The Texas Rangers 1972 season involved the Rangers finishing sixth in the

American League West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams curr ...

with a record of 54 wins and 100 losses. This was the Rangers' first season in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, as well as the club's first year in the AL West, after playing their first 11 seasons in Washington, D.C., and from 1969 to 1971 in the

American League East The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...

. 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 baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire ano ...

in 38 of their 154 games, the most of any team in the

live-ball era The live-ball era, also referred to as the lively ball era, is the period in Major League Baseball beginning in (and continuing to the present day), contrasting with the pre-1920 period known as the "dead-ball era". The name "live-ball era" comes ...

(1920 onwards).

Offseason

* December 2, 1971:

Bernie Allen : ''This is about the baseball player. For the musical project of Travis McCoy called Bernie Allen, see Bernie Allen (band).'' Bernard Keith Allen (born April 16, 1939) is a former Major League Baseball player for the Minnesota Twins, Washin ...

was traded by the Rangers to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

for

Terry Ley Terrence Richard Ley (born 21 February 1947, Portland, Oregon) is a retired baseball pitcher who began his career in the season for the New York Yankees. He was a student of University of Oregon before he was drafted in the 3rd round of the Janu ...

and Gary Jones. * December 2, 1971:

Del Unser Delbert Bernard Unser (born December 9, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder and utility player from to , most prominently with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he was ...

, Gary Jones, Terry Ley, and

Denny Riddleberger Dennis Michael Riddleberger (born November 22, 1945) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. Listed at , , Riddleberger threw left-handed and batted right-handed. Dennis attended Churchland High School and then Old Dominion Universi ...

were traded by the Rangers to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

for Roy Foster,

Ken Suarez Kenneth Raymond Suarez (Born April 12, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1966 to 1973. The , . right-handed hitter is best remembered for a suit he filed against ...

Mike Paul Michael George Paul (born April 18, 1945 in Detroit, Michigan) is a former left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1968 to 1974 for the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs. Career Drafted in the 20th round of the ...

, and

Rich Hand Richard Allen Hand (born July 10, 1948) is an American retired professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, he played for four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and California Angels. Bo ...

. * December 2, 1971:

Paul Casanova Paulino Ortiz Casanova (December 21, 1941 – August 12, 2017) was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1965 to 1974 for the Washington Senators and Atlanta Braves. Minor league career Paul C ...

was traded by the Rangers to the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

for

Hal King Harold King (February 1, 1944 - March 23, 2019) was an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball and the Mexican League as a catcher from to for the Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Cinci ...

. * March 4, 1972:

Denny McLain Dennis Dale McLain (born March 29, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played for ten seasons in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher, most prominently as a member of the Detroit Tigers. In 1968, McLain beca ...

was traded by the Rangers to the Oakland Athletics for

Jim Panther James Edward Panther (born March 1, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher from to , for the Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers and the Atlanta Braves. Panther ...

and

Don Stanhouse Donald Joseph Stanhouse (born February 12, 1951) is a retired American professional baseball pitcher who had an eight-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1972–1980) with a brief comeback in 1982. He played for the Texas Rangers and Baltim ...

. * March 7, 1972: Tim Cullen was released by the Rangers. * Prior to 1972 season: Lew Beasley was acquired by the Rangers from the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

Regular season

On April 15, 1972, the Rangers played their first American League game against the California Angels on the road at

Anaheim Stadium Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a baseball stadium located in Anaheim, California. Since its opening in 1966, it has served as the home ballpark of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), and was also the home stadium to the Los Angel ...

. The Angels'

Andy Messersmith John Alexander "Andy" Messersmith (born August 6, 1945) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. During a 12-year baseball career, he pitched for the California Angels (1968–72), Los Angeles Dodgers (1973–75 and 1979), Atlanta B ...

hurled a complete-game, two-hit

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

, and the Rangers fell, 1–0.

Toby Harrah Colbert Dale (Toby) Harrah (born October 26, 1948) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a shortstop and third baseman in Major League Baseball from to . Harrah played the majority of his career for the Texas Rangers f ...

and

had their only hits, both

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, but

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

King made two errors. His second miscue led to the Angels' winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Dick Bosman Richard Allen Bosman (born February 17, 1944) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators / Texas Rangers (1966–73), Cleveland Indians (1973–75), and Oakland Athl ...

was the hard-luck loser.

The first game in Texas

On April 21, 1972, the Rangers' first game in Texas came six days later at

Arlington Stadium Arlington Stadium was a baseball stadium located in Arlington, Texas, United States, located between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. It served as the home for the Texas Rangers (MLB) from 1972 until 1993, after which the team moved into The Ba ...

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 David Earl Nelson (June 20, 1944 – April 22, 2018) was an American professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators / Texas Rangers, and Kansas City Royals from 1968 through 19 ...

each homered for Texas, while Lenny Randle and Harrah each collected three hits. Harrah scored three runs, and Randle notched four

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

Opening Day starters, April 15, 1972

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* June 6, 1972:

1972 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1972 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Other notable selections ''*'' Did not sign Background The Montreal Expos had perhaps their best draft in franc ...

** Brian Doyle was drafted by the Rangers in the 4th round. **

Jim Sundberg James Howard Sundberg (born May 18, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player, television sports analyst and executive. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1974 to 1989. A three-time All-Star player, Sundberg esta ...

was drafted by the Rangers in the 8th round, but did not sign. * July 20, 1972:

Don Mincher Donald Ray Mincher (June 24, 1938 – March 4, 2012) was an American Major League Baseball first baseman and longtime minor league executive. He played in the majors from 1960–1972 for the "original" Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins, Cal ...

and

Ted Kubiak Theodore Rodger Kubiak (born May 12, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played as an infielder in Major League Baseball from through , most notably as a member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thr ...

were traded by the Rangers to the Oakland Athletics for

Marty Martínez Orlando Martínez Oliva (August 23, 1941 – March 8, 2007) was a utility player, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball. Listed at 6' 0" , 170 lb. , Martínez was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. Born in Havana, Cuba, Martín ...

, Vic Harris and a player to be named later. * August 31, 1972: Frank Howard was purchased from the Rangers by the Detroit Tigers. * September 7, 1972:

Rich Hinton Richard Michael Hinton is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched parts of six seasons between 1971 and 1979, including three separate stints with the Chicago White Sox. Draft history Hinton was originally drafted in the 23rd round in ...

was purchased by the Rangers from the

Roster

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''

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

References

*
1972 Texas Rangers team page at Baseball Reference1972 Texas Rangers team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
{{Texas Rangers Texas Rangers seasons Texas Rangers season Inaugural Major League Baseball seasons by team

Washing Washing is a method of cleaning, usually with water and soap or detergent. Washing and then rinsing both body and clothing is an essential part of good hygiene and health. Often people use soaps and detergents to assist in the emulsification o ...