Cardinals for right-hander Rick Wise. Carlton is dealt after Cardinals owner August A. Busch Jr., infuriated by a contract impasse, publicly orders his front office to trade the young star. Carlton will spend 15 years in a Phillie uniform, win 20 or more games five times (and go 241–161 with a 3.09 ERA in 741 games pitched), capture four National League Cy Young Awards, make seven All-Star teams, and lead the Phillies to two pennants and their first-ever World Series championship.

March

*March 4 – Former () American League Cy Young Award winner and MVP Denny McLain, coming off a 22-loss season as a member of the final edition of the 1961–1971 Washington Senators, is traded by the relocated Texas Rangers to the Oakland Athletics for pitchers Jim Panther and Don Stanhouse. The deal fails to revive McLain's career: he appears in only five games with Oakland before being traded, and he is out of baseball before his 29th birthday in March 1973.
*March 6 – Food industry tycoon Vernon Stouffer sells the Cleveland Indians to a local investor group headed by Nick Mileti, who owns the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers and the city's minor-league hockey franchise, the Barons. The sale price is reported to be $9 million, $500,000 greater than the offer Stouffer spurned from George Steinbrenner's ownership syndicate only three months before, and well below the owner's asking price of $10 million.
*March 16 – Reigning AL Cy Young- and MVP-award winner Vida Blue announces his retirement at age 22. The retirement will be a short one as Blue will rejoin the Oakland Athletics in May.
*March 22 – The New York Yankees acquire 27-year-old left-handed relief pitcher Sparky Lyle from their bitter rivals, the Boston Red Sox, for first baseman Danny Cater and shortstop Mario Guerrero (" PTBNL"). The trade is a one-sided victory for the Yankees, for whom Lyle will go 57–40 (2.41 ERA) with 141 saves (leading the American League in 1972 and ) in 420 games over the next seven seasons. He also will win the AL Cy Young Award as the Junior Circuit's first reliever to be so honored; he will help the Yankees win three pennants and two World Series (1977, 1978).
*March 24 – The St. Louis Cardinals trade second baseman Julián Javier, 35, a two-time World Series champion and 2x All-Star, to the Cincinnati Reds for pitcher Tony Cloninger, 31, a former 24-game winner. The coming season will be the last MLB campaign for both players.

April

*April 1–13 – The first players' strike in baseball history wipes 6–8 games off the schedule of each MLB team. It is agreed that those games will be canceled outright — not even played to resolve pennant races. This results in teams not being scheduled for the same number of games over the regular season; the imbalance will enable the Detroit Tigers to edge the Boston Red Sox by one-half game to win the American League East Division championship. The strike results in the team owners adding salary arbitration to the collective bargaining agreement, and increasing pension fund payments.
*April 2 – Gil Hodges, 47, manager of the New York Mets since 1968 and a future Baseball Hall of Famer as the star first baseman of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1950s, suffers a fatal heart attack after a day of golf with his coaching staff in West Palm Beach, Florida. (See ''Deaths'' entry for this date below.) His unexpected death sends waves of shock and grief throughout baseball. Hodges' funeral mass is celebrated April 6 at his parish church in Brooklyn, where he has lived since 1948. One day later, Hall-of-Fame catcher Yogi Berra, a Mets' coach, is named his successor at the club's helm.
*April 5 – The Mets, in the midst of mourning Gil Hodges, complete a major trade with a division rival, the Montreal Expos, acquiring five-time National League All-Star outfielder Rusty Staub, 28, for three young players: first baseman Mike Jorgensen (23), shortstop Tim Foli (21), and outfielder Ken Singleton (24). Staub will help lead the 1973 Mets to the NL pennant (and bat .423 in the World Series), while Jorgensen, Foli and Singleton become regular members of the Expos' lineup.
*April 15 – The Major League season finally gets underway after the 13-day player strike. In the first game in the history of the relocated Texas Rangers, played at Anaheim Stadium, the California Angels' Andy Messersmith tosses a two-hit, complete game shutout and Sandy Alomar Sr. scores the only run of the game on a wild pitch in a ninth-inning, "walk-off" 1–0 Angel victory.
*April 16 – At Wrigley Field, Burt Hooton of the Chicago Cubs no-hits the Philadelphia Phillies 4–0.
*April 21 – The Texas Rangers play their first-ever home opener at Arlington Stadium. Before 20,105 fans, former Washington Senator hero Frank Howard hits the first home run in Rangers' history (home or away), a solo shot against Clyde Wright, as Texas defeats the California Angels, 7–6.
*April 26
**The Houston Astros win their ninth straight game, defeating the Chicago Cubs 5–4 in ten innings at the Astrodome.
**The season is only 11 days old when the San Diego Padres dismiss manager Preston Gómez and replace him with coach Don Zimmer. The Padres' only pilot since they entered MLB in , Gómez departs with a 180–316 ( .363) record over all or parts of four seasons. For Zimmer, the San Diego job is his first managing assignment in the majors.
*April 29 - Don Zimmer gets his first win as a manager, when the San Diego Padres defeat the Philadelphia Phillies. The winning pitcher is Steve Arlin, who'd finish the season with a league leading 21 losses. The losing pitcher was Steve Carlton, who'd lead in the league in victories with 27.

