Wood set career highs in starts and innings pitched in 1972. His innings pitched were the highest AL total since Ed Walsh pitched 393 in 1912, and his 49 starts were the most in the league since Walsh started the same amount in 1908. Though his 17 losses tied with three others for third in the league, he tied Gaylord Perry for the AL lead with 24 wins. He led the AL with 105 earned runs allowed, but his 2.51 ERA was .01 outside the top 10 in the league. With 20 complete games, he tied Ryan for third in the league (behind Perry (29) and Lolich (23)), and his eight shutouts were second to Ryan's nine. He finished seventh with 193 strikeouts. After the season, he was named a "Sporting News" AL All-Star. He finished second in Cy Young voting to Perry, who edged him 64 to 58 in vote points, and he finished seventh in AL MVP voting. "The Sporting News" named him its AL Pitcher of the Year.