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1972 New York Mets season

January 01, 1970

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[1] and finished in third place in the National League East.

1972 New York Mets
LeagueNational League
DivisionEast
BallparkShea Stadium
CityNew York
Record83-73
Divisional place3rd
OwnersJoan Whitney Payson
General managersBob Scheffing
ManagersYogi Berra
TelevisionWOR-TV
RadioWHN
(Ralph Kiner, Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy)
← 1971 Seasons 1973 →

Offseason edit

Death of Gil Hodges edit

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, falling backward and cracking his head open. Hodges had died from a heart attack, two days short of his forty-eighth birthday.[2] The Mets wore a black armband on the left sleeves of their uniform jerseys during the 1972 season in honor of Hodges.

Appointment of Yogi Berra edit

On April 6, Yogi Berra was introduced as the Mets' new manager. The news of Berra's appointment was accompanied by the announcement that the Mets had traded outfielder Ken Singleton, infielder Tim Foli, and first baseman/outfielder Mike Jorgensen to the Montreal Expos. In return they received star outfielder Rusty Staub, who had hit a .311 batting average with 97 RBI the previous season. Also joining the club that year was John Milner, a left-handed, power-hitting, first baseman/outfielder.

Notable transactions edit

Regular season edit

Season summary edit

On May 11, the Mets acquired Willie Mays from the San Francisco Giants for minor league pitcher Charlie Williams and cash.[4][5] The acquisition of Mays had been a longtime dream of Joan Payson, who had been a New York Giants fan in her youth.[6] With Mays no longer pulling the weight of his large contract, Giants owner Horace Stoneham made him available, and Payson could not resist.[7]

The club got off to a sizzling start in 1972, playing better than .700 ball through early June and peaking at 25–7 (.781) on May 21, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates by six games. However, a series of disabling injuries to Rusty Staub, 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.

Despite a promising start, the season ending on a highly disappointing note. Jim Fregosi suffered a broken thumb in spring training and never got on track, posting a .232 batting average. Second baseman Ken Boswell hit just a .211 batting average on the year. John Milner flashed some power with 17 home runs but batted only a .238 batting average. Tommie Agee, unhappy at intermittently being displaced in center by Mays,[citation needed] batted a .227 batting average. Rusty Staub batted a .293 batting average, but was limited to just 66 games because of a broken hand. Mays batted a respectable .267 batting average, but his fielding ability significantly declined.

Among pitchers, Tom Seaver went 21–12, Jim McAndrew 11–8, Jerry Koosman 11–12, and Rookie of the Year Jon Matlack was 15–10. Gary Gentry slumped to 7–10. Tug McGraw continued as the bullpen ace, with 8 wins and 27 saves.

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 edit

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 edit

1972 National League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
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 —


Opening Day starters edit

Notable transactions edit

Roster edit

Player stats edit

Batting edit

Starters by position edit

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 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 Tommie Agee 114 422 96 .227 13 47
RF Rusty Staub 66 239 70 .293 9 38

Other batters edit

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
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 edit

Starting pitchers edit

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA 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 edit

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Buzz Capra 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 edit

Note: G = Games pitched; Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L SV ERA 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 edit

All-Stars edit

1972 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Farm system edit

See also: Minor League Baseball

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Tidewater

Notes edit

  1. ^ Because of a labour strike, the Mets didn't play a 162 games regular season.
  2. ^ Clavin, Tom; Danny Peary (2012). Gil Hodges: The Brooklyn Bums, the Miracle Mets, and the Extraordinary Life of a Baseball Legend. New York: New American Library. pp. 359–361, 370–375. ISBN 978-0-451-23586-2.
  3. ^ Nolan Ryan page at Baseball Reference
  4. ^ a b "Mays traded to Mets, Giants get minor, cash". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. May 11, 1972. p. 46.
  5. ^ a b "Willie Mays traded to NY Mets". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. May 11, 1972. p. 46.
  6. ^ admin. "Joan Whitney Payson: A Pioneer for the New York Mets – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  7. ^ admin. "Joan Whitney Payson: A Pioneer for the New York Mets – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  8. ^ Rusty Staub page at Baseball Reference
  9. ^ Willie Mays page at Baseball Reference

