# 1972 Baltimore Orioles season

The 1972 Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Orioles finishing third in the American League East with a record of 80 wins and 74 losses.

## Offseason

* October 22, 1971: Mike Ferraro and Mike Herson (minors) were traded by the Orioles to the Milwaukee Brewers for Tom Matchick and Bruce Look.
* November 29, 1971: Tom Walker was drafted from the Orioles by the Montreal Expos in the 1971 rule 5 draft.
* December 2, 1971: Frank Robinson and Pete Richert were traded by the Orioles to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Doyle Alexander, Bob O'Brien, Sergio Robles, and Royle Stillman.
* December 9, 1971: Curt Motton was traded by the Orioles to the Milwaukee Brewers for a player to be named later and cash. The Brewers completed the deal by sending Bob Reynolds to the Orioles on March 25, 1972.
* Prior to 1972 season: Lew Beasley was acquired from the Orioles by the Texas Rangers.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteAL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Detroit Tigers | 86 | 70 | .551 | — | 44‍–‍34 | 42‍–‍36 |
| Boston Red Sox | 85 | 70 | .548 | ½ | 52‍–‍26 | 33‍–‍44 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 80 | 74 | .519 | 5 | 38‍–‍39 | 42‍–‍35 |
| New York Yankees | 79 | 76 | .510 | 6½ | 46‍–‍31 | 33‍–‍45 |
| Cleveland Indians | 72 | 84 | .462 | 14 | 43‍–‍34 | 29‍–‍50 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 65 | 91 | .417 | 21 | 37‍–‍42 | 28‍–‍49 |

### Record vs. opponents

1972 American League recordvte 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

* April 2, 1972: Dave Boswell was released by the Orioles.
* August 18, 1972: Elrod Hendricks was traded by the Orioles to the Chicago Cubs for Tommy Davis.
* August 22, 1972: Chico Salmon was released by the Orioles.

#### Draft picks

* June 6, 1972: Bobby Brown was drafted by the Orioles in the 11th round of the 1972 Major League Baseball Draft.

### 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 | Johnny Oates | 85 | 253 | 66 | .261 | 4 | 21 |
| 1B | Boog Powell | 140 | 465 | .117 | 252 | 21 | 81 |
| 2B | Davey Johnson | 118 | 376 | 83 | .221 | 5 | 32 |
| 3B | Brooks Robinson | 153 | 556 | 139 | .250 | 8 | 64 |
| SS | Mark Belanger | 113 | 285 | 53 | .186 | 2 | 16 |
| LF | Don Buford | 125 | 408 | 84 | .206 | 5 | 22 |
| CF | Paul Blair | 142 | 477 | 111 | .233 | 8 | 49 |
| RF | Merv Rettenmund | 102 | 301 | 70 | .233 | 6 | 21 |

#### 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 Grich | 133 | 460 | 128 | .278 | 12 | 50 |
| Don Baylor | 102 | 320 | 81 | .253 | 11 | 38 |
| Terry Crowley | 97 | 247 | 57 | .231 | 11 | 29 |
| Andy Etchebarren | 71 | 188 | 38 | .202 | 2 | 21 |
| Elrod Hendricks | 33 | 84 | 13 | .155 | 0 | 4 |
| Tommy Davis | 26 | 82 | 21 | .256 | 0 | 6 |
| Tom Shopay | 49 | 40 | 9 | .225 | 0 | 2 |
| Rich Coggins | 16 | 39 | 13 | .333 | 0 | 1 |
| Chico Salmon | 17 | 16 | 1 | .063 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Bumbry | 9 | 11 | 4 | .364 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Matchick | 3 | 9 | 2 | .222 | 0 | 0 |
| Enos Cabell | 3 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 |
| Sergio Robles | 2 | 5 | 1 | .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 |
| Jim Palmer | 36 | 274.1 | 21 | 10 | 2.07 | 184 |
| Pat Dobson | 38 | 268.1 | 16 | 18 | 2.65 | 161 |
| Mike Cuellar | 35 | 248.1 | 18 | 12 | 2.57 | 132 |
| Dave McNally | 36 | 241.0 | 13 | 17 | 2.95 | 120 |

#### 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 |
| Doyle Alexander | 35 | 106.1 | 6 | 8 | 2.45 | 49 |

#### 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 |
| Grant Jackson | 32 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2.63 | 34 |
| Roric Harrison | 39 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2.30 | 62 |
| Eddie Watt | 38 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 2.17 | 23 |
| Mickey Scott | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.74 | 11 |
| Dave Leonhard | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 7 |
| Bob Reynolds | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.86 | 5 |

## Awards and honors

* Brooks Robinson, Commissioner's Award

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Rochester Red Wings | International League | Joe Altobelli |
| AA | Asheville Orioles | Southern League | Cal Ripken Sr. |
| A | Lodi Orioles | California League | Jimmie Schaffer |
| A | Miami Orioles | Florida State League | Woody Smith |
| A-Short Season | Lewiston Broncs | Northwest League | Bobby Malkmus |
| Rookie | Bluefield Orioles | Appalachian League | George Farson |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Miami, Lewiston