The battery played a role for Oakland's 1972 win.
Charles O Finley's Oakland Athletics seemed to have a breakout year in 1971, as their ace Vida Blue won 24 games. The team itself seemed primed to overtake Baltimore as the American League representive in the Fall Classic. The 101 win season came to an end in a sweep at the hands of the Orioles in the American League Championship Series.
But 1972 changed the landscape.
Blue was just 6-10 that season, but his earned run average was 2.80. It was Catfish Hunter who led the team with 21 wins. The big stat that the Cincinnati Reds, the team that would face Oakland in the World Series that year, had to be aware of was this: Any pitcher who started at least 14 game for the Athletics that year had an ERA under 3! Another starter, Joe Horlen, albeit with just six games pitching from inning one on, posted an ERA of exactly 3.00.
The team's bullpen was great, too. Darold Knowles had an earned run average of just 1.37, and went 5-1. Bob Locker was even better, 6-1. Knowles saved 11 games, Locker 10. But the team's big guy in the bullpen was closer Rollie Fingers. Fingers finished 1972 with 11 wins and 21 saves. Gary Waslewski would be left off the postseason roster, but had an earned run average of just 2.04 in eight appearances.
There was also a notable player on the disabled list for Oakland come October, Reggie Jackson. He was not "Mr. October" yet, but it was clearly a big loss. Reggie was second on the team in home runs with 25. He'd suffered a hamstring injury during a double-steal in the fifth contest of the ALCS.
So after edging Detroit in the ALCS, it was Cincinnati vs. Oakland in the Fall Classic (The two teams would meet again eighteen years later).
So what about the catcher for the A's. Dave Duncan hit just .218 in the regular season, but had also hit 19 home runs. There was also Gene Tenace, who'd hit 5 home runs in 82 regular season contests. But he wasn't hitting for an average. In the ALCS, Tenace appeared in all five games, hitting .059. He'd hit just .225 in the regular season.
I, for one, am shocked that manager Dick Williams would choose to stick with Tenace in the World Series. Cincinnati didn't even bother to scout him prior to the October Classic. And they'd pay dearly for it.
The first two games were played at Riverfront Stadium. Gene would catch Ken Holtzman for the opening tilt. Holtzman had won 19 games in 1972, but had lost his only ALCS appearance.
Holtzman's afternoon was short, but he pitched well. He got the side 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first. His pal Gene Tenace came up in the next inning with George Hendrick on first and two away. Gary Nolan, the Reds' pitcher, threw him a 2-1 pitch that at the letters. Tenace deposited the offering over the wall in left. The A's had a quick 2-0 lead for Ken Holtzman to work with. He'd need those two runs.
The Reds, you see, woke up in the bottom of the frame, and had a man on third when Gary Nolan fanned to end that. The A's would watch as the Reds tied the game two innings later, but just when Gary Nolan appeared to be settling down, Tenace had another surprise for him.
Blasting another one to left, the Oakland catcher made it two times downtown in two plate appearances, becoming the first player to do that in the World Series (Andruw Jones of Atlanta would join him in 1996). This, however, was the last time the Athletics would cross the plate in this game.
Ken Holtzman raced through the fifth frame, getting the side 1-2-3, including a strikeout of Hall-of-Famer Joe Morgan (In which Tenace couldn't handle, and would have to go to first for the K 1-2). In the top of the sixth, Johnny Bench, Cincinnati's counterpart to Tenace behind the dish, greeted Holtzman with a leadoff double. The pitcher would next be seen testing the showers at Riverfront Stadium.
So closer Rollie Fingers came in, and he and Tenace worked some magic. Fingers got out of the sixth, standing Bench at second, fanning two. Dave Concepcion led off the next inning for Cincinnati, and singled. He was then caught stealing. The inning was an eventful one for Oakland. Fingers put a man on via a walk. Vida Blue came in to relieve Fingers. Blue threw a wild pitch. He walked a man. Finally, with Pete Rose on second and Joe Morgan on first, Blue got Bobby Tolan to pop out.
