1972 Pittsburgh Pirates season

1972 Pittsburgh Pirates
	1972 NL East Champions
Major League affiliations
	National League (since 1887);
	Eastern Division (since 1969);
Location
	Three Rivers Stadium (since 1970); Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1] (since 1907);
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 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]
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
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

1972 National League Records Sources:
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

National League
Opponent	W	L	WP	RS	RA
NL East
Chicago Cubs	12	3	0.800	73	41
Montreal Expos	12	6	0.667	81	39
New York Mets	6	8	0.429	38	38
Philadelphia Phillies	13	5	0.722	73	40
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals	10	8	0.556	88	74
Total	53	30	0.639	353	232
NL West
Atlanta Braves	6	6	0.500	60	62
Cincinnati Reds	4	8	0.333	50	58
Houston Astros	9	3	0.750	56	41
Los Angeles Dodgers	5	7	0.417	53	50
San Diego Padres	10	2	0.833	65	26
San Francisco Giants	9	3	0.750	54	43
Total	43	29	0.597	338	280
Season Total	96	59	0.619	691	512

Month	Games	Won	Lost	Win %	RS	RA
April	13	5	8	0.385	51	66
May	26	19	7	0.731	140	79
June	26	16	10	0.615	125	77
July	30	20	10	0.667	121	100
August	28	17	11	0.607	125	102
September	29	18	11	0.621	117	75
October	3	1	2	0.333	12	13
Total	155	96	59	0.619	691	512

Total	155	96	59	0.619	691	512
	Games	Won	Lost	Win %	RS	RA
Home	78	49	29	0.628	351	259
Away	77	47	30	0.610	340	253

Game log

1972 Game Log: 96–59 (Home: 49–29; Away: 47–30)

April: 5–8 (Home: 3–6; Away: 2–2)

May: 19–7 (Home: 12–2; Away: 7–5)

June: 16–10 (Home: 5–6; Away: 11–4)

July: 20–10 (Home: 12–4; Away: 8–6)

August: 17–11 (Home: 8–5; Away: 9–6)

September: 18–11 (Home: 8–4; Away: 10–7)

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Record
124	September 1	Giants	10–6	Ellis (12–7)	Bryant	Giusti (21)	20,678	78–46
125	September 2	Giants	6–3	Briles (13–6)	McDowell	—	14,194	79–46
126	September 3	Giants	2–1 (10)	Giusti (6–4)	Johnson	—	16,760	80–46
127	September 4	Phillies	10–0	Blass (16–6)	Twitchell	—	26,627	81–46
128	September 4	Phillies	5–1	Kison (8–5)	Nash	—	26,627	82–46
129	September 6	Cubs	4–0	Ellis (13–7)	McGinn	—	12,470	83–46
130	September 7	Cubs	2–4	Hooton	Briles (13–7)	—	12,306	83–47
131	September 8	@ Expos	7–1	Johnson (4–4)	Morton	—		84–47
132	September 8	@ Expos	4–2 (12)	Giusti (7–4)	Marshall	Hernández (11)	12,118	85–47
133	September 9	@ Expos	8–3	Blass (17–6)	Stoneman	—	17,092	86–47
134	September 10	@ Expos	2–8	Torrez	Kison (8–6)	—	20,253	86–48
135	September 12	@ Cubs	7–0	Ellis (14–7)	Hooton	Giusti (22)	4,153	87–48
136	September 13	@ Cubs	6–4	Briles (14–7)	Jenkins	Hernández (12)	4,418	88–48
137	September 14	@ Cubs	5–2	Moose (11–8)	Reuschel	Hernández (13)	4,603	89–48
138	September 15	@ Cardinals	4–10	Wise	Kison (8–7)	—	10,853	89–49
139	September 16	@ Cardinals	0–4	Santorini	Blass (17–7)	—	11,850	89–50
140	September 17	@ Cardinals	4–5	Cleveland	Miller (5–2)	Segui	11,802	89–51
141	September 18	@ Mets	0–1	Matlack	Briles (14–8)	—	15,622	89–52
142	September 19	@ Mets	5–1	Moose (12–8)	Koosman	—	15,537	90–52
143	September 20	@ Mets	1–4	Seaver	Walker (4–6)	—	15,147	90–53
144	September 21	@ Mets	6–2	Blass (18–7)	Gentry	—	10,991	91–53
145	September 22	Expos	4–3 (12)	McKee (1–0)	Marshall	—	15,365	92–53
146	September 23	Expos	0–3	McAnally	Briles (14–9)	—	8,580	92–54
147	September 24	Expos	1–2	Morton	Moose (12–9)	—	9,116	92–55
148	September 26	@ Phillies	5–1	Blass (19–7)	Champion	—	8,472	93–55
149	September 27	@ Phillies	3–1	Kison (9–7)	Reynolds	Walker (2)	5,335	94–55
150	September 28	@ Phillies	1–2	Carlton	Moose (12–10)	—	12,216	94–56
151	September 29	Mets	0–1	Seaver	Briles (14–10)	—	24,193	94–57
152	September 30	Mets	5–0	Ellis (15–7)	Matlack	Johnson (3)	13,117	95–57

October: 1–2 (Home: 1–2; Away: 0–0)

Legend: = Win = Loss
Bold = Pirates team member

Opening Day lineup


Opening Day Starters
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

[5]

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

Roster

Pitchers

28 Steve Blass

34 Nelson Briles

17 Dock Ellis

12 Gene Garber

31 Dave Giusti

36 Ramón Hernández

27 Bob Johnson

25 Bruce Kison

39 Jim McKee

32 Bob Miller

38 Bob Moose

39 Bob Veale

23 Luke Walker

Catchers

29 Milt May

35 Manny Sanguillén

Infielders

14 Gene Alley

30 Dave Cash

12 Chuck Goggin

37 Fernando González

3 Richie Hebner

2 Jackie Hernández

9 Bill Mazeroski

11 José Pagán

7 Bob Robertson

8 Willie Stargell

6 Rennie Stennett

10 Frank Taveras

Outfielders

21 Roberto Clemente

15 Gene Clines

18 Vic Davalillo

16 Al Oliver

22 Richie Zisk

Other batters

4 Charlie Sands

Manager

41 Bill Virdon

Coaches

43 Don Leppert

45 Joe Morgan

44 Frank Oceak

42 Don Osborn

5 Dave Ricketts

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
Bob Robertson	115	306	59	.193	12	41
Gene Clines	107	311	104	.334	0	17
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
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
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
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.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Shore in 1907.

[2] Bill Virdon

[3] Larry Demery at Baseball Reference

[4] José Martínez at Baseball Reference

[5] 1972 Opening Day lineup at "Baseball-Almanac"

[6] John Candelaria at Baseball Reference

[7] Ken Macha at Baseball Reference

[8] Willie Randolph at Baseball Reference

[9] Bob Veale at Baseball Almanac

1972 MLB season by team
AL East	Baltimore Boston Cleveland Detroit Milwaukee New York
AL West	California Chicago Kansas City Minnesota Oakland Texas
NL East	Chicago Montréal New York Philadelphia Pittsburgh St. Louis
NL West	Atlanta Cincinnati Houston Los Angeles San Diego San Francisco
1972 MLB draft 1972 All-Star Game 1972 World Series