Detroit Tigers 1972

[Bobbert]

Does anyone have any memories of the 1972 Tigers, who fifty years ago won the AL East in a tight race with Boston? I wasn't living here then, but I do have these rough impressions:

• It was the last hurrah for the core group of players who won the 1968 World Series.

• It was the peak moment in Billy Martin's Tiger managing career. Less than a year later, he was fired by the Tigers.

• The pennant race with Boston was one of those great September races for first place that is almost impossible anymore, thanks to the wild card.

• The Tigers came very close to winning the League Championship Series against the eventual World Champion Oakland A's. The dramatic highlight of that series was Oakland's Bert Campaneris throwing a bat at Detroit's Lerrin LaGrow.

[Honeyman]

God, I sure do! My dad took me to game 5 of the ALCS vs. the A's at Tiger Stadium. We were sitting in the upper center field bleachers where people were throwing all sortsa shit at Grorge Hendrick. Vida Blue came in close the game out in relief.

[moldyoldie]

I remember '68 much more vividly than '72, but I do remember what a bunch of old farts that '72 team was, and slower than molasses. Were any of the regulars under 30 except Rodriguez? Lolich and Joe Coleman were the backbone of the pitching. I believe Billy Martin got in a fight with Duke Sims at a bar.

[Honeyman]

I remember '68 much more vividly than '72, but I do remember what a bunch of old farts that '72 team was, and slower than molasses. Were any of the regulars under 30 except Rodriguez? Lolich and Joe Coleman were the backbone of the pitching. I believe Billy Martin got in a fight with Duke Sims at a bar.

Woody Fryman was an ace on that team too. Old bunch of Tigers.

[Bobbert]

I remember '68 much more vividly than '72, but I do remember what a bunch of old farts that '72 team was, and slower than molasses. Were any of the regulars under 30 except Rodriguez? Lolich and Joe Coleman were the backbone of the pitching. I believe Billy Martin got in a fight with Duke Sims at a bar.

Woody Fryman was an ace on that team too. Old bunch of Tigers.

That started an interesting pattern of mid-season acquisitions of pitchers who helped the Tigers in the second half of the season:

1972: Woodie Fryman (10-3 after 8/2 waiver pickup from the Phillies)
1987: Doyle Alexander (9-0 after 8/12 trade from Atlanta)
2011: Doug Fister (8-1 after a 7/30 trade from Seattle)

[Bobbert]

...and slower than molasses. Were any of the regulars under 30 except Rodriguez?

17 stolen bases.

Rodriguez was 24. Surprisingly, both Horton and Stanley were 29.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/DET/1972.shtml

[moldyoldie]

17 stolen bases.

Dead last in the league. Of course, they were also hardly jackrabbits in '68.

[MichMash]

Here's what I remember about the '72 ALCS, which I always thought was not a highlight in Billy Martin's managerial career:

• I couldn't understand Martin's love for Duke Sims, who was an August waiver-wire pickup for the Tigers that year. Sims started in all three losses (at catcher ahead of Bill Freehan in Games 1-2 in Oakland, and in LF in game 5), and also started game 4 in LF but was lifted in the 8th inning (the Tigers came back to win that game in extra innings). Sims was the definition of a journeyman player but I couldn't see why Martin started him at catcher over perennial All-Star Freehan (unless Freehan was hurt; don't recall ever hearing if that was the case), and then Martin started Sims in left field ahead of Willie Horton in games 4-5.

• I couldn't understand why Joe Coleman only had one start in the series. Coleman dominated the A's 3-0 in game 3, but it was his only appearance (and his only career postseason game); Lolich (0-1 and a no-decision) and Woodie Fryman (0-2) started the other four games.

My parents were at the game against the Red Sox when the Tigers clinched the AL East title. Took them a long time to get home from downtown that night. My dad talked about watching the idiots sitting in the upper deck behind home plate who decided to shinny down the foul screen to join the on-field celebration when the game ended.

