1972 Pittsburgh Pirates season
1972 Pittsburgh Pirates | ||
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1972 NL East Champions | ||
Division | Eastern Division | |
Ballpark | Three Rivers Stadium | |
City | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1] | |
Record | 96–59 (.619) | |
Owners | John W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Bing Crosby, Thomas P. Johnson (minority shareholders) | |
Managers | Bill Virdon | |
Television | KDKA-TV Bob Prince, Nellie King | |
Radio | KDKA Bob Prince, Nellie King | |
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The 1972 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 91st season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; the 86th in the National League. The defending World Series champion Pirates finished first in the National League East with a record of 96–59. The team was defeated three games to two by the Cincinnati Reds in the 1972 National League Championship Series. Despite losing the series, the Pirates put up a good fight, unlike the last time the two teams met in the playoffs. In game 5, the Pirates led 3-2 in the 9th inning, and were 3 outs away from pulling off a major upset over the Reds. All looked good until the Pirates collapsed in the 9th inning and allowed 2 runs to score, with the walk off run coming on a wild pitch.
Offseason
- November, 1971: Danny Murtaugh steps down as Manager of the Pirates citing health reasons. Coach Bill Virdon is named Manager.[2][better source needed]
- January 12, 1972: Larry Demery was drafted by the Pirates in the 7th round of the 1972 Major League Baseball draft (Secondary Phase).[3]
- March 15, 1972: José Martínez was purchased from the Pirates by the Kansas City Royals.[4]
Regular season
Season standings
Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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Pittsburgh Pirates | 96 | 59 | .619 | — | 49–29 | 47–30 |
Chicago Cubs | 85 | 70 | .548 | 11 | 46–31 | 39–39 |
New York Mets | 83 | 73 | .532 | 13½ | 41–37 | 42–36 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 75 | 81 | .481 | 21½ | 40–37 | 35–44 |
Montreal Expos | 70 | 86 | .449 | 26½ | 35–43 | 35–43 |
Philadelphia Phillies | 59 | 97 | .378 | 37½ | 28–51 | 31–46 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] | |||||||||||||||||
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Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | |||||
Atlanta | — | 5–7–1 | 9–9 | 7–7 | 7–8 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 6–11 | 7–11 | 6–6 | |||||
Chicago | 7–5–1 | — | 8–4 | 3–9 | 8–4 | 10–5 | 10–8 | 10–7 | 3–12 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 10–8 | |||||
Cincinnati | 9–9 | 4–8 | — | 11–6 | 9–5 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 10–2 | 8–4 | 8–10 | 10–5 | 10–2 | |||||
Houston | 7–7 | 9–3 | 6–11 | — | 7–11 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 3–9 | 12–2 | 13–5 | 4–8 | |||||
Los Angeles | 8–7 | 4–8 | 5–9 | 11–7 | — | 6–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 8–4 | |||||
Montreal | 8–4 | 5–10 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | — | 6–12 | 10–6 | 6–12 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 9–8 | |||||
New York | 5–7 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 12–6 | — | 13–5 | 8–6 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 7–9 | |||||
Philadelphia | 6-6 | 7–10 | 2–10 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 6–10 | 5–13 | — | 5–13 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–7 | |||||
Pittsburgh | 6–6 | 12–3 | 4–8 | 9–3 | 5–7 | 12–6 | 6–8 | 13–5 | — | 10–2 | 9–3 | 10–8 | |||||
San Diego | 11–6 | 3–9 | 10–8 | 2–12 | 5–13 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 2–10 | — | 4–10 | 4–8 | |||||
San Francisco | 11–7 | 5–7 | 5–10 | 5–13 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 3–9 | 10–4 | — | 5–7 | |||||
St. Louis | 6–6 | 8–10 | 2–10 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 8–9 | 9–7 | 7–8 | 8–10 | 8–4 | 7–5 | — |
Detailed records
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Game log
1972 Game Log: 96–59 (Home: 49–29; Away: 47–30) | ||||||||
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April: 5–8 (Home: 3–6; Away: 2–2)
