- 1973 in baseball
Year in baseball
this year = 1973Champions
Major League Baseball
*World Series:
Oakland Athletics overNew York Mets (4-3);Reggie Jackson , MVP4TeamBracket | RD1=
League Championship Series | RD2=World Series
RD1-seed1=| RD1-seed2=| RD1-seed3=| RD1-seed4=
RD1-seed1=East | RD1-team1=Baltimore Orioles
RD1-seed2=West | RD1-team2=Oakland Athletics
RD1-score1=2 | RD1-score2=3
RD1-seed3=East | RD1-team3=New York Mets
RD1-seed4=West | RD1-team4=Cincinnati Reds
RD1-score3=3 | RD1-score4=2
RD2-seed1=AL | RD2-team1=Oakland Athletics
RD2-seed2=NL | RD2-team2=New York Mets
RD2-score1=4 | RD2-score2=3*All-Star Game,
July 24 at Royals Stadium: National League, 7-1;Bobby Bonds , MVPOther champions
*
Caribbean World Series : Licey Tigers (Tigres de Licey),Dominican Republic
*College World Series : USC
*Japan Series :Yomiuri Giants over Nankai Hawks (4-1)
*Little League World Series :Tainan City ,Taiwan Awards and honors
*Most Valuable Player
**Reggie Jackson (AL)
**Pete Rose (NL)
*Cy Young Award
**Jim Palmer (AL)
**Tom Seaver (NL)
*Rookie of the Year
**Al Bumbry (AL)
**Gary Matthews (NL)MLB Statistical Leaders
1 Modern single season strikeout record.
Major League Baseball final standings
American League final standings
National League final standings
Events
January-March
*
January 3 - A group of investors, headed by shipbuilderGeorge Steinbrenner , purchases theNew York Yankees fromCBS for $10 million.*
January 18 -Orlando Cepeda signs with theBoston Red Sox , making him the first player signed by a team as adesignated hitter .*
January 24 - Left-handed pitcherWarren Spahn is elected to the Hall of Fame in his first try on theBaseball Writers Association of America ballot, receiving 316 of 380 votes.*
January 28 - The Hall of Fame Special Veterans Committee selects 19th-century pitcherMickey Welch and Giants first baseman George Kelly, plus umpireBilly Evans , for enshrinement.*
February 1 - CommissionerBowie Kuhn announces the selection ofMonte Irvin for the Hall of Fame by the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues.*
February 27 -Chicago White Sox sluggerDick Allen signs a three-year contract for an estimated $250,000 per year, making him the highest-paid player in major league history.*
March 5 -New York Yankees teammatesFritz Peterson andMike Kekich arrive at spring training and announce that wives and families have been swapped. Even the family dogs were traded.*
March 20 - In a special election held by the Baseball Writers Association of America, the lateRoberto Clemente receives 393 of 424 votes to earn entry into the Hall of Fame. The Hall's Board of Directors had earlier waived the five-year-wait rule for Clemente.*
March 29 - Orange baseballs, the brainchild ofOakland Athletics ownerCharlie Finley , are used in the Athletics' 11–5 exhibition loss to theCleveland Indians .April-June
*
April 6 :
**AtThree Rivers Stadium , 51,695 fans watch as the jersey #21 of the lateRoberto Clemente is retired. The Pirates then beat St. Louis 7-5, with a ninth-inning rally.
