The 1973 Oakland Athletics season involved the A's winning their third consecutive

American League West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams curr ...

title with a record of 94 wins and 68 losses. The A's went on to defeat the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

in the ALCS for their second straight AL Championship, and won the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

in seven games over the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

to take their second consecutive World Championship.

Offseason

* November 24, 1972:

Matty Alou Mateo "Matty" Rojas Alou (December 22, 1938 – November 3, 2011) was a Dominican former professional baseball player and manager. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1974. He also played in Nippon Professiona ...

was traded by the Athletics to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

for Rob Gardner and a player to be named later. The Yankees completed the deal by sending Rich McKinney to the Athletics on December 1. * November 30, 1972: Mike Epstein was traded by the Athletics to the Texas Rangers for Horacio Piña. * December 18, 1972:

Orlando Cepeda Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes (; born September 17, 1937), nicknamed "the Baby Bull" and "Peruchin", is a Puerto Rican former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for six teams from 1958 to 1974, primarily the San Francisco Giants. A ...

was released by the Athletics. * January 10, 1973: 1973 Major League Baseball Draft (January Draft) notable picks: ::Round 1: Mike Norris (24th pick). :Secondary Phase ::Round 1:

Warren Cromartie Warren Livingston Cromartie (born September 29, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player best remembered for his early career with the Montreal Expos. He and fellow young outfielders Ellis Valentine and Andre Dawson were the talk ...

(10th pick) (did not sign). * January 23, 1973: Jerry McNertney was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.Jerry McNertney page at Baseball Reference
/ref> * March 24, 1973: Dave Duncan and

George Hendrick George Andrew Hendrick Jr. (born October 18, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder between and , most prominently as an integral member of the St. Louis Cardinals ...

were traded by the Athletics to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

for

Ray Fosse Raymond Earl Fosse (April 4, 1947 – October 13, 2021) was an American professional baseball player and television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher from 1967 to 1979, most prominently as an All-Sta ...

and

Jack Heidemann Jack Seale Heidemann (born July 11, 1949 in Brenham, Texas) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop between and for the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets and Milwa ...

. * March 31, 1973:

Jay Johnstone John William Johnstone Jr. (November 20, 1945 – September 26, 2020) was an American professional baseball player and television sports announcer. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1966 to 1985 for the California Angels, ...

signed as a free agent with the Athletics.

Regular season

The 1973 A's had three 20-game winners in Jim (Catfish) Hunter,

Ken Holtzman Kenneth Dale Holtzman (born November 3, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Chicago Cubs for whom he pitch ...

and

Vida Blue Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (born July 28, 1949) is a former American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball between and , most notably as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thr ...

. The A's were on the receiving end of some milestones as well. On July 3,

Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan ...

struck out Sal Bando of the Athletics for the 1000th strikeout in his career. On July 30, Jim Bibby threw the first no-hitter in Texas Rangers history as he no-hit the Athletics. The Rangers won the game 6–0.

Opening Day starters

Billy North William Alex North (born May 15, 1948) is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1971 to 1981, he played for the Chicago Cubs (1971–72), Oakland Athletics (1973–78), Los Angeles Dodgers (1978) and San Francisco Giants (1979– ...

, DH * Dal Maxvill, SS * Joe Rudi, LF * Reggie Jackson, RF * Sal Bando, 3B *

Gene Tenace Fury Gene Tenace (; born Fiore Gino Tenacci; October 10, 1946), better known as Gene Tenace, is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher and first baseman in Major League Baseball from through , most n ...

, 1B * Billy Conigliaro, CF *

, C *

Dick Green Richard Larry Green (born April 21, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a second baseman in Major League Baseball from through , most notably as a member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won three consec ...

, 2B *

Catfish Hunter James Augustus Hunter (April 8, 1946 – September 9, 1999), nicknamed "Catfish", was a professional baseball player in Major League Baseball (MLB). From to , he was a pitcher for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. Hunter wa ...

