1973 Kansas City Royals season

The 1973 Kansas City Royals season was their fifth in Major League Baseball and first in the new Royals Stadium. Promoted from Triple-A Omaha, Jack McKeon replaced the fired Bob Lemon as manager and the Royals finished second in the American League West in 1973 with a record of 88–74, six games behind the Oakland A's.

The 88 wins were the most in the franchise's brief history, five more than in 1971. Lefthander Paul Splittorff (20–11) became the first Royal to win twenty games in a season.

Offseason

November 30, 1972: Roger Nelson and Richie Scheinblum were traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Hal McRae and Wayne Simpson.^[1]
February 1, 1973: Joe Keough was traded to the Chicago White Sox for Jim Lyttle.^[2]

Regular season

The Royals opened the new Royals Stadium with a 12–1 rout of the Texas Rangers on April 10. The Tuesday night game was attended by 39,464 braving cool temperatures; 39 °F (4 °C) at first pitch.^[3]^[4]

On April 27, Steve Busby threw the first no-hitter in Royals history,^[5] as visiting KC shut out Detroit 3–0 at Tiger Stadium.^[6]

At Royals Stadium on May 15, Nolan Ryan of the California Angels threw the first no-hitter of his career.^[7]^[8]^[9]

On August 2, George Brett made his major league debut,^[10] starting at third base and hitting a single in a 3–1 road win over the`Chicago White Sox.^[11]

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

April 2: Greg Minton was traded to the San Francisco Giants for Fran Healy.^[12]
May 8: Tom Murphy was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Al Santorini.^[13]
June 5: 1973 Major League Baseball draft
- Ruppert Jones was selected in the third round.^[14]
- Rob Picciolo was selected in the fourth round of the secondary phase, but did not sign.^[15]

Roster

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

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Kingsport, Billings

References

^ Roger Nelson at Baseball Reference
^ Joe Keough at Baseball Reference
^ "Royals Stadium ready for opener tonight". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. April 10, 1973. p. 9.
^ Woodling, Chuck (April 11, 1973). "Royals rap Rangers, 12–1". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). p. 23.
^ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 144, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
^ "KC's Busby throws first AL gem since '70". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. April 28, 1973. p. 12.
^ Baseball's Top 100: The Game's Greatest Records, p. 12, Kerry Banks, 2010, Greystone Books, Vancouver, BC, ISBN 978-1-55365-507-7
^ "'Ryan Express' hurls no-hitter at Royals". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. May 16, 1973. p. 24.
^ "Blazing Ryan finally gets his gem". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. May 16, 1973. p. 1D.
^ George Brett at Baseball Reference
^ "Sports scoreboard". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (box scores). August 3, 1973. p. 4B.
^ Greg Minton at Baseball Reference
^ Al Santorini at Baseball-Reference
^ Ruppert Jones at Baseball-Reference
^ Rob Picciolo at Baseball Reference

External links

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.
1973 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Reference
1973 Kansas City Royals at Baseball Almanac