1973 Houston Astros season

1973  Houston Astros
League	National League
Division	West
Ballpark	Astrodome
City	Houston, Texas
Record	82–80 (.506)
Divisional place	4th
Owners	Roy Hofheinz
General managers	Spec Richardson
Managers	Leo Durocher
Television	KPRC-TV
Radio	KPRC (AM) (Gene Elston, Loel Passe)
←  1972 Seasons 1974  →

The 1973 Houston Astros season was the 12th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their ninth as the Astros, 12th in the National League (NL), fifth in the NL West division, and ninth at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season having posted a record of 84–69—the first-ever winning season in franchise history—in second place in the NL West, 10+1⁄2 games behind the division-champion and NL pennant-winning Cincinnati Reds.

On April 6, Dave Roberts made his first Opening Day start for the Astros, who defeated the Braves at Atlanta Stadium, 2–1. During the amateur draft, Houston selected shortstop Calvin Portley in the first round, and pitcher Joe Sambito in the 17th round.

Center fielder César Cedeño and left fielder Bob Watson represented the Astros at the MLB All-Star Game and played for the National League. It was the second career selection for Cedeño and first for Watson. Cedeño produced a second consecutive 20–50 club season, with 25 home runs and 56 stolen bases, the first major leaguer to accomplish this feat.

The Astros concluded the regular season fourth in the NL West with a record of 82–80, 17 games behind the division champions, Cincinnati. Hence, this performance established the Astros' first-ever instance of consecutive winning seasons.

Following the season, Cedeño (second career selection), shortstop Roger Metzger (first) and third baseman Doug Rader (fourth) each earned Gold Glove Awards. For the first time in the award's history, this Gold Glove edition rostered three Astros players.

Offseason

• November 27, 1972: Rich Chiles and Buddy Harris were traded by the Astros to the New York Mets for Tommie Agee. ^[1]
• January 10, 1973: Mike Stanton was drafted by the Astros in the 1st round (5th pick) of the 1973 Major League Baseball draft (secondary phase). ^[2]

Regular season

Summary

April

Opening Day starting lineup ^{[3] [4]}

24	Jimmy Wynn	RF
19	Tommy Helms	2B
28	César Cedeño	CF
27	Bob Watson	LF
23	Lee May	1B
12	Doug Rader	3B
7	Johnny Edwards	C
14	Roger Metzger	SS
15	Dave Roberts	P
Venue:	Atlanta Stadium • HOU 2,	ATL 1

The Astros played Opening Day on April 6 at Atlanta Stadium, where they defeated the Braves, 2–1. In the top of the 13th inning, César Cedeño doubled home Tommy Helms for the game-winning run batted in (RBI), one of his three extra-base hits. Jimmy Wynn slammed a game-tying home run in the sixth. Astros Opening Day starter Dave Roberts lasted the first nine innings, scattered eight hits, and allowed one run. ^[5]

Starting April 9, Bob Watson authored a career-high 19-game hitting streak, batting .388. The streak lasted until April 27. ^[6]

The first-ever Player of the Week Award was presented for the National League by president Chub Feeney to Astros left fielder Jimmy Wynn for the week ended April 16, 1973. Considering the 11 games played since Opening Day on April 6, Wynn connected for 6 home runs, 10 RBI, one double, one triple, and had carried a batting average of .313 (15-for-48). ^[7]

May

Displeased with the result of a contest on May 15, Houston GM Spec Richardson resorted to sending his message through the scoreboard of the Astrodome, blaming umpires Augie Donatelli and Bruce Froemming for blown calls in a 4–1 loss to the Atlanta Braves. He charged the missed calls changed the outcome of the game; however, this instead resulted in a $500 fine. ^[8]

Down 7–0 on May 20, the San Francisco Giants came all the way back to tie, 7–7. However, a solo home run from Jimmy Wynn gave Houston an 8–7 win, while also allowing them to take sole possession of first place. ^[9]

Beginning May 30, and until June 21, Lee May put together a 21-game hitting streak to set a franchise record, punctuated by his performance during the final four days from June 17–21. On June 17, May went 3-for-5, including his 1,000th career hit. ^[6]

June

May also proceeded to tie the club record with three home runs in one game on June 21, ^{[a] [10]} on the way to career day. It was the only three-home run game and four-run contest of May's career, and his only four-hit game of the campaign. ^[11] Meanwhile, Ken Forsch hurled a complete game to lead a 12–2 win over the San Diego Padres. May delivered 5 RBI and Tommy Helms also connected for a grand slam. ^[12]