Vida got Cincinnati out 1-2-3 in the eighth. But the ninth inning was a struggle as the Reds had the tying run at third when the last out was recorded.
So Oakland had needed all they could from three pitchers this afternoon. Ken Holtzman was solid in five innings, getting the win. Rollie Fingers got the hold for a fine 1 2/3 inning. Vida Blue ended up with a save before he could win his first World Series game. An odd accomplishment for a starting pitcher. Gene Tenace hit two home runs, and seen all three pitchers from behind the plate.
Game two was more the Catfish Hunter show than anything else. The Oakland pitcher was superb, limiting Cincinnati to just six hits and one run. One out away from a shutout in the ninth, Hal McRae's single spoiled that. It was also the last batter Hunter would face. Fingers hopped in from the A's bullpen, getting pinch-hitter and former Cardinal Julian Javier to pop out to first. Gene Tenace didn't seem so tough in this game, however, as three Reds' pitcher held him to 0-4.
Oakland was coming home up 2-0. But any thoughts of a sweep would quickly vanish. Worse still, the A's offence was trending in the wrong direction. The Reds blanked 'em, 1-0. So they'd scored 3, 2 and 0 runs through three games.
Saving Oakland from this trouble had been their pitching. Blue Moon Odom, Vida Blue and Rollie Fingers held Cincinnati to just four hits. However, they were overshadowed by the opposition's pitching. Jack Billingham and Clay Carroll had stopped the Athletics on just three hits.
So the A's needed a bounce-back in the pivotal fourth contest. It was back to Ken Holtzman. Ken had won the first game of the series, but probably wanted to go more than five innings. His start not only was better, but it seemed to rub off not only on Gene Tenace, but some of his other teammates, too.
The Reds got runners to second and third in the top of the first, but Holtzman made sure none of them scored. The game remained scoreless as Cincinnati starter Don Gullett matched Holtzman in a scoreless game. That is, until Gene Tenace came back up in the bottom of the fifth.
Gullett had gotten Tenace to ground out in the third. Two innings later, the pitcher wasn't so lucky. Though Gene came up 0-9 since his second long ball in game one, it was time for more four-bagger heroics.
The hit itself was just a solo shot, so Oakland had a slim 1-0 lead. But Ken Holtzman protected it until the top of the eighth. That's when Dave Concepcion got things started for Cincinnati with a leadoff single. Julian Javier, again pinch hitting, bunted Concepcion into scoring position. Pete Rose was retired on a grounder, but the tying run was now ninety feet away from home.
Dick Williams took Ken Holtzman out of the game. It had been a magnificent start for Ken: 7 2/3 innings, five hits allowed! Would it be enough?
Joe Morgan was the next batter. The new pitcher was Vida Blue again. In this lefty-lefty situation, it was the batter that would coax a bases on balls from the pitcher. Bobby Tolan followed with a clutch double, and suddenly, Oakland trailed 2-1.
Come the ninth inning, the score was still the same. Rollie Fingers came in to pitch after Tony Perez opened the inning with a single. Fingers picked off Perez and managed to get the next two batters out. That set the stage for an amazing bottom of the ninth.
Pedro Borbon, working his second inning of relief, got off on the right foot by retiring Mike Hegan. That is always big, as getting the first batter out usually means the other team isn't going to have a big inning. Oakland, however, didn't need a big inning. They needed just one run. They ended up doing better than that.
Gonzalo Marquez stroked a pinch-hit single to get the tying run aboard. Allan Lewis ran for him. Gene Tenace was back up, having fanned against Don Gullett last time up. But here, the Oakland catcher singled.
No pinch runner was used for Tenace, but Don Mincher batted for second basemen Dick Green. Mincher had played in the World Series with the Minnesota Twins seven years earlier, so he had experience in the Fall Classic. The move by Dick Williams to call on Mincher to pinch hit paid dividends.
