Major League Baseball team season
The 1972 Texas Rangers season was the 12th of the Texas Rangers franchise overall, their 1st in Arlington as the Rangers, the 1st season at Arlington Stadium and the team's first year in the AL West, after playing their first 11 seasons in Washington, D.C. The Rangers finished sixth in the American League West with a record of 54 wins and 100 losses. The Rangers were dead last in batting in the major leagues with a .217 team batting average. They failed to record an extra-base hit in 38 of their 154 games, the most of any team in the live-ball era (1920 onwards).[ 1]
Offseason
December 2, 1971: Bernie Allen was traded by the Rangers to the New York Yankees for Terry Ley and Gary Jones .[ 2]
December 2, 1971: Del Unser , Gary Jones, Terry Ley, and Denny Riddleberger were traded by the Rangers to the Cleveland Indians for Roy Foster , Ken Suarez , Mike Paul , and Rich Hand .[ 3]
December 2, 1971: Paul Casanova was traded by the Rangers to the Atlanta Braves for Hal King .[ 4]
March 4, 1972: Denny McLain was traded by the Rangers to the Oakland Athletics for Jim Panther and Don Stanhouse .[ 5]
March 7, 1972: Tim Cullen was released by the Rangers.[ 6]
Prior to 1972 season: Lew Beasley was acquired by the Rangers from the Baltimore Orioles .[ 7]
Regular season
On April 15, 1972, the Rangers played their first American League game against the California Angels on the road at Anaheim Stadium . The Angels' Andy Messersmith hurled a complete-game , two-hit shutout , and the Rangers fell, 1–0. Toby Harrah and Hal King had their only hits, both singles , but catcher King made two errors . His second miscue led to the Angels' winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning . Dick Bosman was the hard-luck loser.[ 8]
The first game in Texas
On April 21, 1972, the Rangers' first game in Texas came six days later at Arlington Stadium against the Angels before 20,105 spectators. This time, Bosman emerged triumphant as the Rangers built a 6–1 lead and hung on to win their home opener, 7–6. Frank Howard and Dave Nelson each homered for Texas, while Lenny Randle and Harrah each collected three hits. Harrah scored three runs, and Randle notched four runs batted in .[ 8]
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
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
Roster
1972 Texas Rangers
Roster
Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
Manager
Coaches
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
[ 14]
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Farm system
Notes
^ "Team Batting Game Finder: In the Regular Season, from 1920 to 2021, requiring Extra Base Hits = 0, sorted by most games" . Stathead . Retrieved April 13, 2021 .^ "Bernie Allen Stats" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved February 18, 2021 .^ "Del Unser Stats" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved February 18, 2021 .^ "Paul Casanova Stats" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved February 18, 2021 .^ "Denny McLain Stats" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved February 18, 2021 .^ "Tim Cullen Stats" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved February 18, 2021 .^ "Lew Beasley Stats" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved February 18, 2021 .^ a b c Kissell, Robert; Poserina, Jim (2017), "Statistics in Baseball * *The information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Interested parties may contact Retrosheet at 20 Sunset Rd., Newark, DE 19711." , Optimal Sports Math, Statistics, and Fantasy , Elsevier, pp. 277–295, ISBN 978-0-12-805163-4 , retrieved February 18, 2021 ^ "Brian Doyle Stats" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved February 18, 2021 .^ "Jim Sundberg Stats" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved February 18, 2021 .^ "Vic Harris Stats" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved February 18, 2021 .^ "Frank Howard Stats" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved February 18, 2021 .^ "Rich Hinton Stats" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved February 18, 2021 .^ "1972 Texas Rangers Statistics" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved February 18, 2021 .
References
Franchise Ballparks
Culture and lore Rivalries Key personnel World Series American League American League Wild card berths (2) Media Minor league affiliates
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