1972 Fantasy Astrology Recap
View the 1972 FABL Lineups Here!
The problem with figuring out batting orders for all 12 astrology teams is that it drastically increases the focus on position players, as opposed to pitchers. Creating batting lineups already requires more effort than filling out starting rotations, since the former involves putting together a nine-position puzzle, while the latter is just a list of a team’s best pitchers from best to worst. So for the 1972 recap, I want to start with an emphasis on pitching.
For all the talk of 1968 as the “Year of the Pitcher,” 1972 had its share of otherworldly mound performances. Of course, it helped that pitchers in both leagues got to face their notoriously poor-hitting counterparts in the batting order, as the DH rule wouldn’t be implemented until the following season. But it’s still amazing to note that the top 14 fantasy scoring players in ’72 were pitchers, with a whopping eight of them reaching the 3,000-point plateau.
Top of the heap was lefty Steve Carlton (4,305 points / 105 points-per-game), the last dedicated pitcher to score 4,000 points. (Remember, Shohei Ohtani just barely reached that mark in 2021, totaling 4,008 points with his pitching and hitting totals combined.) Carlton won the pitching triple crown that year, leading the league with 27 wins, a 1.97 ERA, and 310 strikeouts – a feat all the more impressive, considering that he played for a 97-loss Phillies team. Notoriously inaccessible to the press, “Silent Steve” lived up to the no-nonsense reputation of his Capricorn sun sign.
But lost in the shuffle behind Carlton’s excellence was the nearly as impressive Gaylord Perry (3,947 / 96.3), who had the second-best fantasy season for a pitcher since 1972. (The Virgo ace edged out Scorpio Dwight Gooden’s 3,809-point 1985 season.) Teaming up with Tigers ace Mickey Lolich (3,420 / 83.4) and the bullpen tandem of Tug McGraw (2,071 / 38.4) and Rollie Fingers (1,939 / 29.8), the Flowers easily cruised past Carlton’s Goats in the 1972 Earth Division. But let’s not forget Negative Polarity MVP runner-up Joe Morgan (2,580 / 17.3), who was a big part of Virgo’s success as well.
Actually, aside from Morgan, most of the NP MVP contenders were Pisceans. Astros center fielder Cesar Cedeno (2,596 / 18.7) has the slight edge, but five of the top seven Negative Pole batters played for the Fish. Real life AL MVP Dick Allen (2,511 / 17.0) hit third for the White Sox, pushing Cedeno’s real-life teammate Jim Wynn (2,261 / 15.6) to fifth, behind Willie Stargell (2,031 / 14.7) of the Pirates - and Giants leadoff hitter Bobby Bonds (2,374 / 15.5) solidifies the top of the order. This powerful offensive attack was enough to rocket Pisces to the top of the Water Division, despite the epic Scorpio starting staff led by Hall of Famers Bob Gibson (2,869 / 84.4) and Tom Seaver (2,817 / 80.5), and a Cancer squad that featured the game’s best relief pitcher in Sparky Lyle (2,290 / 38.8).
In a stunning upset, Aquarius scored the most fantasy points in the Air Division, but only if you ignore some positional eligibility rules. Starting pitching depth was the clear strength, with Nolan Ryan (3,242 / 83.1), Joe Coleman (2,726 / 68.2), Pat Dobson (2,483 / 65.3), and Positive Polarity Rookie of the Year Burt Hooton (1,701 / 51.5) locking down the rotation. Add to those arms a good-enough offense anchored by Hank Aaron (1,846 / 14.3) and John Mayberry (1,897 / 12.7), and the Water Bearers barely sneak by the Libra Scales. However, Aquarius had just one dedicated reliever with more than 500 fantasy points, plus a rookie third baseman cheated at catcher (Dave Wayne Roberts would move behind the plate for real several years later), which is where the controversy lies.
Libra on the other hand, had only one positional cheat: the eminently justifiable move of having homerless batting leader Rod Carew (1,369 / 9.6) move to first base to make room for Sandy Alomar (Sr.) (1,087 / 7.0) at second base. Meanwhile, PP Cy Young Award winner Wilbur Wood (3,649 / 74.5) and fellow 3,000-point scorer Jim Palmer (3,072 / 85.3) would make for a very exciting best-of-three playoff series, which is how divisional ties were handled in the 1970’s. Rounding out the top Positive Polarity performers, Gemini left fielder Billy Williams (2,594 / 17.3) took home MVP, with Sagittarius catcher Johnny Bench (2,368 / 16.1) the runner-up.
The Archers also had the Polarity’s top primary reliever, although Luis Tiant (2,159 / 50.2) was THIS close to reaching that 50% starts threshold, starting 19 of his 43 appearances for the Red Sox. Meanwhile Aries led the league in points behind a rotation comprised of Catfish Hunter (3,058 / 92.3), Don Sutton (3,271 / 99.1), and Bert Blyleven (2,799 / 71.8). The only award I haven’t covered was Negative Polarity Rookie of the Year, which goes to Capricorn Jon Matlack (2,407 / 70.8), creating a nice one-two punch with Carlton at the top of the Goats rotation.