Mincher would stroke one to centre. Lewis scored. Tenace made it to third. Now, the winning run was ninety feet away.
It would be a third pinch-hitter in the bottom of the ninth. The A's also wanted to avoid an inning-ending double play. So pitcher Blue Moon Odom, who'd stolen four bases that season, came in to run for Mincher.
Oh, and the pinch hitter was Ángel Mangual. Mangual would grab all the next-day's headlines. He sent a grounder to right that made it to the outfield, and Gene Tenace crossed home.
This seemed to be the end of the 1972 World Series. Oakland now led 3-1, with game five at home. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that this Fall Classic wasn't heading back to Cincinnati. The Athletics battery had been too strong. So strong that Vida Blue was just coming out of the bullpen. Would he ever get a start?
But the Reds, who'd lost the 1970 World Series to the Baltimore Orioles, would end up being one of the very best teams of the decade. They had character players. And they had guys like Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, Pete Rose, Johnny Bench.
Rose was the first batter of game five, and hit a home run. Gene Tenace overcame that with a three-run shot in the bottom of the second. It was 3-1 Oakland, in the series and this contest. Tenace was up to four home runs in just five games. This tied a single World Series record at the time. Ironically enough, the very man who missed this entire extravaganza, Reggie Jackson, would break it five years later.
Catfish Hunter appeared to have things under control until the top of the fourth. Another blast, this time by Denis Menke, cut the margin to just a run, 3-2. Oakland was quick to respond.
Sal Bando opened the bottom of the fourth with a walk. George Hendrick bunted him into scoring position. The Reds, who had not scouted Gene Tenace, were now fully aware of the problem with pitching to him. So they put him on. The move backfired, however, as Oakland manager made a smart move of his own. Having had great success with pinch hitters in their last at bats of the previous contest, A's manager Dick Williams sent up another here early.
Gonzalo Marquez singled. Bando scored, and Tenace hustled to third. A big inning was brewing!
At least it was until Pedro Borbon got them out of it. Allan Lewis was inserted as a pinch runner for Marquez, as this inning was really resembling the bottom of the ninth inning of the previous contest. Catfish Hunter was now up. To try for a fifth run of the contest, Oakland tried a suicide squeeze. However, Borbon threw a strike past Hunter, and Tenace was a dead duck. It was a huge play.
Lewis had advanced to second on the play, so Catfish Hunter had a chance to cash in a fifth run in any event. But all Hunter could do is fly out. He wouldn't be around much longer.
Cincinnati got rid of Catfish in the top of the fifth. They scored a run with two away, before Rollie Fingers put out the fire. It was still 4-3 for the home team.
But Oakland's offence stalled. Reds' reliever Tom Hall easy got through the fifth and sixth inning, keeping Cincinnati within a run. Bobby Tolan's single in the top of the eighth cashed in the fourth Reds' run, tying the contest.
Fingers stayed in the game, but the Reds now had his number. Cesar Geronimo singled to start the ninth. Ross Grimsley got him to second with a sacrifice bunt. Dave Concepcion reached on an error. Pete Rose singled home the go-ahead run.
There was one last chance for the Athletics to tie it. And ironically, more batteries were included.
Gene Tenace go on via a bases on balls. Ted Kubiak failed to get him to second on a bunt attempt. However, this led to a series of moves that got a forgotten man on Oakland into this game.
Jack Billingham, a tall left-handed pitcher (And like Vida Blue, normally a starter), entered the game for Cincinnati, trying to preserve the contest and sent it back to Riverfront Stadium. Oakland then brought in a pinch runner, Blue Moon Odom, to run for Tenace.
So there would also be a pinch hitter, as pitcher Dave Hamilton was the scheduled batter. Dave Duncan had been a regular on Oakland during the regular season, but given what Tenace had done so far, there was no way he'd be catching. Still, here in a very big situation, he singled. Odom motored towards third.
