1973 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1973 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1973 in baseball.
1973 MLB season
LeagueMajor League Baseball
SportBaseball
DurationApril 5 – October 21, 1973
Number of games162
Number of teams24
TV partner(s)NBC
Draft
Top draft pickDavid Clyde
Picked byTexas Rangers
Regular season
Season MVPAL: Reggie Jackson (OAK)
NL: Pete Rose (CIN)
Postseason
AL championsOakland Athletics
  AL runners-upBaltimore Orioles
NL championsNew York Mets
  NL runners-upCincinnati Reds
World Series
ChampionsOakland Athletics
  Runners-upNew York Mets
World Series MVPReggie Jackson (OAK)
MLB seasons
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Locations of teams for the 1973 American League season
West   East
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Locations of teams for the 1971–1976 National League seasons
West   East

The 1973 Major League Baseball season was the first season of the designated hitter rule in the American League.[1]

American League umpires began wearing burgundy blazers with blue pants, a change from the navy blue coats and gray pants worn the previous five seasons (1968–1972). The burgundy blazers were worn through 1979.

California Angels ace Nolan Ryan broke Sandy Koufax's 1965 strikeout record of 382 when he struck out 383 batters during the season.

The Oakland Athletics won their second straight World Series championship in seven games over the New York Mets.

The Kansas City Royals moved from Municipal Stadium to the new Royals Stadium (adjacent to the Chiefs' football facility) and also hosted the All-Star Game on July 24 with the NL defeating the AL, 7–1.

The New York Yankees played their final season at the original Yankee Stadium; it was closed for remodeling during the 1974 and 1975 seasons.

In California on June 19, Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds and Willie Davis of the Los Angeles Dodgers both collected their 2000th career hit. Rose singled against the San Francisco Giants while Davis hit a home run against the Atlanta Braves.[2][3]

A lockout in the offseason (February 8–25) did not result in any regular season games being canceled, but the start of spring training was delayed.[4]

Awards and honors

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Standings

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American League

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AL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Baltimore Orioles 97 65 .599 — 50‍–‍31 47‍–‍34
Boston Red Sox 89 73 .549 8 48‍–‍33 41‍–‍40
Detroit Tigers 85 77 .525 12 47‍–‍34 38‍–‍43
New York Yankees 80 82 .494 17 50‍–‍31 30‍–‍51
Milwaukee Brewers 74 88 .457 23 40‍–‍41 34‍–‍47
Cleveland Indians 71 91 .438 26 34‍–‍47 37‍–‍44
AL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Oakland Athletics 94 68 .580 — 50‍–‍31 44‍–‍37
Kansas City Royals 88 74 .543 6 48‍–‍33 40‍–‍41
Minnesota Twins 81 81 .500 13 37‍–‍44 44‍–‍37
California Angels 79 83 .488 15 43‍–‍38 36‍–‍45
Chicago White Sox 77 85 .475 17 40‍–‍41 37‍–‍44
Texas Rangers 57 105 .352 37 35‍–‍46 22‍–‍59

National League

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NL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Mets 82 79 .509 — 43‍–‍38 39‍–‍41
St. Louis Cardinals 81 81 .500 1½ 43‍–‍38 38‍–‍43
Pittsburgh Pirates 80 82 .494 2½ 41‍–‍40 39‍–‍42
Montreal Expos 79 83 .488 3½ 43‍–‍38 36‍–‍45
Chicago Cubs 77 84 .478 5 41‍–‍39 36‍–‍45
Philadelphia Phillies 71 91 .438 11½ 38‍–‍43 33‍–‍48
NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cincinnati Reds 99 63 .611 — 50‍–‍31 49‍–‍32
Los Angeles Dodgers 95 66 .590 3½ 50‍–‍31 45‍–‍35
San Francisco Giants 88 74 .543 11 47‍–‍34 41‍–‍40
Houston Astros 82 80 .506 17 41‍–‍40 41‍–‍40
Atlanta Braves 76 85 .472 22½ 40‍–‍40 36‍–‍45
San Diego Padres 60 102 .370 39 31‍–‍50 29‍–‍52

Postseason

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See also: 1973 MLB Postseason

