Summary
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.
| 1972 Boston Red Sox | ||
|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |
| Division | East | |
| Ballpark | Fenway Park | |
| City | Boston, Massachusetts | |
| Record | 85–70 (.548) | |
| Divisional place | 2nd (1⁄2 GB) | |
| Owner | Tom Yawkey | |
| President | Tom Yawkey | |
| General manager | Dick O'Connell | |
| Manager | Eddie Kasko | |
| Television | WBZ-TV, Ch. 4 (Ken Coleman, Johnny Pesky) | |
| Radio | WHDH-AM 850 (Ned Martin, Dave Martin, John MacLean) | |
| Stats | ESPN.com BB-reference | |
| ||
Offseason edit
- October 10, 1971: Jim Lonborg, Ken Brett, Billy Conigliaro, Joe Lahoud, Don Pavletich, and George Scott were traded by the Red Sox to the Milwaukee Brewers for Marty Pattin, Lew Krausse Jr., Tommy Harper, and Pat Skrable (minors).[1]
- March 22, 1972: Sparky Lyle was traded by the Red Sox to the New York Yankees for Danny Cater and a player to be named later. The Yankees completed the deal by sending Mario Guerrero to the Red Sox on June 30.[2]
A bad trade edit
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 edit
| 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.
| 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 edit
| AL East | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Tigers | 86 | 70 | 0.551 | — | 44–34 | 42–36 |
| Boston Red Sox | 85 | 70 | 0.548 | ½ | 52–26 | 33–44 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 80 | 74 | 0.519 | 5 | 38–39 | 42–35 |
| New York Yankees | 79 | 76 | 0.510 | 6½ | 46–31 | 33–45 |
| Cleveland Indians | 72 | 84 | 0.462 | 14 | 43–34 | 29–50 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 65 | 91 | 0.417 | 21 | 37–42 | 28–49 |
Record vs. opponents edit
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 edit
- June 6, 1972: Don Aase was drafted by the Red Sox in the 6th round of the 1972 Major League Baseball Draft.[21]
- August 15, 1972: Chris Coletta was traded by the Red Sox to the California Angels for Andy Kosco.[22]
Opening Day lineup edit
| 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 edit
| 1972 Boston Red Sox | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats edit
Batting edit
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | AVG | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy Harper | 144 | 556 | 92 | 141 | 29 | 2 | 14 | 49 | 25 | 67 | .254 | .388 |
| Rico Petrocelli | 147 | 521 | 62 | 125 | 15 | 2 | 15 | 75 | 0 | 78 | .240 | .363 |
| Doug Griffin | 129 | 470 | 43 | 122 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 35 | 9 | 45 | .260 | .302 |
| Reggie Smith | 131 | 467 | 75 | 126 | 25 | 4 | 21 | 74 | 15 | 68 | .270 | .475 |
| Carlton Fisk | 131 | 457 | 74 | 134 | 28 | 9 | 22 | 61 | 5 | 52 | .293 | .538 |
| Carl Yastrzemski | 125 | 455 | 70 | 120 | 18 | 2 | 12 | 68 | 5 | 67 | .264 | .391 |
| Luis Aparicio | 110 | 436 | 47 | 112 | 26 | 3 | 3 | 39 | 3 | 26 | .257 | .351 |
| Danny Cater | 92 | 317 | 32 | 75 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 0 | 15 | .237 | .372 |
| Ben Oglivie | 94 | 253 | 27 | 61 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 30 | 1 | 18 | .241 | .391 |
| John Kennedy | 71 | 212 | 22 | 52 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 22 | 0 | 18 | .245 | .335 |
| Juan Beníquez | 33 | 99 | 10 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 7 | .242 | .333 |
| Rick Miller | 89 | 98 | 13 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 11 | .214 | .367 |
| Phil Gagliano | 52 | 82 | 9 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 10 | .256 | .329 |
| Duane Josephson | 26 | 82 | 11 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 4 | .268 | .378 |
| Bob Montgomery | 24 | 77 | 7 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3 | .286 | .377 |
| Bob Burda | 45 | 73 | 4 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 8 | .164 | .260 |
| Dwight Evans | 18 | 57 | 2 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 7 | .263 | .404 |
| Andy Kosco | 17 | 47 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 | .213 | .489 |
| Cecil Cooper | 12 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .235 | .294 |
| Bob Gallagher | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 |
