1973 Houston Astros | ||
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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) | |
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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.
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.
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 |
Starting April 9, Bob Watson authored a career-high 19-game hitting streak, batting .388. The streak lasted until April 27. [5]
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). [6]
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. [7]
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. [8]
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. [5]
May also proceeded to tie the club record with three home runs in one game on June 21, while 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. [9] 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. [5]
Cedeño proceeded to repeat the 20–50 club for the second consecutive season, with 25 home runs and 56 stolen bases, [10] also accomplished that year by former Houston Astros teammate Joe Morgan, then a member of the Cincinnati Reds. [11] Cedeño became the first player in major league history to repeat over consecutive seasons. [12]
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 |
Sources: | |||||||||||||||||
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Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MTL | 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 | — |
1973 Houston Astros | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
| Catchers Infielders
| Outfielders
| Manager Coaches |
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 |
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 |
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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 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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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 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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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 |
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 |
Player | AVG | HR | SB |
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César Cedeño [10] | .320 | 25 | 56 |
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