The 1973 New York Yankees season was the 71st season for the team. The Yankees finished fourth in the American League East with a record of 80–82 under manager Ralph Houk, 17 games behind the division champion Baltimore Orioles. This was the last time that the Yankees finished the season below .500 until 1982. This was also their last year in the "old" Yankee Stadium (on the south side of 161st Street), which was targeted for major reconstruction in 1974–1975. During this period, the Yankees shared a home field with a National League team for the third time in their history, moving into Shea Stadium for two years.
1973 New York Yankees | ||
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League | American League | |
Division | East | |
Ballpark | Yankee Stadium | |
City | New York City | |
Owners | George Steinbrenner | |
General managers | Lee MacPhail | |
Managers | Ralph Houk | |
Television | WPIX (Phil Rizzuto, Frank Messer, Bill White) | |
Radio | WMCA (Frank Messer, Phil Rizzuto, Bill White) | |
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George Steinbrenner
editThe Yankees had been struggling during their years under CBS ownership, which had acquired the team in 1965. In 1972, CBS Chairman William S. Paley told team president E. Michael Burke the media company intended to sell the club. As Burke later told writer Roger Kahn, Paley offered to sell the franchise to Burke if he could find financial backing. Burke ran across Steinbrenner's name and veteran baseball executive Gabe Paul, a Cleveland-area acquaintance of Steinbrenner, helped bring the two men together.
On January 3, 1973, a group of investors led by George Steinbrenner and minority partner Burke bought the Yankees from CBS for $10 million.
The announced intention was that Burke would continue to run the team as club president. But Burke later became angry when he found out that Paul had been brought in as a senior Yankee executive, crowding his authority, and quit the team presidency on April 29, 1973. (Burke remained a minority owner of the club into the following decade.) He handed in his resignation to the New York Yankees, so that he could become president of Madison Square Garden.[1]
It would be the first of many high-profile departures by employees who crossed paths with "The Boss". At the conclusion of the 1973 season, two more prominent names departed: manager Ralph Houk, who resigned and then signed to manage the Detroit Tigers; and general manager Lee MacPhail, who became president of the American League.
Offseason
edit- November 24, 1972: Rob Gardner and a player to be named later were traded by the Yankees to the Oakland Athletics for Matty Alou. The Yankees completed the deal by sending Rich McKinney to the Athletics on December 1.[2]
- November 27, 1972: John Ellis, Jerry Kenney, Charlie Spikes, and Rusty Torres were traded by the Yankees to the Cleveland Indians for Graig Nettles and Jerry Moses.[3]
- Bobby Murcer signed a $100,000 contract with the Yankees. He was just the second player in Yankees history (behind Mickey Mantle) to earn a base salary of $100,000 in one season.[4]
Regular season
editAfter the last game of the 1973 season on September 30, fans ripped out parts of the stadium, including the seats, to take as souvenirs. The stadium would be remodeled, and reopen in 1976. On July 1, the Yankees were 45–33 and leading the American League East by four games, but posted a 35–49 record in their remaining games.[5]
Season standings
editTeam | 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 |
Record vs. opponents
editSources: [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 | — |
Opening Day lineup
editNotable transactions
edit- April 5, 1973: Frank Baker was traded by the Yankees to the Baltimore Orioles for Tom Matchick.[6]
- June 5, 1973: Kerry Dineen was drafted by the Yankees in the 4th round of the 1973 Major League Baseball Draft.[7]
- June 7, 1973: Frank Tepedino, Wayne Nordhagen and players to be named later were traded by the Yankees to the Atlanta Braves for Pat Dobson. The Yankees completed the deal by sending Dave Cheadle to the Braves on August 15 and Al Closter to the Braves on September 5.[8]
- June 7, 1973: Sam McDowell was purchased by the Yankees from the San Francisco Giants.[9]
