1972 Baltimore Orioles season

The 1972 Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Orioles finishing third in the American League East with a record of 80 wins and 74 losses.

1972 Baltimore Orioles
League	American League
Division	East
Ballpark	Memorial Stadium
City	Baltimore, Maryland
Record	80–74 (.519)
Divisional place	3rd
Owners	Jerold Hoffberger
General managers	Frank Cashen
Managers	Earl Weaver
Television	WJZ-TV
Radio	WBAL (AM) (Chuck Thompson, John Gordon, Bill O'Donnell)
← 1971 Seasons 1973 →

Offseason

• October 22, 1971: Mike Ferraro and Mike Herson (minors) were traded by the Orioles to the Milwaukee Brewers for Tom Matchick and Bruce Look.^[1]
• November 29, 1971: Tom Walker was drafted from the Orioles by the Montreal Expos in the 1971 rule 5 draft.^[2]
• December 2, 1971: Frank Robinson and Pete Richert were traded by the Orioles to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Doyle Alexander, Bob O'Brien, Sergio Robles, and Royle Stillman.^[3]
• December 9, 1971: Curt Motton was traded by the Orioles to the Milwaukee Brewers for a player to be named later and cash. The Brewers completed the deal by sending Bob Reynolds to the Orioles on March 25, 1972.^[4]
• Prior to 1972 season: Lew Beasley was acquired from the Orioles by the Texas Rangers.^[5]

Regular season

Frank Robinson's number 20 was retired by the Baltimore Orioles in 1972.

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

AL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Detroit Tigers	86	70	.551	—	44‍–‍34	42‍–‍36
Boston Red Sox	85	70	.548	½	52‍–‍26	33‍–‍44
Baltimore Orioles	80	74	.519	5	38‍–‍39	42‍–‍35
New York Yankees	79	76	.510	6½	46‍–‍31	33‍–‍45
Cleveland Indians	72	84	.462	14	43‍–‍34	29‍–‍50
Milwaukee Brewers	65	91	.417	21	37‍–‍42	28‍–‍49

Record vs. opponents

1972 American League record v t e Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	TEX
Baltimore	—	7–11	6–6	8–4	8–10	10–8	6–6	10–5	6–6	7–6	6–6	6–6
Boston	11–7	—	8–4	6–6	8–7	5–9	6–6	11–7	4–8	9–9	9–3	8–4
California	6–6	4–8	—	7–11	8–4	5–7	9–6	7–5	7–8	4–8	8–10	10–7
Chicago	4–8	6–6	11–7	—	8–4	5–7	8–9	9–3	8–6	7–5	7–8	14–4
Cleveland	10–8	7–8	4–8	4–8	—	10–8	6–6	5–10	8–4	7–11	2–10	9–3
Detroit	8–10	9–5	7–5	7–5	8–10	—	7–5	10–8	9–3	7–9	4–8	10–2
Kansas City	6–6	6–6	6–9	9–8	6–6	5–7	—	7–5	9–9	7–5	7–11	8–6
Milwaukee	5–10	7–11	5–7	3–9	10–5	8–10	5–7	—	4–8	9–9	4–8	5–7
Minnesota	6–6	8–4	8–7	6–8	4–8	3–9	9–9	8–4	—	6–6	8–9	11–7
New York	6–7	9–9	8–4	5–7	11–7	9–7	5–7	9–9	6–6	—	3–9	8–4
Oakland	6–6	3–9	10–8	8–7	10–2	8–4	11–7	8–4	9–8	9–3	—	11–4
Texas	6–6	4–8	7–10	4–14	3–9	2–10	6–8	7–5	7–11	4–8	4–11	—

Opening Day lineup

Notable transactions

• April 2, 1972: Dave Boswell was released by the Orioles.^[6]
• August 18, 1972: Elrod Hendricks was traded by the Orioles to the Chicago Cubs for Tommy Davis.^[7]
• August 22, 1972: Chico Salmon was released by the Orioles.^[8]

