The 1972 major league baseball season was originally scheduled to begin on April 5. The 1972 strike caused the season to see its first 10 days of games canceled, resulting in the season starting on April 15, while the regular season ended as originally scheduled on October 4. The postseason began on October 7. The 69th World Series began with Game 1 with the Oakland Athletics of the American League defeating the Cincinnati Reds of the National League, four games to three, capturing their sixth championship in franchise history (and first in Oakland), since their previous in Philadelphia in . This was the first of three straight victories behind the bats of Reggie Jackson and Bert Campaneris, and the pitching cadre of Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, and Vida Blue. Jackie Robinson, the player instrumental in breaking the AL and NL's color barrier, threw out the first pitch prior to Game 2 in what would be his last public appearance. He died two days after the series ended at age 53 due to complications from diabetes and heart failure. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Pittsburgh Pirates from the season. The season was the first to have games canceled by a player strike. It was also the last season in which American League pitchers would hit for themselves on a regular basis; the designated hitter rule would go into effect the following season.
The 43rd Major League Baseball All-Star Game, was held on July 25 at Atlanta Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, home of the Atlanta Braves. The National League won in ten innings, 4âÂÂ3, and was the first win in what would be a ten-win streak that lasted until 1983.
1972 marked the first year for the Texas Rangers, who had moved to Arlington, Texas from Washington, D.C. (where they played as the Washington Senators) after the season. The team was one of the worst ever fielded by the franchise, losing 100 games for the first time since 1964. Manager Ted Williams hated it in the DallasâÂÂFort Worth area, and resigned at the end of the season. Washington, D.C. was left without a major-league team for the first time since . The city would not see a home team for 33 seasons, until the Montreal Expos relocated and became the Washington Nationals in .
The Rangers' relocation necessitated the American League to transfer the team to the American League West division from the American League East division due to its distance from AL East teams. Because of this, one of the teams already in the AL West needed to switch to the AL East. The Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers were seen as the likeliest candidates to transfer divisions, although the Minnesota Twins lobbied to keep the Rangers in the East because it wanted both the Brewers and White Sox as division rivals. Even though the White Sox were slightly further east, it was decided that the Brewers, as the newer franchise, would make the move, even though the White Sox wanted to go to the East since five of the league's original franchises were in that division, and that the Cubs were in the National League East. The Brewers would become division rivals of the Twins and White Sox in with the formation of the American League Central, but this would last only through 1997, when Milwaukee transferred to the National League and became a division rival of the Cubs (the Brewers and Twins continue to face each other every year through interleague play).
1972 would also mark the Kansas City Royals' final year at Kansas City Municipal Stadium, as the next year they would move to Royals Stadium at the Truman Sports Complex in eastern Kansas City. The Royals had hoped to move out of Municipal after the season, but a series of labor strikes forced the team to spend one more year at the old facility, which hosted the Athletics from 1955âÂÂ1967 (and the National Football League's Chiefs from 1963âÂÂ1971).
The year ended on a sad note when Roberto Clemente died in an airplane crash off the coast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, on New Year's Eve, while participating in aid efforts after the 1972 Nicaragua earthquake.
1972 was affected by a players' strike over pension and salary arbitration. The strike, which started on April 1, erased the first ten days of the season, canceling 86 games, and ended on April 13. Both leagues decided to excise the lost portion of the season with no makeups, and start the season on April 15. As a result, an uneven number of games were lost by each team; some as few as six, some as many as nine. The lack of makeups, even when they affected the playoffs, led to the Boston Red Sox losing the American League East by half a game to the Detroit Tigers, who played one more game (156 to 155).
The 1972 schedule, originally scheduled with a 162 game schedule per team, consisted of 153âÂÂ156 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had twelve teams. Each league was split into two six-team divisions. Each team was (pre-strike) scheduled to play 18 games against their five division rivals, totaling 90 games, and 12 games against six interdivision opponents, totaling 72 games. Due to the strike, the total number of games were inconsistently cut down, as the first ten days scheduled were simply canceled. The structure of the 162-game format was put in place in and would be used until in the American League and in the National League.
Opening Day, which pre-strike was scheduled for April 5, took place on April 15, featuring 22 teams. The final day of the regular season was on October 4, also featuring 22 teams. The League Championship Series for both leagues began on October 7. The National League Championship Series concluded on October 11, while the American League Championship Series concluded October 12. The World Series took place between October 14 and October 22.
The 1972 season saw the following rule changes:
The postseason began on October 7 and ended on October 22 with the Oakland Athletics defeating the Cincinnati Reds in the 1972 World Series in seven games.
<sup>1</sup> National League Triple Crown pitching winner
Most teams (16 of 24) switched from wool flannel uniforms to double knit uniforms made of nylon and rayon at the outset of 1972. The Pirates were first to adopt double knits when they moved from Forbes Field to Three Rivers Stadium in July 1970. The Cardinals switched at the start of the 1971 season, and the Orioles gradually phased out their flannels throughout 1971, becoming all-double knit in time for the postseason.
The Giants wore flannels until midseason, going to double knits at home only; the flannels would not be phased out for the road uniforms until 1973. The Red Sox switched to double knits midway through 1972, but continued to wear flannels occasionally. Only the Royals, Expos and Yankees wore flannels full-time during the 1972 season, and all three converted to double knits for 1973 (the Royals waited to switch uniforms until their new stadium opened).
With the relocation from Washington, D.C. to Arlington, Texas, the Texas Rangers (formerly Washington Senators) move from Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium (where they played 10 seasons) to Arlington Stadium (where they would go on to play for 22 seasons through ).
The Kansas City Royals would play their final game at Municipal Stadium on October 4 against the Texas Rangers, moving into Royals Stadium for the start of the season.
NBC was the exclusive national TV broadcaster of MLB. While the network had occasionally aired a limited number of Monday night games in past seasons, 1972 was the first year that NBC signed a contract for a regular slate of Monday Night Baseball. The network continued to air the weekend Game of the Week, the All-Star Game, both League Championship Series, and the World Series.