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1972 Boston Red Sox season

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1972 Boston Red Sox
DivisionEastern Division
BallparkFenway Park
CityBoston, Massachusetts
Record85–70 (.548)
OwnersTom Yawkey
ManagersEddie Kasko
TelevisionWBZ-TV, Ch. 4
(Ken Coleman, Johnny Pesky)
RadioWHDH-AM 850
(Ned Martin, Dave Martin, John MacLean)
StatsESPN.com
Baseball Reference
← 1971 Seasons 1973 →

The 1972 Boston Red Sox season was the 72nd season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished second in the American League East with a record of 85 wins and 70 losses, one-half game behind the Detroit Tigers. Due to the cancellation of games missed during the 1972 Major League Baseball strike, Detroit played (and won) one more game than Boston, allowing them to finish with a record of 86–70, winning the division by a half-game.

Offseason

A bad trade

After the 1971 season, the Red Sox management decided on drastic changes.[citation needed] First there was a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers. George Scott, who had fallen out of favor with the Red Sox management,[citation needed] was packaged with Billy Conigliaro (younger brother of former Red Sox star Tony Conigliaro), outfielders Joe Lahoud and Don Pavletich, pitchers Ken Brett (George Brett's older brother) and Jim Lonborg and exchanged for pitchers Marty Pattin and Lew Krausse Jr. and outfielders Tommy Harper and Pat Skrable. It was a big deal and, as it turned out, a bad one for Boston. Lonborg won 14 games for Milwaukee in 1972, with a 2.83 ERA, and later was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, where he won 13, 17, 18, 8 and 11 games during five seasons. Scott batted .263, .266, .306, .281 and .285 in his five seasons with the Brewers, driving in 88, 107, 82, 109, and 77 runs during those same years and clouting an average of 23 homers a season, with 36 in 1975 alone. Meanwhile, although Pattin was 17–13 for Boston in 1972 a 15–15 in 1973, he was then traded away. Harper batted .254 and .281 in his two years with the Sox before being traded. Skrable, a Triple-A player, did not play professionally after the 1971 season.[3] He refused to report to Boston,[4][5] and the Red Sox received infielder Bobby Pfeil as compensation;[5] Pfeil finished his career with Boston's Triple-A affiliate in 1972.[6]

Regular season

Record by month[7]
Month Record Cumulative AL East Ref.
Won Lost Won Lost Position GB
April 4 7 4 7 4th 3 [8]
May 11 12 15 19 5th 4+1⁄2 [9]
June 12 15 27 34 4th 7+1⁄2 [10]
July 20 12 47 46 4th 7 [11]
August 17 12 64 58 4th 2 [12]
September 20 9 84 67 1st +1+1⁄2 [13]
October 1 3 85 70 2nd 1⁄2 [14]

Following the 1972 Major League Baseball strike, Commissioner of Baseball Bowie Kuhn ruled that no games cancelled due to the April strike would be made up. The Red Sox played a total of 155 games of their original 162-game schedule, and finished with a record of 85–70. Meanwhile, the Detroit Tigers played 156 games, and finished with a record of 86–70. Thus, the Tigers were winners of the AL East, by a half-game over the Red Sox.

Boston and Detroit finished their regular-season schedules with a three-game series against each other, played at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Entering the series, Boston held a half-game lead over Detroit, but Detroit won two of the three games, and the AL East title.

Final series, Boston at Detroit
Date Game result Boston record Detroit record AL East leader (GA) Ref.
Entering the series 84–68 (.553) 84–69 (.549) Boston (+0.5) [15]
October 2 Detroit 4–1 84–69 (.549) 85–69 (.552) Detroit (+0.5) [16]
October 3 Detroit 3–1 84–70 (.545) 86–69 (.555) Detroit (+1.5) [17]
October 4 Boston 4–1 85–70 (.548) 86–70 (.551) Detroit (+0.5) [14]

The first game of the series included a notable play. In the top of the third inning, Boston trailed, 1–0, and had one out with Tommy Harper at third base and Luis Aparicio at first base.[18] Carl Yastrzemski hit a ball that looked to be a triple; Harper scored, but Aparicio fell as he rounded third base. Aparicio got up and retreated to third, but Yastrzemski was already there, causing Yastrzemski to try to return to second, resulting in Yastrzemski being tagged out.[18] Thus, instead of having a 2–1 lead with one out and a runner at third, Boston had only tied the game and had two outs (albeit still with a runner at third). The next batter, Reggie Smith, struck out to end the inning.[18] Boston was unable to score again, and Detroit went on to win the game, 4–1.[19] Aparicio falling as he rounded third base is looked back upon as a key play that could have made a difference.[20]

Season standings

AL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Detroit Tigers 86 70 .551 — 44‍–‍34 42‍–‍36
Boston Red Sox 85 70 .548 ½ 52‍–‍26 33‍–‍44
Baltimore Orioles 80 74 .519 5 38‍–‍39 42‍–‍35
New York Yankees 79 76 .510 6½ 46‍–‍31 33‍–‍45
Cleveland Indians 72 84 .462 14 43‍–‍34 29‍–‍50
Milwaukee Brewers 65 91 .417 21 37‍–‍42 28‍–‍49

