1972 St. Louis Cardinals season

1972 St. Louis Cardinals
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1892)
Eastern Division (since 1969)
Location
Busch Memorial Stadium (since 1966)
St. Louis, Missouri (since 1882)
Results
Record	75–81 (.481)
Divisional place	4th
Other information
Owner(s)	August "Gussie" Busch
General manager(s)	Bing Devine
Manager(s)	Red Schoendienst
Local television	KSD-TV
Local radio	KMOX (Jack Buck, Mike Shannon, Mike Walden)
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The 1972 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 91st season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 81st season in the National League. The Cardinals went 75-81 during the season and finished fourth in the National League East, 21½ games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Offseason

• February 25, 1972: Steve Carlton was traded by the Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies for Rick Wise.^[1]

Regular season

Pitcher Bob Gibson won a Gold Glove this year.

Season standings

NL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Pittsburgh Pirates	96	59	0.619	—	49–29	47–30
Chicago Cubs	85	70	0.548	11	46–31	39–39
New York Mets	83	73	0.532	13½	41–37	42–36
St. Louis Cardinals	75	81	0.481	21½	40–37	35–44
Montreal Expos	70	86	0.449	26½	35–43	35–43
Philadelphia Phillies	59	97	0.378	37½	28–51	31–46

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	—

Opening Day starters

• Matty Alou
• Lou Brock
• José Cruz
• Bob Gibson
• Joe Hague
• Dal Maxvill
• Ted Simmons
• Ted Sizemore
• Joe Torre^[2]

Notable transactions

• May 15, 1972: Don Shaw was traded by the Cardinals to the Oakland Athletics for Dwain Anderson.^[3]
• May 16, 1972: Lowell Palmer was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals.^[4]
• May 18, 1972: Marty Martínez was traded by the Cardinals to the Oakland Athletics for Brant Alyea.^[5]
• June 6, 1972: Dan Larson was drafted by the Cardinals in the 1st round (21st pick) of the 1972 Major League Baseball Draft.^[6]
• June 7, 1972: Diego Seguí was sent to the Cardinals by the Oakland Athletics as part of a conditional deal.^[7]
• July 23, 1972: Brant Alyea was returned to the Oakland Athletics by the Cardinals.^[5]
• August 30, 1972: Dal Maxvill was traded by the Cardinals to the Oakland Athletics for a player to be named later and Joe Lindsey (minors). The Athletics completed the deal by sending Gene Dusen (minors) to the Cardinals on October 27.^[8]
• September 18, 1972: Lowell Palmer was selected off waivers from the Cardinals by the Cleveland Indians.^[4]

Roster

1972 St. Louis Cardinals
Roster
Pitchers 42 Ray Bare 48 Jim Bibby 47 Lance Clemons 22 Reggie Cleveland 25 Tony Cloninger 36 John Cumberland 28 Moe Drabowsky 46 Don Durham 28 Rich Folkers 45 Bob Gibson 31 Joe Grzenda 36 Santiago Guzmán 37 Dennis Higgins 39 Al Hrabosky 30 Charlie Hudson 44 Lowell Palmer 56 Tim Plodinec 34 Al Santorini 35 Diego Seguí 44 Don Shaw 24 Scipio Spinks 40 Rick Wise		Catchers 18 Skip Jutze 15 Jerry McNertney 23 Ted Simmons Infielders 16 Ron Allen 17 Matty Alou 19 Dwain Anderson 16 Donn Clendenon  4 Ed Crosby 10 Mike Fiore 12 Joe Hague 25 Mick Kelleher 11 Marty Martínez 27 Dal Maxvill 44,47 Ken Reitz 41 Ted Sizemore 32 Bill Stein  9 Joe Torre 10 Mike Tyson		Outfielders 21 Brant Alyea 20 Lou Brock 12 Bernie Carbo 38 José Cruz 26 Luis Meléndez 21 Jorge Roque 17 Bill Voss		Manager  2 Red Schoendienst Coaches  8 Vern Benson 14 Ken Boyer  3 George Kissell 33 Barney Schultz 50 Lee Thomas

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	Simmons, TedTed Simmons	152	594	180	.303	16	96
1B	Alou, MattyMatty Alou	108	404	127	.314	3	31
SS	Maxvill, DalDal Maxvill	105	276	61	.221	1	23
LF	Brock, LouLou Brock	153	621	193	.311	3	42
CF	Cruz, JoséJosé Cruz	117	332	78	.235	2	23

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
Meléndez, LuisLuis Meléndez	118	332	79	.238	5	28
Anderson, DwainDwain Anderson	57	135	36	.267	1	8
Hague, JoeJoe Hague	27	76	18	.237	3	11
Jutze, SkipSkip Jutze	21	71	17	.239	0	5
Fiore, MikeMike Fiore	17	10	1	.100	0	1
Martínez, MartyMarty Martínez	9	7	3	.429	0	2

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
Wise, RickRick Wise	35	269	16	16	3.11	142
Gibson, BobBob Gibson	34	278	19	11	2.46	208
Cleveland, ReggieReggie Cleveland	33	230.2	14	15	3.94	153
Spinks, ScipioScipio Spinks	16	118	5	5	2.67	93
Bibby, JimJim Bibby	6	40.1	1	3	3.35	28

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
Santorini, AlAl Santorini	30	133.2	8	11	4.11	72
Clemons, LanceLance Clemons	3	5.1	0	1	10.12	2

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
Seguí, DiegoDiego Seguí	33	3	1	9	3.07	54
Cloninger, TonyTony Cloninger	17	0	2	0	5.19	11
Cumberland, JohnJohn Cumberland	14	1	1	0	6.65	7
Bare, RayRay Bare	14	0	1	1	0.54	5
Hudson, CharlieCharlie Hudson	12	1	0	0	5.11	4
Shaw, DonDon Shaw	8	0	1	0	9.00	0
Guzmán, SantiagoSantiago Guzmán	1	0	0	0	9.00	0
Plodinec, TimTim Plodinec	1	0	0	0	27.00	0

Awards and honors

League leaders

• Lou Brock, National League leader, stolen bases, 63 ^[9]

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Tulsa Oilers	American Association	Jack Krol
AA	Arkansas Travelers	Texas League	Fred Koenig
A	Modesto Reds	California League	Tom Burgess
A	St. Petersburg Cardinals	Florida State League	Roy Majtyka
A	Cedar Rapids Cardinals	Midwest League	Gary Geiger
Rookie	GCL Cardinals	Gulf Coast League	Bobby Dews
Rookie	GCL Red Birds	Gulf Coast League	Julio Gotay

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Modesto^[10]

References

1. Steve Carlton page at Baseball Reference
2. 1972 St. Louis Cardinals Roster by Baseball Almanac
3. Don Shaw page at Baseball Reference
4. Lowell Palmer page at Baseball-Reference
5. Brant Alyea page at Baseball Reference
6. Dan Larson page at Baseball Reference
7. Diego Seguí page at Baseball Reference
8. Dal Maxvill page at Baseball Reference
9. Stolen Bases Single Season National League Leaders by Baseball Almanac
10. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

External links

• 1972 St. Louis Cardinals
• 1972 St. Louis Cardinals team page at www.baseball-almanac.com