1972 Pittsburgh Pirates
National League East Champions
LeagueNational League
DivisionEast
BallparkThree Rivers Stadium
CityPittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1]
Record96–59 (.619)
Divisional place1st
OwnersJohn W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Bing Crosby, Thomas P. Johnson (minority shareholders)
General managersJoe L. Brown
ManagersBill Virdon
TelevisionKDKA-TV
Bob Prince, Nellie King
RadioKDKA
Bob Prince, Nellie King
Seasons

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 an MLB-best record of 96–59. The team was defeated three games to two by the Cincinnati Reds in the NLCS. 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 ninth 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 walkoff run coming on a wild pitch.

Offseason

Regular season

Season standings

NL East W L Pct. GB Home Road
Pittsburgh Pirates 9659 0.619 — 49–29 47–30
Chicago Cubs 8570 0.548 11 46–31 39–39
New York Mets 8373 0.532 13½ 41–37 42–36
St. Louis Cardinals 7581 0.481 21½ 40–37 35–44
Montreal Expos 7086 0.449 26½ 35–43 35–43
Philadelphia Phillies 5997 0.378 37½ 28–51 31–46

Record vs. opponents

1972 National League record

Sources:
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta —5–7–19–97–77–84–87–56–66–66–117–116–6
Chicago 7–5–1—8–43–98–410–510–810–73–129–37–510–8
Cincinnati 9–94–8—11–69–58–48–410–28–48–1010–510–2
Houston 7–79–36–11—7–118–46–69–33–912–213–54–8
Los Angeles 8–74–85–911–7—6–67–57–57–513–59–98–4
Montreal 8–45–104–84–86–6—6–1210–66–126–66–69–8
New York 5–78–104–86–65–712–6—13–58–67–58–47–9
Philadelphia 6-67–102–103–95–76–105–13—5–136–66–68–7
Pittsburgh 6–612–34–89–35–712–66–813–5—10–29–310–8
San Diego 11–63–910–82–125–136–65–76–62–10—4–104–8
San Francisco 11–75–75–105–139–96–64–86–63–910–4—5–7
St. Louis 6–68–102–108–44–88–99–77–88–108–47–5—

