| 1972 Houston Astros | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | National League | |||
| Division | West | |||
| Ballpark | Astrodome | |||
| City | Houston,Texas | |||
| Record | 84–69 (.549) | |||
| Divisional place | 2nd—tied | |||
| Owners | Roy Hofheinz | |||
| General managers | Spec Richardson | |||
| Managers | Harry Walker: 67–54 Salty Parker: 1–0 Leo Durocher: 16–15 | |||
| Television | KTRK-TV | |||
| Radio | KPRC (AM) (Gene Elston,Loel Passe) | |||
| ||||
The1972Houston Astros season was the11th season for theMajor League Baseball (MLB) franchise located inHouston,Texas, their eighth as the Astros, 11th in theNational League (NL), fourth in theNL West division, and eighth at TheAstrodome. The Astros entered the season with a 79–83record, tied for fourth place, and 11games behind the division-championSan Francisco Giants.
The firstplayers' strike in league history occurred from April 1–13, which resulted in nine games being cancelled for Houston. On April 15,Don Wilson made his secondOpening Day start for the Astros, who hostedSan Francisco, but wereshut out, 5–0.
Three managers led the club for the 1972 season:Harry Walker,Salty Parker for one game on an interim basis, andLeo Durocher, who was installed as Walker's permanent replacement. Each represented the fourth, fifth and sixth managers for Houston, with Walker having been the longest-serving (708 games) in franchise history at the time. The Astros'first round draft pick in theamateur draft was outfielder Steve Englishbey, at ninth overall. They also selectedJim Crawford in the 14th round.
Center fielderCésar Cedeño and first basemanLee May represented the Astros at theMLB All-Star Game. It was the first career selection for Cedeño and third for May. On August 2, Cedeño became the first player in franchise history tohit for the cycle, leading a 10–1 win over theCincinnati Reds at The Astrodome. This was the first of two cycles that Cedeño hit as a member of the Astros. He also became the second major leaguer to produce a20–50 season, followingLou Brock in1967.
The Astros concluded the season with a record of 84–69—their first-ever winning season to also set the franchise record for wins—in second place in the NL West,10+1⁄2 games behind the division-champion and NLpennant-winning Reds, and just a percentage point ahead of theLos Angeles Dodgers. It also represented the highest positional finish and fewest games back of first place for the Astros at the time. The next time the Astros finished as high as second place was in1979, which was also when they set their next club record for wins.
Following the season, Cedeño (first selection) andDoug Rader (third) each earnedGold Glove Awards. This was the first time the Astros had more than one Gold Glove Award winner in the same season.
| 14 | Roger Metzger | SS |
| 28 | César Cedeño | CF |
| 24 | Jimmy Wynn | RF |
| 23 | Lee May | 1B |
| 27 | Bob Watson | LF |
| 12 | Doug Rader | 3B |
| 19 | Tommy Helms | 2B |
| 7 | Johnny Edwards | C |
| 40 | Don Wilson | P |
| Venue: | Astrodome • SFG 5, | HOU 0 |
ThePhiladelphia Phillies hosted "Turn It Around Night" on June 6 atVeterans Stadium, where the theme was doing everything backward, including announcing the lineup cards from bottom to top and holding theseventh-inning stretch in the thirdinning. Astros starterDave Roberts followed suit, providing the offense by homering twice to promote his own effort on the mound as Houston won, 4–3.[5]
WithSteve Carlton on the mound for Philadelphia on June 16, the game remained scoreless throughextra innings. In the bottom of the 11th inning,Jimmy Wynn connected for awalk-off home run to give the Astros a 1–0 victory.[6]
Starting June 18, Astrosstarting pitchers hurled back-to-back one-hitshutouts. First,Jerry Reuss led a 10–0 masterpiece over the Phillies, with the only hit allowed a ninth-inning double.César Cedeño collected four hits to power Houston, including a home run and two doubles.[7] The following game, on June 19,Larry Dierker hurled a one-hitter to lead a 3–0 triumph over theNew York Mets, whose only baserunner reached via a third-inning single.Tommy Helms supplied much of the Astros' offense with four hits.[8]
Each of the first five Astros' hits on June 26 were home runs, which brought them to a 7–7 tie with theSan Diego Padres. San Diego never answered back, however, and Houston kept scoring for a 14–7 win.[9]
Center fielderCésar Cedeño and first basemanLee May both gained to theMLB All-Star Game, hosted atAtlanta Stadium. Lee, voted as a starter,[10] joined second basemanJoe Morgan in the1966 Midsummer Classic as the second Houston Astro to be voted as a starter to an All-Star Game.[11] However, Morgan missed the game due to injury, allowing Lee became the first Astro to participate in the startinglineup. Lee collected a single and an RBI in four trips to the plate.[10]
Ironically, it was a batted line drive by May, then playing for theSt. Louis Cardinals, that struck Morgan on the knee, fracturing it, on June 25, 1966. Morgan missed the next 40 games;[12] three days later, it was announced that he was named starter at the All-Star Game, the first in Houston franchise history.[11]
