# 1972 Philadelphia Phillies season

The 1972 Philadelphia Phillies season was the 90th season in the history of the franchise, and the 2nd season for the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium. The team finished with a record of 59–97, last place in the National League East.

## Offseason

The Phils made perhaps one of the most significant trades in their history on February 25, when they traded Rick Wise to the St. Louis Cardinals for Steve Carlton. Both teams were engaged in difficult contract negotiations with each pitcher. Carlton went on to win four Cy Young Awards with the Phillies, and Wise continued a solid career. Carlton won his first Cy Young Award on the 1972 Phillies who won only 59 games. Carlton was 27–10 and the team was 30–85 when Carlton did not pitch. No pitcher in the twentieth century has won as high a proportion of his team's victories (45.8%). Carlton also led the N.L. in ERA (1.97), strikeouts (310), and innings pitched (346.1).

### Notable transactions

* October 22, 1971: Lowell Palmer was purchased from the Phillies by the Chicago White Sox.
* February 25, 1972: Rick Wise was traded by the Phillies to the St. Louis Cardinals for Steve Carlton.
* March 1, 1972: Rubén Amaro was released by the Phillies.

## Regular season

During the season, Steve Carlton became the last pitcher to win at least 25 games in one season for the Phillies in the 20th century.
On July 10, manager Frank Lucchesi was fired with the team at 26–50. Paul Owens, who had been promoted from farm director to GM a month earlier, became manager as well.
The Padres came close to a no-hitter against the Phillies on July 18, 1972; Steve Arlin came within one out before a ninth-inning two-out single by Denny Doyle broke up the bid.
The Phillies had hosted the 1952 All-Star Game, played July 9, 1952 at Shibe Park. The American League won 3 to 2 in five innings; the first rain shortened All-Star Game. The Phillies held their promotional Old-Timers Game on August 19, 1972. The Phillies invited all of the players from the 1952 game back to Philadelphia to complete the last four innings prior to the regular game with the Houston Astros.
The Old-Timers began in the "sixth inning" with the Veterans Stadium scoreboard showing the National League ahead 3–2 after five innings. Bobby Thomson, Enos Slaughter, Pee Wee Reese, Gran Hamner, and Robin Roberts played for the National League Old-Timers. Shantz pitched the first inning of the exhibition for the American League, which appeared as the sixth inning on the scoreboard. Shantz yielded five runs, while the American League scored only a run to "complete" the game, with the National League widening their margin of victory to 8-3.
Mike Schmidt made his major league debut on September 12.

### Season standings

vteNL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 96 | 59 | .619 | — | 49‍–‍29 | 47‍–‍30 |
| Chicago Cubs | 85 | 70 | .548 | 11 | 46‍–‍31 | 39‍–‍39 |
| New York Mets | 83 | 73 | .532 | 13½ | 41‍–‍37 | 42‍–‍36 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 75 | 81 | .481 | 21½ | 40‍–‍37 | 35‍–‍44 |
| Montreal Expos | 70 | 86 | .449 | 26½ | 35‍–‍43 | 35‍–‍43 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 59 | 97 | .378 | 37½ | 28‍–‍51 | 31‍–‍46 |

### 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 | — |

### Notable transactions

* June 15, 1972: Andre Thornton and Joe Hoerner were traded by the Phillies to the Atlanta Braves for Jim Nash and Gary Neibauer.
* August 2, 1972: Woodie Fryman was selected off waivers from the Phillies by the Detroit Tigers.

#### Draft picks

* June 6, 1972: 1972 Major League Baseball draft
** Tom Underwood was drafted by the Phillies in the 2nd round. Player signed August 27, 1972.
* June 6, 1972: Dan Boitano was drafted by the Phillies in the 1st round (17th pick) of the secondary phase, but did not sign.