Detailed records

Game log

1972 game log: 96–59 (home: 49–29; Away: 47–30)
April: 5–8 (home: 3–6; Away: 2–2)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 15@ Mets0–4SeaverEllis (0–1)McGraw15,8930–1
2April 16@ Mets2–0Blass (1–0)GentryHernández (1)23,2411–1
3April 18Cubs4–6PappasMoose (0–1)McGinn47,4891–2
4April 19Cubs5–2Briles (1–0)Pizarro—9,1712–2
5April 20Cubs7–5Ellis (1–1)JenkinsGiusti (1)6,5293–2
6April 21@ Phillies3–2 (10)Hernández (1–0)Short—13,8644–2
7April 23@ Phillies4–5 (11)BrandonMiller (0–1)—43,4384–3
8April 25Reds5–2 (13)Miller (1–1)McGlothlin—6,5095–3
9April 26Reds6–7NolanBlass (1–1)Borbon6,3805–4
10April 27Reds4–5CarrollGiusti (0–1)—12,5045–5
11April 28Braves5–13JarvisMoose (0–2)McQueen12,8045–6
12April 29Braves5–9KelleyWalker (0–1)Stone10,6845–7
13April 30Braves1–6NiekroJohnson (0–1)—12,2645–8
May: 19–7 (home: 12–2; Away: 7–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
14May 1Astros8–9RayGiusti (0–2)—4,7885–9
15May 3Astros3–2Ellis (2–1)ReussKison (1)9,5226–9
16May 5@ Reds4–5 (10)CarrollGiusti (0–3)—24,7226–10
17May 6@ Reds8–1Blass (2–1)Borbon—12,2847–10
18May 7@ Reds9–6Briles (2–0)BillinghamMoose (1)19,2818–10
19May 9@ Braves5–2Ellis (3–1)KelleyKison (2)7,7629–10
20May 10@ Braves4–8NiekroJohnson (0–2)—6,7089–11
21May 12@ Astros4–2Blass (3–1)DierkerMiller (1)17,86310–11
22May 13@ Astros6–1 (12)Moose (1–2)GladdingMiller (2)23,56811–11
23May 14@ Astros6–7WilsonBriles (2–1)Ray14,70411–12
24May 15Cardinals4–1Ellis (4–1)Gibson—8,64012–12
25May 16Cardinals4–3Walker (1–1)WiseGiusti (2)8,27213–12
26May 17Cardinals12–0Blass (4–1)Cleveland—9,18814–12
27May 19Expos8–0Moose (2–2)Stoneman—41,76515–12
28May 20Expos6–0Ellis (5–1)MortonKison (3)11,60216–12
29May 21Expos1–0Walker (2–1)McAnallyHernández (2)30,41817–12
30May 21Expos5–3Giusti (1–3)Gilbert—30,41818–12
31May 23@ Cardinals6–2Blass (5–1)ClevelandHernández (3)11,79519–12
32May 24@ Cardinals9–4 (14)Miller (2–1)Higgins—10,79420–12
33May 25@ Cardinals2–4GibsonEllis (5–2)—9,29320–13
34May 26Phillies6–4Briles (3–1)Carlton—25,16421–13
35May 27Phillies1–2 (12)BrandonGiusti (1–4)Short19,39821–14
36May 28Phillies6–5Hernández (2–0)Hoerner—15,23622–14
37May 29Phillies7–3Hernández (3–0)Fryman—36,46423–14
38May 29Phillies4–2Moose (3–2)ReynoldsGiusti (3)36,46424–14
39May 31@ Expos2–3McAnallyBriles (3–2)—10,56524–15
June: 16–10 (home: 5–6; Away: 11–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
40June 2@ Giants4–7MarichalJohnson (0–3)—6,66924–16
41June 3@ Giants4–3Blass (6–1)McDowellGiusti (4)11,21625–16
42June 4@ Giants4–3Miller (3–1)JohnsonGiusti (5)26–16
43June 4@ Giants9–1Kison (1–0)Williams—19,92927–16
44June 7@ Padres12–5Johnson (1–3)Norman—28–16
45June 7@ Padres1–0 (18)Miller (4–1)CorkinsJohnson (1)7,37129–16
46June 8@ Padres11–2Moose (4–2)Arlin—2,94930–16
47June 9@ Dodgers5–1Blass (7–1)Sutton—35,07831–16
48June 10@ Dodgers1–2OsteenWalker (2–2)Brewer38,93731–17
49June 11@ Dodgers7–5Kison (2–0)MikkelsenGiusti (6)40,84632–17
50June 14Giants1–3McDowellEllis (5–3)—14,55232–18
51June 15Giants4–1Briles (4–2)StoneGiusti (7)33–18
52June 15Giants9–7Moose (5–2)BryantHernández (4)21,12634–18
53June 16Padres2–1Blass (8–1)Norman—17,02035–18
54June 17Padres0–4KirbyWalker (2–3)—20,71835–19
55June 18Padres0–1ArlinKison (2–1)—27,14335–20
56June 19Dodgers13–3Ellis (6–3)SuttonMiller (3)15,43036–20
57June 21Dodgers3–5 (10)BrewerMoose (5–3)—15,20936–21
58June 23@ Cubs4–2Blass (9–1)JenkinsGiusti (8)28,17737–21
59June 24@ Cubs3–1Briles (5–2)HandsGiusti (9)27,54338–21
60June 25@ Cubs9–2Ellis (7–3)HootonGiusti (10)35,09939–21
61June 26@ Mets2–4KoosmanMoose (5–4)McGraw48,82039–22
62June 27@ Mets4–7FrisellaWalker (2–4)—38,15239–23
63June 28Expos1–3StonemanBlass (9–2)—13,47039–24
64June 29Expos9–0Briles (6–2)McAnally—18,36440–24
65June 30Cubs3–4ReuschelEllis (7–4)Aker22,74540–25
July: 20–10 (home: 12–4; Away: 8–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
66July 1Cubs4–3Giusti (2–4)Jenkins—16,10241–25
67July 2Cubs7–4Kison (3–1)HandsHernández (5)25,22942–25
68July 3Cubs3–2Giusti (3–4)Hooton—26,93343–25
69July 4@ Astros0–6DierkerBriles (6–3)—31,16443–26
70July 5@ Astros6–4Johnson (2–3)Forsch—23,64644–26
71July 6@ Astros7–3 (17)Hernández (4–0)Ray—23,54045–26
72July 7@ Braves10–2Walker (3–4)Kelley—46–26
73July 7@ Braves2–3HardinKison (3–2)—25,25346–27
74July 8@ Braves5–3Blass (10–2)ReedGiusti (11)20,25647–27
75July 9@ Braves7–4Briles (7–3)McLain—20,13048–27
76July 11@ Reds0–5BillinghamMoose (5–5)—24,04748–28
77July 12@ Reds3–6SimpsonWalker (3–5)Carroll28,05848–29
78July 13@ Reds0–2NolanBlass (10–3)Carroll32,06048–30
79July 14Astros5–2Briles (8–3)Dierker—24,48749–30
80July 15Astros5–1Ellis (8–4)ForschGiusti (12)16,20250–30
