| 1973 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | Major League Baseball |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | April 5 – October 21, 1973 |
| Games | 162 |
| Teams | 24 |
| TV partner | NBC |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | David Clyde |
| Picked by | Texas Rangers |
| Regular season | |
| SeasonMVP | AL:Reggie Jackson (OAK) NL:Pete Rose (CIN) |
| Postseason | |
| AL champions | Oakland Athletics |
| AL runners-up | Baltimore Orioles |
| NL champions | New York Mets |
| NL runners-up | Cincinnati Reds |
| World Series | |
| Champions | Oakland Athletics |
| Runners-up | New York Mets |
| World SeriesMVP | Reggie Jackson (OAK) |
| MLB seasons | |
The1973 Major League Baseball season was the first season of thedesignated hitter rule in theAmerican League.[1]
American Leagueumpires began wearingburgundy 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 through1979.
California Angels aceNolan Ryan brokeSandy Koufax's1965 strikeout record of 382 when he struck out 383 batters during the season.
TheOakland Athletics won their second straightWorld Series championship in seven games over theNew York Mets.
TheKansas City Royals moved fromMunicipal Stadium to the newRoyals Stadium (adjacent to theChiefs'football facility) and also hosted theAll-Star Game on July 24 with the NL defeating the AL, 7–1.
TheNew York Yankees played their final season at the originalYankee Stadium; it was closed for remodeling during the1974 and1975 seasons.
InCalifornia on June 19,Pete Rose of theCincinnati Reds andWillie Davis of theLos Angeles Dodgers both collected their 2000th career hit. Rose singled against theSan Francisco Giants while Davis hit a home run against theAtlanta Braves.[2][3]
Alockout in the offseason (February 8–25) did not result in any regular season games being canceled, but the start ofspring training was delayed.[4]
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| League Championship Series (ALCS,NLCS) | World Series | ||||||||
| East | Baltimore | 2 | |||||||
| West | Oakland | 3 | |||||||
| AL | Oakland | 4 | |||||||
| NL | NY Mets | 3 | |||||||
| East | NY Mets | 3 | |||||||
| West | Cincinnati | 2 | |||||||
| 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 Ryan1 CAL | 383 | Tom Seaver NYM | 251 |
| SV | John Hiller DET | 38 | Mike Marshall MON | 31 |
| SB | Tommy Harper BOS | 54 | Lou Brock STL | 70 |
1 Modern (1901–present) single-seasonstrikeouts record
| 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 |
NBC was the exclusive national TV broadcaster of MLB, airing the weekendGame of the Week,Monday Night Baseball, theAll-Star Game, both League Championship Series, and theWorld Series.
