1973 Oakland Athletics
World Series Champions
American League Champions
American League West Champions
LeagueAmerican League
DivisionWest
BallparkOakland-Alameda County Coliseum
CityOakland, California
Record94–68 (.580)
OwnersCharles O. Finley
ManagersDick Williams
TelevisionKTVU
RadioKEEN
(Monte Moore, Jim Woods, Bill Rigney)
← 1972 Seasons 1974 →

The 1973 Oakland Athletics season involved the A's winning their third consecutive American League West title with a record of 94 wins and 68 losses. The A's went on to defeat the Baltimore Orioles in the ALCS for their second straight AL Championship, and won the World Series in seven games over the New York Mets to take their second consecutive World Championship.

Offseason

Round 1: Mike Norris (24th pick).[5]
Secondary Phase
Round 1: Warren Cromartie (10th pick) (did not sign).[6]

Regular season

The 1973 A's had three 20-game winners in Jim (Catfish) Hunter, Ken Holtzman and Vida Blue.[10]

The A's were on the receiving end of some milestones as well. On July 3, Nolan Ryan struck out Sal Bando of the Athletics for the 1000th strikeout in his career.[11] On July 30, Jim Bibby threw the first no-hitter in Texas Rangers history as he no-hit the Athletics.[12] The Rangers won the game 6–0.

Opening Day starters

Season standings

AL West 		W L Pct. GB Home Road
Oakland Athletics 94 68 0.580 — 50–31 44–37
Kansas City Royals 88 74 0.543 6 48–33 40–41
Minnesota Twins 81 81 0.500 13 37–44 44–37
California Angels 79 83 0.488 15 43–38 36–45
Chicago White Sox 77 85 0.475 17 40–41 37–44
Texas Rangers 57 105 0.352 37 35–46 22–59

Record vs. opponents

1973 American League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team BAL BOS CAL CWS CLE DET KC MIL MIN NYY OAK TEX
Baltimore — 7–11 6–6 8–4 12–6 9–9 8–4 15–3 8–4 9–9 5–7 10–2
Boston 11–7 — 7–5 6–6 9–9 3–15 8–4 12–6 6–6 14–4 4–8 9–3
California 6–6 5–7 — 8–10 5–7 7–5 10–8 5–7 10–8 6–6 6–12 11–7
Chicago 4–8 6–6 10–8 — 7–5 5–7 6–12 3–9 9–9 8–4 6–12 13–5
Cleveland 6–12 9–9 7–5 5–7 — 9–9 2–10 9–9 7–5 7–11 3–9 7–5
Detroit 9–9 15–3 5–7 7–5 9–9 — 4–8 12–6 5–7 7–11 7–5 5–7
Kansas City 4–8 4–8 8–10 12–6 10–2 8–4 — 8–4 9–9 6–6 8–10 11–7
Milwaukee 3–15 6–12 7–5 9–3 9–9 6–12 4–8 — 8–4 10–8 4–8 8–4
Minnesota 4–8 6–6 8–10 9–9 5–7 7–5 9–9 4–8 — 3–9 14–4 12–6
New York 9–9 4–14 6–6 4–8 11–7 11–7 6–6 8–10 9–3 — 4–8 8–4
Oakland 7–5 8–4 12–6 12–6 9–3 5–7 10–8 8–4 4–14 8–4 — 11–7
Texas 2–10 3–9 7–11 5–13 5–7 7–5 7–11 4–8 6–12 4–8 7–11 —


Notable transactions

Draft picks

Roster

1973 Oakland Athletics
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

Starters by position

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

Pos Player G AB R H Avg. HR RBI SB
C Ray Fosse 143 492 37 126 .256 7 52 2
1B Gene Tenace 160 510 83 132 .259 24 84 2
2B Dick Green 133 332 33 87 .262 3 42 0
3B Sal Bando 162 592 97 170 .287 29 98 4
SS Bert Campaneris 151 601 89 150 .250 4 46 34
LF Joe Rudi 120 437 53 118 .270 12 66 0
CF Billy North 146 554 98 158 .285 5 34 53
RF Reggie Jackson 151 539 99 158 .293 32 117 22
DH Deron Johnson 131 464 61 114 .246 19 81 0

[24]