### Game log

Legend :
| | Phillies win |
| | Phillies loss |
| | Postponement |
| Bold | Phillies team member |
1972 Game Log Overall Record: 59–97 :
April (9–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
–April 7@ CardinalsCancelled (players' strike)
–April 8@ CardinalsCancelled (players' strike)
–April 9@ CardinalsCancelled (players' strike)
–April 10ExposCancelled (players' strike)
–April 12ExposCancelled (players' strike)
–April 14@ CubsCancelled (players' strike)
1April 15@ Cubs4–2Steve Carlton (1–0)Bill Hands (0–1)Joe Hoerner (1)17,4011–0
2April 16@ Cubs0–4Burt Hooton (1–0)Dick Selma (0–1)None9,5831–1
3April 17Cardinals4–5Al Santorini (1–1)Joe Hoerner (0–1)None38,1821–2
4April 18Cardinals6–3Bill Champion (1–0)Scipio Spinks (0–1)Wayne Twitchell (1)5,3112–2
5April 19Cardinals1–0Steve Carlton (2–0)Bob Gibson (0–1)None8,1843–2
6April 21Pirates2–3 (10)Ramón Hernández (1–0)Chris Short (0–1)None13,8643–3
–April 22PiratesPostponed (rain); Makeup: July 29 as a traditional double-header
7April 23Pirates5–4 (11)Bucky Brandon (1–0)Bob Miller (0–1)None43,4384–3
8April 25@ Giants3–0Steve Carlton (3–0)Juan Marichal (1–2)None6,0925–3
9April 26@ Giants6–8 (10)Jerry Johnson (1–0)Bucky Brandon (1–1)None4,1395–4
10April 27@ Giants7–6Wayne Twitchell (1–0)Ron Bryant (0–1)None3,6716–4
11April 28@ Padres3–0Woodie Fryman (1–0)Clay Kirby (2–1)None7,2727–4
12April 29@ Padres0–4Steve Arlin (1–3)Steve Carlton (3–1)None7,8597–5
13April 30 (1)@ Padres6–1Barry Lersch (1–0)Bill Greif (1–3)Nonesee 2nd game8–5
14April 30 (2)@ Padres3–1Bill Champion (2–0)Mike Corkins (0–1)None8,4119–5 :
May (7–19)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
15May 1@ Dodgers2–1Dick Selma (1–1)Claude Osteen (2–1)None15,01510–5
16May 2@ Dodgers6–7Jim Brewer (1–0)Barry Lersch (1–1)None14,77010–6
17May 3@ Dodgers5–1Steve Carlton (4–1)Bill Singer (2–2)None14,31411–6
18May 5Giants3–2Bill Champion (3–0)Juan Marichal (1–4)None22,16112–6
19May 6Giants1–3Sam McDowell (4–0)Dick Selma (1–2)None14,01012–7
20May 7Giants8–3Steve Carlton (5–1)Ron Bryant (0–2)None44,88013–7
–May 9PadresPostponed (rain); Makeup: July 7 as a traditional double-header
21May 10Padres3–5Clay Kirby (3–1)Woodie Fryman (1–1)None7,60113–8
22May 11Padres6–5 (12)Wayne Twitchell (2–0)Gary Ross (0–1)None9,22414–8
23May 12Dodgers1–6Don Sutton (5–0)Dick Selma (1–3)None24,20514–9
24May 13Dodgers1–3Claude Osteen (4–1)Steve Carlton (5–2)Jim Brewer (3)27,00314–10
–May 14DodgersPostponed (rain); Makeup: July 10 as a traditional double-header
25May 15Cubs4–0Woodie Fryman (2–1)Ferguson Jenkins (3–3)None8,13315–10
26May 16Cubs1–8Burt Hooton (3–3)Bill Champion (3–1)None12,32615–11
27May 17Cubs2–3Tom Phoebus (1–1)Steve Carlton (5–3)Dan McGinn (4)12,52815–12
28May 19Mets3–8Buzz Capra (3–1)Dick Selma (1–4)Danny Frisella (3)20,45115–13
