1972 Houston Astros
League	National League
Division	West
Ballpark	Astrodome
City	Houston, Texas
Record	84–69 (.549)
Divisional place	2nd—tied
Owners	Roy Hofheinz
General managers	Spec Richardson
Managers	Harry Walker: 67–54 Salty Parker: 1–0 Leo Durocher: 16–15
Television	KTRK-TV
Radio	KPRC (AM) (Gene Elston, Loel Passe)
← 1971 Seasons 1973 →

The 1972 Houston Astros season was the 11th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their eighth as the Astros, 11th in the National League (NL), fourth in the NL West division, and eighth at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season with a 79–83 record, tied for fourth place, and 11 games behind the division-champion San Francisco Giants.

The first players' strike in league history occurred from April 1–13, which resulted in nine games being cancelled for Houston. On April 15, Don Wilson made his second Opening Day start for the Astros, who hosted San Francisco, but were shut out, 5–0.

Three managers led the club for the 1972 season: Harry Walker, Salty Parker for one game on an interim basis, and Leo Durocher, who was installed as Walker's permanent replacement. Each represented the fourth, fifth and sixth managers for Houston, with Walker having been the longest-serving (708 games) in franchise history at the time. The Astros' first-round draft pick in the amateur draft was outfielder Steve Englishbey, at ninth overall. They also selected Jim Crawford in the 14th round.

Center fielder César Cedeño and first baseman Lee May represented the Astros at the MLB All-Star Game. It was the first career selection for Cedeño and third for May. On August 2, Cedeño became the first player in franchise history to hit for the cycle, leading a 10–1 win over the Cincinnati Reds at The Astrodome. This was the first of two cycles that Cedeño hit as a member of the Astros. He also became the second major leaguer to produce a 20–50 season, following Lou Brock in 1967.

The Astros concluded the season with a record of 84–69—their first-ever winning season to also set the franchise record for wins—in second place in the NL West, 10+1⁄2 games behind the division-champion and NL pennant-winning Reds, and just a percentage point ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. It also represented the highest positional finish and fewest games back of first place for the Astros at the time. The next time the Astros finished as high as second place was in 1979, which was also when they set their next club record for wins.

Following the season, Cedeño (first selection) and Doug Rader (third) each earned Gold Glove Awards. This was the first time the Astros had more than one Gold Glove Award winner in the same season.

• November 29, 1971: Joe Morgan, Ed Armbrister, Jack Billingham, César Gerónimo, and Denis Menke were traded by the Astros to the Cincinnati Reds for Lee May, Tommy Helms, and Jimmy Stewart.^[1]
• December 2, 1971: John Mayberry and Dave Grangaard (minors) were traded by the Astros to the Kansas City Royals for Jim York and Lance Clemons.^[2]

Opening Day starting lineup
Uniform	Player	Position
14	Roger Metzger	Shortstop
28	César Cedeño	Center fielder
24	Jimmy Wynn	Right fielder
23	Lee May	First baseman
27	Bob Watson	Left fielder
12	Doug Rader	Third baseman
19	Tommy Helms	Second baseman
7	Johnny Edwards	Catcher
40	Don Wilson	Pitcher
Venue: Astrodome • San Francisco 5, Houston 0 Sources:[3][4]

For Opening Day, the Astros hosted the San Francisco Giants, but were defeated via shutout, 5–0, led by Juan Marichal's eight scoreless frames. The Giants did all their damage from the sixth inning on, as Willie McCovey and Tito Fuentes each took Don Wilson deep for home runs. The Astros got eight hits but were just 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position.^[5] Don Wilson made his second Opening Day start for the Astros.^[6]

On the second day of the season, April 16, the Giants' Dave Kingman hit for the first cycle at the Astrodome,^[7] to lead 10–6 pummeling of the Astros. Kingman led all hitters in the game with six runs batted in (RBI), while Bobby Bonds doubled twice, pilfered two bases and scored four runs. Bob Watson and Tommy Helms each hit three runs blasts for Houston, during the first and fifth frames, respectively.^[8]

On April 23, the Astros dazed the Giants with 10-run ninth to prevail, 13–7. César Cedeño stroked five hits with a double and two stolen bases. Bob Watson and Lee May homered.^[9] Hence, Cedeño logged his first career five-hit game.^[10]

Bob Watson earned the first monthly accolade in club history, by receiving the National League (NL) Player of the Month Award for May.^[11] During this period, Watson slashed .360 / .405 / .620 / 1.025, also accruing six home runs, 20 RBI, and 19 runs scored.^[12]