- June 12, 1973: Mike Kekich was traded by the Yankees to the Cleveland Indians for Lowell Palmer.[10]
- July 30, 1973: Jerry Kenney was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.[11]
- August 7, 1973: The Yankees sent a player to be named later and cash to the St. Louis Cardinals for Wayne Granger. The Yankees completed the deal by sending Ken Crosby to the Cardinals on September 12.[12]
- August 13, 1973: Bernie Allen was purchased from the Yankees by the Montreal Expos.[13]
- August 18, 1973: Johnny Callison was released by the Yankees.[14]
Roster
edit1973 New York Yankees | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
editBatting
editStarters by position
editNote: 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 | Thurman Munson | 147 | 519 | 156 | .301 | 20 | 74 |
1B | Felipe Alou | 93 | 280 | 66 | .236 | 4 | 27 |
2B | Horace Clarke | 148 | 590 | 155 | .263 | 2 | 35 |
3B | Graig Nettles | 160 | 552 | 129 | .234 | 22 | 81 |
SS | Gene Michael | 129 | 418 | 94 | .225 | 3 | 47 |
LF | Roy White | 162 | 639 | 157 | .246 | 18 | 60 |
CF | Bobby Murcer | 160 | 616 | 187 | .304 | 22 | 95 |
RF | Matty Alou | 123 | 497 | 147 | .296 | 2 | 28 |
DH | Jim Ray Hart | 114 | 339 | 86 | .254 | 13 | 52 |
Other batters
editNote: 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ron Blomberg | 100 | 301 | 99 | .329 | 12 | 57 |
Johnny Callison | 45 | 136 | 24 | .176 | 1 | 10 |
Mike Hegan | 37 | 131 | 36 | .275 | 6 | 14 |
Hal Lanier | 35 | 86 | 18 | .209 | 0 | 5 |
Otto Vélez | 23 | 77 | 15 | .195 | 2 | 7 |
Fred Stanley | 26 | 66 | 14 | .212 | 1 | 5 |
Celerino Sánchez | 34 | 64 | 14 | .219 | 1 | 9 |
Jerry Moses | 21 | 59 | 15 | .254 | 0 | 3 |
Bernie Allen | 17 | 57 | 13 | .228 | 0 | 4 |
Ron Swoboda | 35 | 43 | 5 | .116 | 1 | 2 |
Rick Dempsey | 6 | 11 | 2 | .182 | 0 | 0 |
Duke Sims | 4 | 9 | 3 | .333 | 1 | 1 |
Pitching
editStarting pitchers
editNote: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mel Stottlemyre | 38 | 273.0 | 16 | 16 | 3.07 | 95 |
Doc Medich | 34 | 235.0 | 14 | 9 | 2.95 | 145 |
Fritz Peterson | 31 | 184.1 | 8 | 15 | 3.95 | 59 |
Pat Dobson | 22 | 142.1 | 9 | 8 | 4.17 | 70 |
Sam McDowell | 16 | 95.2 | 5 | 8 | 3.95 | 75 |
Steve Kline | 14 | 74.0 | 4 | 7 | 4.01 | 19 |
Other pitchers
editNote: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fred Beene | 19 | 91.0 | 6 | 0 | 1.68 | 49 |
Mike Kekich | 5 | 14.2 | 1 | 1 | 9.20 | 4 |
Dave Pagan | 4 | 12.2 | 0 | 0 | 2.84 | 9 |
Relief pitchers
editNote: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sparky Lyle | 51 | 5 | 9 | 27 | 2.51 | 63 |
Lindy McDaniel | 47 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 2.86 | 93 |
Jim Magnuson | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.28 | 9 |
Tom Buskey | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5.40 | 8 |
Wayne Granger | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.76 | 10 |
Casey Cox | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 | 0 |
Farm system
editKinston affiliation shared with Atlanta Braves[15]
Awards and honors
edit- Thurman Munson, catcher
- Bobby Murcer, outfield, starter
- Sparky Lyle, pitcher [16]
Notes
edit- ^ Madden, Bill (2010). Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball. New York: Harper Collins Publishing. pp. 47–48. ISBN 978-0-06-169031-0.
- ^ Rich McKinney page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Graig Nettles page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Murcer, Bobby; Waggoner, Glen (2008). Yankee for Life. New York: Harper Collins. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-06-147342-5.
- ^ "Memorable Stadium Moments". The New York Times. September 21, 2008.
- ^ Tom Matchick page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Kerry Dineen page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Al Closter page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Sam McDowell page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Mike Kekich page at Baseball-Reference
- ^ Jerry Kenney page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Ken Crosby page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Bernie Allen page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Johnny Callison page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
- ^ "1973 All-Star Game".