During the final four games of Lee's hitting streak he collected 13 RBI. Over the entirety of the steak, Lee batted .407, going 35-for-86. One curiosity emerged as Lee did not draw any bases on balls from the streak's start to finish. His record displaced Rusty Staub's 20-game streak from June 30 to July 21, 1967, and remained until surpassed by teammate César Cedeño from August 25 to September 21, 1977, when Cedeño hit in 22 contests consecutively. On June 22, 1973, the day that Lee's streak ended, he went 0-for-2 while drawing two walks. ^[6]

MLB All-Star Game

Center fielder César Cedeño and left fielder Bob Watson were both recognized as MLB All-Stars, representing the Astros, while the game was hosted at Royals Stadium. Cedeño was named starter at center field, his first time as starter, first Astro to start at the position, and first All-Star Game starter from the Astros since teammate Lee May at first base during the 1972 Classic. This was the second career selection for Cedeño and first for Watson. ^[13] Cedeño collected a single and an RBI in three at bats while Watson was inserted as a defensive replacement in left field as the National League defeated the American League, 7–1. ^[14]

August

A harbinger of their fortunes against this moundsman, ^[15] J. R. Richard chucked his first major league shutout on August 1, a 5–0 triumph over the Los Angeles Dodgers. ^[16] Shaking a deep slump, ^[15] Jimmy Wynn collected a double, single, drew a base on balls and hit a run batted in (RBI) to spearhead Houston's tallies. ^[17]

On August 20, Richard stymied the Pittsburgh Pirates on a complete game two-hitter as Houston bombed to a 10-2 triumph. He took a no-hit bid into the seventh until Al Oliver singled with two outs By that point, Lee May had blasted a three-run shot in the bottom of the fourth and Bob Watson followed up in the fifth by launching a grand slam. Richard ended up with nine strikeouts and a game score of 81. ^[18]

Performance overview

Houston concluded the season with an 82–80 (.506) record, in fourth place and trailing the division-champion Reds by 17 games. ^[19] Though the Astros' record slipped from a then-franchise best 84–69 (.549) by two victories and from second to fourth place, the 1972–1973 campaigns distinguished the first time in franchise annals with consecutive winning seasons. This was their third season of 81 wins or more (also 1969). Moreover, the 82 wins signified a fifth consecutive season of winning a minimum of 79 bouts, after having lost 90 or more contests in each of the first seven campaigns. ^[20]

Cedeño proceeded to repeat the 20–50 club for the second consecutive season, with 25 home runs and 56 stolen bases, ^[21] also accomplished that year by former Houston Astros teammate Joe Morgan, then a member of the Cincinnati Reds. ^[22] Cedeño became the first player in major league history to repeat over consecutive seasons. ^[23] In addition, Cedeño expanded on his status as the first Astro to attain 50 stolen bases for a second campaign, during a club-record span of six consecutive seasons through 1977. ^{[b] [24]}

Also for the first time, the Astros headlined three Gold Glove awardees. Third baseman Doug Rader captured a third sequential to extend his club record. Cedeño was recognized among outfielders for a second season, joining Rader as Astros who had won in multiplex seasons. Meanwhile, Roger Metzger drew his first, also becoming the first Astro to win for the position of shortstop. ^[25]

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

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

Record vs. opponents

1973 National League record v t e Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	7–5	5–13	11–7	2–15–1	6–6	6–6	6–6	7–5	12–6	8–10	6–6
Chicago	5–7	—	8–4	6–6	5–7	9–9	10–7	10–8	6–12	7–5	2–10	9–9
Cincinnati	13–5	4–8	—	11–7	11–7	8–4	8–4	8–4	7–5	13–5	10–8	6–6
Houston	7–11	6–6	7–11	—	11–7	6–6	6–6	7–5	6–6	10–8	11–7	5–7
Los Angeles	15–2–1	7–5	7–11	7–11	—	7–5	7–5	9–3	10–2	9–9	9–9	8–4
Montreal	6–6	9–9	4–8	6–6	5–7	—	9–9	13–5	6–12	7–5	6–6	8–10
New York	6–6	7–10	4–8	6–6	5–7	9–9	—	9–9	13–5	8–4	5–7	10–8
Philadelphia	6-6	8–10	4–8	5–7	3–9	5–13	9–9	—	8–10	9–3	5–7	9–9
Pittsburgh	5–7	12–6	5–7	6–6	2–10	12–6	5–13	10–8	—	8–4	5–7	10–8
San Diego	6–12	5–7	5–13	8–10	9–9	5–7	4–8	3–9	4–8	—	7–11	4–8
San Francisco	10–8	10–2	8–10	7–11	9–9	6–6	7–5	7–5	7–5	11–7	—	6–6
St. Louis	6–6	9–9	6–6	7–5	4–8	10–8	8–10	9–9	8–10	8–4	6–6	—