The Philadelphia Phillies hosted "Turn It Around Night" on June 6 at Veterans Stadium, where the theme was doing everything backward, including announcing the lineup cards from bottom to top and holding the seventh-inning stretch in the third inning. Astros starter Dave Roberts followed suit, providing the offense by homering twice to promote his own effort on the mound as Houston won, 4–3.^[13]

With Steve Carlton on the mound for Philadelphia on June 16, the game remained scoreless through extra innings. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Jimmy Wynn connected for a walk-off home run to give the Astros a 1–0 victory.^[14]

Starting June 18, Astros starting pitchers hurled back-to-back one-hit shutouts. First, Jerry Reuss led a 10–0 masterpiece over the Phillies, with the only hit allowed a ninth-inning double. César Cedeño collected four hits to power Houston, including a home run and two doubles.^[15] The following game, on June 19, Larry Dierker hurled a one-hitter to lead a 3–0 triumph over the New York Mets, whose only baserunner reached via a third-inning single. Tommy Helms supplied much of the Astros' offense with four hits.^[16]

Each of the first five Astros' hits on June 26 were home runs, which brought them to a 7–7 tie with the San Diego Padres. San Diego never answered back, however, and Houston kept scoring for a 14–7 win.^[17]

César Cedeño followed up Bob Watson's NL Player of the Month honors with his own recognition for the month of June.^[11] Cedeño powered up for a .387 average, .452 OBP, .748 SLG, and 1.200 OPS. He scored 27 runs, swatted nine doubles, nine home runs, collected 19 RBI to go along with 43 hits and 83 total bases.^[18]

Center fielder César Cedeño and first baseman Lee May both gained selection to the MLB All-Star Game, hosted at Atlanta Stadium. Lee, voted as a starter, collected a single and an RBI in four trips to the plate.^[19] Cedeño substituted in for Willie Mays in center field, and delivered a single in the bottom of the sixth. Next, Hank Aaron homered to deep left-center field, scoring Cedeño. In the bottom of the ninth, May hit a ground ball fielder's choice, scoring Billy Williams to pull the NL into a tie with the American League (AL), 3–3. During the bottom of the tenth, former Astro Joe Morgan laced the walk-off single to score Nate Colbert and give the NL a 4–3 triumph.^[20]

Morgan had become the first Astro to be selected as a starter in the 1966 Midsummer Classic, and Lee was the second.^[21] However, Morgan missed the game due to injury, allowing Lee became the first Astro to participate in the starting lineup. Curiously, it was a batted line drive by another Lee Maye on June 25, 1966—albeit with a slightly different spelling—Morgan's then-teammate, that struck him on the knee, fracturing it. Thus, Morgan missed the next 40 games;^[22] three days later, it was announced that he was named starter for the All-Star lineup, the first player in Houston franchise history.^[21]

At the Astrodome on August 2, Cedeño hit for the cycle to become the first player in franchise history to accomplish this feat. He doubled in the first inning, connected for a home run off Gary Nolan in the third, and singled in the fifth. In the sixth inning, Cedeño grounded out.^[23]

Cedeño's final at bat and opportunity for the game to make history arrived in the eighth inning. He stroked a line drive to the right-center field gap for the triple. This effort led a 10–1 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Cedeño later hit the next cycle for Houston almost exactly four years later on August 9, 1976.^[24]

Extra-base hits fell frequently for Houston that day, with eight, among 16 total safeties. Jim Wynn doubled twice, Roger Metzger also tripled, and Lee May added a home run. Meanwhile, Don Wilson (7–7) was masterful on the mound as he scattered six hits and three walks while whiffing six in a complete game effort.^[23]

His sixth career contest of four hits or more, and fifth with four RBI—tying his then-career high^[10]—Cedeño's batting average jumped to .353. Meanwhile, the Astros trailed Cincinnati by just six games following the contest.^[25]

On August 25, Jimmy Wynn blasted his 200th career home run in the bottom of the seventh inning at the Astrodome, off Mike Marshall. A two-run shot, it tied the contest, 3–3, with the Montreal Expos,^[26] also scoring César Cedeño. However, Marshall redeemed himself in the top of the ninth while batting by doubling home John Boccabella off the Astros' Jim Ray. The hit put Montreal ahead 4–3, and this time, Marshall (14–3) made the lead stand, converting the blown save into a victory.^[27]

The Astros, playing their best baseball ever, were desperate to catch the Reds. Following the August 25 loss to Montreal, they fired their longest-tenured manager at the time, Harry Walker, who had the club playing 67–54 (.554) for the season (355–353 (.501) career with Houston), and replaced him for one game with coach Salty Parker (1–0). Following that game, Leo Durocher, having departed the Chicago Cubs earlier in the year, took over for the remainder of the campaign, leading Houston to a 16–15 (.516) result to close out the season.^[25]