This put the Athletics into a situation where any extra base hit would win the 1972 World Series for Oakland. The batter would be Bert Campaneris, who had once played all nine positions in one game back in 1965. The inning was becoming a chess match between the two managers. Don Gullett, who'd pitched well the previous game, was now warming up in the Reds' bullpen. Presumably, he would come in to face Matty Alou (They were both lefties). However, the game never got to that point.
Campaneris popped up to right. It was second basemen Joe Morgan who scrambled into foul territory to make the catch for the second out. Morgan lost his footing. So Odom at third sought to take advantage of it by racing home. Cincinnati's second basemen bounced right back up. Morgan's throw beat the runner to the plate. The double play meant the Reds had won the game, and would head home.
Obviously, it was still a "must win" situation for Cincinnati. Yet, this was the one rout in this Fall Classic.
Vida Blue did finally start, and for a while he seemed to have it. The Reds got to him in the bottom of the fourth via Johnny Bench. The Cincinnati catcher hit a knee-high fastball outta here. But Oakland quickly recovered from that setback.
In the top of the fifth, Sal Bando again got his team off on the right foot in an inning. Oakland would pound the ball, but Gary Nolan would get the next two batters out. First, Ángel Mangual appeared to have enough to get Bando home as he hit one to left. It seemed like extra bases until Pete Rose jumped at the wall and hauled it in. Gene Tenace was next. A moment of humour then happened as the batter sent a foul ball into the broadcast booth. "We got a World Series souvenir right herein the booth!" said Oakland's radio announcer Monte Moore. Moore would then see a surprising star below him try and deliver again. Bob Locker was loosening up for the visitors. With the count 1-2, Gary Nolan threw Gene Tenace a curveball that nearly resulted in a wild pitch. Johnny Bench blocked it, holding Sal Bando at first. Gene Tenace would get a hold of one, and sent it to centre on a 2-2 pitch to centre. Bobby Tolan went back to the warning track, and was able to settle under it. But the A's were getting to Nolan. It seemed quite possible that both pitchers would soon be gone. Vida Blue would hit after Dick Green, and there was the possibility that Dick Williams would pinch hit for him.
Green did his part, doubling to the gap in right, and we had ourselves a tie ballgame. Vida Blue would then bat for himself, but not against Gary Nolan. Sparky Anderson brought in a new pitcher, even though there was two away, and the light-hitting (Vida hit just .044 in 1972) pitcher up.
Blue drew a walk from Ross Grimsley, as Oakland was having themselves a good inning. They'd score a run, they'd hit the ball hard, and now had runners on first and second. Bert Campaneris ended the fun by popping out.
The Reds scratched out a tie-breaking run in their half of the inning. Hal McRae was cashed in via a grounder and sacrifice fly. Cincinnati was ahead for good. Vida Blue kept battling, but on this day, the Reds seemed to have the book on him and nearly every other Athletics pitcher who appeared.
Blue actually got the first two batters out the next inning, and Oakland seemed safe. However, Bobby Tolan ended any thoughts of a 1-2-3 inning as he singled. Blue threw a high ball to Johnny Bench, who took it. 1-0. Oakland was holding Tolan on first, and with Vida Blue being a left-handed pitcher, the odds of a stolen base here seemed slim. Ball two outside. Bob Locker was summoned from the bullpen by Dick Williams to put out this fire. However, Tolan added some gasoline to it by swiping second on the next pitch, which was ball three. Locker threw a deliberate ball four.
The strategy backfired on Oakland, however. Tony Perez came up with a single, having himself a terrific Fall Classic. It was 3-1 for the home team. This insurance run made the rest of the game a lot easier for Cincinnati.
Gene Tenace was still hitting the ball well. He came up with a man on first in the top of the seventh. Tenace fouled a potential strike three with the count 1-2 (The pitch, though, was a ball two if Gene had taken it). But Johnny Bench couldn't hold on to it. Tenace got under the next one, but it was just a short fly to centre.
