1973 in baseball

The following are the baseball events of the year 1972 throughout the world.

Major League Baseball

 * World Series: Oakland Athletics over New York Mets (4-3); Reggie Jackson, MVP
 * American League Championship Series: Oakland Athletics (West) over Baltimore Orioles (East) (3-2)
 * National League Championship Series: New York Mets (East) over Cincinnati Reds (West) (3-2)
 * All-Star Game, July 24 at Royals Stadium: National League, 7-1; Bobby Bonds, MVP

Other champions

 * Caribbean World Series: Licey Tigers (Tigres de Licey), Dominican Republic
 * College World Series: USC
 * Japan Series: Yomiuri Giants over Nankai Hawks (4-1)
 * Little League World Series: Tainan City, Taiwan

Awards and honors

 * Most Valuable Player
 * Reggie Jackson (AL)
 * Pete Rose (NL)
 * Cy Young Award
 * Jim Palmer (AL)
 * Tom Seaver (NL)
 * Rookie of the Year
 * Al Bumbry (AL)
 * Gary Matthews (NL)

January-March

 * January 3 - A group of investors, headed by shipbuilder George Steinbrenner, purchases the New York Yankees from CBS for $10 million.


 * January 18 - Orlando Cepeda signs with the Boston Red Sox, making him the first player signed by a team as a designated hitter.


 * January 24 - Left-handed pitcher Warren Spahn is elected to the Hall of Fame in his first try on the Baseball Writers Association of America ballot, receiving 316 of 380 votes.


 * January 28 - The Hall of Fame Special Veterans Committee selects 19th-century pitcher Mickey Welch and Giants first baseman George Kelly, plus umpire Billy Evans, for enshrinement.


 * February 1 - Commissioner Bowie Kuhn announces the selection of Monte Irvin for the Hall of Fame by the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues.


 * February 27 - Chicago White Sox slugger Dick Allen signs a three-year contract for an estimated $250,000 per year, making him the highest-paid player in major league history.


 * March 3 - At Fenway Park, Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees becomes the first designated hitter in major league history. He is walked by Red Sox pitcher Luis Tiant in his first plate appearance.


 * March 5 - New York Yankees teammates Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich arrive at spring training and announce that wives and families have been swapped. Even the family dogs were traded.


 * March 20 - In a special election held by the Baseball Writers Association of America, the late Roberto Clemente receives 393 of 424 votes to earn entry into the Hall of Fame. The Hall's Board of Directors had earlier waived the five-year-wait rule for Clemente.


 * March 29 - Orange baseballs, the brainchild of Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley, are used in the Athletics' 11–5 exhibition loss to the Cleveland Indians.

April-June

 * April 6 - At Three Rivers Stadium, 51,695 fans watch as the jersey #21 of the late Roberto Clemente is retired. The Pirates then beat St. Louis 7-5, with a ninth-inning rally.


 * April 10 - The Kansas City Royals open their new park, Royals Stadium, with a 12-1 rout of the Texas Rangers. The game is attended by 39,464 fans braving 39-degree weather.


 * April 15 - Milwaukee Brewers rookie Gorman Thomas hits his first major league home run, off Jim Palmer, to tie the Baltimore Orioles in the ninth inning as Milwaukee eventually wins it in the 11th.


 * April 17 - Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Dick Ruthven, signed from Fresno State, makes his major league debut without ever playing in the minor leagues. He starts against Montreal but doesn't finish, taking the loss in a 9-6 decision to Dick Selma.


 * April 27 - In 50-degree weather, Kansas City Royals rookie Steve Busby no-hits the host Detroit Tigers 3-0. It is the first Royals no-hitter, and the first in Tiger Stadium since Virgil Trucks' in 1952. With the designated hitter rule in effect, Busby becomes the first pitcher of a no-hitter to not come to bat.


 * May 8:
 * For the second time in his career, Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates poles a home run out of Dodger Stadium. His blast off Andy Messersmith hits the right field pavilion roof 470 feet away. His first home run, a 506-foot shot, came off Alan Foster on August 5, 1969. No other player has hit one out of the stadium. Los Angeles Dodgers win, 7-4.
 * In a 9–7 losing effort against the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals ace Bob Gibson makes his 242nd consecutive start. It is a new 20th-century record, passing that of Red Ruffing who never pitched in relief the last 10 years of his career.


 * June 7 - Dave Winfield, the fourth pick in the June draft, will go straight to the major leagues with the San Diego Padres. Winfield was also taken in the NBA and NFL drafts.