29May 20 (1)Mets1–3Jon Matlack (5–0)Woodie Fryman (2–2)Nonesee 2nd game15–14
30May 20 (2)Mets1–2Jerry Koosman (1–3)Bill Champion (3–2)Tug McGraw (7)36,69115–15
31May 21Mets3–4Tom Seaver (7–1)Steve Carlton (5–4)Danny Frisella (4)57,26715–16
32May 22@ Expos3–6Mike Torrez (4–1)Barry Lersch (1–2)None17,67615–17
33May 23@ Expos2–6Bill Stoneman (4–4)Dick Selma (1–5)None12,75715–18
34May 24@ Expos1–4Carl Morton (2–4)Woodie Fryman (2–3)None9,34115–19
35May 26@ Pirates4–6Nelson Briles (3–1)Steve Carlton (5–5)None25,16415–20
36May 27@ Pirates2–1 (12)Bucky Brandon (2–1)Dave Giusti (1–4)Chris Short (1)19,39816–20
37May 28@ Pirates5–6Ramón Hernández (2–0)Joe Hoerner (0–2)None15,23616–21
38May 29 (1)@ Pirates3–7Ramón Hernández (3–0)Woodie Fryman (2–4)Nonesee 2nd game16–22
39May 29 (2)@ Pirates2–4Bob Moose (3–2)Ken Reynolds (0–1)Dave Giusti (3)36,46416–23
40May 30@ Mets0–7Jon Matlack (6–0)Steve Carlton (5–6)None17,59816–24
–May 31@ MetsPostponed (rain); Makeup: August 1 as a traditional double-header :
June (8–18)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
41June 1@ Mets1–6Jim McAndrew (4–1)Dick Selma (1–6)None16,85016–25
42June 2Reds3–6 (17)Don Gullett (2–2)Wayne Twitchell (2–1)Pedro Borbón (4)16,25116–26
43June 3Reds5–6 (10)Tom Hall (3–1)Ken Reynolds (0–2)None16,62316–27
44June 4Reds0–2Jack Billingham (3–6)Bill Champion (3–3)Clay Carroll (10)15,86116–28
45June 6Astros3–4Dave Roberts (4–3)Woodie Fryman (2–5)Fred Gladding (5)8,23716–29
46June 7Astros3–1Steve Carlton (6–6)Jerry Reuss (3–5)Bucky Brandon (1)10,71217–29
47June 8Astros7–2Bill Champion (4–3)Larry Dierker (5–3)Joe Hoerner (2)20,15518–29
48June 9Braves4–3Chris Short (1–1)George Stone (0–4)Joe Hoerner (3)17,08219–29
49June 10Braves3–15Tom Kelley (4–5)Woodie Fryman (2–6)None23,24219–30
50June 11Braves3–1Steve Carlton (7–6)Ron Reed (4–7)None32,46820–30
51June 13 (1)@ Reds4–8Tom Hall (4–1)Bill Champion (4–4)Clay Carroll (12)see 2nd game20–31
52June 13 (2)@ Reds2–4Ross Grimsley (3–1)Ken Reynolds (0–3)Pedro Borbón (6)31,50920–32
53June 14@ Reds1–2Jack Billingham (4–6)Barry Lersch (1–3)Clay Carroll (13)16,12720–33
54June 16@ Astros0–1 (11)Tom Griffin (2–1)Dick Selma (1–7)None14,89120–34
55June 17@ Astros5–10Dave Roberts (6–3)Woodie Fryman (2–7)Jim Ray (4)24,83420–35
56June 18@ Astros0–10Jerry Reuss (5–5)Bill Champion (4–5)None20,76820–36
–June 19@ BravesPostponed (rain; Hurricane Agnes); Makeup: September 1 as a traditional double-header
–June 20@ BravesPostponed (rain; Hurricane Agnes); Makeup: September 2 as a traditional double-header
57June 21@ Braves9–7Bucky Brandon (3–1)Cecil Upshaw (1–2)None10,19521–36
58June 23@ Expos1–2Mike Torrez (8–3)Jim Nash (1–2)None15,12421–37
59June 24@ Expos4–5John Strohmayer (1–1)Woodie Fryman (2–8)Mike Marshall (6)14,26221–38
