1973 MLB season | |
---|---|
League | Major League Baseball |
Sport | Baseball |
Duration | April 5 – October 21, 1973 |
Number of games | 162 |
Number of teams | 24 |
TV partner(s) | NBC |
Draft | |
Top draft pick | David Clyde |
Picked by | Texas Rangers |
Regular season | |
Season MVP | 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 Series MVP | Reggie Jackson (OAK) |
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]
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 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 |
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 weekend Game of the Week , Monday Night Baseball , the All-Star Game, both League Championship Series, and the World Series.
The 1996 Major League Baseball season was the final season of league-only play before the beginning of interleague play the following season. The season ended with the New York Yankees defeating the defending champion Atlanta Braves in six games for the World Series title, the Yankees' first championship since 1978. The record for most home runs hit in an MLB regular season, set at 4,458 in 1987, was broken, as the AL and NL combined to hit 4,962 home runs. Only 196 shutouts were recorded in the 2,266 MLB regular-season games. This was the first season in the Divisional Series era to be played to the full 162 games, as the 1994–95 player's strike caused the first two seasons of the era to be abbreviated.
The 1943 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 20 to October 11, 1943. The St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees were the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. In a rematch of the prior year's postseason, the Yankees then defeated the Cardinals in the World Series, four games to one.
The 1990 Major League Baseball season saw the Cincinnati Reds upset the heavily favored Oakland Athletics in the World Series, for their first title since 1976.
The 1989 Major League Baseball season saw the Oakland Athletics win their first World Series title since 1974.
The 1935 major league baseball season began on April 16, 1935. The regular season ended on September 29, with the Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 32nd World Series on October 2 and ended with Game 6 on October 7. The The Tigers defeated the Cubs, four games to two.
The 1959 Major League Baseball season was played from April 9 to October 9, 1959. It saw the Los Angeles Dodgers, free of the strife produced by their move from Brooklyn the previous season, rebound to win the National League pennant after a two-game playoff against the Milwaukee Braves, who themselves had moved from Boston in 1953. The Dodgers won the World Series against a Chicago White Sox team that had not played in the "Fall Classic" since 1919 and was interrupting a Yankees' dynasty that dominated the American League between 1949 and 1964.
The 1975 Major League Baseball season saw Frank Robinson become the first black manager in the Major Leagues. He managed the Cleveland Indians.
The 1970 Major League Baseball season: The Seattle Pilots relocated to Milwaukee and became the Brewers, thus returning Major League Baseball to Wisconsin for the first time since the relocation of the Milwaukee Braves to Atlanta following the 1965 season. Major League Baseball returned to Seattle in 1977, when the Mariners began play.
The 1962 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 9 to October 16, 1962. The National League (NL) added two teams via expansion, the Houston Colt .45s and New York Mets. This marked the return of the NL to New York City after a four-year absence, although the Mets would lose 120 games and finish in last place. All major league teams now played 162-game schedules, which had been adopted by the American League (AL) the prior season, with each team facing the nine other clubs in the same league 18 times during the season.
The 1964 Major League Baseball season was played from April 13 to October 15, 1964. This season is often remembered for the end of the New York Yankees' third dynasty, as they won their 29th American League Championship in 44 seasons. However, the Yankees lost the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. As of 2023, the Cardinals are the only National League team to have an edge over the Yankees in series played (3–2), amongst the non-expansion teams, despite holding a losing record in World Series games against them (13–15).
The 1967 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 10 to October 12, 1967. The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Boston Red Sox four games to three in the World Series, which was the first World Series appearance for the Red Sox in 21 years. Following the season, the Kansas City Athletics relocated to Oakland.
The 1952 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 15 to October 7, 1952. The Braves were playing their final season in Boston, before the team relocated to Milwaukee the following year, thus, ending fifty seasons without any MLB team relocating.
The 1971 Major League Baseball season was the final season for the Senators in Washington, D.C., before the team's relocation to the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb Arlington for the following season, as the Texas Rangers, leaving the nation's capital without a baseball team of its own until 2005.
The 1958 Major League Baseball season was played from April 14 to October 15, 1958. It was the first season of play in California for both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants ; in turn, this marked the first teams to ever play on the West Coast. Three teams had relocated earlier in the decade: the Milwaukee Braves, Baltimore Orioles, and Kansas City Athletics. New York went without a National League team for four seasons, until the expansion New York Mets began play in 1962.
The 1933 major league baseball season began on April 12, 1933. The regular season ended on October 1, with the New York Giants and Washington Senators as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 30th World Series on October 3 and ended with Game 5 on October 7. The Giants defeated the Senators, four games to one.
The 1938 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 18 to October 15, 1938. The Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees were the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The Yankees then defeated the Cubs in the World Series, four games to zero. The Yankees became the first team to win the World Series three years in a row.
The 1940 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 16 through October 8, 1940. Both the American League (AL) and National League (NL) had eight teams, with each team playing a 154-game schedule. The Cincinnati Reds won the World Series over the Detroit Tigers in seven games. Hank Greenberg of the Tigers and Frank McCormick of the Reds won the Most Valuable Player Award in the AL and NL, respectively.
The 1942 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 14 to October 5, 1942. The St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees were the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The Cardinals then defeated the Yankees in the World Series, four games to one.
The 1944 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 18 to October 9, 1944. The St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns were the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. In an all-St. Louis postseason, the Cardinals then defeated the Browns in the World Series, four games to two.
The 1976 Major League Baseball season ended with the Cincinnati Reds winning their second consecutive World Series championship.