Notable transactions

• July 31, 1973: Jesús Alou was purchased from the Astros by the Oakland Athletics. ^[26]
• August 18, 1973: Tommie Agee was traded by the Astros to the St. Louis Cardinals for Dave Campbell and cash. ^[1]

Draft picks

• June 5, 1973: 1973 Major League Baseball draft
  • Ken Landreaux was drafted by the Astros in the 8th round, but did not sign. ^[27]
  • Mike Davey was drafted by the Astros in the 18th round, but did not sign. ^[28]

Roster

1973 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers 37 Mike Cosgrove 30 Jim Crawford 49 Larry Dierker 43 Ken Forsch 48 Fred Gladding 38 Tom Griffin 46 Doug Konieczny 39 Juan Pizarro 45 Jim Ray 47 Jerry Reuss 50 J. R. Richard 15 Dave Roberts 34 Cecil Upshaw 40 Don Wilson 42 Jim York		Catchers  7 Johnny Edwards 10 Larry Howard  9 Skip Jutze  9 Otis Thornton Infielders  8 Rafael Batista 16 Ray Busse 20 Dave Campbell 19 Tommy Helms  6 Cliff Johnson 23 Lee May 14 Roger Metzger 12 Doug Rader 11 Jimmy Stewart 17 Gary Sutherland 17 Héctor Torres		Outfielders 20 Tommie Agee 22 Jesús Alou 28 César Cedeño 22 Mike Easler 25 Bob Gallagher 21 Greg Gross 21 Norm Miller 27 Bob Watson 24 Jimmy Wynn		Manager  2 Leo Durocher Coaches  4 Preston Gómez  1 Grady Hatton  3 Hub Kittle  5 Bob Lillis

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Skip Jutze	90	278	62	.223	0	18
1B	Lee May	148	545	147	.270	28	105
2B	Tommy Helms	146	543	156	.287	4	61
SS	Roger Metzger	154	580	145	.250	1	35
3B	Doug Rader	154	574	146	.254	21	89
LF	Bob Watson	158	573	179	.312	16	94
CF	César Cedeño	139	525	168	.320	25	70
RF	Jim Wynn	139	481	106	.220	20	55

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Johnny Edwards	79	250	61	.244	5	27
Tommie Agee	83	204	48	.235	8	15
Bob Gallagher	71	148	39	.264	2	10
Jimmy Stewart	61	68	13	.191	0	3
Héctor Torres	38	66	6	.091	0	2
Jesús Alou	28	55	13	.236	1	8
Gary Sutherland	16	54	14	.259	0	3
Larry Howard	20	48	8	.167	0	4
Greg Gross	14	39	9	.231	0	1
Cliff Johnson	7	20	6	.300	2	6
Ray Busse	15	17	1	.059	0	0
Rafael Batista	12	15	4	.267	0	2
Dave Campbell	9	15	4	.267	0	2
Mike Easler	6	7	0	.000	0	0
Otis Thornton	2	3	0	.000	0	1
Norm Miller	3	3	0	.000	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Jerry Reuss	41	279.1	16	13	3.74	177
Dave Roberts	39	249.1	17	11	2.85	119
Don Wilson	37	239.1	11	16	3.20	149
Doug Konieczny	2	13.0	0	1	5.54	6

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Ken Forsch	46	201.1	9	12	4.20	149
Tom Griffin	25	99.2	4	6	4.15	69
J.R. Richard	16	72.0	6	2	4.00	75
Larry Dierker	14	27.0	1	1	4.33	18

