1972 New York Yankees season

1972 New York Yankees
Berra and Dickey's Number Retired
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Eastern Division (since 1969)
Location
Yankee Stadium (since 1923)
New York City (since 1903)
Other information
Owner(s)	CBS
General manager(s)	Lee MacPhail
Manager(s)	Ralph Houk
Local television	WPIX (Phil Rizzuto, Frank Messer, Bill White)
Local radio	WMCA (Frank Messer, Phil Rizzuto, Bill White)
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The 1972 New York Yankees season was the 70th season for the Yankees in New York, and the 72nd season overall. The team finished with a record of 79-76, finishing 6½ games behind the Detroit Tigers. New York was managed by Ralph Houk. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium.

Offseason

• October 13, 1971: Jim Lyttle was traded by the Yankees to the Chicago White Sox for Rich Hinton.^[1]
• December 2, 1971: Stan Bahnsen was traded by the Yankees to the Chicago White Sox for Rich McKinney.^[2]
• December 2, 1971: Terry Ley and Gary Jones were traded by the Yankees to the Texas Rangers for Bernie Allen.^[3]
• January 20, 1972: The Yankees traded a player to be named later to the Chicago Cubs for Johnny Callison. The Yankees completed the deal by sending Jack Aker to the Cubs on May 17.^[4]
• February 2, 1972: Hal Lanier was purchased by the Yankees from the San Francisco Giants.^[5]
• March 22, 1972: Danny Cater and a player to be named later were traded by the Yankees to the Boston Red Sox for Sparky Lyle. The Yankees completed the deal by sending Mario Guerrero to the Red Sox on June 30.^[6]
• March 31, 1972: Frank Tepedino was purchased by the Yankees from the Milwaukee Brewers.^[7]

Regular season

Yogi Berra's number 8 was retired by the New York Yankees in 1972.

Bill Dickey's number 8 was retired by the New York Yankees in 1972.

• Felipe Alou achieved two milestones in 1972. He got the 2,000th Hit of his career and got the 200th Home Run of his career.
• Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio were at Yankee Stadium for Old-Timers' Day on July 22, 1972. The event at the stadium brought together some of the greatest living Yankees and included an exhibition game featuring retired players.^[8]

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
  • Mickey Klutts was drafted by the Yankees in the 4th round.^[9]
  • Bob Kammeyer was drafted by the Yankees in the 21st round.^[10]
• September 7, 1972: Rich Hinton was purchased from the Yankees by the Texas Rangers.^[1]

Roster

1972 New York Yankees
Roster
Pitchers 22 Jack Aker 47 Fred Beene 29 Wade Blasingame 54 Steve Blateric 50 Al Closter 39 Casey Cox 43 Rob Gardner 45 Larry Gowell 45 Rich Hinton 18 Mike Kekich 22 Ron Klimkowski 38 Steve Kline 28 Sparky Lyle 40 Lindy McDaniel 50 Doc Medich 19 Fritz Peterson 54 Jim Roland 30 Mel Stottlemyre		Catchers 23 John Ellis 15 Thurman Munson Infielders 11 Bernie Allen 24 Felipe Alou 12 Ron Blomberg 20 Horace Clarke  2 Jerry Kenney 36 Hal Lanier 27 Rich McKinney 17 Gene Michael 10 Celerino Sánchez		Outfielders 25 Johnny Callison  1 Bobby Murcer 42 Charlie Spikes 14 Ron Swoboda 21 Rusty Torres  6 Roy White Other batters 41 Frank Tepedino		Manager 35 Ralph Houk Coaches 44 Jim Hegan 32 Elston Howard 34 Dick Howser 31 Jim Turner

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	Munson, ThurmanThurman Munson	140	511	143	.280	7	46
1B	Blomberg, RonRon Blomberg	107	299	80	.268	14	49
2B	Clarke, HoraceHorace Clarke	147	547	132	.241	3	37
3B	Sanchez, CelerinoCelerino Sanchez	71	250	62	.248	0	22
SS	Michael, GeneGene Michael	126	391	91	.233	1	32
LF	White, RoyRoy White	155	556	150	.270	10	54
CF	Murcer, BobbyBobby Murcer	153	585	171	.292	33	96
RF	Callison, JohnnyJohnny Callison	95	275	71	.258	9	34

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
Alou, FelipeFelipe Alou	120	324	90	.278	6	37
Allen, BernieBernie Allen	84	220	50	.227	9	21
McKinney, RichRich McKinney	37	121	26	.215	1	7
Lanier, HalHal Lanier	60	103	22	.214	0	6

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
Peterson, FritzFritz Peterson	35	250⅓	17	15	3.24	100
Stottlemyre, MelMel Stottlemyre	36	260	14	18	3.22	110
Kekich, MikeMike Kekich	29	175⅓	10	13	3.70	78
Kline, SteveSteve Kline	32	236⅓	16	9	2.40	58
Gardner, RobRob Gardner	20	97	8	5	3.06	58

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
Hinton, RichRich Hinton	7	16.2	1	0	4.86

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
Lyle, SparkySparky Lyle	59	9	5	35	1.92	75
Beene, FredFred Beene	29	1	3	3	2.34	37
Blasingame, WadeWade Blasingame	12	0	1	0	4.24	7
Aker, JackJack Aker	4	0	0	0	3.00	1
Closter, AlAl Closter	2	0	0	0	11.57	2
Blateric, SteveSteve Blateric	1	0	0	0	0.00	4

Awards and honors

League leaders

• Sparky Lyle, American League leader, Saves (35)
• Bobby Murcer, American League leader, Runs (102) ^[11]

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Syracuse Chiefs	International League	Frank Verdi
AA	West Haven Yankees	Eastern League	Bobby Cox
A	Kinston Eagles	Carolina League	Gene Hassell
A	Fort Lauderdale Yankees	Florida State League	Pete Ward
A-Short Season	Oneonta Yankees	New York–Penn League	George Case
Rookie	Johnson City Yankees	Appalachian League	Jerry Walker

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: West Haven^[12]

Notes

1. Rich Hinton page at Baseball Reference
2. Rich McKinney page at Baseball Reference
3. Bernie Allen page at Baseball Reference
4. Johnny Callison page at Baseball Reference
5. Hal Lanier page at Baseball Reference
6. Danny Cater page at Baseball Reference
7. Frank Tepedino page at Baseball Reference
8. http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/09/21/sports/20080921_MOMENTS_SLIDESHOW_5.html
9. Mickey Klutts page at Baseball Reference
10. Bob Kammeyer page at Baseball Reference
11. Yankee for Life, Bobby Murcer and Glen Waggoner, p. 68, Harper Collins, 2008, New York, ISBN 978-0-06-147342-5
12. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

References

• 1972 New York Yankees
• 1972 New York Yankees team page at www.baseball-almanac.com