81July 16Astros3–2 (10)Giusti (4–4)Gladding—51–30
82July 16Astros3–2Kison (4–2)WilsonGiusti (13)49,34152–30
83July 17Braves6–5Hernández (5–0)HoernerGiusti (14)14,86653–30
84July 18Braves2–4ReedBlass (10–4)—20,16253–31
85July 19Braves8–3Briles (9–3)NiekroWalker (1)24,84754–31
86July 21Reds5–11BorbonKison (4–3)Gullett32,25554–32
87July 22Reds3–6SpragueMoose (5–6)Carroll40,83754–33
88July 23Reds3–2Blass (11–4)GrimsleyHernández (6)29,48755–33
89July 27Mets0–1 (10)MatlackBriles (9–4)—55–34
90July 27Mets7–5Moose (6–6)KoosmanGiusti (15)49,88656–34
91July 28Mets3–1Ellis (9–4)Seaver—39,03557–34
92July 29@ Phillies2–5FrymanBlass (11–5)Selma37,54457–35
93July 29@ Phillies3–2Walker (4–5)BrandonGiusti (16)37,54458–35
94July 30@ Phillies7–1Kison (5–3)Lersch—28,45159–35
95July 31@ Phillies2–0Moose (7–6)Reynolds—17,45560–35
August: 17–11 (home: 8–5; Away: 9–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
96August 1@ Cardinals4–7SantoriniBriles (9–5)Segui23,71260–36
97August 2@ Cardinals5–10 (7)GibsonEllis (9–5)—24,96160–37
98August 3@ Cardinals2–1 (10)Blass (12–5)WiseHernández (7)14,83661–37
99August 4@ Expos1–2MooreKison (5–4)—18,43661–38
100August 5@ Expos7–4Briles (10–5)StonemanGiusti (17)20,90562–38
101August 6@ Expos8–0Moose (8–6)Torrez—63–38
102August 6@ Expos7–2Johnson (3–3)RenkoHernández (8)28,33064–38
103August 8Phillies4–2Ellis (10–5)Champion—18,22865–38
104August 9Phillies0–2CarltonBlass (12–6)—19,83265–39
105August 11Cardinals10–5Briles (11–5)ClevelandHernández (9)34,24866–39
106August 12Cardinals6–5Moose (9–6)GibsonGiusti (18)23,47467–39
107August 13Cardinals0–2WiseEllis (10–6)—67–40
108August 13Cardinals7–5Blass (13–6)SantoriniGiusti (19)47,30068–40
109August 15@ Dodgers6–8RichertJohnson (3–4)Brewer27,48468–41
110August 16@ Dodgers3–2Miller (5–1)Sutton—28,31869–41
111August 17@ Dodgers2–4DowningMoose (9–7)Richert29,77769–42
112August 18@ Padres4–2Blass (14–6)Greif—30,61070–42
113August 20@ Padres9–3Ellis (11–6)CorkinsJohnson (2)71–42
114August 20@ Padres5–2Kison (6–4)Norman—9,75972–42
115August 22@ Giants1–0Briles (12–5)Marichal—9,38973–42
116August 23@ Giants0–8BarrMoose (9–8)—8,33073–43
117August 25Dodgers3–2 (12)Giusti (5–4)Richert—74–43
118August 25Dodgers3–4OsteenKison (6–5)—39,57474–44
119August 26Dodgers3–7SuttonEllis (11–7)—20,17474–45
120August 27Dodgers4–7MikkelsenBriles (12–6)Brewer25,67274–46
121August 28Padres5–3Moose (10–8)CaldwellHernández (10)13,43875–46
122August 29Padres5–3Blass (15–6)CorkinsGiusti (20)12,32976–46
123August 30Padres11–0Kison (7–5)Arlin—19,00977–46
September: 18–11 (home: 8–4; Away: 10–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
124September 1Giants10–6Ellis (12–7)BryantGiusti (21)20,67878–46
125September 2Giants6–3Briles (13–6)McDowell—14,19479–46
126September 3Giants2–1 (10)Giusti (6–4)Johnson—16,76080–46
127September 4Phillies10–0Blass (16–6)Twitchell—26,62781–46
128September 4Phillies5–1Kison (8–5)Nash—26,62782–46
129September 6Cubs4–0Ellis (13–7)McGinn—12,47083–46
130September 7Cubs2–4HootonBriles (13–7)—12,30683–47
131September 8@ Expos7–1Johnson (4–4)Morton—84–47
132September 8@ Expos4–2 (12)Giusti (7–4)MarshallHernández (11)12,11885–47
133September 9@ Expos8–3Blass (17–6)Stoneman—17,09286–47
134September 10@ Expos2–8TorrezKison (8–6)—20,25386–48
135September 12@ Cubs7–0Ellis (14–7)HootonGiusti (22)4,15387–48
136September 13@ Cubs6–4Briles (14–7)JenkinsHernández (12)4,41888–48
137September 14@ Cubs5–2Moose (11–8)ReuschelHernández (13)4,60389–48
138September 15@ Cardinals4–10WiseKison (8–7)—10,85389–49
139September 16@ Cardinals0–4SantoriniBlass (17–7)—11,85089–50
140September 17@ Cardinals4–5ClevelandMiller (5–2)Segui11,80289–51
141September 18@ Mets0–1MatlackBriles (14–8)—15,62289–52
142September 19@ Mets5–1Moose (12–8)Koosman—15,53790–52
143September 20@ Mets1–4SeaverWalker (4–6)—15,14790–53
144September 21@ Mets6–2Blass (18–7)Gentry—10,99191–53
145September 22Expos4–3 (12)McKee (1–0)Marshall—15,36592–53
146September 23Expos0–3McAnallyBriles (14–9)—8,58092–54
147September 24Expos1–2MortonMoose (12–9)—9,11692–55
148September 26@ Phillies5–1Blass (19–7)Champion—8,47293–55
149September 27@ Phillies3–1Kison (9–7)ReynoldsWalker (2)5,33594–55
150September 28@ Phillies1–2CarltonMoose (12–10)—12,21694–56
151September 29Mets0–1SeaverBriles (14–10)—24,19394–57
152September 30Mets5–0Ellis (15–7)MatlackJohnson (3)13,11795–57
October: 1–2 (home: 1–2; Away: 0–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
153October 1Mets3–7KoosmanBlass (19–8)—30,03195–58
154October 3Cardinals6–2Moose (13–10)SantoriniHernández (14)5,90596–58
155October 4Cardinals3–4GibsonBriles (14–11)—4,60396–59
Legend:        = Win        = Loss
Bold = Pirates team member

Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters
#NamePosition
6Rennie Stennett2B
16Al OliverCF
21Roberto ClementeRF
8Willie StargellLF
3Richie Hebner3B
35Manny SanguillénC
7Bob Robertson1B
2Jackie HernándezSS
17Dock EllisSP

[5]

Notable transactions

Roster

1972 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

 Manager

Coaches

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
CManny Sanguillén136520155.298771
1BWillie Stargell138495145.29333112
2BDave Cash99425120.282330
SSGene Alley11934786.248336
3BRichie Hebner124427128.3001972
LFVic Davalillo117368117.318428
CFAl Oliver140565176.3121289
RFRoberto Clemente102378118.3121060

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 Stennett109370106.286330
Gene Clines107311104.334017
Bob Robertson11530659.1931241
Jackie Hernández7217633.188114
Milt May5713939.281014
José Pagán5312732.25238
Bill Mazeroski346412.18803
Richie Zisk17377.18904
Chuck Goggin572.28600
Frank Taveras430.00000
Fernando González320.00000
Charlie Sands110.00000

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 Blass33249.21982.49117
Bob Moose31226.013102.91144
Nelson Briles28195.214113.08120
Dock Ellis25163.11572.7096
Bruce Kison32152.0973.26102

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 Johnson31115.2442.9679
Luke Walker2692.2463.4048
Bob Veale59.0006.006
Gene Garber46.1007.113
Jim McKee25.0100.004

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 Giusti5474221.9354
Ramón Hernández5350141.6747
Bob Miller365232.6518

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

  1. ↑ From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Side 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

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.
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