Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Oakland Athletics over New York Mets (4–3); Reggie Jackson, MVP
All-Star Game, July 24 at Royals Stadium: National League, 7–1; Bobby Bonds, MVP
Other champions College World Series: USC Japan Series: Yomiuri Giants over Nankai Hawks (4–1) Big League World Series: Lincolnwood, Illinois Little League World Series: Tainan City, Taiwan Senior League World Series: Taipei, Taiwan Winter Leagues 1973 Caribbean Series: Tigres del Licey Dominican Republic League: Tigres del Licey Mexican Pacific League: Yaquis de Obregón Puerto Rican League: Cangrejeros de Santurce Venezuelan League: Leones del Caracas
Awards and honors Baseball Hall of Fame Roberto Clemente Monte Irvin George Kelly Warren Spahn Mickey Welch Billy Evans (umpire)
Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards BBWAA Award National League American League Rookie of the Year Gary Matthews (SF) Al Bumbry (BAL) Cy Young Award Tom Seaver (NYM) Jim Palmer (BAL) Most Valuable Player Pete Rose (CIN) Reggie Jackson (OAK) Babe Ruth Award(World Series MVP) — Bert Campaneris (OAK)Gold Glove Awards Position National League American League Pitcher Bob Gibson (STL) Jim Kaat (CWS/) Catcher Johnny Bench (CIN) Thurman Munson (NYY) 1st Base Mike Jorgensen (MON) George Scott (MIL) 2nd Base Joe Morgan (CIN) Bobby Grich (BAL) 3rd Base Doug Rader (HOU) Brooks Robinson (BAL) Shortstop Roger Metzger (HOU) Mark Belanger (BAL)Outfield Bobby Bonds (SF) Paul Blair (BAL) César Cedeño (HOU) Amos Otis (KC) Willie Davis (LAD) Mickey Stanley (DET)
Statistical leaders American LeagueNational League Stat Player Total Player Total 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 W Wilbur Wood (CWS) 24 Ron Bryant (SF) 24 ERA Jim Palmer (BAL) 2.40 Tom Seaver (NYM) 2.08 K Nolan Ryan1 (CAL) 383 Tom Seaver (NYM) 251 1 Modern (1901–present) single-season strikeout record
Major league baseball final standings American League final standings
National League final standings
Nippon Professional Baseball final standings Central League final standings + Central League Pos Team G W L T Pct. GB1Yomiuri Giants13066604.524—2Hanshin Tigers13064597.5200.53Chunichi Dragons13064615.5121.54Yakult Atoms13062653.4884.55Taiyo Whales13060646.4845.06Hiroshima Toyo Carp13060673.4726.5
Pacific League final standings + Pacific League Pos Team G W L T Pct. 1st half rank 2nd half rank1st half winnerNankai Hawks13068584.540132nd half winnerHankyu Braves13077485.616313Lotte Orions130704911.588224Taiheiyo Club Lions13059647.480455Nittaku Home Flyers13055696.444536Kintetsu Buffaloes13042835.33666
Events January
January 1 – Puerto Rico's governor declares three days of official mourning in memory of Roberto Clemente, 38, who perished in a plane crash yesterday while on a humanitarian mission to deliver food, clothing and emergency supplies to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua. The Pittsburgh Pirates' superstar, National League Most Valuable Player and World Series MVP is grieved throughout Latin America and across the baseball world. January 3 – A group of investors headed by 42-year-old Cleveland shipping and ship-building magnate George M. Steinbrenner III purchases the New York Yankees from CBS. The entire deal is valued at $10 million and includes parking lots near Yankee Stadium, but when CBS buys those properties back from the Yankees, the purchase price for the team falls to $8.8 million. By the time of Steinbrenner's death 37 years later, the Yankees are valued at $1.6 billion. January 10 – The January edition of the 1973 amateur draft yields multiple future big-leaguers, including shortstop Alan Bannister (first overall selection), pitchers Donnie Moore, Mike Norris and Dick Ruthven, and catcher Jim Sundberg. January 11: American League owners vote 8–4 to adopt the designated hitter position for a three-year trial period, after which (in 1975) it will be accorded permanent status. The DH, which future Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig will call "the biggest rule change in the history of baseball to that point," is rejected by National League magnates and will not be adopted by the Senior Circuit until 2023. The New York Yankees reveal that veteran MLB executive Gabe Paul has resigned as president and general manager of the Cleveland Indians and joined the 15-member ownership syndicate headed by George Steinbrenner that purchased the Bombers eight days earlier. Paul will occupy a senior executive post on the Yankee organization chart, but insists he will not displace incumbent president Michael Burke (also a minority owner) or general manager Lee MacPhail. The Indians promote Paul's assistant, Phil Seghi, 63, to succeed his former boss as general manager. Procter & Gamble heir Louis Nippert acquires majority control of the Cincinnati Reds. He has been a member of the Cincinnati-based ownership syndicate, originally led by Francis L. Dale, since it purchased the Reds in December 1966. January 18 – Free agent and longtime first baseman Orlando Cepeda, 35, signs with the Boston Red Sox, making the future Baseball Hall of Famer the first player signed to serve expressly as a designated hitter. January 24 – Left-handed pitcher Warren Spahn, with 363 triumphs the winningest southpaw of all time, is elected to the Hall of Fame in his first try on the Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot, receiving 316 of 380 votes. January 28 – The Hall of Fame's Special Veterans Committee selects 19th-century pitcher Mickey Welch and Giants first baseman George Kelly, plus umpire Billy Evans, for enshrinement.