**AtFenway Park ,Ron Blomberg of theNew York Yankees becomes the firstdesignated hitter in major league history. He is walked by Red Sox pitcherLuis Tiant in his first plate appearance.*
April 10 - TheKansas City Royals open their new park,Royals Stadium , with a 12-1 rout of the Texas Rangers. The game is attended by 39,464 fans braving 39-degree weather.*
April 17 -Philadelphia Phillies pitcherDick Ruthven , signed fromFresno State , makes his major league debut without ever playing in the minor leagues. He starts against Montreal but doesn't finish, taking the loss in a 9-6 decision toDick Selma .*
April 27 - In 50-degree weather,Kansas City Royals rookieSteve Busby no-hits the hostDetroit Tigers 3-0. It is the first Royals no-hitter, and the first in Tiger Stadium sinceVirgil Trucks ' in 1952. With thedesignated hitter rule in effect, Busby becomes the first pitcher of a no-hitter to not come to bat.*
May 8 :
**For the second time in his career,Willie Stargell of thePittsburgh Pirates hits a home run out ofDodger Stadium . His blast offAndy Messersmith hits the right field pavilion roof 470 feet away. His first home run, a 506-foot shot, came off Alan Foster on August 5, 1969.Los Angeles Dodgers win, 7-4.
**In a 9–7 losing effort against theSan Francisco Giants ,St. Louis Cardinals aceBob Gibson makes his 242nd consecutive start. It is a new 20th-century record, passing that ofRed Ruffing who never pitched in relief the last 10 years of his career.*
May 9 - Johnny Bench of the Cincinnati Reds hit three home runs off Philadelphia'sSteve Carlton for the second time in his career, in a 9-7 victory. Bench drove in seven runs.*
May 15 -Nolan Ryan of the California Angels pitches the first of his seven careerno hitter s, defeating theKansas City Royals , 3-0.*
June 7 -Dave Winfield , the fourth pick in the June draft, will go straight to the major leagues with theSan Diego Padres . Winfield was also taken in theNBA andNFL drafts. TheMilwaukee Brewers use their third overall pick to selectRobin Yount .*
June 9 - After the Old Timers' Game atShea Stadium ,Willie Mays puts on his own show with a home run and a circus catch, and theNew York Mets top theLos Angeles Dodgers 4-2. For Mays, older than a half dozen of the old Mets, it is the 655th homer of his career.Rusty Staub drives in two runs to backJon Matlack . In the Old Timers' Game, the Brooklyn Dodgers/New York Yankees team loses to the Mets 1-0 in two innings.*
June 13 - AtRiverfront Stadium , Cardinals pitcherRick Wise loses ano-hitter when the Reds'Joe Morgan singles with one out in the ninth inning. Wise finishes with a one-hit 8-0 shutout. He pitched a no-hitter over the Reds in 1971.*
June 19 - In a Dodgers 4-0 victory over Cincinnati,Pete Rose (single) and Willie Davis (HR) each collect their 2,000th career hit.*
June 20 :
**Cy Acosta of theChicago White Sox becomes the first American League pitcher to bat since the DH rule went into effect. Acosta strikes out in the eighth inning, but is credited with an 8-3 victory over the California Angels.
**Bobby Bonds leads off with a home run, but the Giants lose 7-5 to Cincinnati. It is Bonds' 22nd leadoff home run, breakingLou Brock 's National League record.*
June 23 - PitcherKen Brett of thePhiladelphia Phillies tops theMontreal Expos 7-2, and hits a home run for his fourth consecutive game, setting a major league record. Previously, Brett hit home runs on June 9, 13, and 18. He will total 10 for his career.*
June 28 -Willie Stargell hits his 300th career home run helping thePittsburgh Pirates beat theSt. Louis Cardinals 6-0.July-September
*
July 1 -Luis Aparicio of theBoston Red Sox steals the 500th base of his career in a 9–5 loss to theMilwaukee Brewers . It is the highest total in the American League sinceEddie Collins retired in 1930.*
July 3 - BrothersGaylord Perry (Indians) and Jim Perry (Tigers) pitch against each other for the only time in their careers. Neither finishes the game, but Gaylord is charged with the 5–4 loss. TwoNorm Cash home runs help the Tigers.*
July 9 - In a record-setting walkathon between theCincinnati Reds andMontreal Expos , 25 bases on balls are handed out as Montreal strolls to an 11–6 win. Well off theAmerican League 's two-team mark of 30, this tops theNational League record of 23, last reached on July 7, 1911. Six Montreal pitchers walk 16, one short of the record for an NL team, while two Reds pitchers walk nine.Hal King pinch hits a grand slam for the Reds in the 6th inning, his second pinch homer in nine days.*
July 11 :
**Jim Northrup , batting leadoff for theDetroit Tigers , drives in eight runs in a 14–2 win over Texas.
**In San Diego, thePittsburgh Pirates drub the Padres 10–2.Willie Stargell contributes the 302nd home run of his career to passRalph Kiner as the all-time Pirate home run leader.*
July 15 :
**Willie McCovey hits his 400th career home run helpingSan Francisco Giants beatPittsburgh Pirates 12-0.
**Nolan Ryan pitches his secondno hitter of the season (and second of seven for his career. He strikes out seventeenDetroit Tigers as the Angels win, 6-0.*
July 20 -Wilbur Wood starts both games of a doubleheader for theChicago White Sox , and loses both games to theNew York Yankees , 12-2 & 7-0.*
July 21 -Hank Aaron of theAtlanta Braves hits aKen Brett fastball into the left-center field stands for a two-run home run during an 8–4 loss to thePhiladelphia Phillies . It is career home run #700 for Aaron, only the second player to reach that milestone.Babe Ruth , with 714, is the other.*
July 24 - TheNational League wins the All-Star Game at Kansas City, 7-1. A record 54 players are used, includingWillie Mays , who strikes out in his final All-Star appearance, andCatfish Hunter , who sustains a fractured thumb that will sideline him for four weeks. Hunter has a 15-3 record at the time.*
July 30 -Jim Bibby of the Texas Rangers no-hits theOakland Athletics , 6-0, at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The no-hitter is the first in the history of the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers franchise.*
August 1 - With the score tied at 2-2 in the top of the ninth atFenway Park , in an incident that typifies both theYankees-Red Sox rivalry and the feud between the two catchers involved,Thurman Munson of theNew York Yankees barrels intoCarlton Fisk of theBoston Red Sox while trying to score onGene Michael 's missed squeeze attempt. The incident triggers a 10-minutebench-clearing brawl in which both catchers are ejected. The Red Sox win 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth, withMario Guerrero 's two-out single scoring Bob Montgomery (who had replaced the ejected Fisk) for the winning run.*
August 5 -Atlanta Braves knuckleballerPhil Niekro no-hits theSan Diego Padres 9-0. He walks three and strikes out four in recording the first no-hitter by the franchise in Atlanta.*
August 6 - An exhibition game between theMilwaukee Brewers and theAtlanta Braves held at Milwaukee draws 33,337. The Brewers win, 7-5, in the fourth and last exhibition between the two teams. But the big thrill is provided byHank Aaron , who hits a home run.*
August 7 - Two days afterPhil Niekro 's no-hitter, the Braves purchaseJoe Niekro , Phil's pitching brother, from theDetroit Tigers .*
August 11 -Chicago White Sox rookieBrian Downing cracks his first major league hit, a home run off Detroit'sMickey Lolich . Downing's debut dinger is a first in the majors since at least 1945 – an inside-the-park homer. It'll be matched in two years by the GiantsJohnnie LeMaster , who will do it in his first at bat.*
August 15 - In Pittsburgh,Cincinnati Reds aceJack Billingham beats the hostPittsburgh Pirates 1–0, notching his seventh shutout of the season. This ties the club record set byHod Eller back in 1919.*
August 17 - TheNew York Mets 'Willie Mays hits the 660th (and last) home run of his career offDon Gullett of Cincinnati, but the Reds win 2-1 in 10 innings atShea Stadium , after pinch hitterHal King bats a walk-off home run, his third pinch homer of the year.*
September 3 - After 11 years at the helm (944-806 .539),Ralph Houk resigns as theNew York Yankees ' manager. The 'Major' will manage theDetroit Tigers next season.*
September 6 - BrothersFelipe Alou andMatty Alou are released by the Yankees. Felipe is sold to the Expos and Matty goes to the Cardinals.*
September 27 - Capping a memorable season,Nolan Ryan strikes out 16Minnesota Twins en route to a 5-4, 11 inning win for the Angels. The final strikeout, his 383rd of the season, breaks Sandy Koufax's season record.October-December
*
October 1 - Two make-up games were played after the scheduled end of the regular season on September 30th: the Mets won at the Cubs 6-4 and the Pirates lost at home to the Padres 3-4, a possible second game between the Cubs and Mets were not necessary anymore.*
October 8 - In Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, the New York Mets'Rusty Staub homers in the first and second innings as the Mets crush theCincinnati Reds 9-2 at New York'sShea Stadium , in a game featuring a bench-clearing brawl involvingPete Rose andBud Harrelson .*
October 10 - Like 1969, no one thought the Mets would win the National League pennant, but they amazingly did as New York'sTom Seaver hurls the Mets into the World Series with a 7-2 victory over the Reds in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series. New York has 13 hits in the contest.*
October 21 - TheOakland Athletics win the World Championship for the second straight year asBert Campaneris andReggie Jackson homer in the 5-2 Game Seven victory. Jackson is selected the Series MVP.*
October 23 - Athletics ownerCharlie Finley reveals that he will not release managerDick Williams from his contract unless he receives adequate compensation from the team that signs him. Williams had resigned following the World Series victory two days earlier.Movies
*"
Bang the Drum Slowly "Births
January-March
*
January 8 -Mike Cameron
*January 15 -Wayne Gomes
*January 19 -Chris Stynes
*January 25 -Terrell Wade
*January 28 -Jacob Cruz
*January 29 -Jason Schmidt
*February 8 -Keith McDonald
*February 18 -Shawn Estes
*February 22 -Russ Johnson
*February 23 -Jason Boyd
*March 5 -Felipe Crespo
*March 5 -Ryan Franklin
*March 6 -Terry Adams
*March 9 -Aaron Boone
*March 9 -C.J. Nitkowski
*March 17 -Vance Wilson
*March 23 -Ramón Ortiz
*March 28 - Paul WilsonApril-June
*
April 7 -Brett Tomko
*April 8 -Alex S. Gonzalez
*April 12 -Antonio Osuna
*April 18 -Brady Clark
*April 20 -Todd Hollandsworth
*April 26 -Geoff Blum
*May 2 -Ramón Tatis
*May 6 -Mike Kinkade
*May 22 -Julián Tavárez
*May 24 -Bartolo Colón
*May 25 -Todd Walker
*May 29 -Trever Miller
*June 1 -Derek Lowe
*June 2 -Neifi Pérez
*June 3 -Robert Machado
*June 10 -Pokey Reese
*June 28 -Corey Koskie
*June 30 -Chan Ho Park July-September
*
July 7 - José Jiménez
*July 7 -Matt Mantei
*July 19 - Alex Pacheco
*July 21 -Brian Buchanan
*July 22 -Mike Sweeney
*July 23 -Nomar Garciaparra
*July 25 -Guillermo Mota
*July 27 -Enrique Wilson
*August 2 -Mike Venafro
*August 4 -Bobby Howry
*August 7 -Danny Graves
*August 16 -Damian Jackson
*August 20 -Todd Helton
*August 21 -Lou Collier
*August 21 -Ismael Valdéz
*August 23 - Casey Blake
*August 28 -Kit Pellow
*September 4 -Aaron Fultz
*September 7 -David Newhan
*September 9 -Kazuhisa Ishii
*September 16 -Desi Relaford October-December
*
October 1 - John Thomson
*October 2 -Scott Schoeneweis
*October 3 -Kerry Robinson
*October 9 -Bill Pulsipher
*October 11 -Dmitri Young
*October 15 -David Cortes
*October 15 - Tim Young
*October 22 -Ichiro Suzuki
*October 24 -Mike Matthews
*October 27 -Jason Johnson
*October 31 -David Dellucci
*November 5 -Johnny Damon
*November 6 -Carlos Almanzar
*November 6 -Justin Speier
*November 8 -Edgardo Alfonzo
*November 14 -Rubén Rivera
*November 15 -Kevin Gryboski
*November 17 -Eli Marrero
*November 21 -Todd Erdos
*November 22 -Ricky Ledee