References edit

  • 1972 New York Mets at Baseball Reference
  • 1972 New York Mets team page at www.baseball-almanac.com

January 01, 1970
1972, york, mets, season, 11th, regular, season, mets, played, home, games, shea, stadium, manager, yogi, berra, team, record, finished, third, place, national, league, east, 1972, york, metsleaguenational, leaguedivisioneastballparkshea, stadiumcitynew, yorkr. 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 1 and finished in third place in the National League East 1972 New York MetsLeagueNational LeagueDivisionEastBallparkShea StadiumCityNew YorkRecord83 73Divisional place3rdOwnersJoan Whitney PaysonGeneral managersBob ScheffingManagersYogi BerraTelevisionWOR TVRadioWHN Ralph Kiner Lindsey Nelson Bob Murphy 1971 Seasons 1973 Contents 1 Offseason 1 1 Death of Gil Hodges 1 2 Appointment of Yogi Berra 1 3 Notable transactions 2 Regular season 2 1 Season summary 2 2 Season standings 2 3 Record vs opponents 2 4 Opening Day starters 2 5 Notable transactions 2 6 Roster 3 Player stats 3 1 Batting 3 1 1 Starters by position 3 1 2 Other batters 3 2 Pitching 3 2 1 Starting pitchers 3 2 2 Other pitchers 3 2 3 Relief pitchers 4 Awards and honors 4 1 All Stars 5 Farm system 6 Notes 7 ReferencesOffseason editDeath of Gil Hodges edit 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 falling backward and cracking his head open Hodges had died from a heart attack two days short of his forty eighth birthday 2 The Mets wore a black armband on the left sleeves of their uniform jerseys during the 1972 season in honor of Hodges Appointment of Yogi Berra edit On April 6 Yogi Berra was introduced as the Mets new manager The news of Berra s appointment was accompanied by the announcement that the Mets had traded outfielder Ken Singleton infielder Tim Foli and first baseman outfielder Mike Jorgensen to the Montreal Expos In return they received star outfielder Rusty Staub who had hit a 311 batting average with 97 RBI the previous season Also joining the club that year was John Milner a left handed power hitting first baseman outfielder Notable transactions edit December 10 1971 Nolan Ryan Frank Estrada Don Rose and Leroy Stanton were traded by the Mets to the California Angels for Jim Fregosi 3 Regular season editSeason summary edit This section s tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia See Wikipedia s guide to writing better articles for suggestions May 2023 Learn how and when to remove this message On May 11 the Mets acquired Willie Mays from the San Francisco Giants for minor league pitcher Charlie Williams and cash 4 5 The acquisition of Mays had been a longtime dream of Joan Payson who had been a New York Giants fan in her youth 6 With Mays no longer pulling the weight of his large contract Giants owner Horace Stoneham made him available and Payson could not resist 7 The club got off to a sizzling start in 1972 playing better than 700 ball through early June and peaking at 25 7 781 on May 21 leading the Pittsburgh Pirates by six games However a series of disabling injuries to Rusty Staub 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 Despite a promising start the season ending on a highly disappointing note Jim Fregosi suffered a broken thumb in spring training and never got on track posting a 232 batting average Second baseman Ken Boswell hit just a 211 batting average on the year John Milner flashed some power with 17 home runs but batted only a 238 batting average Tommie Agee unhappy at intermittently being displaced in center by Mays citation needed batted a 227 batting average Rusty Staub batted a 293 batting average but was limited to just 66 games because of a broken hand Mays batted a respectable 267 batting average but his fielding ability significantly declined Among pitchers Tom Seaver went 21 12 Jim McAndrew 11 8 Jerry Koosman 11 12 and Rookie of the Year Jon Matlack was 15 10 Gary Gentry slumped to 7 10 Tug McGraw continued as the bullpen ace with 8 wins and 27 saves 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 edit vteNL 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 