The 1973 Baltimore Orioles season was the 73rd season in Baltimore Orioles franchise history, the 20th in Baltimore, and the 20th at Memorial Stadium. The Orioles finished first in the American League East with a record of 97 wins and 65 losses. They went on to lose to the Oakland Athletics in the 1973 American League Championship Series, three games to two.

The Orioles sustained a net operating loss of $700,000."On Profits, Orioles Mainly Strike Out," The New York Times, Wednesday, April 6, 1977. Retrieved April 19, 2023.

Offseason October 27, 1972: Frank Estrada was traded by the Orioles to the Chicago Cubs for Elrod Hendricks.Elrod Hendricks page at Baseball Reference November 30, 1972: Johnny Oates, Pat Dobson, Roric Harrison, and Davey Johnson were traded by the Orioles to the Atlanta Braves for Earl Williams and Taylor Duncan.Johnny Oates page at Baseball Reference January 10, 1973: John Flinn was drafted by the Orioles in the 2nd round of the 1973 Major League Baseball draft, secondary phase.John Flinn page at Baseball Reference February 2, 1973: Don Buford was released by the Orioles.Don Buford page at Baseball Reference

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions April 5, 1973: Tom Matchick was traded by the Orioles to the New York Yankees for Frank Baker.Tom Matchick page at Baseball Reference June 5, 1973: Mike Flanagan was drafted by the Orioles in the 7th round of the 1973 Major League Baseball draft.Mike Flanagan page at Baseball Reference July 18, 1973: Curt Motton was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.Curt Motton page at Baseball Reference

Roster 1973 Baltimore Orioles RosterPitchersCatchers

InfieldersOutfieldersManager

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 132 459 109 .237 22 83 1B 114 370 98 .265 11 54 2B 162 581 146 .251 12 50 3B 155 549 141 .257 9 72 SS 154 470 106 .226 0 27 LF 118 405 116 .286 11 51 CF 144 500 140 .280 10 64 RF 95 321 84 .262 9 44 DH 137 552 169 .306 7 89

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 110 389 124 .319 7 41 110 356 120 .337 7 34 54 152 39 .257 2 23 54 131 27 .206 3 15 41 101 18 .178 3 15 44 63 12 .190 1 11 32 47 10 .213 1 3 17 28 7 .250 1 5 9 26 3 .115 2 4 10 18 2 .111 0 3 8 13 1 .077 0 0 5 6 2 .333 1 4

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 38 296.1 22 9 2.40 158 38 267.0 18 13 3.27 140 38 266.0 17 17 3.21 87 29 174.2 12 8 3.86 63 18 100.2 6 5 4.11 52

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 11 44.2 1 1 4.03 23 8 32.1 3 2 3.90 18 4 16.0 0 1 3.94 10

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 45 8 0 9 1.90 47 42 7 5 9 1.95 77 30 3 4 5 3.30 38 1 0 0 0 5.40 2

Postseason

ALCS

Game 1 October 6, 1973, at Memorial Stadium

Team123456789RHEOakland000000000051Baltimore40000011X6120W: Jim Palmer (1–0)   L: Vida Blue (0–1)   HR: None

Game 2 October 7, 1973, at Memorial Stadium

Team123456789RHEOakland100002021690Baltimore100001010380W: Catfish Hunter (1–0)   L: Dave McNally (0–1)   S: Rollie Fingers (1)HR: OAK – Bert Campaneris (1), Joe Rudi (1), Sal Bando 2 (2)

Game 3 October 9, 1973, at Oakland Coliseum

Team1234567891011RHEBaltimore01000000000130Oakland00000001001243W: Ken Holtzman (1–0)   L: Mike Cuellar (0–1)HR: OAK – Bert Campaneris (2) BAL – Earl Williams (1)

Game 4 October 10, 1973, at Oakland Coliseum

Team123456789RHEBaltimore000000410580Oakland030001000470W: Grant Jackson (1–0)   L: Rollie Fingers (0–1)HR: BAL – Andy Etchebarren (1), Bobby Grich (1)

Game 5 October 11, 1973, at Oakland Coliseum

Team123456789RHEBaltimore000000000052Oakland00120000X370W: Catfish Hunter (2–0)   L: Doyle Alexander (0–1)HR: None

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Lodi

Notes

References

1973 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference 1973 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com