The Forgotten Race

New England sports radio talk programs used to have a pretty predictable bent when discussing the Red Sox, at least until the recent World Series wins. Most every talk about the latest Sox game would somehow end up being steered to the 1986, 1975, 1978 or 1967 Sox teams. Three of those teams made it to the Series only to lose, while the '78 squad is arguably as famous for the epic huge lead/blowing of said lead/huge comeback/one-game playoff loss. But you never hear anything about the fierce battle for the 1972 AL East title. The Sox ended up finishing a half game back to what was basically the last gasp of the 1968 World Series-winning Tigers. I was reminded of this by a passing remark in the Baseball Crank's excellent post about catchers and the HOF.
Major league baseball had for decades played a long season where one team in each league finished in first and the pennant winners played each other for the World Series title. In 1969, a scant three years before the '72 season, the leagues switched to a two division format where a playoff was held to determine who would go on to the Series. So all this was still fairly new to players and fans alike. A glance at the roster for the '72 Sox teams shows it was a mix of remaining players from the '67 team, new guys who would populate the '75 club, and a few people - Danny Cater, John Curtis, etc. - who would know no other Sox glory than this forgotten pennant race.