13 41 37 42 36 St Louis Cardinals 75 81 0 481 21 40 37 35 44 Montreal Expos 70 86 0 449 26 35 43 35 43 Philadelphia Phillies 59 97 0 378 37 28 51 31 46 Record vs opponents edit 1972 National League recordvteSources 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 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 Opening Day starters edit Tommie Agee Ken Boswell Jim Fregosi Jerry Grote Bud Harrelson Cleon Jones Ed Kranepool Tom Seaver Rusty Staub Notable transactions edit April 5 Ken Singleton Mike Jorgensen and Tim Foli were traded to the Montreal Expos for Rusty Staub 8 May 11 Charlie Williams and 50 000 were traded to the San Francisco Giants for Willie Mays 4 5 9 Roster edit 1972 New York Mets Roster Pitchers 38 Buzz Capra 34 Danny Frisella 39 Gary Gentry 36 Jerry Koosman 32 Jon Matlack 43 Jim McAndrew 45 Tug McGraw 39 Tommy Moore 44 Bob Rauch 33 Ray Sadecki 41 Tom Seaver 40 Brent Strom 42 Chuck Taylor 22 Hank Webb Catchers 10 Duffy Dyer 15 Jerry Grote 35 Joe Nolan Infielders 1 Lute Barnes 5 24 Jim Beauchamp 12 Ken Boswell 2 Jim Fregosi 11 Wayne Garrett 3 Bud Harrelson 7 Ed Kranepool 17 Ted Martinez 9 Bill Sudakis Outfielders 20 Tommie Agee 25 Don Hahn 21 Cleon Jones 18 Dave Marshall 24 Willie Mays 28 John Milner 16 Dave Schneck 4 Rusty Staub Manager 8 Yogi Berra Coaches 52 Joe Pignatano 55 Sheriff Robinson 54 Rube Walker 53 Eddie YostPlayer stats editBatting edit Starters by position edit 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 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 Tommie Agee 114 422 96 227 13 47 RF Rusty Staub 66 239 70 293 9 38 Other batters edit 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 Cleon Jones 106 375 92 245 5 52 Ted Martinez 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 edit Starting pitchers edit Note G Games pitched IP Innings pitched W Wins L Losses ERA Earned run average SO Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA 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 edit Note G Games pitched IP Innings pitched W Wins L Losses ERA Earned run average SO Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Buzz Capra 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 edit Note G Games pitched Innings pitched W Wins L Losses SV Saves ERA Earned run average SO Strikeouts Player G IP W L SV ERA 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 23Awards and honors editAll Stars edit 1972 Major League Baseball All Star Game Willie Mays starting center fielder Tug McGraw reserve Tom Seaver reserveFarm system editSee also Minor League Baseball Level Team League Manager AAA Tidewater Tides International League Hank Bauer AA Memphis Blues Texas League John Antonelli A Visalia Mets California League Joe Frazier A Pompano Beach Mets Florida State League Gordon Mackenzie A Short Season Batavia Trojans New York Penn League Wilbur Huckle Rookie Marion Mets Appalachian League Chuck Hiller LEAGUE CHAMPIONS TidewaterNotes edit Because of a labour strike the Mets didn t play a 162 games regular season Clavin Tom Danny Peary 2012 Gil Hodges The Brooklyn Bums the Miracle Mets and the Extraordinary Life of a Baseball Legend New York New American Library pp 359 361 370 375 ISBN 978 0 451 23586 2 Nolan Ryan page at Baseball Reference a b Mays traded to Mets Giants get minor cash Pittsburgh Press UPI May 11 1972 p 46 a b Willie Mays traded to NY Mets Eugene Register Guard Oregon Associated Press May 11 1972 p 46 admin Joan Whitney Payson A Pioneer for the New York Mets Society for American Baseball Research Retrieved February 2 2024 admin Joan Whitney Payson A Pioneer for the New York Mets Society for American Baseball Research Retrieved February 2 2024 Rusty Staub page at Baseball Reference Willie Mays page at Baseball ReferenceReferences edit1972 New York Mets at Baseball Reference 1972 New York Mets team page at www baseball almanac com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1972 New York Mets season amp oldid 1220427086, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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