Cedeñohit for the cycle on August 2 to become the first player in franchise history to accomplish this feat. Hedoubled in the first inning, connected for a home run in the third, andsingled in the fifth. In the sixth inning, Cedeño grounded out. His final at bat and last opportunity for the game to make history arrived in the eighth inning, when Cedeño stroked a line drive to the right-center field gap for thetriple. This effort led a 10–1 win over theCincinnati Reds at The Astrodome. Cedeño later hit the next cycle for Houston almost exactly four years later on August 9,1976.[13]
On August 25,Jimmy Wynn blasted his 200th career home run in the bottom of the seventh inning at the Astrodome, offMike Marshall. A two-run shot, it tied the contest, 3–3, with theMontreal Expos,[14] also scoring César Cedeño. However, Marshall redeemed himself in the top of the ninth while batting by doubling homeJohn Boccabella off the Astros'Jim Ray. The hit put Montreal ahead 4–3, and this time, Marshall (14–3) made the lead stand, converting the blown save into a victory.[15]
The Astros, playing their best baseball ever, were desperate to catch theCincinnati Reds. Following the August 25 loss to Montreal, they fired their longest-tenured manager at the time,Harry Walker, who had the club playing 67–54 (.554) for the season (355–353 (.501) career with Houston), and replaced him for one game with coachSalty Parker (1–0). Following that game,Leo Durocher, having departed theChicago Cubs earlier in the year, took over for the remainder of the campaign, leading Houston to a 16–15 (.516) result to close out the season.[16]
By concluding the season 84–69, the Astros posted their best-ever record to date.[17] For the first time, the Astros ranked high as second place in the division, tied with theLos Angeles Dodgers at10+1⁄2 games back, their fewest games from first place thus far.[18] Further, it was also Houston's first-ever season with a winning record while setting a then-club record of 84 wins, supplanting the 81 wins realized in1969[19]
After hitting 22 home runs and collecting 55 stolen bases, Cedeño became the second entrant into the 20 home runs—50 stolen bases club in major league annals, succeedingLou Brock in1967.[20] Cedeño also led the major leagues in doubles (39) a second consecutive year, the first Astro to lead in more than one season.[21]
Following the season, third basemanDoug Rader was recognized with his third careerGold Glove Award, while Cedeño was likewise recognized for his defense in the outfield. Rader became the first Astro to win a third Gold Glove. Cedeño became teh first Astro to win the award for the outfield. Also, this was the first time in which multiple Astros players won this award.[22]
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds | 95 | 59 | .617 | — | 42–34 | 53–25 |
| Houston Astros | 84 | 69 | .549 | 10½ | 41–36 | 43–33 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 85 | 70 | .548 | 10½ | 41–34 | 44–36 |
| Atlanta Braves | 70 | 84 | .455 | 25 | 36–41 | 34–43 |
| San Francisco Giants | 69 | 86 | .445 | 26½ | 34–43 | 35–43 |
| San Diego Padres | 58 | 95 | .379 | 36½ | 26–54 | 32–41 |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | — | |||||
| 1972 Houston Astros | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager Coaches | ||||||
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 | Johnny Edwards | 108 | 332 | 89 | .268 | 5 | 40 |
| 1B | Lee May | 148 | 592 | 168 | .284 | 29 | 98 |
| 2B | Tommy Helms | 139 | 518 | 134 | .259 | 5 | 60 |
| SS | Roger Metzger | 153 | 641 | 142 | .222 | 2 | 38 |
| 3B | Doug Rader | 152 | 553 | 131 | .237 | 22 | 90 |
| LF | Bob Watson | 147 | 548 | 171 | .312 | 16 | 86 |
| CF | César Cedeño | 139 | 559 | 179 | .320 | 22 | 82 |
| RF | Jimmy Wynn | 145 | 542 | 148 | .273 | 24 | 90 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Howard | 54 | 157 | 35 | .223 | 2 | 13 |
| Norm Miller | 67 | 107 | 26 | .243 | 4 | 13 |
| Jimmy Stewart | 68 | 96 | 21 | .219 | 0 | 9 |
| Jesús Alou | 52 | 93 | 29 | .312 | 0 | 11 |
| Bobby Fenwick | 36 | 50 | 9 | .180 | 0 | 4 |
| Bob Stinson | 27 | 35 | 6 | .171 | 0 | 2 |
| Jack Hiatt | 10 | 25 | 5 | .200 | 0 | 0 |
| Rich Chiles | 9 | 11 | 3 | .273 | 0 | 2 |
| Gary Sutherland | 5 | 8 | 1 | .125 | 0 | 1 |
| Cliff Johnson | 5 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Wilson | 33 | 228.1 | 15 | 10 | 2.68 | 172 |
| Larry Dierker | 31 | 214.2 | 15 | 8 | 3.40 | 115 |
| Dave Roberts | 35 | 192.0 | 12 | 7 | 4.50 | 111 |
| Jerry Reuss | 33 | 192.0 | 9 | 13 | 4.17 | 174 |
| Ken Forsch | 30 | 156.1 | 6 | 8 | 3.91 | 113 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Griffin | 39 | 94.1 | 5 | 4 | 3.21 | 83 |
| Mike Cosgrove | 7 | 13.2 | 0 | 1 | 4.61 | 7 |
| J.R. Richard | 4 | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 13.50 | 8 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Gladding | 42 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 2.77 | 18 |
| Jim Ray | 54 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 4.28 | 50 |
| George Culver | 45 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3.05 | 82 |
| Jim York | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.25 | 25 |
| Wade Blasingame | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.64 | 9 |
| Joe Gibbon | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.82 | 4 |
| Player | AVG | HR | SB |
|---|---|---|---|
| César Cedeño | .320 | 22 | 55 |