60June 25@ Expos1–0Steve Carlton (8–6)Ernie McAnally (1–9)None19,35522–38
61June 26@ Cubs1–11Rick Reuschel (2–0)Bill Champion (4–6)None14,36322–39
62June 27 (1)@ Cubs3–6Ferguson Jenkins (9–6)Jim Nash (1–3)Nonesee 2nd game22–40
63June 27 (2)@ Cubs7–4Bucky Brandon (4–1)Juan Pizarro (4–3)Woodie Fryman (1)31,40823–40
64June 28Mets2–3Tom Seaver (10–4)Gary Neibauer (0–1)None26,54523–41
65June 29Mets9–4Steve Carlton (9–6)Gary Gentry (3–6)None14,45124–41
66June 30Cardinals1–4Scipio Spinks (5–4)Bill Champion (4–7)None16,25724–42 :
July (10–19)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
67July 1 (1)Cardinals4–6Bob Gibson (7–5)Jim Nash (1–4)Nonesee 2nd game24–43
68July 1 (2)Cardinals0–1Al Santorini (4–6)Ken Reynolds (0–4)Diego Seguí (2)26,57124–44
69July 2Cardinals3–7Reggie Cleveland (9–4)Gary Neibauer (0–2)Diego Seguí (3)20,10324–45
70July 3Giants4–2Steve Carlton (10–6)Don Carrithers (2–6)None43,01625–45
71July 4Giants1–2Jim Barr (2–2)Bill Champion (4–8)None6,09825–46
–July 5GiantsPostponed (rain); Makeup: July 6
72July 6Giants4–6 (10)Jerry Johnson (6–5)Woodie Fryman (2–9)None5,46625–47
73July 7 (1)Padres4–2Steve Carlton (11–6)Mike Corkins (0–5)Nonesee 2nd game26–47
74July 7 (2)Padres1–6Clay Kirby (6–8)Jim Nash (1–5)None18,10626–48
75July 8Padres5–8Gary Ross (3–1)Dick Selma (1–8)None14,42826–49
76July 9Padres4–5Bill Greif (4–11)Bucky Brandon (4–2)Fred Norman (1)18,44526–50
77July 10 (1)Dodgers4–6 (11)Pete Richert (1–1)Mac Scarce (0–1)Nonesee 2nd game26–51
78July 10 (2)Dodgers9–1Woodie Fryman (3–9)Mike Strahler (0–2)None20,15927–51
79July 11Dodgers4–1Steve Carlton (12–6)Don Sutton (10–5)None18,44328–51
80July 12Dodgers5–9Tommy John (8–4)Bill Champion (4–9)None15,53328–52
81July 14@ Giants1–8Juan Marichal (4–10)Ken Reynolds (0–5)Randy Moffitt (3)8,60728–53
82July 15@ Giants11–4Bucky Brandon (5–2)Don McMahon (3–3)Dick Selma (1)5,98429–53
83July 16@ Giants7–10Jim Barr (3–2)Woodie Fryman (3–10)None16,29929–54
84July 18@ Padres1–5Steve Arlin (8–10)Bill Champion (4–10)None4,76429–55
85July 19@ Padres3–2 (11)Steve Carlton (13–6)Clay Kirby (6–10)None6,78730–55
86July 21@ Dodgers0–3Don Sutton (12–5)Ken Reynolds (0–6)None21,67830–56
87July 22@ Dodgers3–4Bill Singer (4–8)Bill Champion (4–11)Jim Brewer (10)22,17830–57
88July 23@ Dodgers2–0Steve Carlton (14–6)Tommy John (8–5)None21,28831–57
–July 251972 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Atlanta Stadium in Atlanta
89July 27 (1)Cubs0–4Ferguson Jenkins (13–9)Ken Reynolds (0–7)Nonesee 2nd game31–58
90July 27 (2)Cubs3–2Dick Selma (2–8)Jack Aker (4–1)None17,34932–58
91July 28Cubs2–0Steve Carlton (15–6)Milt Pappas (6–7)None12,45333–58
92July 29 (1)Pirates5–2Woodie Fryman (4–10)Steve Blass (11–5)Dick Selma (2)see 2nd game34–58