, P

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* April 3, 1973: Don Shaw was traded by the Athletics to the Detroit Tigers for Tim Hosley. * May 4, 1973: Jerry McNertney was purchased from the Athletics by the Pittsburgh Pirates. * May 11, 1973: Mark Budaska was signed as an amateur free agent by the Athletics. * June 24, 1973: Steve McCatty was signed by the Athletics as an amateur free agent. * July 7, 1973: Dal Maxvill was purchased from the Athletics by the Pittsburgh Pirates. * July 31, 1973: Jesús Alou was purchased by the Athletics from the Houston Astros. * August 29, 1973: Gonzalo Márquez was traded by the Athletics to the Chicago Cubs for Pat Bourque. * September 11, 1973: Rico Carty was purchased by the Athletics from the Chicago Cubs.

Draft picks

* June 5, 1973: 1973 Major League Baseball Draft **

Floyd Bannister Floyd Franklin Bannister (born June 10, 1955) is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros (–), Seattle Mariners (–), Chicago White Sox (–), Kansas City Ro ...

was drafted by the Athletics in the 3rd round, but did not sign. ** Matt Keough was drafted by the Athletics in the 7th round. ** Derek Bryant was drafted by the Athletics in the 8th round. ** Craig Mitchell was drafted by the Athletics in the 1st round (1st pick) of the secondary phase.

Roster

Player stats

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''

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''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Other pitchers

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

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''

Postseason

ALCS

Game 1

October 6, 1973, at Memorial Stadium In Game 1, the Orioles jumped on Oakland starter

and reliever Horacio Piña for four runs in the bottom of the first inning.

Jim Palmer James Alvin Palmer (born October 15, 1945) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1965–1967, 1969–1984). Palmer was the winningest MLB pitcher in the ...

pitched a 5-hit shutout as the Orioles won, 6–0.

Game 2

October 7, 1973, at Memorial Stadium In Game 2, the Athletics hit three home runs off Baltimore starter

Dave McNally David Arthur McNally (October 31, 1942 – December 1, 2002) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1962 through 1975, most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dy ...

, and won 6–3 behind

Game 3

October 9, 1973, at

Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Oakland Coliseum, currently branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. The Coliseum is the home ba ...

In Game 3, the Athletics won 2–1 when shortstop

Bert Campaneris Dagoberto Campaneris Blanco (born March 9, 1942), nicknamed "Bert" or "Campy", is a Cuban American former professional baseball shortstop, who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for four American League (AL) teams, primarily the Kansas City / ...

homered to lead off the bottom of the 11th inning.

Game 4

October 10, 1973, at

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 Andrew Auguste Etchebarren (June 20, 1943 – October 5, 2019) was an American professional baseball player and minor league manager. He played for 15 seasons in Major League Baseball as a catcher in and then from through , most notably as a mem ...

. 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.

Game 5

October 11, 1973, at

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

World Series

The Athletics' victory over the

in the 1973 Series was marred by Charlie O. Finley's antics. Finley forced

Mike Andrews Michael Jay Andrews (born July 9, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics. After his playing career, he served fo ...

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.CNN/SI – 1998 MLB Postseason – 1973 World Series
/ref> 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. 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. 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.Williams to resign from Oakland job
/ref> 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

(3)

Awards and honors

* Bert Campaneris,

Babe Ruth Award The Babe Ruth Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player with the best performance in the postseason. The award, created in honor of Babe Ruth, was first awarded in 1949 to New York Yankee pitcher, Joe Page, the MVP of the W ...

* Reggie Jackson, OF, American League RBI Champion * Reggie Jackson, OF, World Series Most Valuable Player Award

Farm system

References

External links

1973 Oakland Athletics team page at Baseball Reference1973 Oakland Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
{{Oakland Athletics Oakland Athletics seasons Oakland Athletics season American League West champion seasons American League champion seasons World Series champion seasons Oakland