1972 Houston Astros season

1972 Houston Astros
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1962)
Western Division (since 1969)
Location
Astrodome (since 1965)
Houston, Texas (since 1962)
Results
Record	84–69 (.549)
Divisional place	2nd
Other information
Owner(s)	Roy Hofheinz
General manager(s)	Spec Richardson
Manager(s)	Harry Walker, Salty Parker, Leo Durocher
Local television	KTRK-TV
Local radio	KPRC (AM) (Gene Elston, Loel Passe)
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The 1972 Houston Astros season was a season in American baseball. The team finished second in the National League West with a record of 84-69, 10½ games behind the Cincinnati Reds and just a percentage point ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Offseason

• November 29, 1971: Joe Morgan, Ed Armbrister, Jack Billingham, César Gerónimo, and Denis Menke were traded by the Astros to the Cincinnati Reds for Lee May, Tommy Helms, and Jimmy Stewart.^[1]
• December 2, 1971: John Mayberry and Dave Grangaard (minors) were traded by the Astros to the Kansas City Royals for Jim York and Lance Clemons.^[2]

Regular season

Season standings

NL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Cincinnati Reds	95	59	0.617	—	42–34	53–25
Houston Astros	84	69	0.549	10½	41–36	43–33
Los Angeles Dodgers	85	70	0.548	10½	41–34	44–36
Atlanta Braves	70	84	0.455	25	36–41	34–43
San Francisco Giants	69	86	0.445	26½	34–43	35–43
San Diego Padres	58	95	0.379	36½	26–54	32–41

Record vs. opponents

1972 National League Records Sources:
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	—

Notable transactions

• June 6, 1972: Jim Crawford was selected by the Astros in the 14th round of the 1972 Major League Baseball draft.^[3]

Roster

1972 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers 36 Wade Blasingame 37 Mike Cosgrove 39 George Culver 49 Larry Dierker 43 Ken Forsch 37 Joe Gibbon 48 Fred Gladding 38 Tom Griffin 45 Jim Ray 47 Jerry Reuss 50 J. R. Richard 15 Dave Roberts 40 Don Wilson 42 Jim York		Catchers  7 Johnny Edwards  8 Jack Hiatt 10 Larry Howard  6 Cliff Johnson  9 Bob Stinson Infielders 18 Bobby Fenwick 19 Tommy Helms 23 Lee May 14 Roger Metzger 12 Doug Rader  8 Gary Sutherland		Outfielders 22 Jesús Alou 28 César Cedeño 29 Rich Chiles 21 Norm Miller 11 Jimmy Stewart 27 Bob Watson 24 Jimmy Wynn		Manager  2 Leo Durocher  2 Salty Parker 25 Harry Walker Coaches  4 Buddy Hancken  3 Hub Kittle  5 Jim Owens  2 Salty Parker

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
1B	May, LeeLee May	148	592	168	.284	29	98
2B	Helms, TommyTommy Helms	139	518	134	.259	5	60

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
Stewart, JimmyJimmy Stewart	68	96	21	.219	0	9

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

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

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
Blasingame, WadeWade Blasingame	10	0	0	0	8.64	9
Cosgrove, MikeMike Cosgrove	7	0	1	1	4.61	7

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Oklahoma City 89ers	American Association	Tony Pacheco
AA	Columbus Astros	Southern League	Jackie Brandt
A	Cocoa Astros	Florida State League	Jimmy Williams
Rookie	Covington Astros	Appalachian League	Billy Smith
Rookie	FECL Astros	Florida East Coast League	Leo Posada

References

1. Joe Morgan at Baseball Reference
2. John Mayberry at Baseball Reference
3. Jim Crawford at Baseball Reference

External links

• 1972 Houston Astros season at Baseball Reference