The 1973 Major League Baseball season was the first season of the designated hitter rule in the American League.[1]
| 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) |
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
- Baseball Hall of Fame
- Most Valuable Player
- Cy Young Award
- Rookie of the Year
- Gold Glove Award
- George Scott (1B) (AL)
- Bobby Grich (2B) (AL)
- Brooks Robinson (3B) (AL)
- Mark Belanger (SS) (AL)
- Paul Blair (OF) (AL)
- Amos Otis (OF) (AL)
- Mickey Stanley (OF) (AL)
- Thurman Munson (C) (AL)
- Jim Kaat (P) (AL)
Standings
American League
| 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 |
National League
| 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 |
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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
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.