1973 California Angels season
Major League Baseball season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1973 California Angels season was the 13th season of the Angels franchise in the American League, the 8th in Anaheim, and their 8th season playing their home games at Anaheim Stadium. The Angels finished the season fourth in the American League West with a record of 79 wins and 83 losses.
.jpg)
| 1973 California Angels | |
|---|---|
Night game in 1973 | |
| League | American League |
| Division | West |
| Ballpark | Anaheim Stadium |
| City | Anaheim, California |
| Owners | Gene Autry |
| General managers | Harry Dalton |
| Managers | Bobby Winkles |
| Television | KTLA |
| Radio | KMPC (Dick Enberg, Dave Niehaus, Don Drysdale) |
Offseason
- November 28, 1972: Andy Messersmith and Ken McMullen were traded by the Angels to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Frank Robinson, Billy Grabarkewitz, Bill Singer, Mike Strahler, and Bobby Valentine.[1]
Regular season
1973 was an eventful season for Angels pitcher Nolan Ryan. On May 15, Ryan threw the first no-hitter of his career.[2] On July 3, he struck out Sal Bando of the Oakland Athletics for the 1000th strikeout in his career.[3] Twelve days later, Ryan threw a second no-hitter, becoming the fifth pitcher in major league history to throw two no-hitters in one season.[4]
For the year, Ryan set what is, as of 2022, the post-1900 Major League Baseball record for most strikeouts in a season with 383, topping Sandy Koufax's 1965 mark by one.[5] (The all-time record belongs to Matt Kilroy, who struck out 513 batters in 1886).[5] In the process, he struck out at least 10 batters in 23 different games.[6]
Season standings
| 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
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
- May 20, 1973: Jim Spencer and Lloyd Allen were traded by the Angels to the Texas Rangers for Mike Epstein, Rich Hand and Rick Stelmaszek.[7]
- June 5, 1973: Brian Kingman was drafted by the Angels in the 12th round of the 1973 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign.[8]
- July 16, 1973: Curt Motton was released by the Angels.[9]
Roster
| 1973 California Angels | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats
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 | Jeff Torborg | 102 | 255 | 56 | .220 | 1 | 18 |
| 1B | Mike Epstein | 91 | 312 | 67 | .215 | 8 | 32 |
| 2B | Sandy Alomar Sr. | 136 | 470 | 112 | .238 | 0 | 28 |
| SS | Rudy Meoli | 120 | 305 | 68 | .223 | 2 | 23 |
| 3B | Al Gallagher | 110 | 311 | 85 | .273 | 0 | 26 |
| LF | Vada Pinson | 124 | 466 | 121 | .260 | 8 | 57 |
| CF | Ken Berry | 137 | 415 | 118 | .284 | 3 | 36 |
| RF | Leroy Stanton | 119 | 306 | 72 | .235 | 8 | 34 |
| DH | Frank Robinson | 147 | 534 | 142 | .266 | 30 | 97 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Oliver | 151 | 544 | 144 | .265 | 18 | 89 |
| Tom McCraw | 99 | 264 | 70 | .265 | 3 | 24 |
| Richie Scheinblum | 77 | 229 | 75 | .328 | 3 | 21 |
| Winston Llenas | 78 | 130 | 35 | .269 | 1 | 25 |
| Billy Grabarkewitz | 61 | 129 | 21 | .163 | 3 | 9 |
| Mickey Rivers | 32 | 129 | 45 | .349 | 0 | 16 |
| Bobby Valentine | 32 | 126 | 38 | .302 | 1 | 13 |
| John Stephenson | 60 | 122 | 30 | .246 | 1 | 9 |
| Billy Parker | 38 | 102 | 23 | .225 | 0 | 7 |
| Jim Spencer | 29 | 87 | 21 | .241 | 2 | 11 |
| Dave Chalk | 24 | 69 | 16 | .232 | 0 | 6 |
| Art Kusnyer | 41 | 64 | 8 | .125 | 0 | 3 |
| Jerry DaVanon | 41 | 49 | 12 | .245 | 0 | 2 |
| Charlie Sands | 17 | 33 | 9 | .273 | 1 | 5 |
| Rick Stelmaszek | 22 | 26 | 4 | .154 | 0 | 3 |
| Doug Howard | 8 | 21 | 2 | .095 | 0 | 1 |
| Bobby Brooks | 4 | 7 | 1 | .143 | 0 | 0 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nolan Ryan | 41 | 326.0 | 21 | 16 | 2.87 | 383 |
| Bill Singer | 40 | 315.2 | 20 | 14 | 3.22 | 241 |
| Clyde Wright | 37 | 257.0 | 11 | 19 | 3.68 | 65 |
| Rudy May | 34 | 185.0 | 7 | 17 | 4.38 | 134 |
| Frank Tanana | 4 | 26.1 | 2 | 2 | 3.08 | 22 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rich Hand | 16 | 54.2 | 4 | 3 | 3.62 | 19 |
| Dick Lange | 17 | 52.2 | 2 | 1 | 4.44 | 27 |
| Andy Hassler | 7 | 31.2 | 0 | 4 | 3.69 | 19 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Sells | 51 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 3.71 | 25 |
| Steve Barber | 50 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3.53 | 58 |
| Aurelio Monteagudo | 15 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4.20 | 8 |
| Ron Perranoski | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4.09 | 5 |
| Lloyd Allen | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10.38 | 4 |
| Terry Wilshusen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 81.00 | 0 |