With a 6–5 defeat of San Diego on September 13, the 77th victory of the season for Houston 77–60 (.562) clinched the first winning season in franchise annals, due to its abbreviation to 153 contests.^[28] Tom Griffin (3–3) hurled seven innings in relief and fanned 10 to earn the victory for a final score of Houston 6, San Diego 5. Lee May collected three hits. Jimmy Wynn scored twice.^[29]

On September 17, César Cedeño and Lee May each drove in five to lead Houston as they stormed back to claim a slugfest over Los Angeles Dodgers, 15–11.^[25] With Los Angeles leading 10–8 in the seventh, the Astros rallied for four runs, before May's bases-clearing double put the score further away. Both clubs piled on 17 hits, led by four each from May, Jim Wynn (Astros), and Bobby Valentine (Dodgers).^[30] It was the first 5-RBI game of Cedeño's career,^[10] and Lee's eighth (and second of the campaign).^[31]

Houston matched the 1969 squad for most wins (81) in franchise annals^[28] on September 23, backed by Don Wilson's four-hit effort and Lee May equaling Wilson from the batter's box, to lead a 7–1 defeat^[32] of first-place Cincinnati.^[25] Wilson (14–9) went the distance, fanned six, and attained a game score of 89. Jim Wynn (23) homered, while May and Tommy Helms each doubled twice.^[32]

By concluding the season 84–69, the Astros posted their best-ever record to date.^[33] Among myriad then-best and first-time team achievements, the Astros ranked high as second place in the division, tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers at 10+1⁄2 games back of Cincinnati, their fewest games from first place thus far.^[34] Further, it was also Houston's first-ever season with a winning record while setting a then-club record of 84 wins, supplanting the 81 wins realized in 1969.^[28]

This Astros squad led the National League in runs scored (708), the first time in club history doing so, while blasting a then-club record 134 home runs to surpass the 1970 squad (129), which ranked third in the National League. The 708 runs tallied also ranked second in club history to the 1970 team (744) at the time. The 1973 edition followed up by tying the record for home runs, prior to the 1993 iteration (138) taking over the all-time franchise home run lead.^[35]

By hitting 22 home runs and collecting 55 stolen bases, Cedeño became the second entrant into the 20 home runs—50 stolen bases club in major league annals, succeeding Lou Brock in 1967.^[36] Cedeño became the first Astro to attain 50 stolen bases in 1972, while doing so for a club-record six seasons—each in succession—through 1977.^[a][37] The prior single-season franchise record of 49 steals was set by Sonny Jackson in 1966 and tied by Joe Morgan in 1969.^[b][38]

Cedeño also led the major leagues in doubles (39)^[c] a second consecutive year, the first Astro to lead in more than one season.^[39]

Following the season, third baseman Doug Rader was recognized with his third career Gold Glove Award, while Cedeño was likewise recognized for his defense in the outfield. Rader became the first Astro to win a third Gold Glove. Cedeño became the first Astro to win the award for the outfield. Also, this was the first time in which multiple Astros players won this award.^[40]

NL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Cincinnati Reds	95	59	.617	—	42‍–‍34	53‍–‍25
Houston Astros	84	69	.549	10½	41‍–‍36	43‍–‍33
Los Angeles Dodgers	85	70	.548	10½	41‍–‍34	44‍–‍36
Atlanta Braves	70	84	.455	25	36‍–‍41	34‍–‍43
San Francisco Giants	69	86	.445	26½	34‍–‍43	35‍–‍43
San Diego Padres	58	95	.379	36½	26‍–‍54	32‍–‍41

1972 National League record Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	5–7–1	9–9	7–7	7–8	4–8	7–5	6–6	6–6	6–11	7–11	6–6
Chicago	7–5–1	—	8–4	3–9	8–4	10–5	10–8	10–7	3–12	9–3	7–5	10–8
Cincinnati	9–9	4–8	—	11–6	9–5	8–4	8–4	10–2	8–4	8–10	10–5	10–2
Houston	7–7	9–3	6–11	—	7–11	8–4	6–6	9–3	3–9	12–2	13–5	4–8
Los Angeles	8–7	4–8	5–9	11–7	—	6–6	7–5	7–5	7–5	13–5	9–9	8–4
Montreal	8–4	5–10	4–8	4–8	6–6	—	6–12	10–6	6–12	6–6	6–6	9–8
New York	5–7	8–10	4–8	6–6	5–7	12–6	—	13–5	8–6	7–5	8–4	7–9
Philadelphia	6-6	7–10	2–10	3–9	5–7	6–10	5–13	—	5–13	6–6	6–6	8–7
Pittsburgh	6–6	12–3	4–8	9–3	5–7	12–6	6–8	13–5	—	10–2	9–3	10–8
San Diego	11–6	3–9	10–8	2–12	5–13	6–6	5–7	6–6	2–10	—	4–10	4–8
San Francisco	11–7	5–7	5–10	5–13	9–9	6–6	4–8	6–6	3–9	10–4	—	5–7
St. Louis	6–6	8–10	2–10	8–4	4–8	8–9	9–7	7–8	8–10	8–4	7–5	—

