Baseball's Most Exciting Games, No. 9: The Start of Something New

Game 1, 1972 American League Championship Series: Detroit Tigers at Oakland Athletics

October 7, 1972, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

The 1972 Oakland Athletics didn't look like any other team that preceded them. They had already ruffled some conservative feathers in the previous years by ditching the traditional white at home/gray on the road uniform combo and switching to a much bolder green and gold combination. 

Then, star outfielder Reggie Jackson showed up to 1972 spring training with a full beard. Oakland owner Charley Finley first hoped to convince Jackson to shave through reverse psychology by telling a couple of other players to grow moustaches. Finley hoped Jackson's rebellious nature would make him hate seeing other players copying him and decide to shave. Finley's plan backfired, and soon several other players were putting down the razor. Instead of punishing everybody, Finley leaned into it, encouraging his players to grow facial hair and even providing bonuses to anybody who could grow a moustache before Fathers Day. Soon every player on the A's roster had facial hair of some kind, when there had only been two players in the previous 70 years to do so. (It's remarkable how conservative the sport used to be, where green uniforms and moustaches were considered acts of rebellion). 

1972 was also notable for being the absolute nadir of offense in baseball. Aside from a few peaks and valleys here and there, Major League Baseball's average runs scored per game has generally held steady between 4 and 5 runs per game per team. When there has been a valley, baseball has usually taken action to correct it. The first major change came by replacing the rolled-up gray sock that doubled as a ball during the dead ball era with an actual modern baseball, which directly led to Babe Ruth's breakout; the second major change came after the 1968 season, when MLB lowered the height of the pitching mound to give hitters a chance.

Just three years into the lower mound era, offense cratered again in 1972. Only eight seasons in baseball history had less offense than 1972, and seven of those came during the dead ball/rolled-up sock era. MLB would react to 1972's lack of offense by adding the designated hitter to the American League, but that wouldn't happen until 1973, making this ALCS the last one without the DH. And if any series needed the offensive boost provided by a DH, it'd be this one. The A's and Tigers ranked second and third, respectively, in fewest runs allowed in an already offensively challenged season.

Since it was Game 1, it was a battle of the pitching aces, Catfish Hunter of the A's and Mickey Lolich of the Tigers. Norm Cash got to Hunter with a home run in the second, and Joe Rudi tied the game for the A's with a sacrifice fly in the third. And for quite a while, that was all. The Tigers only managed three hits off Hunter through eight innings, while the A's had seven hits but only the single run.

The Tigers finally knocked Hunter out of the game when Duke Sims led off the ninth with a double. Oakland had Rollie Fingers - who would become the second reliever elected to the Hall of Fame - ready in the bullpen, but they first went to start Vida Blue. Going with Blue instead of Fingers was a matter of the matchup - Cash was up next for Detroit, and though he had homered earlier in the game, he was miserable against lefties. Like a .149 batting average miserable. So the man who was responsible for Detroit's only run earlier in the game was relegated to a sacrifice bunt attempt in a tied 9th inning. Cash got the bunt down to move Sims to third, and Cash himself was safe when second baseman Ted Kubiak dropped the throw while covering first. With runners on first and third with nobody out, this was Detroit's first real threat of the game, but Fingers came in and cleaned up the mess, with help from an inning-ending double-play ball.

Because it was the 70s, Lolich kept on pitching for Detroit, and he threw 1-2-3 innings in both the 9th and 10th innings. Fingers was still in for Oakland, and he gave up a go-ahead home run to Al Kaline with one out in the 11th. Detroit kept the threat going with a Sims triple, but Fingers got two ground outs to make sure Oakland got to the bottom of the 11th only down 2-1.

With Lolich still in the game, Sal Bando led off the bottom of the 11th with a single, then saw pitcher Blue Moon Odom replace him as a pinch runner. Epstein then singled to left on a hit-and-run, but Odom tripped over the bag at second and was unable to advance any further. Finally Detroit went to the bullpen, bringing in Chuck Seelbach to face Oakland catcher Gene Tenace.

Gene Tenace wasn't known as being much of a bunter in 1972. In fact, he wasn't known for much of anything. It wasn't until the next season that he became a regular with Oakland, blasting home runs, drawing walks, and not doing much else. In 1972, he was still a part-time catcher with only two sacrifice bunts to his name. Perhaps it wasn't a surprise, then, when his bunt attempt went right to third baseman Aurelio Rodriguez, who threw to shortstop Ed Brinkman for the out at third. Brinkman then fired across to try to get the slow-footed Tenace at first. It looked at first like Detroit got the double play, but the throw pulled Cash off the bag, and the first-base umpire ruled Cash's tag attempt missed Tenace. 

So now the A's had one out, still with runners on first and second, but with a slower runner on first in Tenace. And Tenace's "speed" would come into play in the next at bat. Pinch-hitter Gonzalo Marquez singled through the hole between second and third, and Epstein scored easily from second. Tenace didn't hesitate rounding second and, adjusting his batting helmet on the fly, he headed for third. Kaline threw to third, but his throw hit a head-first-sliding Tenace in the spikes, bouncing past Rodriguez at third and allowing Tenace to score the winning run.

The gold jersey-wearing, moustache-clad Athletics celebrated their win, and they weren't done. They beat the Tigers in five games, then beat the Cincinnati Reds in a seven-game World Series. That World Series win was the first of three straight for Oakland, making them the only team not named the Yankees to win a three-peat. It was a green and gold wearing dynasty, which all started with a low-scoring, extra-inning classic.

Game 1, 1972 American League Championship Series Overall Rank: 9 Top 10 Swing: 253 Top play: Gonzalo Marquez's game-winning single (WPA of 71% for Oakland) Loser's largest WE: 91 T11, 1 out, runner on 3rd, Detroit up 2-1, Norm Cash batting Average LI: 1.64 Highest leverage moment: 6.99 (B11, 1 out, runners on 1st and 2nd, Detroit up 2-1, Marquez batting)

Obligatory picture of the 1972 Athletics.
Behold the glory of 25 1970s-era moustaches.