Record vs. opponents

1972 American League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team BAL BOS CAL CWS CLE DET KC MIL MIN NYY OAK TEX
Baltimore — 7–11 6–6 8–4 8–10 10–8 6–6 10–5 6–6 7–6 6–6 6–6
Boston 11–7 — 8–4 6–6 8–7 5–9 6–6 11–7 4–8 9–9 9–3 8–4
California 6–6 4–8 — 7–11 8–4 5–7 9–6 7–5 7–8 4–8 8–10 10–7
Chicago 4–8 6–6 11–7 — 8–4 5–7 8–9 9–3 8–6 7–5 7–8 14–4
Cleveland 10–8 7–8 4–8 4–8 — 10–8 6–6 5–10 8–4 7–11 2–10 9–3
Detroit 8–10 9–5 7–5 7–5 8–10 — 7–5 10–8 9–3 7–9 4–8 10–2
Kansas City 6–6 6–6 6–9 9–8 6–6 5–7 — 7–5 9–9 7–5 7–11 8–6
Milwaukee 5–10 7–11 5–7 3–9 10–5 8–10 5–7 — 4–8 9–9 4–8 5–7
Minnesota 6–6 8–4 8–7 6–8 4–8 3–9 9–9 8–4 — 6–6 8–9 11–7
New York 6–7 9–9 8–4 5–7 11–7 9–7 5–7 9–9 6–6 — 3–9 8–4
Oakland 6–6 3–9 10–8 8–7 10–2 8–4 11–7 8–4 9–8 9–3 — 11–4
Texas 6–6 4–8 7–10 4–14 3–9 2–10 6–8 7–5 7–11 4–8 4–11 —


Notable transactions

Opening Day lineup

  4 Tommy Harper CF
11 Luis Aparicio SS
  8 Carl Yastrzemski     LF
  7 Reggie Smith RF
  6 Rico Petrocelli 3B
  5 Danny Cater 1B
  2 Doug Griffin 2B
24 Duane Josephson C
33 Marty Pattin P

Source:[23]

Roster

1972 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Statistical leaders

Carlton Fisk
Category Player Statistic
Youngest player Dwight Evans 20
Oldest player Luis Aparicio 38
Wins Above Replacement Carlton Fisk 7.3

Source:[24]

Batting

Abbr. Category Player Statistic
G Games played Rico Petrocelli 147
PA Plate appearances Tommy Harper 641
AB At bats Tommy Harper 556
R Runs scored Tommy Harper 92
H Hits Tommy Harper 141
2B Doubles Tommy Harper 29
3B Triples Carlton Fisk 9
HR Home runs Carlton Fisk 22
RBI Runs batted in Rico Petrocelli 75
SB Stolen bases Tommy Harper 25
CS Caught stealing Tommy Harper 7
BB Base on balls Rico Petrocelli 78
SO Strikeouts Tommy Harper 104
BA Batting average Carlton Fisk .293
OBP On-base percentage Carlton Fisk .370
SLG Slugging percentage Carlton Fisk .538
OPS On-base plus slugging Carlton Fisk .909
OPS+ Adjusted OPS Carlton Fisk 162
TB Total bases Carlton Fisk 246
GIDP Grounded into double play Danny Cater 16
HBP Hit by pitch Tommy Harper 9
SH Sacrifice hits Doug Griffin 15
SF Sacrifice flies Carl Yastrzemski 9
IBB Intentional base on balls Reggie Smith 12

Source:[24]

Pitching

Abbr. Category Player Statistic
W Wins Marty Pattin 17
L Losses Marty Pattin 13
W-L % Winning percentage Luis Tiant .714 (15–6)
ERA Earned run average Luis Tiant 1.91
G Games pitched Bill Lee 47
GS Games started Marty Pattin 35
GF Games finished Don Newhauser 17
Gary Peters
CG Complete games Marty Pattin 13
SHO Shutouts Luis Tiant 6
SV Saves Bob Bolin 5
Bill Lee
IP Innings pitched Marty Pattin 253
SO Strikeouts Marty Pattin 168
WHIP Walks plus hits per inning pitched Luis Tiant 1.078

Source:[24]

Awards and honors

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Louisville Colonels International League Darrell Johnson
AA Pawtucket Red Sox Eastern League Don Lock
A Winston-Salem Red Sox Carolina League Rac Slider
A Winter Haven Red Sox Florida State League John Butler
A-Short Season Williamsport Red Sox New York–Penn League Dick Berardino

Source:[25]

References

  1. ^ Jim Lonborg page at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ Danny Cater page at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ "Pat Skrable Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  4. ^ Kaese, Harold (February 16, 1972). "Spring training without Skrable? The glitter's gone". The Boston Globe. p. 45. Retrieved October 10, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b Fitzgerald, Ray (March 20, 1972). "Red Sox give Cards Fiore for Burda". The Boston Globe. p. 29. Retrieved October 10, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Bobby Pfeil Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  7. ^ "The 1972 Boston Red Sox". Retrosheet. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  8. ^ https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1972/04301972.htm
  9. ^ https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1972/05311972.htm
  10. ^ https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1972/06301972.htm
  11. ^ https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1972/07311972.htm
  12. ^ https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1972/08311972.htm
  13. ^ https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1972/09301972.htm
  14. ^ a b https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1972/10041972.htm
  15. ^ https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1972/10011972.htm
  16. ^ https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1972/10021972.htm
  17. ^ https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1972/10031972.htm
  18. ^ a b c "Detroit Tigers 4, Boston Red Sox 1". Retrosheet. October 2, 1972. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  19. ^ Lehman, Doug. "October 2, 1972: Lolich fans 15 as Tigers take over first place". SABR. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  20. ^ Shaughnessy, Dan (May 24, 2008). "Series of moments shared by two cities". The Boston Globe. p. 44. Retrieved October 10, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Don Aase page at Baseball Reference
  22. ^ Andy Kosco page at Baseball Reference
  23. ^ "Detroit Tigers 3, Boston Red Sox 2". Retrosheet. April 15, 1972. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  24. ^ a b c "1972 Boston Red Sox Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  25. ^ 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.
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