93July 29 (2)Pirates2–3Luke Walker (4–5)Bucky Brandon (5–3)Dave Giusti (16)37,54434–59
94July 30Pirates1–7Bruce Kison (5–3)Barry Lersch (1–4)None28,45134–60
95July 31Pirates0–2Bob Moose (7–6)Ken Reynolds (0–8)None17,45534–61 :
August (10–18)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
96August 1 (1)@ Mets2–3 (18)Ray Sadecki (2–0)Bucky Brandon (5–4)Nonesee 2nd game34–62
97August 1 (2)@ Mets4–1Steve Carlton (16–6)Jerry Koosman (7–7)None31,84635–62
98August 2@ Mets5–3Mac Scarce (1–1)Tom Seaver (12–9)Dick Selma (3)22,73336–62
99August 3@ Mets4–1Barry Lersch (2–4)Gary Gentry (5–8)Mac Scarce (1)28,50637–62
100August 4@ Cardinals8–3Bill Wilson (1–0)Don Durham (0–4)Bucky Brandon (2)14,23438–62
101August 5@ Cardinals5–0Steve Carlton (17–6)Reggie Cleveland (12–7)None25,50539–62
102August 6@ Cardinals0–6Al Santorini (6–7)Wayne Twitchell (2–2)None26,91739–63
103August 8@ Pirates2–4Dock Ellis (10–5)Bill Champion (4–12)None18,22839–64
104August 9@ Pirates2–0Steve Carlton (18–6)Steve Blass (12–6)None19,83240–64
105August 11Expos1–4Mike Torrez (13–7)Wayne Twitchell (2–3)None20,19040–65
106August 12Expos2–3Mike Marshall (11–3)Ken Reynolds (0–9)None20,39240–66
107August 13 (1)Expos2–1Steve Carlton (19–6)Ernie McAnally (1–13)Nonesee 2nd game41–66
108August 13 (2)Expos3–8Balor Moore (4–5)Bill Champion (4–13)Mike Marshall (13)30,20741–67
109August 15Reds0–3Don Gullett (4–7)Wayne Twitchell (2–4)None17,10641–68
110August 16Reds2–8Jim McGlothlin (6–5)Ken Reynolds (0–10)Pedro Borbón (7)10,38541–69
111August 17Reds9–4Steve Carlton (20–6)Ross Grimsley (10–6)None42,63542–69
112August 18Astros3–4Dave Roberts (10–5)Bucky Brandon (5–5)Fred Gladding (13)11,70742–70
113August 19Astros4–0Wayne Twitchell (3–4)Larry Dierker (11–7)None33,52543–70
114August 20Astros1–3Don Wilson (10–8)Ken Reynolds (0–11)None13,71243–71
115August 21Braves1–2 (11)Phil Niekro (12–10)Steve Carlton (20–7)None41,21243–72
116August 22Braves7–11Ron Reed (11–12)Bill Wilson (1–1)Pat Jarvis (2)10,40843–73
117August 23Braves6–9Jim Hardin (3–0)Wayne Twitchell (3–5)Joe Hoerner (5)10,05743–74
118August 25@ Reds1–6Don Gullett (6–7)Ken Reynolds (0–12)None32,01743–75
119August 26@ Reds4–3Steve Carlton (21–7)Jim McGlothlin (7–6)Mac Scarce (2)34,02844–75
120August 27@ Reds2–7Ross Grimsley (12–6)Wayne Twitchell (3–6)Pedro Borbón (10)37,16744–76
121August 29@ Astros1–2Fred Gladding (5–5)Mac Scarce (1–2)None8,70444–77
122August 30@ Astros3–5Jerry Reuss (9–10)Steve Carlton (21–8)Jim Ray (8)10,26444–78
123August 31@ Astros1–5Larry Dierker (14–7)Wayne Twitchell (3–7)None7,19744–79 :
September (13–16)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
124September 1 (1)@ Braves11–1Ken Reynolds (1–12)Ron Reed (11–13)Nonesee 2nd game45–79
125September 1 (2)@ Braves5–11Jimmy Freeman (1–0)Barry Lersch (2–5)None3,33345–80