May

*May 11 – A legend in New York since he launched his Hall of Fame MLB career as the "Say Hey Kid" with the baseball Giants (1951–1952, 1954–1957), Willie Mays, now 41, returns to his original National League home city when the San Francisco Giants trade him to the New York Mets for 24-year-old pitcher Charlie Williams and cash.
*May 12 – At Bloomington, Minnesota, the Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins battle to a 3–3 tie after 21 innings before the game is suspended. When it resumes on the following day (May 13), Milwaukee's Mike Ferraro singles in what proves to be the winning tally in the top of the 22nd.
*May 14 – In front of a Mother's Day crowd of 35,505 in Shea Stadium makes a triumphant homecoming to New York with the Mets, belting a game-winning home run against his old teammates, the Giants. Leading off and playing first base, Mays walks and scores in the first inning on Rusty Staub's grand slam, then his solo homer in the fifth snaps a 4–4 tie. The final score: New York 5, San Francisco 4.
*May 16 – Philadelphia Phillies rookie outfielder Greg Luzinski blasts a 500-foot home run off the Liberty Bell at Philadelphia's one-year-old Veterans Stadium.
*May 21 – The New York Mets win their 11th straight game, and 14th out of their last 15, defeating the homestanding Phillies, 4–3. Tom Seaver improves to 7–1 and the winning blow is struck by Willie Mays, with a two-run homer in the eighth inning. The win improves the Mets' record to 25–7, and they hold a six-game lead in the National League East over the 18–12 Pittsburgh Pirates.
*May 23 – Tossing a three-hitter, Gaylord Perry wins his eighth game against two losses, as his surprising Cleveland Indians shut out the New York Yankees in the Bronx, 3–0. Cleveland, losers of 101 games in , sits in first place in the American League East with an 18–10 record.
*May 28 – The Milwaukee Brewers fire manager Dave Bristol, replacing him with Del Crandall, former All-Star catcher of the Milwaukee Braves. Coach Roy McMillan takes over as interim skipper until Crandall arrives and guides the team to a 4–1 loss to the Boston Red Sox.

June

*June 1 – Paul Richards, vice president/player personnel and ''de facto'' general manager of the Atlanta Braves since August 31, 1966, is replaced by director of player development Eddie Robinson as leader of the 18–22 team's front office.
*June 3
**In a move similar to Atlanta's two days earlier, the Philadelphia Phillies, mired in a 2–18 slump, fire veteran general manager John J. Quinn and promote farm system boss Paul Owens to replace him. Owens will spend over a dozen years as GM and build the Phillies into a contender that wins five National League East titles, two NL pennants, and, in 1980, the first World Series championship in franchise history.
**The 13th inning brings good fortune to the New York Yankees, as they score eight runs in the top of the 13th to overwhelm the Chicago White Sox, 18–10, at Comiskey Park. Thurman Munson and Bobby Murcer belt home runs in the Yanks' big inning, but five of their eight tallies are unearned.
*June 7
**Five Pittsburgh Pirates combine to throw an 18-inning, six-hit shutout to defeat the Padres, 1–0, at San Diego Stadium in the second game of a twi-night doubleheader. Clay Kirby stars in a losing cause, hurling 13 scoreless frames for San Diego before leaving for a pinch hitter.
**Left-hander Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies defeats the Houston Astros 3–1 at Veterans Stadium, evening his won–lost record at 6–6. Over the next 2½ months, he will win 15 consecutive decisions for a last-place team.
*June 14 – By downing the Phillies 2–1 at Riverfront Stadium, the Cincinnati Reds extend their five-week hot streak to 26 wins in 32 games. At 34–19, they sit atop the National League West Division, 2½ games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
*June 18 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules 5–3 in favor of Major League Baseball in the lawsuit brought by Curt Flood, upholding the reserve clause.
*June 24 – In the first game of a doubleheader between the visiting Auburn Phillies and Geneva Senators of the Class A Short Season New York–Penn League, Bernice Gera becomes the first woman to umpire a professional baseball game. She quits between games after being verbally abused by some spectators and Auburn's manager.
*June 29 – Denny McLain is traded by the Oakland Athletics to the Atlanta Braves for veteran first baseman and future Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda, 34. In McLain's final MLB season, the former 31-game-winner's record is 4–7 with a 6.37 ERA.

July

*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 sister Billie Jean King, who is playing at Wimbledon.
*July 4 – For the second time in his career, Tom Seaver of the New York Mets has a no-hitter broken up in the ninth. The bid is foiled in the first game of a doubleheader against the San Diego Padres at Shea Stadium

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