1972 New York Mets season

On April 2, 1972, manager Gil Hodges and coaches Rube Walker, Joe Pignatano and Eddie Yost, were returning to their motel in West Palm Beach, Florida after a round of golf when Hodges suddenly collapsed, falling backward and cracking his head open. Hodges was dead of a heart attack, two days short of his forty-eighth birthday.[1] The Mets wore a black armband on the left sleeves of their uniform jerseys during the 1972 season in honor of Hodges.

On April 6, Yogi Berra was introduced as the Mets' new manager. The announcement of Berra's appointment was accompanied by another: the Mets had traded outfielder Ken Singleton, infielder Tim Foli, and first baseman–outfielder Mike Jorgensen to the Montreal Expos for hard-hitting star outfielder Rusty Staub, who had hit .311 with 97 RBI the previous season. Also joining the club this year was John Milner, a left-handed, power-hitting, first baseman–outfielder.

• December 10, 1971: Nolan Ryan, Frank Estrada, Don Rose, and Leroy Stanton were traded by the Mets to the California Angels for Jim Fregosi.[2]

On May 11, the Mets acquired Willie Mays from the San Francisco Giants for minor league pitcher Charlie Williams and cash.[3][4] The acquisition of Mays had been a longtime dream of Joan Payson, who had been a New York Giants fan in her youth. With Mays no longer pulling the weight of his large contract, Giants owner Horace Stoneham made him available, and Payson could not resist.

The club got off to a sizzling start in 1972, playing better than .700 ball through early June, peaking at 25–7 (.781) on May 21, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates by six games. But soon after, a series of disabling injuries to Staub, Bud Harrelson, Jerry Grote, and Cleon Jones brought the team up short and dropped them into their third consecutive third-place finish, 13.5 games behind Pittsburgh.

Despite a promising start, the season ending on a highly disappointing note. Jim Fregosi, who suffered a broken thumb in spring training, never got on track and continued the third-base jinx with a .232 batting average. Ken Boswell hit just .211 and the club was ready to give up on him. John Milner flashed some power with 17 homers but batted only .238. Tommie Agee, unhappy at being displaced in center by Mays now and then, batted .227, and the club already had his ticket punched. Staub, limited to just 66 games because of a broken hand, hit .293 and was sorely missed. Mays batted a respectable .267, but his fielding deficiencies were now glaring.

Among pitchers, Tom Seaver went 21–12, Jim McAndrew 11–8, Jerry Koosman 11–12, and Rookie of the Year Jon Matlack was 15–10. Gary Gentry slumped to 7–10. Tug McGraw continued as the bullpen ace, with 8 wins and 27 saves.

On September 30, Matlack gave up a double to Pirates legend Roberto Clemente. It was Clemente's 3,000th and final big-league hit prior to his death in a plane crash on New Year's Eve.

• Tommie Agee
• Ken Boswell
• Jim Fregosi
• Jerry Grote
• Bud Harrelson
• Cleon Jones
• Ed Kranepool
• Tom Seaver
• Rusty Staub

• April 5: Ken Singleton, Mike Jorgensen, and Tim Foli were traded to the Montreal Expos for Rusty Staub.[5]
• May 11: Charlie Williams and $50,000 were traded to the San Francisco Giants for Willie Mays.[3][4][6]

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

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

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

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

1972 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

• Willie Mays, starting center fielder
• Tug McGraw, reserve
• Tom Seaver, reserve