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1972 New York Mets season
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | New York Mets |
| season | 1972 |
| image | New York Mets Insignia (1962 to 1992).svg |
| league | National League |
| division | East |
| ballpark | Shea Stadium |
| city | New York |
| record | |
| divisional_place | 3rd |
| owners | Joan Whitney Payson |
| general_manager | Bob Scheffing |
| manager | Yogi Berra |
| television | WOR-TV |
| radio | WHN |
| (Ralph Kiner, Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy) |
(Ralph Kiner, Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy) The 1972 New York Mets season was the 11th regular season for the Mets, who played home games at Shea Stadium. Led by manager Yogi Berra, the team had an 83–73 record and finished in third place in the National League East, thirteen and a half games behind the first place Pittsburgh Pirates.
Offseason
Death of Gil Hodges/Appointment of Yogi Berra
On April 2, 1972, manager Gil Hodges and coaches Rube Walker, Joe Pignatano and Eddie Yost, were returning to their motel in West Palm Beach, Florida after a round of golf when Hodges suddenly collapsed and died from a heart attack, two days short of his forty-eighth birthday. The Mets wore a black armband on the left sleeves of their uniform jerseys during the 1972 season in honor of Hodges. On April 6, Yogi Berra was introduced as the Mets' new manager.
Notable offseason transactions:
- December 10, 1971: Nolan Ryan, Frank Estrada, Don Rose, and Leroy Stanton were traded by the Mets to the California Angels for Jim Fregosi.
- April 5, 1972: Ken Singleton, Tim Foli, and Mike Jorgensen were traded by the Mets to the Montreal Expos for Rusty Staub.
Also, returning to the club for their first full seasons that year was Jon Matlack, a left-handed starting pitcher (the fourth overall pick in the 1967 Major League Baseball draft), and John Milner, a left-handed, power-hitting, first baseman/outfielder.
Regular season
Season summary
On May 11, the Mets acquired Willie Mays from the San Francisco Giants for minor league pitcher Charlie Williams and cash. The acquisition of Mays had been a longtime dream of Joan Payson, who had been a New York Giants fan in her youth. With Mays no longer pulling the weight of his large contract, Giants owner Horace Stoneham made him available, and Payson could not resist.
The club got off to a sizzling start in 1972, playing better than .700 ball through early June and peaking at on May 21, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates by six games. However, Jim Fregosi suffered a broken thumb in spring training and never got on track, posting a .232 batting average. Second baseman Ken Boswell slumped to .211. John Milner flashed some power with 17 home runs but hit just .238. Tommie Agee, batting .291 on the day of the Mays trade, suddenly found himself sharing center field with Mays, and, along with being increasingly hampered by knee problems, finished at only .227. Rusty Staub led all starters with a .293 batting average, but was limited to just 66 games because of a broken hand. Mays did hit a respectable .267, but his fielding ability significantly declined. In addition, along with Staub, a series of disabling injuries to Bud Harrelson, Jerry Grote, and Cleon Jones brought the team up short and dropped them into their third consecutive third-place finish, 13.5 games behind Pittsburgh.
Among pitchers, Tom Seaver went 21–12, Rookie of the Year Jon Matlack was 15–10 and Jim McAndrew 11–8, but Jerry Koosman went 11–12 as his earned run average jumped to 4.14, and Gary Gentry slumped to 7–10 with a 4.04 ERA. Tug McGraw continued as the bullpen ace, with 8 wins and 27 saves and a 1.70 ERA.
On September 30, Jon Matlack gave up a double to Pirates legend Roberto Clemente. It was Clemente's 3,000th and final big-league hit prior to his death in a plane crash on New Year's Eve.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Opening Day starters
- Tommie Agee
- Ken Boswell
- Jim Fregosi
- Jerry Grote
- Bud Harrelson
- Cleon Jones
- Ed Kranepool
- Tom Seaver
- Rusty Staub
Notable transactions
- May 11: Charlie Williams and $50,000 were traded to the San Francisco Giants for Willie Mays.
