1973 Minnesota Twins | ||
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League | American League | |
Division | West | |
Ballpark | Metropolitan Stadium | |
City | Bloomington, Minnesota | |
Owners | Calvin Griffith (majority owner, with Thelma Griffith Haynes) | |
General managers | Calvin Griffith | |
Managers | Frank Quilici | |
Television | WCCO-TV (Ray Scott, Ralph Fritz) | |
Radio | 830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal, Ray Christensen) | |
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The 1973 Minnesota Twins finished 81–81, third in the American League West.
Offseason
[edit]- November 30, 1972: Rich Reese was purchased from the Twins by the Detroit Tigers.[1]
- November 30, 1972: César Tovar was traded by the Twins to the Philadelphia Phillies for Joe Lis, Ken Sanders and Ken Reynolds.[2]
Regular season
[edit]With the American League's new designated hitter rule taking effect, on April 6 in Oakland, California, Tony Oliva became the first DH to hit a home run.
On July 3, Tony Oliva hit three home runs against the Kansas City Royals. The Twins record feat was accomplished twice before, by both Bob Allison and Harmon Killebrew in 1963.
Two Twins made the All-Star Game: second baseman Rod Carew and pitcher Bert Blyleven. 907,499 fans attended Twins games, the third lowest total in the American League.
On September 27, California Angels pitcher Nolan Ryan struck out sixteen Twins and set a major league season mark of 383 strikeouts. Minnesota's Rich Reese was Ryan's 383rd victim.
Pitcher Bert Blyleven finished with a 20–17 record and set several team records: total innings pitched (325.0), complete games (25), shutouts (9), and strikeouts (258).
Rod Carew won his third AL batting title with a .350 average. Bobby Darwin continued to show potential as a hitter with 18 home runs and 90 RBI. Tony Oliva limped through the season, hitting 16 HR and collecting 92 RBI. Bert Blyleven won 20 games for the first time, and three other pitchers had double digit wins: Jim Kaat (11–12), Dick Woodson (10–8), and Joe Decker (10–10). Kaat also won his 12th Gold Glove Award.
Season standings
[edit]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 |
Record vs. opponents
[edit]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
[edit]- June 5, 1973: Luis Gómez was drafted by the Twins in the 7th round of the 1973 Major League Baseball draft.[3]
- August 15, 1973: Jim Kaat was selected off waivers from the Twins by the Chicago White Sox.[4]
- August 17, 1973: Rich Reese was signed as a free agent by the Twins.[1]
Roster
[edit]1973 Minnesota Twins | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
[edit]= Indicates team leader |
Batting
[edit]Starters by position
[edit]Note: 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 | George Mitterwald | 125 | 432 | 112 | .259 | 16 | 64 |
1B | Joe Lis | 103 | 253 | 62 | .245 | 9 | 25 |
2B | Rod Carew | 149 | 580 | 203 | .350 | 6 | 62 |
SS | Danny Thompson | 99 | 347 | 78 | .225 | 1 | 36 |
3B | Steve Braun | 115 | 361 | 102 | .283 | 6 | 42 |
LF | Jim Holt | 132 | 441 | 131 | .297 | 11 | 58 |
CF | Larry Hisle | 143 | 545 | 148 | .272 | 15 | 64 |
RF | Bobby Darwin | 145 | 560 | 141 | .252 | 18 | 90 |
DH | Tony Oliva | 146 | 571 | 166 | .291 | 16 | 92 |
Other batters
[edit]Note: 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jerry Terrell | 124 | 438 | 116 | .265 | 1 | 32 |
Steve Brye | 92 | 278 | 73 | .263 | 6 | 33 |
Harmon Killebrew | 69 | 248 | 60 | .242 | 5 | 32 |
Phil Roof | 47 | 117 | 23 | .197 | 1 | 15 |
Eric Soderholm | 35 | 111 | 33 | .297 | 1 | 9 |
Danny Walton | 37 | 96 | 17 | .177 | 4 | 8 |
Dan Monzon | 39 | 76 | 17 | .224 | 0 | 4 |
Mike Adams | 55 | 66 | 14 | .212 | 3 | 6 |
Craig Kusick | 15 | 48 | 12 | .250 | 0 | 4 |
Glenn Borgmann | 12 | 34 | 9 | .265 | 0 | 9 |
Rich Reese | 22 | 23 | 4 | .174 | 1 | 3 |
Pitching
[edit]Starting pitchers
[edit]Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bert Blyleven | 40 | 325.0 | 20 | 17 | 2.52 | 258 |
Jim Kaat | 29 | 181.2 | 11 | 12 | 4.41 | 93 |
Joe Decker | 29 | 170.1 | 10 | 10 | 4.17 | 109 |
Dick Woodson | 23 | 141.1 | 10 | 8 | 3.95 | 53 |
Danny Fife | 10 | 51.2 | 3 | 2 | 4.35 | 18 |
Other pitchers
[edit]Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bill Hands | 39 | 142.0 | 7 | 10 | 3.49 | 78 |
Dave Goltz | 32 | 106.1 | 6 | 4 | 5.25 | 65 |
Eddie Bane | 23 | 60.1 | 0 | 5 | 4.92 | 42 |
Relief pitchers
[edit]Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ray Corbin | 51 | 8 | 5 | 14 | 3.03 | 83 |
Bill Campbell | 28 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 3.14 | 42 |
Ken Sanders | 27 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 6.09 | 19 |
Vic Albury | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.70 | 13 |
Jim Strickland | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11.81 | 6 |
Farm system
[edit]LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Wisconsin Rapids
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b Rich Reese page at baseball Reference
- ^ Joe Lis at Baseball Reference
- ^ Luis Gómez at Baseball-Reference
- ^ Jim Kaat at Baseball Reference
References
[edit]- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
- Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com
- Team info from www.baseball-almanac.com