| Vic Correll | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .500 | .500 |
| Pitcher Totals | 155 | 423 | 34 | 68 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 31 | 0 | 14 | .161 | .227 |
| Team Totals | 155 | 5208 | 640 | 1289 | 229 | 34 | 124 | 594 | 66 | 522 | .248 | .376 |
Source:[13]
Pitching edit
Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marty Pattin | 17 | 13 | 3.24 | 38 | 35 | 0 | 253.0 | 232 | 102 | 91 | 65 | 168 |
| Sonny Siebert | 12 | 12 | 3.80 | 32 | 30 | 0 | 196.1 | 204 | 105 | 83 | 59 | 123 |
| Luis Tiant | 15 | 6 | 1.91 | 43 | 19 | 3 | 179.0 | 128 | 45 | 38 | 65 | 123 |
| John Curtis | 11 | 8 | 3.73 | 26 | 21 | 0 | 154.1 | 161 | 69 | 64 | 50 | 106 |
| Lynn McGlothen | 8 | 7 | 3.41 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 145.0 | 135 | 66 | 55 | 59 | 112 |
| Ray Culp | 5 | 8 | 4.46 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 105.0 | 104 | 60 | 52 | 53 | 52 |
| Gary Peters | 3 | 3 | 4.32 | 33 | 4 | 1 | 85.1 | 91 | 48 | 41 | 38 | 67 |
| Bill Lee | 7 | 4 | 3.20 | 47 | 0 | 5 | 84.1 | 75 | 31 | 30 | 32 | 43 |
| Lew Krausse Jr. | 1 | 3 | 6.38 | 24 | 7 | 1 | 60.2 | 74 | 48 | 43 | 28 | 35 |
| Don Newhauser | 4 | 2 | 2.43 | 31 | 0 | 4 | 37.0 | 30 | 11 | 10 | 25 | 27 |
| Bobby Bolin | 0 | 1 | 2.93 | 21 | 0 | 5 | 30.2 | 24 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 27 |
| Ken Tatum | 0 | 2 | 3.07 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 29.1 | 32 | 12 | 10 | 15 | 15 |
| Bob Veale | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| Roger Moret | 0 | 0 | 3.60 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 4 |
| Stan Williams | 0 | 0 | 6.23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Mike Garman | 0 | 1 | 10.80 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3.1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Mike Nagy | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Team Totals | 85 | 70 | 3.47 | 155 | 155 | 25 | 1382.2 | 1309 | 620 | 533 | 512 | 918 |
Source:[14]
Statistical leaders edit
| Category | Player | Statistic |
|---|---|---|
| Youngest player | Dwight Evans | 20 |
| Oldest player | Luis Aparicio | 38 |
| Wins Above Replacement | Carlton Fisk | 7.3 |
Source:[24]
Batting edit
| 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 edit
| 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 edit
Farm system edit
References edit
- ^ Jim Lonborg page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Danny Cater page at Baseball Reference
- ^ "Pat Skrable Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Bobby Pfeil Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
- ^ "The 1972 Boston Red Sox". Retrosheet. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
- ^ "Events of Sunday, April 30, 1972".
- ^ "Events of Wednesday, May 31, 1972".
- ^ "Events of Friday, June 30, 1972".
- ^ "Events of Monday, July 31, 1972".
- ^ "Events of Thursday, August 31, 1972".
- ^ "Events of Saturday, September 30, 1972".
- ^ a b "Events of Wednesday, October 4, 1972".
- ^ "Events of Sunday, October 1, 1972".
- ^ "Events of Monday, October 2, 1972".
- ^ "Events of Tuesday, October 3, 1972".
- ^ a b c "Detroit Tigers 4, Boston Red Sox 1". Retrosheet. October 2, 1972. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
- ^ Lehman, Doug. "October 2, 1972: Lolich fans 15 as Tigers take over first place". SABR. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
- ^ Shaughnessy, Dan (May 24, 2008). "Series of moments shared by two cities". The Boston Globe. p. 44. Retrieved October 10, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Don Aase page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Andy Kosco page at Baseball Reference
- ^ "Detroit Tigers 3, Boston Red Sox 2". Retrosheet. April 15, 1972. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
- ^ a b c "1972 Boston Red Sox Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
- ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
- ^ Boston Red Sox Guide for Press TV Radio. 1972. p. 2. Retrieved March 14, 2021 – via Wayback Machine.
External links edit
- 1972 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference
- 1972 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com