The 1972 Oakland Athletics season was the 72nd season for the Oakland Athletics franchise on Major League Baseball (MLB), all as member of the American League, and their 5th season in City of Oakland. The Athletics won the American League West Division with a record of 93 wins and 62 losses. In the playoffs, they defeated the Detroit Tigers in a five-game ALCS, followed by a seven-game World Series, in which they defeated the Cincinnati Reds for their sixth overall World Championship and first since 1930, when the club was in Philadelphia.

Offseason November 29, 1971: Rick Monday was traded by the Athletics to the Chicago Cubs for Ken Holtzman. November 29, 1971: 1971 rule 5 draft Brant Alyea was drafted by the Athletics from the Minnesota Twins.Brant Alyea page at Baseball Reference Steve Hovley was drafted from the Athletics by the Kansas City Royals.Steve Hovley page at Baseball Reference January 12, 1972: 1972 Major League Baseball draft (January Draft) notable picks:1972 Oakland Athletics Picks in the MLB January Amateur Draft Round 9: Rich Dauer (did not sign) Round 10: Bob Lacey March 4, 1972: Jim Panther and Don Stanhouse were traded by the Athletics to the Texas Rangers for Denny McLain.Denny McLain page at Baseball Reference

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 +Opening Day Starters # Name Position19 Bert Campaneris SS26 Joe Rudi LF9 Reggie Jackson RF6 Sal Bando 3B5 Mike Epstein 1B15 Bobby Brooks CF 10 Dave Duncan C22 Dick Green 2B30 Ken Holtzman P 1972 Opening Day Lineup at Baseball-Reference

Notable transactions April 15, 1972: Tim Cullen was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.Tim Cullen page at Baseball Reference May 15, 1972: Dwain Anderson was traded by the Athletics to the St. Louis Cardinals for Don Shaw.Don Shaw page at Baseball Reference 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.Curt Blefary page at Baseball Reference 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 (June Draft) notable picks:1972 Oakland Athletics Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft Round 1: Chet Lemon Round 9: Dennis Littlejohn (did not sign)Dennis Littlejohn page at Baseball Reference Round 12: Chris BattonChris Batton page at Baseball Reference 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.Diego Segui page at Baseball Reference 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.Vic Harris page at Baseball Reference 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.Dal Maxvill page at Baseball Reference

Roster 1972 Oakland Athletics Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders

Other batters Manager

Coaches

Player stats = Indicates team leader

Batting

= 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 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 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 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 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 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

Game 1 October 7, 1972, at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

Team1234567891011RHEDetroit01000000001262Oakland001000000023101W: 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

Team123456789RHEDetroit000000000031Oakland10004000X580W: Blue Moon Odom (1–0)   L: Woodie Fryman (0–1)   HR: None

Game 3 October 10, 1972, at Tiger Stadium

Team123456789RHEOakland000000000070Detroit00020001X381W: Joe Coleman (1–0)   L: Ken Holtzman (0–1)   HR: DET – Bill Freehan (1)

Game 4 October 11, 1972, at Tiger Stadium

Team12345678910RHEOakland0000001002392Detroit00100000034101W: 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

Team123456789RHEOakland010100000240Detroit100000000152W: Blue Moon Odom (2–0)   L: Woodie Fryman (0–2)   S: Vida Blue (1)HR: None

World Series

In 1972, the A's won their first league pennant since 1931 and faced the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series. The A's seven-game victory over the heavily favored Reds gave the team its first World Series championship since 1930.

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 (4–3): Oakland Athletics (A.L.) over Cincinnati Reds (N.L.) Team123456789RHEOakland Athletics16113200216469Cincinnati Reds11033164221465Total Attendance: 363,149   Average Attendance: 51,878Winning 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)Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 96, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York,

Farm system

References

External links

1972 Oakland Athletics team page at Baseball Reference 1972 Oakland Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com