Other batters

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

Player G AB R H Avg. HR RBI SB
Ángel Mangual 74 192 20 43 .224 3 13 1
Ted Kubiak 106 182 15 40 .220 3 17 1
Billy Conigliaro 48 110 5 22 .200 0 14 1
Jesús Alou 36 108 10 33 .306 1 11 0
Mike Hegan 75 71 8 13 .183 1 5 0
Rich McKinney 48 65 9 16 .246 1 7 0
Vic Davalillo 38 64 5 12 .188 0 4 0
Pat Bourque 23 42 8 8 .190 2 9 0
Jay Johnstone 23 28 1 3 .107 0 3 0
Gonzalo Márquez 23 25 1 6 .240 0 2 0
Mike Andrews 18 21 1 4 .190 0 0 0
Dal Maxvill 29 19 0 4 .211 0 1 0
Tim Hosley 13 14 3 3 .214 0 2 0
José Morales 6 14 0 4 .286 0 1 0
Manny Trillo 17 12 0 3 .250 0 3 0
Rico Carty 7 8 1 2 .250 1 1 0
Phil Garner 9 5 0 0 .000 0 0 0
Larry Haney 2 2 0 1 .500 0 0 0
Allan Lewis 35 0 16 0 ---- 0 0 7

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA BB SO
Ken Holtzman 40 297.1 21 13 2.97 66 157
Vida Blue 37 263.2 20 9 3.28 105 158
Catfish Hunter 36 256.1 21 5 3.34 69 124
Blue Moon Odom 30 150.1 5 12 4.49 67 83
Dave Hamilton 16 69.2 6 4 4.39 24 34
Chuck Dobson 1 2.1 0 1 7.71 2 3

[24]

Other pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA BB SO
Glenn Abbott 5 18.2 1 0 3.86 7 6

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L SV ERA BB SO
Rollie Fingers 62 126.2 7 8 22 1.92 39 110
Darold Knowles 52 99.0 6 8 9 3.09 49 46
Horacio Piña 47 88.0 6 3 8 2.76 34 41
Paul Lindblad 36 78.0 1 5 2 3.69 28 33
Rob Gardner 3 7.1 0 0 0 4.91 2 4

Postseason

ALCS

Main article: 1973 American League Championship Series

Game 1

October 6, 1973, at Memorial Stadium

In Game 1, the Orioles jumped on Oakland starter Vida Blue and reliever Horacio Piña for four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Jim Palmer pitched a 5-hit shutout as the Orioles won, 6–0.

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Oakland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
Baltimore 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 X 6 12 0
W: Jim Palmer (1–0)   L: Vida Blue (0–1)   
HR: None

Game 2

October 7, 1973, at Memorial Stadium

In Game 2, the Athletics hit three home runs off Baltimore starter Dave McNally, and won 6–3 behind Catfish Hunter.

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Oakland 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 1 6 9 0
Baltimore 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 3 8 0
W: Catfish Hunter (1–0)   L: Dave McNally (0–1)   S: Rollie Fingers (1)
HR: OAK – Bert Campaneris (1), Joe Rudi (1), Sal Bando 2 (2)

Game 3

October 9, 1973, at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

In Game 3, the Athletics won 2–1 when shortstop Bert Campaneris homered to lead off the bottom of the 11th inning.

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 R H E
Baltimore 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0
Oakland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 4 3
W: Ken Holtzman (1–0)   L: Mike Cuellar (0–1)
HR: OAK – Bert Campaneris (2) BAL – Earl Williams (1)

Game 4

October 10, 1973, at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

In Game 4, the Athletics held a 4–0 lead after six innings, but the Orioles scored four in the seventh off Blue to tie the game; the key blow was a three-run home run by catcher Andy Etchebarren. Baltimore second baseman Bobby Grich broke the tie with a solo home run in the 8th inning, and the Orioles went on to win, 5–4.

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Baltimore 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 5 8 0
Oakland 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 7 0
W: Grant Jackson (1–0)   L: Rollie Fingers (0–1)
HR: BAL – Andy Etchebarren (1), Bobby Grich (1)

Game 5

October 11, 1973, at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

In Game 5, Hunter pitched a 5-hit shutout as the Athletics won, 3–0, and took the series 3 games to 2.