126September 2 (1)@ Braves7–10Pat Jarvis (10–7)Dick Selma (2–9)Cecil Upshaw (10)see 2nd game45–81
127September 2 (2)@ Braves3–0Dave Downs (1–0)Mike McQueen (0–2)None5,23946–81
128September 3@ Braves8–0Steve Carlton (22–8)Jim Hardin (3–2)None5,11947–81
129September 4 (1)@ Pirates0–10Steve Blass (16–6)Wayne Twitchell (3–8)Nonesee 2nd game47–82
130September 4 (2)@ Pirates1–5Bruce Kison (8–5)Jim Nash (1–6)None26,62747–83
131September 6Cardinals3–2Ken Reynolds (2–12)Lowell Palmer (0–2)None6,13748–83
132September 7Cardinals2–1Steve Carlton (23–8)Al Santorini (6–10)None12,15149–83
133September 8Cubs3–4Ferguson Jenkins (20–10)Bucky Brandon (5–6)None7,64849–84
134September 9Cubs4–7Rick Reuschel (8–7)Barry Lersch (2–6)Bill Bonham (2)10,10149–85
135September 10Cubs3–5Milt Pappas (13–7)Jim Nash (1–7)Jack Aker (14)12,24849–86
136September 11Mets2–4Jerry Koosman (9–11)Steve Carlton (23–9)Tug McGraw (23)10,31749–87
137September 12Mets3–4Jim McAndrew (11–5)Ken Reynolds (2–13)Danny Frisella (9)5,05749–88
138September 13Mets6–11Tug McGraw (7–5)Dave Downs (1–1)None6,18549–89
139September 15Expos5–3Steve Carlton (24–9)Mike Torrez (16–10)None20,12050–89
140September 16Expos3–1Wayne Twitchell (4–8)Balor Moore (8–8)Mac Scarce (3)6,47151–89
141September 17Expos3–2Bucky Brandon (6–6)Mike Marshall (14–6)None16,36652–89
142September 19@ Cardinals1–2 (10)Bob Gibson (17–10)Bucky Brandon (6–7)None6,97852–90
143September 20@ Cardinals2–1Steve Carlton (25–9)Rick Wise (15–16)None5,56953–90
144September 21@ Cardinals3–1Wayne Twitchell (5–8)Jim Bibby (1–1)Mac Scarce (4)4,71954–90
145September 22@ Mets5–4 (11)Bucky Brandon (7–7)Tug McGraw (7–6)None15,26555–90
146September 23@ Mets3–5Jon Matlack (14–9)Jim Nash (1–8)None14,46555–91
147September 24@ Mets1–2Tom Seaver (19–12)Steve Carlton (25–10)Tug McGraw (24)41,64455–92
148September 26Pirates1–5Steve Blass (19–7)Bill Champion (4–14)None8,47255–93
149September 27Pirates1–3Bruce Kison (9–7)Ken Reynolds (2–14)Luke Walker (2)5,33555–94
150September 28Pirates2–1Steve Carlton (26–10)Bob Moose (12–10)None12,21656–94
–September 29@ ExposPostponed (rain); Makeup: September 30 as a traditional double-header
151September 30 (1)@ Expos3–0Barry Lersch (3–6)Mike Torrez (16–12)Nonesee 2nd game57–94
152September 30 (2)@ Expos4–8Balor Moore (9–8)Jim Nash (1–9)Mike Marshall (18)7,26257–95 :
October (2–2)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
153October 1@ Expos6–10Ernie McAnally (6–16)Ken Reynolds (2–15)Tom Walker (2)10,31457–96
154October 2@ Cubs3–4Rick Reuschel (10–8)Wayne Twitchell (5–9)Juan Pizarro (1)1,94257–97
155October 3@ Cubs11–1Steve Carlton (27–10)Dan McGinn (0–5)None2,26458–97
156October 4@ Cubs2–1Barry Lersch (4–6)Bill Bonham (1–1)None3,44559–97 :