Draft picks

• June 6, 1972: Bobby Brown was drafted by the Orioles in the 11th round of the 1972 Major League Baseball Draft.^[9]

Roster

1972 Baltimore Orioles
Roster
Pitchers 13 Doyle Alexander 35 Mike Cuellar 37 Pat Dobson 44 Roric Harrison 23 Grant Jackson 40 Dave Leonhard 19 Dave McNally 22 Jim Palmer 34 Bob Reynolds 43 Mickey Scott 39 Eddie Watt		Catchers  8 Andy Etchebarren 10 Elrod Hendricks 12 Johnny Oates 10 Sergio Robles Infielders  7 Mark Belanger 32 Enos Cabell 3,16 Bobby Grich 15 Davey Johnson 32 Tom Matchick 26 Boog Powell  5 Brooks Robinson 30 Chico Salmon		Outfielders 25 Don Baylor  6 Paul Blair  9 Don Buford  1 Al Bumbry  2 Rich Coggins 11 Terry Crowley 36 Tommy Davis 14 Merv Rettenmund 28 Tom Shopay		Manager  4 Earl Weaver Coaches 31 George Bamberger 41 Jim Frey 55 Billy Hunter 48 George Staller

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
C	Johnny Oates	85	253	66	.261	4	21
1B	Boog Powell	140	465	.117	252	21	81
2B	Davey Johnson	118	376	83	.221	5	32
3B	Brooks Robinson	153	556	139	.250	8	64
SS	Mark Belanger	113	285	53	.186	2	16
LF	Don Buford	125	408	84	.206	5	22
CF	Paul Blair	142	477	111	.233	8	49
RF	Merv Rettenmund	102	301	70	.233	6	21

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
Bobby Grich	133	460	128	.278	12	50
Don Baylor	102	320	81	.253	11	38
Terry Crowley	97	247	57	.231	11	29
Andy Etchebarren	71	188	38	.202	2	21
Elrod Hendricks	33	84	13	.155	0	4
Tommy Davis	26	82	21	.256	0	6
Tom Shopay	49	40	9	.225	0	2
Rich Coggins	16	39	13	.333	0	1
Chico Salmon	17	16	1	.063	0	0
Al Bumbry	9	11	4	.364	0	0
Tom Matchick	3	9	2	.222	0	0
Enos Cabell	3	5	0	.000	0	1
Sergio Robles	2	5	1	.200	0	0

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
Jim Palmer	36	274.1	21	10	2.07	184
Pat Dobson	38	268.1	16	18	2.65	161
Mike Cuellar	35	248.1	18	12	2.57	132
Dave McNally	36	241.0	13	17	2.95	120

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
Doyle Alexander	35	106.1	6	8	2.45	49

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
Grant Jackson	32	1	1	8	2.63	34
Roric Harrison	39	3	4	4	2.30	62
Eddie Watt	38	2	3	7	2.17	23
Mickey Scott	15	0	1	0	2.74	11
Dave Leonhard	14	0	0	0	4.50	7
Bob Reynolds	3	0	0	0	1.86	5

Awards and honors

• Brooks Robinson, Commissioner's Award

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Rochester Red Wings	International League	Joe Altobelli
AA	Asheville Orioles	Southern League	Cal Ripken Sr.
A	Lodi Orioles	California League	Jimmie Schaffer
A	Miami Orioles	Florida State League	Woody Smith
A-Short Season	Lewiston Broncs	Northwest League	Bobby Malkmus
Rookie	Bluefield Orioles	Appalachian League	George Farson

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Miami, Lewiston

Notes

1. Tom Matchick page at Baseball Reference
2. Tom Walker page at Baseball Reference
3. Frank Robinson page at Baseball Reference
4. Curt Motton page at Baseball Reference
5. Lew Beasley page at Baseball Reference
6. Dave Boswell page at Baseball Reference
7. Elrod Hendricks page at Baseball Reference
8. Chico Salmon page at Baseball Reference
9. Bobby Brown page at Baseball Reference

References

• 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.
• 1972 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference
• 1972 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com