Bracket

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League Championship Series
(ALCS, NLCS)		World Series
EastBaltimore63150
WestOakland06211*43
ALOakland273111035
NLNY Mets1101226212
EastNY Mets15917
WestCincinnati2*022122

*Denotes walk-off

Statistical leaders

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Statistic American League National League
AVG Rod Carew MIN .350 Pete Rose CIN .338
HR Reggie Jackson OAK 32 Willie Stargell PIT 44
RBI Reggie Jackson OAK 117 Willie Stargell PIT 119
Wins Wilbur Wood CWS 24 Ron Bryant SF 24
ERA Jim Palmer BAL 2.40 Tom Seaver NYM 2.08
SO Nolan Ryan CAL 383 Tom Seaver NYM 251
SV John Hiller DET 38 Mike Marshall MTL 31
SB Tommy Harper BOS 54 Lou Brock STL 70

Home field attendance

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Team name Wins %± Home attendance %± Per game
Los Angeles Dodgers[5] 95 11.8% 2,136,192 14.8% 26,373
Cincinnati Reds[6] 99 4.2% 2,017,601 25.2% 24,909
New York Mets[7] 82 −1.2% 1,912,390 −10.4% 23,610
Detroit Tigers[8] 85 −1.2% 1,724,146 −8.9% 21,286
St. Louis Cardinals[9] 81 8.0% 1,574,046 31.5% 19,433
Boston Red Sox[10] 89 4.7% 1,481,002 2.7% 18,284
Philadelphia Phillies[11] 71 20.3% 1,475,934 9.9% 18,221
Houston Astros[12] 82 −2.4% 1,394,004 −5.1% 17,210
Chicago Cubs[13] 77 −9.4% 1,351,705 4.0% 16,896
Kansas City Royals[14] 88 15.8% 1,345,341 90.1% 16,609
Pittsburgh Pirates[15] 80 −16.7% 1,319,913 −7.5% 16,295
Chicago White Sox[16] 77 −11.5% 1,302,527 10.6% 16,081
New York Yankees[17] 80 1.3% 1,262,103 30.6% 15,582
Montreal Expos[18] 79 12.9% 1,246,863 9.2% 15,393
Milwaukee Brewers[19] 74 13.8% 1,092,158 81.9% 13,483
California Angels[20] 79 5.3% 1,058,206 42.2% 13,064
Oakland Athletics[21] 94 1.1% 1,000,763 8.6% 12,355
Baltimore Orioles[22] 97 21.3% 958,667 6.5% 11,835
Minnesota Twins[23] 81 5.2% 907,499 13.7% 11,204
San Francisco Giants[24] 88 27.5% 834,193 28.8% 10,299
Atlanta Braves[25] 76 8.6% 800,655 6.3% 9,885
Texas Rangers[26] 57 5.6% 686,085 3.5% 8,470
Cleveland Indians[27] 71 −1.4% 615,107 −1.8% 7,594
San Diego Padres[28] 60 3.4% 611,826 −5.0% 7,553

Television coverage

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NBC was the exclusive national TV broadcaster of MLB, airing the weekend Game of the Week, Monday Night Baseball, the All-Star Game, both League Championship Series, and the World Series.

References

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  1. ^ "The Historical Evolution of the Designated Hitter Rule," Archived June 1, 2020, at the Wayback Machine Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), John Cronin, Fall 2016.
  2. ^ "Rose gets 2,000th hit, Norman blanks Giants". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. June 20, 1973. p. 29.
  3. ^ "Phils triumph as Lonborg, Schmidt lead". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. June 20, 1973. p. 3B.
  4. ^ "The Lockout of 1973". MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement. August 5, 2010. Retrieved December 2, 2021 – via Blogspot.
  5. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  6. ^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  7. ^ "New York Mets Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  8. ^ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  9. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  10. ^ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  11. ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  12. ^ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  13. ^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  14. ^ "Kansas City Royals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  15. ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  16. ^ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  17. ^ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  18. ^ "Washington Nationals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  19. ^ "Milwaukee Brewers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  20. ^ "Los Angeles Angels Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  21. ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  22. ^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  23. ^ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  24. ^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  25. ^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  26. ^ "Texas Rangers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  27. ^ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  28. ^ "San Diego Padres Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
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