The 1972 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 90th year in Major League Baseball, 15th in San Francisco, and 13th at Candlestick Park. The defending division champions, the Giants fell to fifth in the National League West with a record of 69–86. It was their first losing season in San Francisco and the franchise's first losing season since 1957, their final year in New York City.
Offseason November 29, 1971: Gaylord Perry and Frank Duffy were traded by the Giants to the Cleveland Indians for Sam McDowell. February 2, 1972: Hal Lanier was purchased from the Giants by the New York Yankees. March 27, 1972: Rich Robertson was released by the Giants.
Regular season On May 11, 41-year-old franchise legend Willie Mays was traded to the New York Mets for minor league pitcher Charlie Williams and US$50,000. At the time, the Giants franchise was losing money. Owner Horace Stoneham could not guarantee Mays an income after retirement.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Opening Day lineup Bobby Bonds Tito Fuentes Fran Healy Ken Henderson Dave Kingman Juan Marichal Willie Mays Willie McCovey Chris Speier
Notable transactions May 11, 1972: Willie Mays was traded by the Giants to the New York Mets for Charlie Williams and $50,000. June 6, 1972: Brian Asselstine was drafted by the Giants in the 7th round of the 1972 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign. June 6, 1972: Lenn Sakata was drafted by the Giants in the 14th round of the 1972 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign.
Roster 1972 San Francisco Giants Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
Coaches
Player stats
= Indicates team leader 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 133 459 119 .259 6 41 1B Willie McCovey 81 263 56 .213 14 35 2B Tito Fuentes 152 572 151 .264 7 53 SS Chris Speier 150 562 151 .269 15 71 3B Al Gallagher 82 233 52 .223 2 18 LF Ken Henderson 130 439 113 .257 18 51 CF Garry Maddox 125 458 122 .266 12 58 RF Bobby Bonds 153 626 162 .259 26 80
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 Dave Kingman 135 472 106 .225 29 83 Ed Goodson 58 150 42 .280 6 30 74 119 28 .235 1 7 45 99 15 .152 1 8 51 84 19 .226 1 4 Jim Ray Hart 24 79 24 .304 5 8 46 68 13 .191 3 9 Gary Matthews 20 62 18 .290 4 14 19 49 9 .184 0 3 Gary Thomasson 10 27 9 .333 0 1 39 20 7 .350 0 2 Russ Gibson 5 12 2 .167 0 3 Jimmy Rosario 7 2 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 35 214.0 14 7 2.90 107 25 165.0 6 16 3.71 72 28 164.1 10 8 4.33 122 Jim Willoughby 11 87.2 6 4 2.36 40
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 44 179.0 8 10 2.87 86 Steve Stone 27 123.2 6 8 2.98 85 Frank Reberger 20 99.1 3 4 3.99 52 25 90.0 4 8 5.80 42 9 25.0 0 4 8.64 8 3 9.1 0 2 8.68 3
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 48 8 6 8 4.42 57 44 3 3 5 3.71 45 40 1 5 4 3.69 37 Elias Sosa 8 0 1 3 2.30 10 7 0 0 0 4.26 5
Awards and honors
All-Star Game
Chris Speier, Shortstop, Reserve Charlie Fox, Coach, National League
Farm system
References
External links 1972 San Francisco Giants team at Baseball-Reference 1972 San Francisco Giants team at Baseball Almanac