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The following are the baseball events of the year 1972 throughout the world.

Labor strife and more moving

1972 was tainted by a players' strike over pension and salary arbitration. The strike erased the first week and a half of the season, and the Leagues decided to just excise the lost portion of the season with no makeups. As a result, an uneven number of games were cancelled for each team; some as few as six, some as many as nine. The lack of makeups of those games, even when they affected playoffs, led to the Boston Red Sox losing the American League East by half a game to the Detroit Tigers.

1972 marked the first year for the Texas Rangers, who had moved to Arlington from Washington, D.C. (where they played as the Washington Senators), after the 1971 season. There would be no baseball in D.C. until 2005. The team was one of the worst ever fielded by the franchise, losing 100 games for the first time since 1964. Manager Ted Williams hated living in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and resigned at the end of the season.

1972 would mark the Kansas City Royals' final year at Kansas City Municipal Stadium, as the next year they would move to Royals Stadium (later named Kauffman Stadium) at the Truman Sports Complex in suburban Kansas City.

The World Series was won by the Oakland Athletics, the first of three straight behind the bats of Reggie Jackson and Bert Campaneris, and the pitching cadre of Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers and Vida Blue. The year ended on a sad note when Roberto Clemente died in an airplane crash off the coast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, on New Year's Eve, while participating in aid efforts after the 1972 Nicaragua earthquake.

Champions

Major League Baseball

• World Series MVP: Gene Tenace
• All-Star Game, July 25 at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium: National League, 4–3 (10 innings); Joe Morgan, MVP

Other champions

• Amateur World Series: Cuba
• College World Series: USC
• Japan Series: Yomiuri Giants over Hankyu Braves (4–1)
• Big League World Series: Orlando, Florida
• Little League World Series: Taipei, Taiwan
• Senior League World Series: Pingtung, Taiwan

Winter Leagues

• 1972 Caribbean Series: Leones de Ponce
• Dominican Republic League: Águilas Cibaeñas
• Mexican Pacific League: Algodoneros de Guasave
• Puerto Rican League: Leones de Ponce
• Venezuelan League: Tigres de Aragua

Awards and honors

• Baseball Hall of Fame
  • Yogi Berra
  • Josh Gibson
  • Lefty Gomez
  • Will Harridge
  • Sandy Koufax
  • Buck Leonard
  • Early Wynn
  • Ross Youngs
• Most Valuable Player
  • Dick Allen, Chicago White Sox, 1B (AL)
  • Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds, C (NL)
• Cy Young Award
  • Gaylord Perry, Cleveland Indians (AL)
  • Steve Carlton, Philadelphia Phillies (NL)
• Rookie of the Year
  • Carlton Fisk, Boston Red Sox, C (AL)
  • Jon Matlack, New York Mets, P (NL)
• Gold Glove Award
  • (P) Jim Kaat, Minnesota Twins (AL); Bob Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals (NL)
  • (C) Carlton Fisk, Boston Red Sox (AL); Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds (NL)
  • (1B) George Scott, Milwaukee Brewers (AL); Wes Parker, Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)
  • (2B) Doug Griffin, Boston Red Sox (AL); Félix Millán, Atlanta Braves (NL)
  • (3B) Brooks Robinson, Baltimore Orioles (AL); Doug Rader, Houston Astros (NL)
  • (SS) Ed Brinkman, Detroit Tigers (AL); Larry Bowa, Philadelphia Phillies (NL)
  • (OF) Ken Berry, California Angels, (AL); César Cedeño, Houston Astros (NL)
  • (OF) Paul Blair, Baltimore Orioles (AL); Roberto Clemente, Pittsburgh Pirates (NL)
  • (OF) Bobby Murcer, New York Yankees (AL); Willie Davis, Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)

Statistical leaders

Major league baseball final standings