 * June 9 - After the Old Timers' Game at Shea Stadium, Willie Mays puts on his own show with a home run and a circus catch, and the New York Mets top the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2. For Mays, older than a half dozen of the old Mets, it is the 655th homer of his career. Rusty Staub drives in two runs to back Jon Matlack. In the Old Timers' Game, the Brooklyn Dodgers/New York Yankees team loses to the Mets 1-0 in two innings.


 * June 13 - At Riverfront Stadium, Cardinals pitcher Rick Wise loses a no-hitter when the Reds' Joe Morgan singles with one out in the ninth inning. Wise finishes with a one-hit 8-0 shutout. He pitched a no-hitter over the Reds in 1971.


 * June 19 - In a Dodgers 4-0 victory over Cincinnati, Pete Rose (single) and Willie Davis (HR) each collect their 2,000th career hit.


 * June 20:
 * Cy Acosta of the Chicago White Sox becomes the first American League pitcher to bat since the DH rule went into effect. Acosta strikes out in the eighth inning, but is credited with an 8-3 victory over the California Angels.
 * Bobby Bonds leads off with a home run, but the Giants lose 7-5 to Cincinnati. It is Bonds' 22nd leadoff home run, breaking Lou Brock's National League record.


 * June 23 - Pitcher Ken Brett of the Philadelphia Phillies tops the Montreal Expos 7-2, and hits a home run for his fourth consecutive game, setting a major league record. Previously, Brett hit home runs on June 9, 13, and 18. He will total 10 for his career.


 * June 27 - Led by first baseman Joe Torre, who hits for the cycle, the St. Louis Cardinals tally 22 hits to roll over the Pirates 15-4.

July-September

 * July 1 - Luis Aparicio of the Boston Red Sox steals the 500th base of his career in a 9–5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. It is the highest total in the American League since Eddie Collins retired in 1930.


 * July 3:
 * Brothers Gaylord Perry (Indians) and Jim Perry (Tigers) pitch against each other for the only time in their careers. Neither finishes the game, but Gaylord is charged with the 5–4 loss. Two Norm Cash home runs help the Tigers.
 * Tony Oliva of the Minnesota Twins hits three solo home runs during a 7–6 loss at Kansas City.


 * July 5 - Dave Concepción collects a triple, double and three singles to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-3 win over the Giants. His third single drives in the winning run in the ninth inning.


 * July 9 - In a record-setting walkathon between the Cincinnati Reds and Montreal Expos, 25 bases on balls are handed out as Montreal strolls to an 11–6 win. Well off the American League's two-team mark of 30, this tops the National League record of 23, last reached on July 7, 1911. Six Montreal pitchers walk 16, one short of the record for an NL team, while two Reds pitchers walk nine. Hal King pinch hits a grand slam for the Reds in the 6th inning, his second pinch homer in nine days.


 * July 11:
 * Jim Northrup, batting leadoff for the Detroit Tigers, drives in eight runs in a 14–2 win over Texas.
 * In San Diego, the Pittsburgh Pirates drub the Padres 10–2. Willie Stargell contributes the 302nd home run of his career to pass Ralph Kiner as the all-time Pirate home run leader.


 * July 21 - Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hits a Ken Brett fastball into the left-center field stands for a two-run home run during an 8–4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. It is career home run #700 for Aaron, only the second player to reach that milestone. Babe Ruth, with 714, is the other.


 * July 24 - The National League wins the All-Star Game at Kansas City, 7-1. A record 54 players are used, including Willie Mays, who strikes out in his final All-Star appearance, and Catfish Hunter, who sustains a fractured thumb that will sideline him for four weeks. Hunter has a 15-3 record at the time.


 * August 5 - Atlanta Braves knuckleballer Phil Niekro no-hits the San Diego Padres 9-0. He walks three and strikes out four in recording the first no-hitter by the franchise in Atlanta.


 * August 6 - An exhibition game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Atlanta Braves held at Milwaukee draws 33,337. The Brewers win, 7-5, in the fourth and last exhibition between the two teams. But the big thrill is provided by Hank Aaron, who hits a home run.


 * August 7 - Two days after Phil Niekro's no-hitter, the Braves purchase Joe Niekro, Phil's pitching brother, from the Detroit Tigers.


 * August 11 - Chicago White Sox rookie Brian Downing cracks his first major league hit, a home run off Detroit's Mickey Lolich. Downing's debut dinger is a first in the majors since at least 1945 – an inside-the-park homer. It'll be matched in two years by the Giants Johnnie LeMaster, who will do it in his first at bat.


