1972 Cleveland Indians season

March 2026 November 2013 Cleveland Indians 1972 American League East Cleveland Municipal Stadium Cleveland, Ohio Vernon Stouffer Gabe Paul Ken Aspromonte WJW-TV WERE (1300) The 1972 Cleveland Indians season was the 72nd season in franchise history. The Indians finished 5th place in the American League East Division. with a record of 72 wins and 84 losses, 14 games behind the Detroit Tigers. Offseason George Steinbrenner offer On December 6, 1971, George Steinbrenner led a group of investors (including Ted Bonda, Ed Jeffrey, Howard Metzenbaum, Steve O'Neill, Gabe Paul and Al Rosen) that negotiated with Jim Stouffer, the son of Indians owner Vernon Stouffer about the potential purchase of the franchise. The group offered $8.6 million and agreed to absorb $300,000 in debt (Stouffer borrowed against the Indians television contract for 1972).Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball, p. 6, Bill Madden, Harper Collins Publishing, New York, 2010, 978-0-06-169031-0 Although Steinbrenner and Jim Stouffer agreed to a sale, Vernon Stouffer disapproved of the deal. He felt that he was able of getting $10 million for the franchise.Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball, pp. 6–7 Notable transactions November 29, 1971: Sam McDowell was traded by the Indians to the San Francisco Giants for Gaylord Perry and Frank Duffy.Sam McDowell page at Baseball Reference December 2, 1971: Roy Foster, Ken Suarez, Mike Paul, and Rich Hand were traded by the Indians to the Texas Rangers for Del Unser, Gary Jones, Terry Ley, and Denny Riddleberger.Del Unser page at Baseball Reference December 6, 1971: Adolfo Phillips was purchased by the Indians from the Montreal Expos.Adolfo Phillips page at Baseball Reference Regular season Season standings Record vs. opponents CLE Notable transactions June 6, 1972: 1972 Major League Baseball draft Rick Manning was drafted by the Indians in the 1st round (2nd pick).Rick Manning page at Baseball Reference Dennis Eckersley was drafted by the Indians in the 3rd round. Player signed June 12, 1972.Dennis Eckersley page at Baseball Reference Rick Langford was drafted by the Indians in the 36th round, but did not sign.Rick Langford page at Baseball Reference September 18, 1972: Lowell Palmer was selected off waivers by the Indians from the St. Louis Cardinals.Lowell Palmer page at Baseball-Reference Opening Day Lineup +Opening Day Starters # Name Position1 Del Unser CF11 Eddie Leon 2B20 Alex Johnson LF12 Graig Nettles 3B14 Chris Chambliss 1B8 Ray Fosse C9 Buddy Bell RF15 Frank Duffy SS 36 Gaylord Perry P 1972 Opening Day Lineup at Baseball-Reference Roster 1972 Cleveland Indians Roster Pitchers 35 Bill Butler 44 Vince Colbert 46 Steve Dunning 47 Ed Farmer 34 Steve Hargan 38 Phil Hennigan 40 Tom Hilgendorf 42 Mike Kilkenny 30 Ray Lamb 43 Marcelino López 31 Steve Mingori 33 Lowell Palmer 36 Gaylord Perry 37 Denny Riddleberger 41 Dick Tidrow 32 Milt Wilcox Catchers  8 Ray Fosse 52 Larry Johnson 10 Jerry Moses Infielders  7 Jack Brohamer 17 Lou Camilli 14 Chris Chambliss 15 Frank Duffy 18 Jack Heidemann 11 Eddie Leon 12 Graig Nettles 16 Fred Stanley Outfielders  9 Buddy Bell 25 Kurt Bevacqua 27 Roy Foster 20 Alex Johnson 23 Ron Lolich 29 John Lowenstein 22 Tommy McCraw 28 Adolfo Phillips  1 Del Unser Manager  2 Ken Aspromonte Coaches -- Clay Bryant  6 Bobby Hofman (Third Base)  3 Joe Lutz (First Base) 21 Warren Spahn (Pitching) Player stats Batting Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases Player G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI AVG SB Buddy