[Bobbert]

Here's what I remember about the '72 ALCS, which I always thought was not a highlight in Billy Martin's managerial career:

• I couldn't understand Martin's love for Duke Sims, who was an August waiver-wire pickup for the Tigers that year. Sims started in all three losses (at catcher ahead of Bill Freehan in Games 1-2 in Oakland, and in LF in game 5), and also started game 4 in LF but was lifted in the 8th inning (the Tigers came back to win that game in extra innings). Sims was the definition of a journeyman player but I couldn't see why Martin started him at catcher over perennial All-Star Freehan (unless Freehan was hurt; don't recall ever hearing if that was the case), and then Martin started Sims in left field ahead of Willie Horton in games 4-5.

• I couldn't understand why Joe Coleman only had one start in the series. Coleman dominated the A's 3-0 in game 3, but it was his only appearance (and his only career postseason game); Lolich (0-1 and a no-decision) and Woodie Fryman (0-2) started the other four games.

My parents were at the game against the Red Sox when the Tigers clinched the AL East title. Took them a long time to get home from downtown that night. My dad talked about watching the idiots sitting in the upper deck behind home plate who decided to shinny down the foul screen to join the on-field celebration when the game ended.

With Joe Coleman, he pitched the middle game of the five-game series, on 10/10, followed by starts by Lolich on 10/11 and Fryman on 10/12. It's fair to wonder why they didn't start Coleman after Lolich, but apparently Fryman was inserted into the pitching rotation between those two after he was acquired in August (https://www.baseball-reference.com/team ... ores.shtml)

This might help explain why Martin used Duke Sims so much. These are from the archives of the Detroit Free Press on Newspapers.com.

Detroit Free Press
Detroit, Michigan
08 Oct 1972, Sun

When Bill Freehan fractured his finger in Boston on Sept. 27, it was Billy Martin who felt the most pain. He thought it might cost his team the chance to win it all. But all that Martin had to fear was fear itself. The Duker the happy, carefree Duke Sims was ready to step in and play the best ball of his life.

Detroit Free Press
Detroit, Michigan
13 Oct 1972, Fri

(Game story after Game 5 loss that ended series)

They lost because Duke Sims playing left-field for the second day in a row, but only the second time this season took a little too long getting rid of the ball on Tenace's single. You'll have to excuse the Tigers if they scarcely seemed convinced. Martin refused to second-guess any of his players. He defended Sims in left field, saying "nobody on our team has got a stronger arm than Duke Sims nobody who can play left-field." But Billy wouldn't say whether he thought Sims had wound up before releasing the throw that failed to beat Hendrick to home plate in the fourth.

[matt1]

Game 2 throwing incident: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2pRNQu ... heaterCamp

[matt1]

Game 5 with post game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4epiViR ... l=1313otto

[matt1]

Game 5 complete radio coverage with the late announcer Ernie Halwell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdkWrUm ... =TomSheets

[matt1]

I meant the late Ernie Harwell.

[Bobbert]

Game 5 with post game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4epiViR ... l=1313otto

Thanks for the links. I'm going to watch as much of the 1972 postseason as I can in the next few weeks. Four solid teams, filled with many players who earned World Series rings. Much more satisfying than the current postseason setup, with teams that finished way out of first place competing to reach a World Series that will end between Halloween and Thanksgiving.

[Bobbert]

17 stolen bases.

Dead last in the league. Of course, they were also hardly jackrabbits in '68.

New Yorker baseball writer Roger Angell (who died a few months ago at the age of 101), wrote this about the 1972 Tigers:

"The Detroit elders, who had come so far on so little, died at last because of their lack of speed. (They had stolen only seventeen bases all year.) They were reduced in the end to playing the game one base at a time, which is the least rewarding way to travel the 360 feet around to home. Their demise (with the Oakland players leaping and hugging all by themselves) was the hardest to watch of this hard baseball year." [which had started with a strike]