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Jim Crawford	48	2	4	6	4.50	56
Jim Ray	42	6	4	6	4.43	25
Jim York	41	3	4	6	4.42	22
Cecil Upshaw	35	2	3	1	4.46	21
Fred Gladding	16	2	0	1	4.50	9
Juan Pizarro	15	2	2	0	6.56	10
Mike Cosgrove	13	1	1	0	1.80	2

Awards and achievements

Grand slams

No.	Date	Astros batter	Venue	Inning	Pitcher	Opposing team	Box
1	May 6	Lee May	Shea Stadium	7	Ray Sadecki	New York Mets	[29]
2	June 21	Tommy Helms	San Diego Stadium	4	Mike Corkins	San Diego Padres	[30]
3	July 4	Lee May	Atlanta Stadium	9	Danny Frisella	Atlanta Braves	[31]

Offensive achievements

20 home runs—50 stolen bases club

Player	AVG	HR	SB
César Cedeño [21]	.320	25	56

Awards

• Gold Gloves:
  • Outfielder ^[32] —César Cedeño
  • Shortstop ^[33] —Roger Metzger
  • Third base ^[34] —Doug Rader
• Houston Astros Most Valuable Player (MVP): ^[35] Roger Metzger
• MLB All-Star Game: ^[14]
  • Starting center fielder—César Cedeño
  • Reserve outfielder—Bob Watson
• NL Player of the Week ^{[7] [36]} –April 16: Jimmy Wynn
• The Sporting News NL All-Star—Outfielder: César Cedeño ^[21]

League leaders NL batting leaders Triples: Roger Metzger (14, led MLB)

NL pitching leaders Bases on balls allowed: Jerry Reuss (117) Games started: Jerry Reuss (40)

Minor league system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Denver Bears	American Association	Jimmy Williams
AA	Columbus Astros	Southern League	Wayne Terwilliger
A	Cedar Rapids Astros	Midwest League	Leo Posada
Rookie	Covington Astros	Appalachian League	Billy Smith

See also

• Texas portal
• Baseball portal

• 20–50 club
• List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders

Notes

1. The second three-home run game in club history, May was preceded by Wynn on June 15, 1967, while Glenn Davis succeeded him on September 10, 1987.
2. For single seasons, playing for HOU, in the regular season, requiring stolen bases ≥ 50, sorted by descending stolen bases.

References

1. "Tommie Agee stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 6, 2025.
2. "Mike Stanton stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
3. "Houston Astros (2) vs Atlanta Braves (1) box score". Baseball Almanac . April 6, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
4. "1973 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
5. "Los Angeles Dodgers (2) vs Houston Astros (5) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. April 5, 1973. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
6. Smith, David. "Houston Astros hitting streaks". Astros Daily. Retrieved September 27, 2025– via Retrosheet.
7. "Jimmy Wynn is Player of Week". The World . Coos Bay, Oregon. United Press International (UPI). April 17, 1973. p. 13. Retrieved September 23, 2025– via newspapers.com.
8. Schwartzberg, Seth (May 15, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 15". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation . Retrieved September 5, 2025.
9. Schwartzberg, Seth (May 20, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 20". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
10. "3 home runs in a game". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
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14. "1973 All-Star Game box score". Baseball-Reference.com. July 24, 1973. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
15. Hulsey, Bob. "This date in Astros history". Astros Daily. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
16. "J. R. Richard 1973 pitching game logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
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19. "1973 National League team statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
20. "Houston Astros team history & encyclopedia". Baaseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
21. "César Cedeño stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
22. "Joe Morgan stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
23. "Astros history – Timeline". MLB.com . Retrieved August 31, 2025.
24. "Player batting season & career stats finder–baseball". Stathead. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 13, 2026.
25. "MLB Gold Glove Award winners—National League". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
26. "Jesús Alou stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
27. "Ken Landreaux stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
28. Mike Davey at Baseball Reference
29. "Houston Astros (14) vs New York Mets (8) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. May 6, 1973. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
30. "Houston Astros (12) vs San Diego Padres (2) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. June 21, 1973. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
31. "Houston Astros (12) vs Atlanta Braves (8) box score—Game 2". Baseball-Reference.com. July 4, 1973. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
32. "Gold Glove outfielders in the National League". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
33. "Gold Glove shortstops". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
34. "Gold Glove third basemen". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
35. McTaggart, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
36. "MLB Players of the Week Awards". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 9, 2025.

External links

• 1973 Houston Astros season at Baseball Reference