Roster
| New York Mets 1962thru1992 | border=2}}; text-align: center;" | 1972 New York Mets |
|---|---|---|
| New York Mets 1962thru1992 | border=2}}; text-align: center;" | **Roster** |
| **Pitchers** |
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
| New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="5%" | Pos | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="16%" | Player | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | G | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | AB | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | H | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | Avg. | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | HR | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Duffy Dyer | 94 | 325 | 75 | .231 | 8 | 36 | ||||||||
| 1B | Ed Kranepool | 122 | 327 | 88 | .269 | 8 | 34 | ||||||||
| 2B | Ken Boswell | 100 | 355 | 75 | .211 | 9 | 33 | ||||||||
| SS | Bud Harrelson | 115 | 418 | 90 | .215 | 1 | 24 | ||||||||
| 3B | Jim Fregosi | 101 | 340 | 79 | .232 | 5 | 32 | ||||||||
| LF | John Milner | 117 | 362 | 86 | .238 | 17 | 38 | ||||||||
| CF | 114 | 422 | 96 | .227 | 13 | 47 | |||||||||
| RF | 66 | 239 | 70 | .293 | 9 | 38 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="16%" | Player | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | G | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | AB | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | H | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | Avg. | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | HR | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleon Jones | 106 | 375 | 92 | .245 | 5 | 52 | |||||||
| Ted Martínez | 103 | 330 | 74 | .224 | 1 | 19 | |||||||
| Wayne Garrett | 111 | 298 | 69 | .232 | 2 | 29 | |||||||
| Jerry Grote | 64 | 205 | 43 | .210 | 3 | 21 | |||||||
| Willie Mays | 69 | 195 | 52 | .267 | 8 | 19 | |||||||
| Dave Marshall | 72 | 156 | 39 | .250 | 4 | 11 | |||||||
| Dave Schneck | 37 | 123 | 23 | .187 | 3 | 10 | |||||||
| Jim Beauchamp | 58 | 120 | 29 | .242 | 5 | 19 | |||||||
| Lute Barnes | 24 | 72 | 17 | .236 | 0 | 6 | |||||||
| Bill Sudakis | 18 | 49 | 7 | .143 | 1 | 7 | |||||||
| Don Hahn | 17 | 37 | 6 | .162 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
| Joe Nolan | 4 | 10 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="16%" | Player | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | G | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | IP | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | W | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | L | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | ERA | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Seaver | 35 | 262.0 | 21 | 12 | 2.92 | 249 | |||||||
| Jon Matlack | 34 | 244.0 | 15 | 10 | 2.32 | 169 | |||||||
| Gary Gentry | 32 | 164.0 | 7 | 10 | 4.01 | 120 | |||||||
| Jerry Koosman | 34 | 163.0 | 11 | 12 | 4.14 | 147 | |||||||
| Jim McAndrew | 28 | 160.2 | 11 | 8 | 2.80 | 81 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="16%" | Player | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | G | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | IP | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | W | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | L | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | ERA | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 53.0 | 3 | 2 | 4.58 | 45 | ||||||||
| Brent Strom | 11 | 30.1 | 0 | 3 | 6.82 | 20 | |||||||
| Hank Webb | 6 | 18.1 | 0 | 0 | 4.42 | 15 | |||||||
| Tommy Moore | 3 | 12.1 | 0 | 0 | 2.92 | 5 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="16%" | Player | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | G | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | IP | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | W | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | L | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | SV | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | ERA | New York Mets 1962thru1992}}" width="9%" | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tug McGraw | 54 | 106.0 | 8 | 6 | 27 | 1.70 | 92 | ||||||||
| Danny Frisella | 39 | 67.1 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 3.34 | 46 | ||||||||
| Ray Sadecki | 34 | 75.2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3.09 | 38 | ||||||||
| Chuck Taylor | 20 | 31.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5.52 | 9 | ||||||||
| Bob Rauch | 19 | 27.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5.00 | 23 |
Awards and honors
All-Stars
1972 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
- Willie Mays, starting center fielder
- Tug McGraw, reserve
- Tom Seaver, reserve
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Tidewater
Notes
References
References
- Because of a labour strike, the Mets didn't play a 162 games regular season.
- Clavin, Tom. (2012). "Gil Hodges: The Brooklyn Bums, the Miracle Mets, and the Extraordinary Life of a Baseball Legend". New American Library.
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/r/ryanno01.shtml Nolan Ryan page at Baseball Reference]
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/staubru01.shtml Rusty Staub page at Baseball Reference]
- (May 11, 1972). "Mays traded to Mets, Giants get minor, cash". Pittsburgh Press.
- (May 11, 1972). "Willie Mays traded to NY Mets". Eugene Register-Guard.
- admin. "Joan Whitney Payson: A Pioneer for the New York Mets – Society for American Baseball Research".
- admin. "Joan Whitney Payson: A Pioneer for the New York Mets – Society for American Baseball Research".
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/m/mayswi01.shtml Willie Mays page at Baseball Reference]
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