February
February 1 – Commissioner Bowie Kuhn announces the selection of Monte Irvin for the Hall of Fame by the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues. February 8 – MLB owners announce they will not open their spring training camps while negotiations with the players over a new collective bargaining agreement are in progress. MLBPA executive director Marvin Miller responds by charging that the owners' action constitutes an illegal lockout. Spring training is slated to open by March 1. February 14 – A column in the Minneapolis Tribune reveals that Minnesota Twins shortstop Danny Thompson, 26, has been diagnosed with leukemia. He will be able to play four more full MLB seasons, enduring aggressive anti-cancer therapies, before the disease claims his life ten weeks after appearing in his final game on October 2, 1976. February 25 – Major-league owners and the players' union agree on a three-year CBA that ensures that all 24 spring training camps can open on time. The deal hinges on a major breakthrough: the owners concede binding salary arbitration for eligible players, as long as there are no modifications to the reserve clause system. February 27 – Chicago White Sox slugger and reigning American League Most Valuable Player Dick Allen signs a three-year contract for an estimated $250,000 per year, making him the highest-paid player in major league history. February 28 – The Montreal Expos send hurler Carl Morton to the Atlanta Braves for veteran righty Pat Jarvis. Morton, 29, was the National League Rookie of the Year after winning 18 games for the second-year expansion team, but is only 17–31 for Montreal since; he'll post double-digit victory seasons with the Braves from 1973 through .
March
March 5 – New York Yankees teammates and fellow left-handed pitchers Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich arrive at spring training and announce that they have swapped their wives and families. Even the family dogs are traded. March 8 – After only one season with the Cleveland Indians, former American League batting champion Alex Johnson is traded to the Texas Rangers for pitchers Vince Colbert and Rich Hinton. The Rangers become the sixth team Johnson has played for in his decade in the major leagues. March 20 – In a special election held by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, the late Roberto Clemente receives 393 of 424 votes to earn entry into the Hall of Fame. The Hall's board of directors had earlier waived the five-year-wait rule for Clemente. March 24 – The Cleveland Indians trade catcher Ray Fosse and infielder Jack Heidemann to the Oakland Athletics for catcher Dave Duncan and outfielder George Hendrick. March 26 – Denny McLain, who won 31 games for the Detroit Tigers in , becoming the last MLB pitcher to win 30 games, is released by the Atlanta Braves. His career tarnished by his 1970 suspension for association with known gamblers, McLain never pitches in the major leagues again. March 29 – Orange baseballs, the brainchild of Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley, are used in the Athletics' 11–5 exhibition loss to the Cleveland Indians.
April April 6: At Three Rivers Stadium, 51,695 fans watch as the jersey #21 of the late Roberto Clemente is retired. The Pittsburgh Pirates then beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7–5, with a ninth-inning rally. At Fenway Park, Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees becomes the first designated hitter in major league history. He is walked by Boston Red Sox pitcher Luis Tiant in his first plate appearance. Boston wins 15–5, however, powered by two home runs and six runs batted in from sophomore catcher Carlton Fisk. At Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Tony Oliva of the Minnesota Twins becomes the first designated hitter to homer, with a first-inning shot off Catfish Hunter. April 10 – The Kansas City Royals open their new park, Royals Stadium, with a 12–1 rout of the Texas Rangers. The game is attended by 39,464 fans braving 39-degree weather. April 17: Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Dick Ruthven, the first player selected in the secondary phase of the January 1973 amateur draft out of Fresno State, makes his major league debut without playing in the minors. He starts against the Montreal Expos, allowing four runs in less than two innings, but does not figure in the decision as the Phillies win 9–6. The San Francisco Giants sell the contract of former starting third baseman Jim Ray Hart, 31, to the New York Yankees. Hart will assume the role of the Bombers' primary designated hitter with Ron Blomberg gaining playing time at first base. April 27 – In 50-degree weather, Kansas City Royals rookie Steve Busby no-hits the host Detroit Tigers 3–0. For the Royals, who began play in , it's the first no-hitter in franchise history, and the first in Tiger Stadium since Virgil Trucks' in . With the designated hitter rule in effect, Busby becomes the first pitcher of a no-hitter to not come to bat. April 28 – The San Francisco Giants' Jim Willoughby tosses a four-hit, complete game shutout and Bobby Bonds provides the only run he needs with a first-inning homer off Reggie Cleveland, as the Giants defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 1–0 at Busch Memorial Stadium. The loss gives the Cardinals an abysmal 2–15 record for 1973—but they will battle back to reach .500 in late June and take the National League East's divisional lead July 22, before ultimately placing second by the end of the campaign. April 29 – Michael Burke, president of the New York Yankees since 1966, resigns amid rumors of disagreements with general partner George Steinbrenner. Burke remains a limited partner in the Yanks' ownership group, which took control of the club on January 3. April 30 – All 24 teams are off. It will be the last time all teams would receive a day off during the regular season (except for All-Star breaks and labor stoppages) until June 29, .
May
May 4 – José Pagán's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 20th inning gives the Philadelphia Phillies a 5–4 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Both managers are ejected during the marathon contest: the Phillies' Danny Ozark during the 17th inning, and the Braves' Eddie Mathews in the 20th, when he argues the decisive "safe" call at home plate. May 8: