1972 Oakland Athletics season

::Round 10: Bob Lacey - March 4, 1972: Jim Panther and Don Stanhouse were traded by the Athletics to the Texas Rangers for Denny McLain. ## Regular season In 1972, the A's began wearing solid green or solid gold jerseys, with contrasting white pants, at a time when most other teams wore all-white uniforms at home and all-grey ones on the road. Similar to more colorful amateur softball uniforms, they were considered a radical departure for their time. Furthermore, in conjunction with a Moustache Day promotion, Finley offered $300 to any player who grew a moustache by Father's Day, at a time when every other team traditionally forbade facial hair. When Father's Day arrived on Sunday, June 18, every player on the 25-man roster collected a bonus. ### Changing the nickname The nickname "A's" has long been used interchangeably with "Athletics", dating to the team's early days when headline writers wanted a way to shorten the name. Starting in 1972, the team nickname was officially "Oakland A's." The Commissioner's Trophy, given out annually to the winner of baseball's World Series, still listed the team's name as the "Oakland Athletics" on the gold-plated pennant representing the Oakland franchise. According to Bill Libby's Book, *Charlie O and the Angry A's*, owner Charlie O. Finley banned the word "Athletics" from the club's name because he felt that name was too closely associated with former Philadelphia Athletics owner Connie Mack, and he wanted the name "Oakland A's" to become just as closely associated with himself. The name also vaguely suggested the name of the old minor league Oakland Oaks, which were alternatively called the "Acorns". ### Season standings ### Record vs. opponents ### Opening Day Lineup ::data[format=table title=""] | Oakland Athletics}}"|Opening Day Starters | Oakland Athletics}};| # | Oakland Athletics}};| Name | Oakland Athletics}};| Position | |---|---|---|---| | 19 | Bert Campaneris | SS | | | 26 | Joe Rudi | LF | | | 9 | Reggie Jackson | RF | | | 6 | Sal Bando | 3B | | | 5 | Mike Epstein | 1B | | | 15 | Bobby Brooks | CF | | | 10 | Dave Duncan | C | | | 22 | Dick Green | 2B | | | 30 | Ken Holtzman | P | | :: ### Notable transactions - April 15, 1972: Tim Cullen was signed as a free agent by the Athletics. - May 15, 1972: Dwain Anderson was traded by the Athletics to the St. Louis Cardinals for Don Shaw. - May 17, 1972: Curt Blefary, Mike Kilkenny, and a player to be named later were traded by the Athletics to the San Diego Padres for Ollie Brown. The Athletics completed the trade by sending Greg Schubert (minors) to the Padres on September 11. - May 18, 1972: Brant Alyea was traded by the Athletics to the St. Louis Cardinals for Marty Martínez. - June 6, 1972: [1972 Major League Baseball draft](1972-major-league-baseball-draft) (June Draft) notable picks: ::Round 1: Chet Lemon ::Round 9: Dennis Littlejohn (did not sign) ::Round 12: Chris Batton ::Round 15: Bob Pate (did not play) - June 7, 1972: Diego Seguí was sent by the Athletics to the St. Louis Cardinals as part of a conditional deal. - June 29, 1972: Denny McLain was traded by the Athletics to the Atlanta Braves for Orlando Cepeda. - July 20, 1972: Marty Martínez, Vic Harris and a player to be named later were traded by the Athletics to the Texas Rangers for Don Mincher and Ted Kubiak. The Athletics completed the deal by sending Steve Lawson to the Rangers on July 26. - July 23, 1972: Brant Alyea was returned to the Athletics by the St. Louis Cardinals. - August 30, 1972: Joe Lindsey (minors) and a player to be named later were traded by the Athletics to the St. Louis Cardinals for Dal Maxvill. The Athletics completed the trade by sending Gene Dusen (minors) to the Cardinals on October 27. ### Roster ::data[format=table] | 1972 Oakland Athletics | |---| | **Roster** | | **Pitchers** | :: ## Player stats ::data[format=table] | | = Indicates team leader | |---|---| :: ### Batting ::data[format=table] | | = Indicates league leader | |---|---| :: #### Starters by position *Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in* ::data[format=table] | Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | C | | 121 | 403 | 88 | .218 | 19 | 59 | | 1B | | 138 | 455 | 123 | .270 | 26 | 70 | | 2B | | 72 | 142 | 37 | .261 | 0 | 15 | | 3B | | 152 | 535 | 126 | .236 | 15 | 77 | | SS | | 149 | 625 | 150 | .240 | 8 | 32 | | LF | | 147 | 593 | 181 | .305 | 19 | 75 | | CF | | 135 | 499 | 132 | .265 | 25 | 75 | | RF | | 91 | 272 | 67 | .246 | 5 | 32 | :: #### Other batters *Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in* ::data[format=table] | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | | 82 | 227 | 51 | .225 | 5 | 32 | | | 47 | 142 | 26 | .183 | 0 | 4 | | | 32 | 121 | 34 | .281 | 1 | 16 | | | 58 | 121 | 22 | .182 | 4 | 15 | | | 40 | 97 | 22 | .227 | 1 | 5 | | | 51 | 94 | 17 | .181 | 0 | 8 | | | 98 | 79 | 26 | .329 | 1 | 5 | | | 47 | 54 | 8 | .148 | 0 | 5 | | | 20 | 54 | 13 | .241 | 1 | 4 | | | 26 | 42 | 12 | .286 | 0 | 3 | | | 22 | 40 | 5 | .125 | 0 | 1 | | | 15 | 39 | 7 | .179 | 0 | 5 | | | 27 | 36 | 9 | .250 | 0 | 1 | | | 20 | 31 | 6 | .194 | 1 | 2 | | | 23 | 21 | 8 | .381 | 0 | 4 | | | 14 | 15 | 4 | .267 | 0 | 1 | | | 8 | 11 | 5 | .455 | 0 | 1 | | | 14 | 11 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | | | 24 | 10 | 2 | .200 | 0 | 2 | | | 4 | 10 | 1 | .100 | 0 | 0 | | | 8 | 7 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | | | 3 | 7 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | | | 5 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | | | 3 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | :: ### Pitching #### Starting pitchers *Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts* ::data[format=table] | Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | | 38 | 295.1 | 21 | 7 | 2.04 | 191 | | | 39 | 265.1 | 19 | 11 | 2.51 | 134 | | | 31 | 194.1 | 15 | 6 | 2.50 | 86 | | | 25 | 151.0 | 6 | 10 | 2.80 | 111 | | | 5 | 22.1 | 1 | 2 | 6.04 | 8 | :: #### Other pitchers *Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts* ::data[format=table] | Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | | 25 | 101.1 | 6 | 6 | 2.93 | 55 | | | 32 | 84.0 | 3 | 4 | 3.00 | 58 | | | 7 | 22.2 | 0 | 1 | 3.57 | 11 | :: #### Relief pitchers *Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts* ::data[format=table] | Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | | 65 | 11 | 9 | 21 | 2.51 | 113 | | | 56 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 2.65 | 47 | | | 54 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 1.37 | 36 | | | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2.04 | 8 | | | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16.88 | 4 | | | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.86 | 0 | | | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | :: ## Postseason ### ALCS *Main article: [1972 American League Championship Series](1972-american-league-championship-series)* #### Game 1 October 7, 1972, at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum ::data[format=table] | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | R | H | E | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Detroit | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | **2** | **6** | **2** | | **Oakland** | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | **3** | **10** | **1** | | **W**: Rollie Fingers (1–0) **L**: Mickey Lolich (0–1) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | **HR**: **DET** – Norm Cash (1), Al Kaline (1) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | :: #### Game 2 October 8, 1972, at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum ::data[format=table] | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Detroit | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | **0** | **3** | **1** | | **Oakland** | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | **5** | **8** | **0** | | **W**: Blue Moon Odom (1–0) **L**: Woodie Fryman (0–1) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | **HR**: None | | | | | | | | | | | | | :: #### Game 3 October 10, 1972, at Tiger Stadium ::data[format=table] | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Oakland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | **0** | **7** | **0** | | **Detroit** | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | **3** | **8** | **1** | | **W**: Joe Coleman (1–0) **L**: Ken Holtzman (0–1) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | **HR**: **DET** – Bill Freehan (1) | | | | | | | | | | | | | :: #### Game 4 October 11, 1972, at Tiger Stadium ::data[format=table] | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Oakland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | **3** | **9** | **2** | | **Detroit** | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | **4** | **10** | **1** | | **W**: John Hiller (1–0) **L**: Bob Locker (0–1) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | **HR**: **OAK** – Mike Epstein (1) **DET** – Dick McAuliffe (1) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | :: #### Game 5 October 12, 1972, at Tiger Stadium ::data[format=table] | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | **Oakland** | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | **2** | **4** | **0** | | Detroit | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | **1** | **5** | **2** | | **W**: