# 1972 Los Angeles Dodgers season

The 1972 Los Angeles Dodgers finished the season 85–70, good for a tie for second place with the Astros in the National League West. This was the first season where the players' last names appeared on the back of the uniforms.

## Offseason

* October 21: Tommy Hutton was traded by the Dodgers to the Philadelphia Phillies for Larry Hisle.
* October 22, 1971: Bobby Darwin was traded by the Dodgers to the Minnesota Twins for Paul Powell.
* October 24, 1971: Maury Wills was released by the Dodgers.
* December 2, 1971: Doyle Alexander, Bob O'Brien, Sergio Robles and Royle Stillman were traded by the Dodgers to the Baltimore Orioles for Frank Robinson and Pete Richert.
* December 2, 1971: Dick Allen was traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago White Sox for Tommy John and Steve Huntz.
* December 2, 1971: Tom Haller was traded by the Dodgers to the Detroit Tigers for a player to be named later and cash. The Tigers completed the deal by sending Bernie Beckman (minors) to the Dodgers on March 31, 1972.
* December 17, 1971: Chris Cannizzaro was claimed off waivers by the Dodgers from the Chicago Cubs.
* March 27, 1972: Bill Sudakis was claimed off waivers from the Dodgers by the New York Mets.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNL West :
| 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 |

### Record vs. opponents

1972 National League recordvte 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 lineup

Opening Day starters :
| Name | Position |
| Maury Wills | Shortstop |
| Bill Buckner | First baseman |
| Willie Davis | Center fielder |
| Frank Robinson | Right fielder |
| Jim Lefebvre | Second baseman |
| Willie Crawford | Left fielder |
| Duke Sims | Catcher |
| Billy Grabarkewitz | Third baseman |
| Don Sutton | Starting pitcher |

### Notable transactions

* April 14, 1972: Dick Dietz was claimed off waivers by the Dodgers from the San Francisco Giants.

### Roster
## 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 | Chris Cannizzaro | 73 | 200 | 48 | .240 | 2 | 18 |
| 1B | Wes Parker | 130 | 427 | 119 | .279 | 4 | 59 |
| 2B | Lee Lacy | 60 | 243 | 63 | .259 | 0 | 12 |
| SS | Bill Russell | 129 | 434 | 118 | .272 | 4 | 34 |
| 3B | Steve Garvey | 96 | 294 | 79 | .269 | 9 | 30 |
| LF | Manny Mota | 118 | 371 | 120 | .323 | 5 | 48 |
| CF | Willie Davis | 149 | 615 | 178 | .289 | 19 | 79 |
| RF | Frank Robinson | 103 | 342 | 86 | .251 | 19 | 59 |

#### 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 |
| Bobby Valentine | 119 | 391 | 107 | .274 | 3 | 32 |
| Bill Buckner | 105 | 383 | 122 | .319 | 5 | 37 |
| Willie Crawford | 96 | 243 | 61 | .251 | 8 | 27 |
| Jim Lefebvre | 70 | 169 | 34 | .201 | 5 | 24 |
| Duke Sims | 51 | 151 | 29 | .192 | 2 | 11 |
| Billy Grabarkewitz | 53 | 144 | 24 | .167 | 4 | 16 |
| Maury Wills | 71 | 132 | 17 | .129 | 0 | 4 |
| Steve Yeager | 35 | 106 | 29 | .274 | 4 | 15 |
| Dick Dietz | 27 | 56 | 9 | .161 | 1 | 6 |
| Tom Paciorek | 11 | 47 | 12 | .255 | 1 | 6 |
| Davey Lopes | 11 | 42 | 9 | .214 | 0 | 1 |
| Ron Cey | 11 | 37 | 10 | .270 | 1 | 3 |
| Joe Ferguson | 8 | 24 | 7 | .292 | 1 | 5 |
| Terry McDermott | 9 | 23 | 3 | .130 | 0 | 0 |

### 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 |
| Don Sutton | 33 | 272.2 | 19 | 9 | 2.08 | 207 |
| Claude Osteen | 33 | 252.0 | 20 | 11 | 2.64 | 100 |
| Al Downing | 31 | 202.2 | 9 | 9 | 2.98 | 117 |
| Tommy John | 29 | 186.2 | 11 | 5 | 2.89 | 117 |
| Bill Singer | 26 | 169.1 | 6 | 16 | 3.67 | 101 |

#### 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 |
| Doug Rau | 7 | 32.2 | 2 | 2 | 2.20 | 19 |

#### 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 |
| Jim Brewer | 51 | 8 | 7 | 17 | 1.26 | 69 |
| Pete Richert | 37 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 2.25 | 38 |
| Pete Mikkelsen | 33 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4.06 | 41 |
| Mike Strahler | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3.26 | 25 |
| Hoyt Wilhelm | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4.62 | 9 |
| Ron Perranoski | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.70 | 5 |
| José Peña | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.59 | 4 |
| Charlie Hough | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.38 | 4 |

## Awards and honors

* NL Player of the Month
** Don Sutton (April 1972)

### All-Stars

* 1972 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
** Don Sutton reserve
* Gold Glove Awards
** Wes Parker
** Willie Davis