### 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 | John Bateman | 82 | 252 | 56 | .222 | 3 | 17 |
| 1B | Tommy Hutton | 134 | 381 | 99 | .260 | 4 | 38 |
| 2B | Denny Doyle | 123 | 442 | 110 | .249 | 1 | 26 |
| SS | Larry Bowa | 152 | 579 | 145 | .250 | 1 | 31 |
| 3B | Don Money | 152 | 536 | 119 | .222 | 15 | 52 |
| LF | Greg Luzinski | 150 | 563 | 158 | .281 | 18 | 68 |
| CF | Willie Montañez | 147 | 531 | 131 | .247 | 13 | 64 |
| RF | Roger Freed | 73 | 129 | 29 | .225 | 6 | 18 |

#### 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 |
| Deron Johnson | 96 | 230 | 49 | .213 | 9 | 31 |
| Terry Harmon | 73 | 218 | 62 | .284 | 2 | 13 |
| Bill Robinson | 82 | 188 | 45 | .239 | 8 | 21 |
| Tim McCarver | 45 | 152 | 36 | .237 | 2 | 14 |
| Joe Lis | 62 | 140 | 34 | .243 | 6 | 18 |
| Oscar Gamble | 74 | 135 | 32 | .237 | 1 | 13 |
| Mike Ryan | 46 | 106 | 19 | .179 | 2 | 10 |
| Mike Anderson | 36 | 103 | 20 | .194 | 2 | 5 |
| Ron Stone | 41 | 54 | 9 | .167 | 0 | 3 |
| Bob Boone | 16 | 51 | 14 | .275 | 1 | 4 |
| Pete Koegel | 41 | 49 | 7 | .143 | 0 | 1 |
| Mike Schmidt | 13 | 34 | 7 | .206 | 1 | 3 |
| Byron Browne | 21 | 21 | 4 | .190 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Robinson | 5 | 15 | 3 | .200 | 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 |
| Steve Carlton | 41 | 346.1 | 27 | 10 | 1.97 | 310 |
| Ken Reynolds | 33 | 154.1 | 2 | 15 | 4.26 | 87 |
| Bill Champion | 30 | 132.2 | 4 | 14 | 5.09 | 54 |
| Woodie Fryman | 23 | 119.2 | 4 | 10 | 4.36 | 69 |
| Jim Nash | 9 | 37.1 | 0 | 8 | 6.27 | 15 |
| Dave Downs | 4 | 23.0 | 1 | 1 | 2.74 | 5 |

#### 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 |
| Wayne Twitchell | 49 | 139.2 | 5 | 9 | 4.06 | 112 |
| Bucky Brandon | 42 | 104.1 | 7 | 7 | 3.45 | 67 |
| Barry Lersch | 36 | 100.2 | 4 | 6 | 3.04 | 48 |
| Dick Selma | 46 | 98.2 | 2 | 9 | 5.56 | 58 |
| Gary Neibauer | 9 | 18.2 | 0 | 2 | 5.30 | 7 |

#### 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 |
| Mac Scarce | 31 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3.44 | 40 |
| Bill Wilson | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.30 | 18 |
| Chris Short | 19 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3.91 | 20 |
| Joe Hoerner | 15 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2.08 | 12 |
| Bob Terlecki | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.73 | 5 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Eugene Emeralds | Pacific Coast League | Andy Seminick |
| AA | Reading Phillies | Eastern League | Jim Bunning |
| A | Spartanburg Phillies | Western Carolinas League | Bob Wellman |
| A-Short Season | Auburn Phillies | New York–Penn League | Nolan Campbell |
| Rookie | Pulaski Phillies | Appalachian League | Harry Lloyd |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Spartanburg