After an injury-plagued 1971 season in which the team finished fourth, the Reds came back and won another pennant under Anderson in 1972, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates in five games in the NLCS, but losing to the Oakland Athletics in seven games in the World Series. They took the National League West division title again in , but lost to the New York Mets in the NLCS, a hard-fought series that went the full five games.