1973 Minnesota Twins season

1973 Minnesota Twins
81-81, third in the AL Western Division
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Western Division (since 1969)
Location
Metropolitan Stadium (since 1961)
Bloomington, Minnesota (since 1961)
Other information
Owner(s)	Calvin Griffith (majority owner, with Thelma Griffith Haynes)
General manager(s)	Calvin Griffith
Manager(s)	Frank Quilici
Local television	WCCO-TV (Ray Scott, Ralph Fritz)
Local 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

• 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

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), 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

AL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Oakland Athletics	94	68	0.580	—	50–31	44–37
Kansas City Royals	88	74	0.543	6	48–33	40–41
Minnesota Twins	81	81	0.500	13	37–44	44–37
California Angels	79	83	0.488	15	43–38	36–45
Chicago White Sox	77	85	0.475	17	40–41	37–44
Texas Rangers	57	105	0.352	37	35–46	22–59

Record vs. opponents

1973 American League Records Sources:
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

• 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

1973 Minnesota Twins
Roster
Pitchers 20 Vic Albury 18 Eddie Bane 28 Bert Blyleven 24 Bill Campbell 23 Ray Corbin 21 Joe Decker 16 Danny Fife 30 Dave Goltz 17 Bill Hands 36 Jim Kaat 20 Ken Sanders 19 Jim Strickland 13 Dick Woodson		Catchers 27 Glenn Borgmann 15 George Mitterwald  8 Phil Roof Infielders  4 Steve Braun 29 Rod Carew  3 Harmon Killebrew 22 Craig Kusick 10 Joe Lis 14 Dan Monzon  1 Rich Reese 12 Eric Soderholm  7 Jerry Terrell  5 Danny Thompson		Outfielders 25 Mike Adams 11 Steve Brye  2 Bobby Darwin  9 Larry Hisle 26 Jim Holt  6 Tony Oliva 12 Danny Walton		Manager 43 Frank Quilici Coaches 44 Vern Morgan 45 Buck Rodgers 42 Ralph Rowe 46 Al Worthington

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
1B	Lis, JoeJoe Lis	103	253	62	.245	9	25
2B	Carew, RodRod Carew	149	580	203	.350	6	62
LF	Holt, JimJim Holt	132	441	131	.297	11	58
RF	Darwin, BobbyBobby Darwin	145	560	141	.252	18	90
DH	Oliva, TonyTony Oliva	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
Borgmann, GlennGlenn Borgmann	12	34	9	.265	0	9
Reese, RichRich Reese	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
Blyleven, BertBert Blyleven	40	325	20	17	2.52	258
Decker, JoeJoe Decker	29	170.1	10	10	4.17	109

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
Bane, EddieEddie Bane	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
Corbin, RayRay Corbin	51	8	5	14	3.03	83
Campbell, BillBill Campbell	28	3	3	7	3.14	42
Sanders, KenKen Sanders	27	2	4	8	6.09	19
Albury, VicVic Albury	14	1	0	0	2.70	13

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Tacoma Twins	Pacific Coast League	Kerby Farrell
AA	Orlando Twins	Southern League	Harry Warner
A	Lynchburg Twins	Carolina League	Dick Phillips
A	Wisconsin Rapids Twins	Midwest League	Johnny Goryl
A-Short Season	Geneva Twins	New York–Penn League	Fred Waters

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Wisconsin Rapids

Notes

1. Rich Reese page at baseball Reference
2. Joe Lis at Baseball Reference
3. Luis Gómez at Baseball-Reference
4. Jim Kaat at Baseball Reference

References

• 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