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May: 19–7 (Home: 12–2; Away: 7–5)
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June: 16–10 (Home: 5–6; Away: 11–4)
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July: 20–10 (Home: 12–4; Away: 8–6)
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August: 17–11 (Home: 8–5; Away: 9–6)
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September: 18–11 (Home: 8–4; Away: 10–7)
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October: 1–2 (Home: 1–2; Away: 0–0)
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Legend: = Win = Loss Bold = Pirates team member |
Opening Day lineup
Opening Day Starters | |
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Name | Position |
Rennie Stennett | 2B |
Al Oliver | CF |
Roberto Clemente | RF |
Willie Stargell | LF |
Richie Hebner | 3B |
Manny Sanguillén | C |
Bob Robertson | 1B |
Jackie Hernández | SS |
Dock Ellis | SP |
Notable transactions
- June 6, 1972: 1972 Major League Baseball draft
- John Candelaria was drafted by the Pirates in the 2nd round.[6]
- Ken Macha was drafted by the Pirates in the 6th round.[7]
- Willie Randolph was drafted by the Pirates in the 7th round.[8]
- September 2 1972 Bob Veale was sold by the Pirates to the Boston Red Sox.[9]
Roster
1972 Pittsburgh Pirates | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager
Coaches
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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
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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C | Manny Sanguillén | 136 | 520 | 155 | .298 | 7 | 71 |
1B | Willie Stargell | 138 | 495 | 145 | .293 | 33 | 112 |
2B | Dave Cash | 99 | 425 | 120 | .282 | 3 | 30 |
SS | Gene Alley | 119 | 347 | 86 | .248 | 3 | 36 |
3B | Richie Hebner | 124 | 427 | 128 | .300 | 19 | 72 |
LF | Vic Davalillo | 117 | 368 | 117 | .318 | 4 | 28 |
CF | Al Oliver | 140 | 565 | 176 | .312 | 12 | 89 |
RF | Roberto Clemente | 102 | 378 | 118 | .312 | 10 | 60 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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Rennie Stennett | 109 | 370 | 106 | .286 | 3 | 30 |
Bob Robertson | 115 | 306 | 59 | .193 | 12 | 41 |
Gene Clines | 107 | 311 | 104 | .334 | 0 | 17 |
Jackie Hernandez | 72 | 176 | 33 | .188 | 1 | 14 |
Milt May | 57 | 139 | 39 | .281 | 0 | 14 |
José Pagán | 53 | 127 | 32 | .252 | 3 | 8 |
Bill Mazeroski | 34 | 64 | 12 | .188 | 0 | 3 |
Richie Zisk | 17 | 37 | 7 | .189 | 0 | 4 |
Chuck Goggin | 5 | 7 | 2 | .286 | 0 | 0 |
Frank Taveras | 4 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Fernando González | 3 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Charlie Sands | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Steve Blass | 33 | 249.2 | 19 | 8 | 2.49 | 117 |
Bob Moose | 31 | 226 | 13 | 10 | 2.91 | 144 |
Nelson Briles | 28 | 195.2 | 14 | 11 | 3.08 | 120 |
Dock Ellis | 25 | 163.1 | 15 | 7 | 2.70 | 96 |
Bruce Kison | 32 | 152 | 9 | 7 | 3.26 | 102 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Bob Johnson | 31 | 115.2 | 4 | 4 | 2.96 | 79 |
Luke Walker | 26 | 92.2 | 4 | 6 | 3.40 | 48 |
Bob Veale | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 | 6 |
Gene Garber | 4 | 6.1 | 0 | 0 | 7.11 | 3 |
Jim McKee | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 4 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
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Dave Giusti | 54 | 7 | 4 | 22 | 1.93 | 54 |
Ramon Hernandez | 53 | 5 | 0 | 14 | 1.67 | 47 |
Bob Miller | 36 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2.65 | 18 |
National League Championship Series
Awards and honors
1972 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Salem, Niagara Falls
Notes
- ^ From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Shore in 1907.
- ^ Bill Virdon
- ^ Larry Demery at Baseball Reference
- ^ José Martínez at Baseball Reference
- ^ 1972 Opening Day lineup at "Baseball-Almanac"
- ^ John Candelaria at Baseball Reference
- ^ Ken Macha at Baseball Reference
- ^ Willie Randolph at Baseball Reference
- ^ Bob Veale at Baseball Almanac
References
- 1972 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Reference
- 1972 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Almanac
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.