Bell 132 466 49 119 21 1 9 36 .255 5 Kurt Bevacqua 19 35 2 4 0 0 1 1 .114 0 Jack Brohamer 136 527 49 123 13 2 5 35 .233 3 Bill Butler Bill Butler (pitcher) 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 Lou Camilli 39 41 2 6 2 0 0 3 .146 0 Chris Chambliss 121 466 51 136 27 2 6 44 .292 3 Vince Colbert 23 20 1 4 1 0 0 0 .200 0 Frank Duffy Frank Duffy (baseball) 130 385 23 92 16 4 3 27 .239 6 Steve Dunning 20 33 6 9 1 0 3 4 .273 0 Ed Farmer 46 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 ,143 0 Ray Fosse 134 457 42 110 20 1 10 41 .241 5 Roy Foster Roy Foster (baseball) 73 143 19 32 4 0 4 13 .224 0 Steve Hargan 12 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 Jack Heidemann 10 20 0 3 0 0 0 0 .150 0 Phil Hennigan 38 12 1 1 0 0 0 0 .083 0 Tom Hilgendorf 19 13 0 1 0 0 0 1 .077 0 Alex Johnson 108 356 31 85 10 1 8 37 .239 6 Larry Johnson Larry Johnson (baseball) 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .500 0 Mike Kilkenny 22 14 0 1 0 0 0 0 .071 0 Ray Lamb 34 21 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 Eddie Leon 89 225 14 45 2 1 4 16 .200 0 Ron Lolich 24 80 4 15 1 0 2 8 .188 0 Marcelino López 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 John Lowenstein 68 151 16 32 8 1 6 21 .212 2 Tommy McCraw 129 391 43 101 12 5 7 33 ,258 12 Steve Mingori 42 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 .125 0 Jerry Moses 52 141 9 31 3 0 4 14 ,220 0 Graig Nettles 150 557 65 141 28 0 17 70 .253 2 Lowell Palmer 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 Gaylord Perry 41 110 5 17 2 0 1 9 .155 0 Adolfo Phillips 12 7 2 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 Denny Riddleberger 38 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 Fred Stanley Fred Stanley (baseball) 6 12 1 2 1 0 0 0 .167 0 Dick Tidrow 39 70 5 7 0 0 0 6 .100 0 Del Unser 132 383 29 91 12 0 1 17 .238 5 Milt Wilcox 32 45 3 9 2 0 0 4 .200 0 Team totals 156 5207 472 1220 186 18 91 440 .234 49 Pitching Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts Player W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER BB K Bill Butler Bill Butler (pitcher) 0 0 1.54 6 2 0 11.2 9 3 2 10 6 Vince Colbert 1 7 4.58 22 11 0 74.2 74 42 38 38 36 Steve Dunning 6 4 3.26 16 16 0 105.0 98 39 38 43 52 Ed Farmer 2 5 4.40 46 1 7 61.1 51 32 30 27 33 Steve Hargan 0 3 5.85 12 1 0 20.0 23 16 13 15 10 Phil Hennigan 5 3 2.67 38 1 6 67.1 54 20 20 18 44 Tom Hilgendorf 3 1 2.68 19 5 0 47.0 51 16 14 21 25 Mike Kilkenny 4 1 3.41 22 7 1 58.0 51 23 22 39 44 Ray Lamb 5 6 3.09 34 9 0 107.2 101 42 37 29 64 Marcelino López 0 0 5.40 4 2 0 8.1 8 5 5 10 1 Steve Mingori 0 6 3.95 41 0 10 57.0 67 28 25 36 47 Lowell Palmer 0 0 4.50 1 0 0 2.0 2 1 1 2 3 Gaylord Perry 24 16 1.92 41 40 1 342.2 253 79 73 82 234 Denny Riddleberger 1 3 2.50 38 0 0 54.0 45 23 15 22 34 Dick Tidrow 14 15 2.77 39 34 0 237.1 200 83 73 70 123 Milt Wilcox 7 14 3.40 32 27 0 156.0 145 67 59 72 90 Team totals 72 84 2.92 156 156 25 1410.0 1232 519 457 534 846 Awards and honors All-Star Game Gaylord Perry, pitcher, reserve Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Portland Beavers Pacific Coast League Ray Hathaway, Clay Bryant and Dan Carnevale AA Elmira Pioneers Eastern League Len Johnston A Reno Silver Sox California League Lou Klimchock Rookie GCL Indians Gulf Coast League Pinky MayJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007 Notes 2 References 1972 Cleveland Indians team page at Baseball Reference 1972 Cleveland Indians team page at www.baseball-almanac.com Category:Cleveland Guardians seasons Cleveland Indians season Cincinnati Indians Category:1970s in Cleveland