In the ninth, things went a little better. The trouble was, the game was over. The only real rout of the 1972, the scored was a laugher, 8-1, for Cincinnati as the defiant Oakland Athletics came up one last time in the ninth.
With two out and the bases empty, Ángel Mangual collected his second hit of the game. Gene Tenace followed with his first base hit of the afternoon. But Ted Kubiak forced Mangual at third, and the 1972 October Finale was heading to a seventh and deciding game.
It was Blue Moon Odom vs. Jack Billingham. But Dave Duncan would finally get his first start behind the plate in the World Series. But what about the hot bat of Gene Tenace? Well, he was in the lineup at first, replacing Mike Epstein, who wasn't hitting.
The stage was quickly set for the new first basemen. Ángel Mangual had made it all the way to third on an error. Tenace came up with two away, but delivered a clutch single.
The game stayed 1-0 Oakland until the bottom of the fifth. That's when Cincinnati tied it on a Hal McRae sacrifice fly. Catfish Hunter had taken over on the hill as the Reds had loaded the bases. Hunter averted any further trouble as Pete Rose sent one to the gap in right. That's where Ángel Mangual caught it on the warning track.
Hunter had really done the job, plus the momentum could carry over. Due up in the top of the sixth inning was speedster Bert Campaneris. Campy singled. A bunt and a grounder brought Tenace back to the dish. And the first basemen drove home his second run of the contest with a double. On the second pitch from Pedro Borbon, Tenace got an offspeeder, and delivered a clutch double to break the tie.
Sadly, this was Gene's last contribution to the Oakland Athletics in 1972. He parted for pinch runner Allan Lewis. Sal Bando followed with a double, and Lewis scored. Oakland had all the runs they needed.
Still, the Athletics loaded the bases, and failed to get another run. They could have broken the game wide open. It was merely a two-run lead. Hunter had to pitch his way out of a jam in the bottom of the sixth as Cincinnati got runners to second and third. Denis Menke ended the inning by flying out.
But Pete Rose sent Catfish Hunter to the showers in the bottom of the eighth. Pete singled to start the inning. The new pitcher was Ken Holtzman. Joe Morgan greeted him with a double. The Reds had the tying run at second. Rollie Fingers came in to pitch. A popup and intentional walk brought Tony Perez to the playe. Perez delivered, hitting a sacrifice fly. The Reds had their second run of the ballgame.
But Rollie Fingers was through with giving the Reds anything. The Athletics' bullpen ace got Dennis Menke out after Johnny Bench surprised everyone by stealing second.
In the ninth, Fingers got the first two men out. Darrel Chaney batted for pitcher Tom Hall. Rollie hit Tom, bringing Pete Rose to the plate. When Rose flied out to left, Oakland had the 1972 World Championship.
A quick look at the battery of Oakland for the 1972 reveals they were clicking. Rollie Fingers was 1-1 with two saves and an earned run average of 1.74. Vida Blue got just that one start, took the loss and posted an ERA of 4.15. However, Blue picked up a save and showed potential in the clutch. Ken Holtzman won a game, made two other appearances, and had a 2.13 earned run average. Catfish Hunter was the best among Athletic starters. He won 2, lost none, and posted a 2.81 ERA.
Perhaps most surprising were Blue Moon Odom and Gene Tenace. White Odom, you'd see him out there more than you might have expected just any other pitcher. He appeared twice as a pinch runner. In the two other games, where Blue Moon pitched, he posted a 1.59 earned run average. True, he'd lost his only decision, but had kept Oakland in it.
But how about Tenace? Four home runs. Nine RBIs. No one else on Oakland had more than one home run and one run batted in. Tenace even topped all Athletics in runs scored with five. This marvelous performance helped Oakland capture it's first major professional sports championship. So it was no small feat. It was true a first.
The A's would return to the Fall Classic the next two years. And come away with a three-peat.
References
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Snyder, John S. World Series!: Great Moments and Dubious Achievements. Chronicle Books, 1995.
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