1972 New York Mets season

Major League Baseball team season

1972 New York Mets

League| National League
Division| East
Ballpark| Shea Stadium
City| New York
Record| 83-73
Divisional place| 3rd
Owners| Joan Whitney Payson
General managers| Bob Scheffing
Managers| Yogi Berra
Television| WOR-TV
Radio| WHN
(Ralph Kiner, Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy)
| <- 1971 | Seasons | 1973 ->

|
|

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 division.

## 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]

* 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

[edit]

### Season summary

[edit]

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|

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]

* v
* t
* e

NL East Team  | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road

|
|
|
|
|
|

Pittsburgh Pirates | 96 | 59  | .619  | —  | 49‍–‍29  | 47‍–‍30
Chicago Cubs | 85 | 70  | .548  | 11  | 46‍–‍31  | 39‍–‍39
New York Mets | 83 | 73  | .532  | 13½  | 41‍–‍37  | 42‍–‍36
St. Louis Cardinals | 75 | 81  | .481  | 21½  | 40‍–‍37  | 35‍–‍44
Montreal Expos | 70 | 86  | .449  | 26½  | 35‍–‍43  | 35‍–‍43
Philadelphia Phillies | 59 | 97  | .378  | 37½  | 28‍–‍51  | 31‍–‍46

### Record vs. opponents

[edit]

1972 National League record

* v
* t
* e

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]

* 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 Martínez
* 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 Yost

## 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

* Willie Mays, starting center fielder
* Tug McGraw, reserve
* Tom Seaver, reserve

## Farm system

[edit]

See 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: 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

* v
* t
* e

1972 MLB season by team

| AL East|

* Baltimore
* Boston
* Cleveland
* Detroit
* Milwaukee
* New York

|

AL West|

* California
* Chicago
* Kansas City
* Minnesota
* Oakland
* Texas

| NL East|

* Chicago
* Montréal
* New York
* Philadelphia
* Pittsburgh
* St. Louis

|

NL West|

* Atlanta
* Cincinnati
* Houston
* Los Angeles
* San Diego
* San Francisco

* 1972 MLB draft
* 1972 All-Star Game
* 1972 World Series

* v
* t
* e

New York Mets

* Established in 1962
* Based in Queens, New York

Franchise|

* History
* Brooklyn Dodgers
* New York Giants
* New York Metropolitans
* 1962 expansion
* expansion draft
* Seasons
* Records
* No-hitters
* Award winners and League leaders
* Players
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* Managers
* Coaches
* Owners and executives
* Broadcasters
* Kiner's Korner
* Radio network
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* Opening Day starting pitchers
* First-round draft picks
* Logos and uniforms

Ballparks|

* Polo Grounds
* Shea Stadium
* Citi Field

Spring training
Al Lang Stadium
Clover Park

Culture|

* Continental League
* Mr. Met
* Mrs. Met
* "Ya Gotta Believe!"
* Grant's Tomb
* Home Run Apple
* Generation K
* Sidd Finch
* The 7 Line Army
* Spider-Man's wedding (live performance)
* Rheingold Brewery
* Statue of Tom Seaver

| Books|

* Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?
* Sometimes You See It Coming

|

Movies|

* Game 6
* Frequency
* Mathematically Alive
* The Odd Couple

Music|

* "Let's Go Mets Go"
* "Lazy Mary"
* "Meet the Mets"
* "Narco"
* "New York Groove"
* "Ode to the Mets"
* "OMG"

TV show episodes|

* "The Boyfriend" (Seinfeld episode)
* "A Leela of Her Own" (Futurama episode)

Notable people|

* Alex Anthony
* Jane Jarvis
* George Kalinsky
* Michael Sergio
* Sign Man
* Cow-Bell Man
* Grimace

Lore|

* 2018 MLB Little League Classic
* Miracle Mets
* Bill Buckner's 1986 World Series error
* Grand Slam Single
* MLB Puerto Rico Series
* Rick Camp Game

Rivalries|

* Atlanta Braves
* New York Yankees
* Subway Series
* 2000 World Series
* Philadelphia Phillies

Key personnel|

* Owner: Steve Cohen
* President of Baseball Operations: David Stearns
* General manager: Vacant
* Manager: Carlos Mendoza

World Series
championships (2)|

* 1969
* 1986

National League
pennants (5)|

* 1969
* 1973
* 1986
* 2000
* 2015

Division titles (6)|

* 1969
* 1973
* 1986
* 1988
* 2006
* 2015

Wild Card (5)|

* 1999 (tie-breaker game)
* 2000
* 2016
* 2022
* 2024

Minor league affiliates|

* Triple-A: Syracuse Mets
* Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies
* High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones
* Single-A: St. Lucie Mets
* Rookie: FCL Mets
* DSL Mets Blue
* DSL Mets Orange
* Player overview

Seasons (65)

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* 1969

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