• June 6, 1972: Jim Crawford was selected by the Astros in the 14th round of the 1972 Major League Baseball draft.^[41]

1972 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers 36 Wade Blasingame 37 Mike Cosgrove 39 George Culver 49 Larry Dierker 43 Ken Forsch 37 Joe Gibbon 48 Fred Gladding 38 Tom Griffin 45 Jim Ray 47 Jerry Reuss 50 J. R. Richard 15 Dave Roberts 40 Don Wilson 42 Jim York		Catchers  7 Johnny Edwards  8 Jack Hiatt 10 Larry Howard  6 Cliff Johnson  9 Bob Stinson Infielders 18 Bobby Fenwick 19 Tommy Helms 23 Lee May 14 Roger Metzger 12 Doug Rader  8 Gary Sutherland		Outfielders 22 Jesús Alou 28 César Cedeño 29 Rich Chiles 21 Norm Miller 11 Jimmy Stewart 27 Bob Watson 24 Jimmy Wynn		Manager  2 Leo Durocher  2 Salty Parker 25 Harry Walker Coaches  4 Buddy Hancken  3 Hub Kittle  5 Jim Owens  2 Salty Parker

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	Johnny Edwards	108	332	89	.268	5	40
1B	Lee May	148	592	168	.284	29	98
2B	Tommy Helms	139	518	134	.259	5	60
SS	Roger Metzger	153	641	142	.222	2	38
3B	Doug Rader	152	553	131	.237	22	90
LF	Bob Watson	147	548	171	.312	16	86
CF	César Cedeño	139	559	179	.320	22	82
RF	Jimmy Wynn	145	542	148	.273	24	90

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
Larry Howard	54	157	35	.223	2	13
Norm Miller	67	107	26	.243	4	13
Jimmy Stewart	68	96	21	.219	0	9
Jesús Alou	52	93	29	.312	0	11
Bobby Fenwick	36	50	9	.180	0	4
Bob Stinson	27	35	6	.171	0	2
Jack Hiatt	10	25	5	.200	0	0
Rich Chiles	9	11	3	.273	0	2
Gary Sutherland	5	8	1	.125	0	1
Cliff Johnson	5	4	1	.250	0	0

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Don Wilson	33	228.1	15	10	2.68	172
Larry Dierker	31	214.2	15	8	3.40	115
Dave Roberts	35	192.0	12	7	4.50	111
Jerry Reuss	33	192.0	9	13	4.17	174
Ken Forsch	30	156.1	6	8	3.91	113

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Tom Griffin	39	94.1	5	4	3.21	83
Mike Cosgrove	7	13.2	0	1	4.61	7
J.R. Richard	4	6.0	1	0	13.50	8

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Fred Gladding	42	5	6	14	2.77	18
Jim Ray	54	10	9	8	4.28	50
George Culver	45	6	2	2	3.05	82
Jim York	26	0	1	0	5.25	25
Wade Blasingame	10	0	0	0	8.64	9
Joe Gibbon	9	0	0	0	9.82	4

Awards

• Associated Press (AP) NL All-Star—Outfield: César Cedeño^[42]
• Gold Glove Awards:
  • Shortstop^[43]—Roger Metzger
  • Third base^[44]—Doug Rader
  • Outfielder^[45]—César Cedeño
• Houston Astros Most Valuable Player (MVP):^[46] César Cedeño
• MLB All-Star Game:^[19]
  • César Cedeño—Reserve outfielder
  • Lee May—Starting first baseman
• National League (NL) Player of the Month:^[11]
  • May—Bob Watson
  • June—César Cedeño
• The Sporting News NL All-Star—Outfield: César Cedeño^[42]

NL batting leaders

• Doubles: César Cedeño (39—led MLB)^[c]

Offensive achievements

20 home runs—50 stolen bases club

Player	AVG	HR	SB
César Cedeño	.320	22	55

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Oklahoma City 89ers	American Association	Tony Pacheco
AA	Columbus Astros	Southern League	Jackie Brandt
A	Cocoa Astros	Florida State League	Jimmy Williams
Rookie	Covington Astros	Appalachian League	Billy Smith
Rookie	Cocoa Astros	Florida East Coast League	Leo Posada

• 20–50 club
• List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders
• List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle

• 1972 Houston Astros season at Baseball Reference