*November 25 -Octavio Dotel
*December 8 -Jeff DaVanon
*December 9 -Tony Batista
*December 9 -Chris Truby
*December 29 -Tomás Pérez Deaths
*
January 9 -Lyn Lary , 66, shortstop for seven teams who led AL in steals in 1936
*February 28 -Syl Simon , 75, infielder and pinch hitter for the Browns who played in the minor leagues after losing much of his left hand in an accident
*March 12 -Frankie Frisch , 74, Hall of Fame second baseman for the Giants and Cardinals who scored 100 runs seven times, led the NL in steals three times, and was the 1931 MVP; a lifetime .316 hitter, he twice batted .400 in the World Series, and also managed the Cardinals to the 1934 World Series title
*March 26 -George Sisler , 80, Hall of Fame first baseman for the St. Louis Browns widely recognized as the best defensive player ever at that position, he twice batted over .400 and hit .340 lifetime; the AL's 1922 MVP, he had a record 257 hits in 1920 and also led the league in steals four times
*April 13 -Clarence Blethen , 79, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and Brooklyn Dodgers between 1923 and 1929
*May 19 - Jim Moore, 69, pitcher who played from 1928 to 1932 for the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox
*June 11 -Bill Burwell , 78, pitcher for the St. Louis Browns in 1920-21, later a scout
*June 23 -Cliff Aberson , 51, two-sport athlete who was a left fielder for the Chicago Cubs from 1947 to 1949, and a halfback with Green Bay Packers in 1945
*July 2 -Chick Hafey , 70, Hall of Fame left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds, a career .316 hitter who made the first hit in All-Star history and was the first batting champion to wear eyeglasses
*July 2 -George McBride , 92, shortstop for the Washington Senators known for his defense
*July 7 -Paul Musser , 84, pitcher for the Washington Senators (1912) and Boston Red Sox (1919)
*July 12 -Billy Urbanski , 70, shortstop for the Boston Braves from 1931-1936
*August 7 -Wilbur Cooper , 81, pitcher who won over 200 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates, he was the first NL left-hander to reach that milestone
*August 22 -George Cutshaw , 86, shortstop for the Dodgers, Pirates and Tigers who excelled on defense
*September 5 -Jack Fournier , 83, first baseman for five teams who hit .313 lifetime, led NL in homers in 1924
*September 10 -Roy Johnson , 70, outfielder who batted .300 four times and led AL in doubles and triples once each
*September 11 -Del Baker , 81, member of the Detroit Tigers organization for 28 years as a catcher, coach and manager, he led the team to the 1940 pennant
*September 14 -René Monteagudo , 57, Cuban pitcher and outfielder for the Senators and Phillies
*September 18 - Doug Smith, 81, pitcher for the 1912 Boston Red Sox
*October 8 -Ray Haley , 82, catched from 1915 through 1917 for the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Athletics
*October 22 -Ben Van Dyke , 85, pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies (1909) and Boston Red Sox (1912)
*October 24 -Al Brazle , 60, pitcher who won 97 games for the St. Louis Cardinals, also leading the NL in saves twice
*October 27 -Bennie Tate , 71, catcher for the Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs between 1924 and 1934
*November 2 - Greasy Neale, 81, outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds who batted .357 in the 1919 World Series, but began coaching football to fill the time between baseball seasons
*November 15 -Phil Todt , 72, fine defensive first baseman who played from 1924 to 1931 for the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Athletics
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