1972 Kansas City Royals season

March 2026 November 2013 Kansas City Royals 1972 Kansas City Royals Insignia (1969–2001).svg American League West Municipal Stadium Kansas City, Missouri 76 78 y 4th Ewing Kauffman Cedric Tallis Bob Lemon KBMA KMBZ(Buddy Blattner, Denny Matthews) The 1972 Kansas City Royals season was their fourth in Major League Baseball. The Royals finished fourth in the American League West at 76–78, 16 1 2 games behind the Oakland Athletics. John Mayberry, in his first season with Kansas City, led the team with 25 home runs and 100 runs batted in. Mayberry was the first Royals player to drive in at least 100 runs in a season. Offseason November 29, 1971: Steve Hovley was drafted by the Royals from the Oakland Athletics in the 1971 rule 5 draft.Steve Hovley at Baseball Reference December 2, 1971: Jim York and Lance Clemons were traded by the Royals to the Houston Astros for John Mayberry and Dave Grangaard (minors).John Mayberry at Baseball Reference March 15, 1972: José Martínez was purchased by the Royals from the Pittsburgh Pirates.José Martínez at Baseball Reference Prior to 1972 season: Mark Williams was signed as an amateur free agent by the Royals.Mark Williams at Baseball Reference Regular season Season standings Kansas City Royals Record vs. opponents KC Notable transactions June 6, 1972: 1972 Major League Baseball draft Jamie Quirk was drafted by the Royals in the 1st round (18th pick).Jamie Quirk at Baseball Reference George Throop was drafted by the Royals in the 16th round.George Throop at Baseball Reference Roster 1972 Kansas City Royals Roster Pitchers 36 Ted Abernathy 39 Norm Angelini 22 Tom Burgmeier 40 Steve Busby 43 Bruce Dal Canton 41 Dick Drago 23 Al Fitzmorris 32 Mike Hedlund 25 Mike Jackson 20 Monty Montgomery 29 Tom Murphy 35 Roger Nelson 25 Jim Rooker 34 Paul Splittorff 28 Ken Wright Catchers  8 Ed Kirkpatrick 12 Jerry May 17 Dennis Paepke 14 Carl Taylor Infielders 15 Bobby Floyd  2 Ron Hansen 18 Gail Hopkins 19 Bobby Knoop  7 John Mayberry 37 Freddie Patek  1 Cookie Rojas 10 Paul Schaal  6 Jim Wohlford Outfielders 30 Steve Hovley 16 Joe Keough 33 Bob Oliver 26 Amos Otis  9 Lou Piniella  5 Richie Scheinblum Manager 21 Bob Lemon Coaches  3 Galen Cisco (Pitching)  4 Harry Dunlop (Third base) 24 Charley Lau (Hitting) 11 George Strickland (First base) Player stats = Indicates team leader 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 Ed Kirkpatrick 113 364 100 .275 9 43 1B John Mayberry 149 503 150 .298 25 100 2B Cookie Rojas 137 487 127 .261 3 53 SS Freddie Patek 136 518 110 .212 0 32 3B Paul Schaal 127 435 99 .228 6 41 LF Lou Piniella 151 574 179 .312 11 72 CF Amos Otis 143 540 158 .293 11 54 RF Richie Scheinblum 134 450 135 .300 8 66 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 Steve Hovley 105 196 53 .270 3 24 Bobby Floyd 61 134 24 .179 0 5 Jerry May 53 116 22 .190 1 4 Carl Taylor Carl Taylor (baseball) 63 113 30 .265 0 11 Bobby Knoop 44 97 23 .237 0 7 Gail Hopkins 53 71 15 .211 0 5 Joe Keough 56 64 14 .219 0 5 Bob Oliver 16 63 17 .270 1 6 Ron Hansen Ron Hansen (baseball) 16 30 4 .133 0 2 Jim Wohlford 15 25 6 .240 0 0 Dennis Paepke 2 6 0 .000 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 Dick Drago 34 239.1 12 17 3.01 135 Paul Splittorff 35 216.0 12 12 3.13 140 Monty Montgomery Monty Montgomery (baseball) 9 56.1 3 3 3.04 24 Steve Busby 5 40.0 3 1 1.58 31 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 Roger Nelson Roger Nelson (baseball) 34 173.1 11 6 2.08 120 Bruce Dal Canton 35 132.1 6 6 3.40 75 Mike Hedlund 29 113.0 5 7 4.78 52 Jim Rooker 18 72.0 5 6 4.38 44 Tom Murphy Tom Murphy (pitcher) 18 70.1 4 4 3.07 34 Mike Jackson Mike Jackson (left-handed pitcher) 7 19.2 1 2 6.41 15 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 Tom Burgmeier 51 6 2 9 4.23 18 Ted Abernathy 45 3 4 5 1.70 28 Al Fitzmorris 38 2 5 3 3.74 51 Norm Angelini 21 2 1 2 2.25 16 Ken Wright Ken Wright (baseball) 17 1 2 4 4.91 18 Awards and honors All-Star Game Cookie Rojas, Second Base, Reserve Lou Piniella, Outfield, Reserve Richie Scheinblum, Outfield, Reserve Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Omaha Royals American Association Jack McKeon AA Jacksonville Suns Southern League Billy Gardner A San Jose Bees California League Harry Malmberg A Waterloo Royals Midwest League Steve Boros Rookie Kingsport Royals Appalachian League Jay Hankins Rookie GCL Royals Gulf Coast League Buzzy Keller Rookie Billings Mustangs Pioneer League Gary Blaylock LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Billings Notes 2 References Johnson Lloyd Wolff Miles The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball 2nd Durham, North Carolina Baseball America 1997 978-0-9637189-8-3 1972 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Reference 1972 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Almanac Category:Kansas City Royals seasons Kansas City Royals season Kansas City