1972 Pittsburgh Pirates season
1972 Pittsburgh Pirates | |
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1972 NL East Champions | |
Major League affiliations | |
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Location | |
Results | |
Record | 96–59 (.619) |
Divisional place | 1st |
Other information | |
Owner(s) | John W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Bing Crosby, Thomas P. Johnson (minority shareholders) |
General manager(s) | Joe L. Brown |
Manager(s) | Bill Virdon |
Local television | KDKA-TV Bob Prince, Nellie King |
Local 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 an MLB-best 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 walkoff 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][circular reference]
- 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[]
NL East | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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Pittsburgh Pirates | 96 | 59 | 0.619 | — | 49–29 | 47–30 |
Chicago Cubs | 85 | 70 | 0.548 | 11 | 46–31 | 39–39 |
New York Mets | 83 | 73 | 0.532 | 13½ | 41–37 | 42–36 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 75 | 81 | 0.481 | 21½ | 40–37 | 35–44 |
Montreal Expos | 70 | 86 | 0.449 | 26½ | 35–43 | 35–43 |
Philadelphia Phillies | 59 | 97 | 0.378 | 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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Legend: = Win = Loss Bold = Pirates team member |
Opening Day lineup[]
Opening Day Starters | ||
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# | Name | Position |
6 | Rennie Stennett | 2B |
16 | Al Oliver | CF |
21 | Roberto Clemente | RF |
8 | Willie Stargell | LF |
3 | Richie Hebner | 3B |
35 | Manny Sanguillén | C |
7 | Bob Robertson | 1B |
2 | Jackie Hernández | SS |
17 | 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rennie Stennett | 109 | 370 | 106 | .286 | 3 | 30 |
Gene Clines | 107 | 311 | 104 | .334 | 0 | 17 |
Bob Robertson | 115 | 306 | 59 | .193 | 12 | 41 |
Jackie Hernández | 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 |
Ramón Hernández | 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[]
Level | Team | League | Manager |
---|---|---|---|
AAA | Charleston Charlies | International League | Red Davis |
AA | Sherbrooke Pirates | Eastern League | Steve Demeter |
A | Salem Pirates | Carolina League | Tim Murtaugh |
A | Gastonia Pirates | Western Carolinas League | Tom Saffell |
A-Short Season | Niagara Falls Pirates | New York–Penn League | Chuck Cottier |
Rookie | GCL Pirates | Gulf Coast League | Ed Napoleon |
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.
- Pittsburgh Pirates seasons
- 1972 Major League Baseball season
- National League East champion seasons
- 1972 in sports in Pennsylvania