On October 8, 1973, at Shea Stadium the New York Mets defeat the Cincinnati Reds, 9-2, behind 2 homeruns from Rusty Staub to give the Mets a 2-1 series advantage. The Mets scored early and often in Game 3, racing out to a 6–0 lead after just two innings. Rusty Staub hit his second homer…
The day after the season finale at Yankee Stadium, Mayor John Lindsay, who had given his approval for the renovation of the Bronx ballpark, ceremonially begins the project by scooping a pile of dirt from right field with a bulldozer. The on-field ceremony at the empty stadium includes the widows of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, who are given home plate and first base, respectively.
1973 – In the first game of a scheduled make-up doubleheader at Wrigley Field, a day after the regular season ended, the New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs, 6 – 1, to capture the National League East flag. The Mets, who were 11 1/2 games behind and in last place on August 5th, by winning their 82nd game (the lowest number of victories ever to win a title), clinch the division, making the second game of the twin bill unnecessary.
Playing in their final game at the ‘old’ Yankee Stadium, the fourth-place Bronx Bombers lose unceremoniously to the Tigers, 8-5. The team, which will play its home games for the next two seasons at Shea Stadium as the 50 year-old ‘House that Ruth Built’ undergoes extensive renovations, also loses their skipper with Ralph Houk announcing his resignation.
1973 – Angel Ron Perranoski announces his retirement after 13 years as one of the premier relief pitchers in the major leagues.
After posting an 88-73 record, Eddie Kasko is fired as manager of the second place Red Sox on the last day of the season. Triple-A Pawtucket pilot Darrell Johnson is named as next season’s skipper.
At the close of the season, the American League’s new DH rule appears to have worked when the Junior Circuit’s league’s batting average increases by 20 points to .259, its highest point since 1956, outhitting the NL for the first time in a decade. There were 112 more complete games than last season, and the total of 614 is the most since 1928 in either league.
On September 29, 1973, At Fulton County Stadium, Hank Aaron hits his 40th home run, making the Atlanta Braves the first team in history to have three players with 40 or more home runs in one season. Aaron, who becomes the oldest player to hit 40 home runs, joins teammates Darrell Evans and…
Steve Carlton, who won 27 games for the cellar-dwelling Phillies last year, suffers his 20th loss of the season when Philadelphia is beaten in St. Louis, 7-1. ‘Lefty’ will post a 13-20 record, along with a 3.90 ERA for the last place team.
After a series of incidents, the Reds suspend OF Bobby Tolan for insubordination. Tolan was in several scuffles with club personnel, went AWOL for two days in August, and began growing a beard, a no-no with the Reds. Tolan, hitting .206, will be traded in November.
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