Hebner clubbed nineteen home runs and batted an even .300 in 1972 to help his team cruise to the postseason for the third straight year. He hit a career-high 25 home runs in 1973, the most memorable of which came when the St. Louis Cardinals and Pirates went into extra innings in the first game of a September 3 doubleheader. With the two teams battling for first place in the division, Hebner led off the bottom of the thirteenth inning with a walk off inside-the-park home run.