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Albuquerque Dukes | Pacific Coast League | Tommy Lasorda |
| AA | El Paso Dodgers | Texas League | Monty Basgall Stan Wasiak |
| A | Bakersfield Dodgers | California League | Don LeJohn |
| A | Daytona Beach Dodgers | Florida State League | Stan Wasiak Bob Shaw |
| A-Short Season | Spokane Indians | Northwest League | Bill Berrier |
| Rookie | Ogden Dodgers | Pioneer League | Gail Henley |
Teams in BOLD won League Championships

## 1972 Major League Baseball draft

This was the eighth year of a Major League Baseball Draft. The Dodgers drafted 42 players in the June draft and eight in the January draft.
This was a weak draft class whose most notable player was Dennis Lewallyn, a pitcher who played for the Dodgers and two other teams from 1975 to 1981 with a 4–4 record and 4.48 ERA. The top draft pick was shortstop John Harbin from Newberry College who played in only 83 games in the Dodgers farm system in 1972 and was quickly out of baseball.
1972 Draft Picks :
January draft
Round
Name
Position
School
Signed
Career span
Highest level
1
John Adams
RHP
Yes
1972–1974
A
2
Tim Hosler
OF
South Georgia College
No
3
Allen Polofsky
LHP
Miami Dade College
No
January Secondary phase
Round
Name
Position
School
Signed
Career span
Highest level
1
Dennis Lewallyn
RHP
Chipola College
Yes
1972–1987
MLB
2
James Van Der Beek
RHP
Lafayette College
Yes
1972–1976
AAA
3
Francis Sansosti
RHP
Community College of Baltimore County
No Cardinals-1975
1975
A
4
Mike Siani
SS
Villanova University
No
5
Robert Sans
1B
Texas A&M University
Yes
1972
A
June draft
Round
Name
Position
School
Signed
Career span
Highest level
1
John Harbin
SS
Newberry College
Yes
1972
A-
2
Cleo Smith
1B
Ells High School
Yes
1972–1979
AAA
3
Bob Detherage
RHP
Hillcrest High School
Yes
1973–1981
MLB
4
Larry Corrigan
C
Iowa State University
Yes
1973–1978
AAA
5
Mitchell Bobinger
LHP
Chico High School
Yes
1972–1978
AAA
6
Alton Torregano
C
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Yes
1972–1973
A
7
James Fleming
SS
St. Peter's High School
Yes
1973–1976
AA
8
Stephen Plut
OF
St. Francis High School
No Angels – 1975
1975–1978
AA
9
Robert Stewart
RHP
Magnolia High School
Yes
1972–1977
AA
10
William Kooyman
3B
Saint Mary's College of California
Yes
1972–1974
A
11
Terry Zorger
3B
Huntington University
Yes
1972–1973
A-
12
Jere Nolan
OF
University of California, Berkeley
Yes
1972–1974
AA
13
Hank Boguszewski
RHP
Glen Cove High School
No
14
Michael Rushde
OF
Fontana High School
Yes
1972–1977
AA
15
Jason Thompson
LHP
Apple Valley High School
Yes
1975–1986
MLB
16
Douglas Schaefer
RHP
Lindbergh High School
No Giants-1975
1975–1981
AAA
17
Glenn Burke
OF
Merritt College
Yes
1972–1980
MLB
18
Richard Magner
C
Rollins College
Yes
1972–1977
AAA
19
Leonard Wouters
RHP
Hampton Bays High School
Yes
1972–1976
A
20
John Littlefield
RHP
Azusa High School
No Cardinals-1976
1976–1982
AAA
21
John Freedman
3B
Claremont High School
No
1974
A-
22
Richard Jacobs
LHP
University of Oklahoma
No
23
Dale Forchetti
SS
Neshaminy High School
No
24
Don Redoglia
SS
Pasadena City College
No Cardinals-1975
1975
A
25
Kenneth Smith
OF
Jefferson High School
No
26
Buff White
LHP
Folsom High School
No
27
David Rothermel
3B
Hillcrest High School
No
28
Steven O'Brien
RHP
Maryvale High School
Yes
1972–1977
AAA
29
Samuel Roberts
1B
Tennessee High School
No
30
Brian Felda
OF
University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh
Yes
1972–1975
A
31
Michael Parnow
2B
College of Marin
Yes
1972–1973
A-
32
James Fiack
C
University of California, Davis
Yes
1972–1973
A
33
Charles Walker
OF
Atlanta Baptist College
Yes
1972
A-
34
Jeff Chandler
LHP
Davis High School
No Reds-1973
1973–1978
AA
35
Craig Minetto
LHP
Amos Alonzo Stagg High School
No Expos-1974
1974–1984
MLB
36
David Baker
C
Pacific High School
No Phillies-1975
1975–1976
AA
37
Tom Haley
C
Binger High School
No
38
Bob Shirley
LHP
Putnam City High School
No Padres-1976
1976–1988
MLB
39
Timothy Lewis
LHP
Germantown Academy
No Yankees-1976
1976–1981
AAA
June secondary phase
Round
Name
Position
School
Signed
Career span
Highest level
1
Robert Lesslie
RHP
Kansas State University
Yes
1972–1977
AAA
2
Walter Rzepiennik
RHP
Community College of Baltimore
Yes
1972–1974
A
3
Robin Ogle
1B
Miami-Dade College
No Padres-1975
1975
A- :