Blue Moon Odom (2–0) **L**: Woodie Fryman (0–2) **S**: Vida Blue (1) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | **HR**: None | | | | | | | | | | | | | :: ### World Series *Main article: [1972 World Series](1972-world-series)* In 1972, the A's won their first league pennant since [1931](1931-philadelphia-athletics-season) and faced the [Cincinnati Reds](1972-cincinnati-reds-season) in the [World Series](1972-world-series). The A's seven-game victory over the heavily favored Reds gave the team its first World Series championship since [1930](1930-world-series). Of the four wins against the Reds, three of them occurred in Cincinnati, and all four Series victories were by a single run. Gene Tenace hit four home runs and drove in nine runs to power the A's offense, and was named the series Most Valuable Player. #### Composite Box [1972 World Series](1972-world-series) **(4–3): Oakland Athletics (A.L.)** over [Cincinnati Reds](1972-cincinnati-reds-season) (N.L.) ::data[format=table] | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | **Oakland Athletics** | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | **16** | **46** | **9** | | **Cincinnati Reds** | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | **21** | **46** | **5** | | **Total Attendance**: 363,149 **Average Attendance**: 51,878 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | **Winning Player's Share**: – $20,705, **Losing Player's Share**– $15,080** *Includes Playoffs and World Series** | | | | | | | | | | | | | :: ## Awards and honors - Gene Tenace, Babe Ruth Award - Gene Tenace, World Series Most Valuable Player ### League leaders - Joe Rudi, American League leader, triples (tied) (9) ## Farm system ## References ## References 1. ["Rick Monday Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More"](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mondari01.shtml). 2. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/a/alyeabr01.shtml Brant Alyea page at Baseball Reference] 3. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hovlest01.shtml Steve Hovley page at Baseball Reference] 4. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?query_type=franch_year&team_ID=OAK&year_ID=1972&draft_type=Janreg& 1972 Oakland Athletics Picks in the MLB January Amateur Draft] 5. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/m/mclaide01.shtml Denny McLain page at Baseball Reference] 6. (June 19, 1972). ["Oakland A's shut out Cleveland Indians 9-0"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8eUzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qTIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=7520%2C6126070). *Lodi News-Sentinel*. 7. Bock, Hal. (June 19, 1972). ["Blue given bat support in first win"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5Y0hAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DpoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1772%2C6690026). *Reading Eagle*. 8. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK197204150.shtml 1972 Opening Day Lineup] at ''Baseball-Reference'' 9. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/c/culleti01.shtml Tim Cullen page at Baseball Reference] 10. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/shawdo01.shtml Don Shaw page at Baseball Reference] 11. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/b/blefacu01.shtml Curt Blefary page at Baseball Reference] 12. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?query_type=franch_year&team_ID=OAK&year_ID=1972&draft_type=Junreg& 1972 Oakland Athletics Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft] 13. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/l/littlde01.shtml Dennis Littlejohn page at Baseball Reference] 14. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/b/battoch01.shtml Chris Batton page at Baseball Reference] 15. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/s/seguidi01.shtml Diego Segui page at Baseball Reference] 16. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/h/harrivi01.shtml Vic Harris page at Baseball Reference] 17. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/m/maxvida01.shtml Dal Maxvill page at Baseball Reference] 18. ''Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures'', 2008 Edition, p. 96, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, {{ISBN. 978-0-451-22363-0 ::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Oakland_Athletics_season) and is available under the [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the [article history page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Oakland_Athletics_season?action=history). ::