The 1973 Minnesota Twins season was the 13th season for the Minnesota Twins franchise in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, their 13th season at Metropolitan Stadium and the 73rd overall in the American League. The Twins finished 81–81, third in the American League West.
Offseason November 30, 1972: Rich Reese was purchased from the Twins by the Detroit Tigers.Rich Reese page at baseball Reference November 30, 1972: César Tovar was traded by the Twins to the Philadelphia Phillies for Joe Lis, Ken Sanders and Ken Reynolds.Joe Lis at Baseball Reference
Regular season 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
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions June 5, 1973: Luis Gómez was drafted by the Twins in the 7th round of the 1973 Major League Baseball draft.Luis Gómez at Baseball-Reference August 15, 1973: Jim Kaat was selected off waivers from the Twins by the Chicago White Sox.Jim Kaat at Baseball Reference August 17, 1973: Rich Reese was signed as a free agent by the Twins.
Roster 1973 Minnesota Twins Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
Coaches
Player stats = Indicates team leader
Batting
Starters by position 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 103 253 62 .245 9 25 2B 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 132 441 131 .297 11 58 CF Larry Hisle 143 545 148 .272 15 64 RF 145 560 141 .252 18 90 DH 146 571 166 .291 16 92
Other batters 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 12 34 9 .265 0 9 22 23 4 .174 1 3
Pitching
Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 40 325.0 20 17 2.52 258 Jim Kaat 29 181.2 11 12 4.41 93 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 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 23 60.1 0 5 4.92 42
Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO 51 8 5 14 3.03 83 28 3 3 7 3.14 42 27 2 4 8 6.09 19 14 1 0 0 2.70 13 Jim Strickland 7 0 1 0 11.81 6
Awards and honors
All-Star Game Rod Carew, Second Base, Starter Bert Blyleven, Pitcher, Reserve
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Wisconsin Rapids
Notes
References
Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com Team info from www.baseball-almanac.com