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Baltimore 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2
Oakland 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 X 3 7 0
W: Catfish Hunter (2–0)   L: Doyle Alexander (0–1)
HR: None

World Series

Main article: 1973 World Series

The Athletics' victory over the New York Mets in the 1973 Series was marred by Charlie O. Finley's antics. Finley forced Mike Andrews to sign a false affidavit saying he was injured after the reserve second baseman committed two consecutive errors in the 12th inning of the A's Game Two loss to the Mets. This would allow Manny Trillo, ineligible because he was not a member of the team on Sep 1, to be activated.[25]

By demeaning Mike Andrews, Finley brought on open rebellion, the logical progression for a team that has never deluded itself about being a happy ship. The A's worked out at Shea with Andrews' No. 17 taped to their uniforms as a sign of sympathy with him. By then he was back home in Peabody, Massachusetts.[25] When other team members, manager Dick Williams, and virtually the entire viewing public rallied to Andrews' defense, commissioner Bowie Kuhn forced Finley to back down. Andrews entered Game 4 in the eighth inning as a pinch-hitter. As he walked to the on-deck circle the crowd of 54,817 at Shea Stadium spotted his No. 17 and commenced cheering.[25] He promptly grounded out, and Finley ordered him benched for the remainder of the Series.

Andrews never played another major league game. Williams was so disgusted by the affair that he announced his resignation as manager while the series was still being played.[26] Finley retaliated by vetoing Williams' attempt to become manager of the Yankees. Finley claimed that since Williams still owed Oakland the last year of his contract, he could not manage anywhere else. Finley relented later in 1974 and allowed Williams to take over as manager of the California Angels.

The A's won the World Series in seven games after rallying from a three games to two deficit.

Summary

AL Oakland Athletics (4) vs. NL New York Mets (3)

Game Score Date Location Attendance Time of Game
1 Mets – 1, A's – 2 October 13 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 46,021 2:26
2 Mets – 10, A's – 7 (12 inns) October 14 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 55,989 4:13
3 A's – 3, Mets – 2 (11 inns) October 16 Shea Stadium 54,817 3:15
4 A's – 1, Mets – 6 October 17 Shea Stadium 54,817 2:41
5 A's – 0, Mets – 2 October 18 Shea Stadium 54,817 2:39
6 Mets – 1, A's – 3 October 20 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 49,333 2:07
7 Mets – 2, A's – 5 October 21 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 49,333 2:37

Awards and honors

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Tucson Toros Pacific Coast League Sherm Lollar
AA Birmingham A's Southern League Harry Bright
A Burlington Bees Midwest League Rene Lachemann
A-Short Season Lewiston Broncos Northwest League Mike Sgobba

References

  1. ^ Rich McKinney page at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ Horacio Piña page at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ Orlando Cepeda page on Baseball Reference
  4. ^ 1973 Oakland Athletics Picks in the MLB January Amateur Draft
  5. ^ Mike Norris page at Baseball Reference
  6. ^ Warren Cromartie page on Baseball Reference
  7. ^ a b Jerry McNertney page at Baseball Reference
  8. ^ Ray Fosse page at Baseball Reference
  9. ^ Jay Johnstone page at Baseball Reference
  10. ^ "Sporting News: Baseball History of the World Series". Archived from the original on June 11, 2010. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  11. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2008.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ^ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 144, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
  13. ^ Tim Hosley page at Baseball Reference
  14. ^ Mark Budaska page at Baseball Reference
  15. ^ Steve McCatty page at Baseball Reference
  16. ^ Dal Maxvill page at Baseball Reference
  17. ^ Jesus Alou page at Baseball Reference
  18. ^ Pat Bourque page at Baseball Reference
  19. ^ Rico Carty page at Baseball Reference
  20. ^ Floyd Bannister page at Baseball Reference
  21. ^ Matt Keough page at Baseball Reference
  22. ^ Derek Bryant page at Baseball Reference
  23. ^ Craig Mitchell page at Baseball Reference
  24. ^ a b "1973 Oakland Athletics Statistics".
  25. ^ a b c CNN/SI – 1998 MLB Postseason – 1973 World Series
  26. ^ Williams to resign from Oakland job

External links

World Series champions
American League champions
American League West champions
1973 MLB season by team
Oakland Athletics 1973 World Series champions
Oakland Athletics
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