 * August 15 - In Pittsburgh, Cincinnati Reds ace Jack Billingham beats the host Pittsburgh Pirates 1–0, notching his seventh shutout of the season. This ties the club record set by Hod Eller back in 1919.


 * August 17 - The New York Mets' Willie Mays hits the 660th (and last) home run of his career off Don Gullett of Cincinnati, but the Reds win 2-1 in 10 innings at Shea Stadium, after pinch hitter Hal King bats a walk-off home run, his third pinch homer of the year.


 * September 3 - After 11 years at the helm (944-806 .539), Ralph Houk resigns as the New York Yankees' manager. The 'Major' will manage the Detroit Tigers next season.


 * September 6 - Brothers Felipe Alou and Matty Alou are released by the Yankees. Felipe is sold to the Expos and Matty goes to the Cardinals.


 * September 19 - Chicago Cubs teammates Ron Santo and Billy Williams celebrate their long association together by each hitting their 20th home run of the season in an 8-6 win over Montreal. It is number 325 for Santo and 376 for Williams in more than 2,000 games together.

October-December

 * October 8 - In Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, the New York Mets' Rusty Staub homers in the first and second innings as the Mets crush the Cincinnati Reds 9-2 at New York's Shea Stadium, in a game featuring a bench-clearing brawl involving Pete Rose and Bud Harrelson.


 * October 10 - Like 1969, no one thought the Mets would win the National League pennant, but they amazingly did as New York's Tom Seaver hurls the Mets into the World Series with a 7-2 victory over the Reds in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series. New York has 13 hits in the contest.


 * October 21 - The Oakland Athletics win the World Championship for the second straight year as Bert Campaneris and Reggie Jackson homer in the 5-2 Game Seven victory. Jackson is selected the Series MVP.


 * October 23 - Athletics owner Charlie Finley reveals that he will not release manager Dick Williams from his contract unless he receives adequate compensation from the team that signs him. Williams had resigned following the World Series victory two days earlier.

Movies

 * Bang the Drum Slowly

Deaths

 * January 9 - Lyn Lary, 66, shortstop for seven teams who led AL in steals in 1936
 * February 28 - Syl Simon, 75, infielder and pinch hitter for the Browns who played in the minor leagues after losing much of his left hand in an accident
 * March 12 - Frankie Frisch, 74, Hall of Fame second baseman for the Giants and Cardinals who scored 100 runs seven times, led the NL in steals three times, and was the 1931 MVP; a lifetime .316 hitter, he twice batted .400 in the World Series, and also managed the Cardinals to the 1934 World Series title
 * March 26 - George Sisler, 80, Hall of Fame first baseman for the St. Louis Browns widely recognized as the best defensive player ever at that position, he twice batted over .400 and hit .340 lifetime; the AL's 1922 MVP, he had a record 257 hits in 1920 and also led the league in steals four times
 * June 11 - Bill Burwell, 78, pitcher for the St. Louis Browns in 1920-21, later a scout
 * July 2 - Chick Hafey, 70, Hall of Fame left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds, a career .316 hitter who made the first hit in All-Star history and was the first batting champion to wear eyeglasses
 * July 2- George McBride, 92, shortstop for the Washington Senators known for his defense
 * July 12 - Billy Urbanski, 70, shortstop for the Boston Braves from 1931-1936
 * August 7 - Wilbur Cooper, 81, pitcher who won over 200 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates, he was the first NL lefthander to reach that milestone
 * August 22 - George Cutshaw, 86, shortstop for the Dodgers, Pirates and Tigers who excelled on defense
 * September 5 - Jack Fournier, 83, first baseman for five teams who hit .313 lifetime, led NL in homers in 1924
 * September 10 - Roy Johnson, 70, outfielder who batted .300 four times and led AL in doubles and triples once each
 * September 11 - Del Baker, 81, member of the Detroit Tigers organization for 28 years as a catcher, coach and manager, he led the team to the 1940 pennant
 * September 14 - René Monteagudo, 57, Cuban pitcher and outfielder for the Senators and Phillies
 * October 24 - Al Brazle, 60, pitcher who won 97 games for the St. Louis Cardinals, also leading the NL in saves twice
 * November 2 - Greasy Neale, 81, outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds who batted .357 in the 1919 World Series, but began coaching football to fill the time between baseball seasons