1972 Cleveland Indians season

1972 Cleveland Indians
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Eastern Division (since 1969)
Location
Cleveland Municipal Stadium (since 1932)
Cleveland, Ohio (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	Vernon Stouffer
General manager(s)	Gabe Paul
Manager(s)	Ken Aspromonte
Local television	WJW-TV
Local radio	WERE (1300)
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The 1972 Cleveland Indians season was the 72nd in franchise history. The team finished fifth in the American League East with a record of 72-86, 14 games behind the Detroit Tigers.

Offseason

George Steinbrenner offer

On December 6, 1971, George Steinbrenner led a group of investors (including Ted Bonda, Ed Jeffrey, Howard Metzenbaum, Steve O'Neill, Gabe Paul and Al Rosen) that negotiated with Jim Stouffer, the son of Indians owner Vernon Stouffer about the potential purchase of the franchise. The group offered $8.6 million and agreed to absorb $300,000 in debt (Stouffer borrowed against the Indians television contract for 1972).^[1] Although Steinbrenner and Jim Stouffer agreed to a sale, Vernon Stouffer disapproved of the deal. He felt that he was able of getting $10 million for the franchise.^[2]

Notable transactions

• November 29, 1971: Sam McDowell was traded by the Indians to the San Francisco Giants for Gaylord Perry and Frank Duffy.^[3]
• December 2, 1971: Roy Foster, Ken Suarez, Mike Paul, and Rich Hand were traded by the Indians to the Texas Rangers for Del Unser, Gary Jones, Terry Ley, and Denny Riddleberger.^[4]
• December 6, 1971: Adolfo Phillips was purchased by the Indians from the Montreal Expos.^[5]

Regular season

Season standings

AL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Detroit Tigers	86	70	0.551	—	44–34	42–36
Boston Red Sox	85	70	0.548	½	52–26	33–44
Baltimore Orioles	80	74	0.519	5	38–39	42–35
New York Yankees	79	76	0.510	6½	46–31	33–45
Cleveland Indians	72	84	0.462	14	43–34	29–50
Milwaukee Brewers	65	91	0.417	21	37–42	28–49

Record vs. opponents

1972 American League Records 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	—

Notable transactions

• June 6, 1972: 1972 Major League Baseball Draft
  • Rick Manning was drafted by the Indians in the 1st round (2nd pick).^[6]
  • Dennis Eckersley was drafted by the Indians in the 3rd round. Player signed June 12, 1972.^[7]
  • Rick Langford was drafted by the Indians in the 36th round, but did not sign.^[8]
• September 18, 1972: Lowell Palmer was selected off waivers by the Indians from the St. Louis Cardinals.^[9]

Roster

1972 Cleveland Indians
Roster
Pitchers 35 Bill Butler 44 Vince Colbert 46 Steve Dunning 47 Ed Farmer 34 Steve Hargan 38 Phil Hennigan 40 Tom Hilgendorf 42 Mike Kilkenny 30 Ray Lamb 43 Marcelino López 31 Steve Mingori 33 Lowell Palmer 36 Gaylord Perry 37 Denny Riddleberger 41 Dick Tidrow 32 Milt Wilcox		Catchers  8 Ray Fosse 52 Larry Johnson 10 Jerry Moses Infielders  7 Jack Brohamer 17 Lou Camilli 14 Chris Chambliss 15 Frank Duffy 18 Jack Heidemann 11 Eddie Leon 12 Graig Nettles 16 Fred Stanley		Outfielders  9 Buddy Bell 25 Kurt Bevacqua 27 Roy Foster 20 Alex Johnson 23 Ron Lolich 29 John Lowenstein 22 Tommy McCraw 28 Adolfo Phillips  1 Del Unser		Manager  2 Ken Aspromonte Coaches -- Clay Bryant  6 Bobby Hofman  3 Joe Lutz 21 Warren Spahn

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
SS	Duffy, FrankFrank Duffy	130	385	92	.239	3	27

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

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
Perry, GaylordGaylord Perry	41	342.2	24	16	1.92	234

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
Butler, BillBill Butler	6	11.2	0	0	1.54	6

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

Awards and honors

All-Star Game

• Gaylord Perry, Pitcher, Reserve

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Portland Beavers	Pacific Coast League	Ray Hathaway, Clay Bryant and Dan Carnevale
AA	Elmira Pioneers	Eastern League	Len Johnston
A	Reno Silver Sox	California League	Lou Klimchock
Rookie	GCL Indians	Gulf Coast League	Pinky May

^[10]

Notes

1. Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball, p. 6, Bill Madden, Harper Collins Publishing, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-06-169031-0
2. Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball, pp. 6-7
3. Sam McDowell page at Baseball Reference
4. Del Unser page at Baseball Reference
5. Adolfo Phillips page at Baseball Reference
6. Rick Manning page at Baseball Reference
7. Dennis Eckersley page at Baseball Reference
8. Rick Langford page at Baseball Reference
9. Lowell Palmer page at Baseball-Reference
10. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

References

• 1972 Cleveland Indians team page at Baseball Reference
• 1972 Cleveland Indians team page at www.baseball-almanac.com