1973 Major League Baseball season

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

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)

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

Standings

Postseason
See also: 1973 MLB Postseason

Bracket

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

Statistical leaders
Statistic American League National League
AVGRod Carew MIN.350Pete Rose CIN.338
HRReggie Jackson OAK32Willie Stargell PIT44
RBIReggie Jackson OAK117Willie Stargell PIT119
WinsWilbur Wood CHW24Ron Bryant SF24
ERAJim Palmer BAL2.40Tom Seaver NYM2.08
SONolan Ryan CAL383Tom Seaver NYM251
SVJohn Hiller DET38Mike Marshall MTL31
SBTommy Harper BOS54Lou Brock STL70

Home field attendance
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

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
  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.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.