1973_Texas_Rangers_season
1973 Texas Rangers season
Major League Baseball team season
The 1973 Texas Rangers season involved the Rangers finishing sixth in the American League West with a record of 57 wins and 105 losses.
| 1973 Texas Rangers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |||
| Division | West | |||
| Ballpark | Arlington Stadium | |||
| City | Arlington, Texas | |||
| Owners | Bob Short | |||
| General managers | Joe Burke, Dan O'Brien Sr. | |||
| Managers | Whitey Herzog, Del Wilber, Billy Martin | |||
| Television | KDFW (Dick Risenhoover, Tom Hedrick) | |||
| Radio | KRLD (Dick Risenhoover, Bill Mercer) | |||
| ||||
- October 27, 1972: Jim Panther was traded by the Rangers to the Atlanta Braves for Rico Carty.[1]
- November 30, 1972: Horacio Piña was traded by the Rangers to the Oakland Athletics for Mike Epstein.[2]
- November 30, 1972: Tom Ragland was traded by the Texas Rangers to the Cleveland Indians for Vince Colbert.[3]
- January 10, 1973: 1973 Major League Baseball Draft
- Jeff Schneider was drafted by the Rangers in the 2nd round, but did not sign.[4]
- Jim Sundberg was drafted by the Rangers in the 1st round (2nd pick) of the Secondary Phase.[5]
On July 30, 1973, Jim Bibby threw the first no-hitter in Texas Rangers history as he no-hit the Oakland Athletics.[6] The Rangers won the game 6–0.
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
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: Mike Epstein, Rich Hand and Rick Stelmaszek were traded by the Rangers to the California Angels for Jim Spencer and Lloyd Allen.[7]
- June 5, 1973: David Clyde was drafted by the Rangers in the 1st round (1st pick) of the 1973 Major League Baseball Draft.[8]
- July 11, 1973: Jim Fregosi was purchased by the Rangers from the New York Mets.[9]
David Clyde
David Clyde was a high school pitching phenom who was made the number one overall pick in the 1973 June draft. 22 days later, without having played in the minor leagues, Clyde made his MLB debut, the youngest player to play in an MLB game that year. Clyde won his first ever major league start (in front of a sellout crowd at Arlington Stadium, the first sellout in club history) and played in eighteen games (all starts) that season, finishing with a record of 4–8, with a 5.01 ERA.
Roster
| 1973 Texas Rangers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
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 | Ken Suarez | 93 | 278 | 69 | .248 | 1 | 27 |
| 1B | Jim Spencer | 102 | 352 | 94 | .267 | 4 | 43 |
| 2B | Dave Nelson | 142 | 576 | 165 | .286 | 7 | 48 |
| SS | Toby Harrah | 118 | 461 | 120 | .260 | 10 | 50 |
| 3B | Jim Fregosi | 45 | 157 | 42 | .268 | 6 | 16 |
| LF | Rico Carty | 86 | 306 | 71 | .232 | 3 | 33 |
| CF | Vic Harris | 152 | 555 | 138 | .249 | 8 | 44 |
| RF | Jeff Burroughs | 151 | 526 | 147 | .279 | 30 | 85 |
| DH | Alex Johnson | 158 | 624 | 179 | .287 | 8 | 68 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dick Billings | 81 | 280 | 50 | .179 | 3 | 32 |
| Larry Biittner | 83 | 258 | 65 | .252 | 1 | 12 |
| Jim Mason | 93 | 238 | 49 | .206 | 3 | 19 |
| Bill Sudakis | 82 | 235 | 60 | .255 | 15 | 43 |
| Elliott Maddox | 100 | 172 | 41 | .238 | 1 | 17 |
| Tom Grieve | 66 | 123 | 38 | .309 | 7 | 21 |
| Pete Mackanin | 44 | 90 | 9 | .100 | 0 | 2 |
| Mike Epstein | 27 | 85 | 16 | .188 | 1 | 6 |
| Bill Madlock | 21 | 77 | 21 | .351 | 1 | 5 |
| Joe Lovitto | 26 | 44 | 6 | .136 | 0 | 0 |
| Lenny Randle | 10 | 29 | 6 | .207 | 1 | 1 |
| Don Castle | 4 | 13 | 4 | .308 | 0 | 2 |
| Rick Stelmaszek | 7 | 9 | 1 | .111 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Bibby | 26 | 180.1 | 9 | 10 | 3.24 | 155 |
| Sonny Siebert | 25 | 119.2 | 7 | 11 | 3.99 | 76 |
| Pete Broberg | 22 | 118.2 | 5 | 9 | 5.61 | 57 |
| David Clyde | 18 | 93.1 | 4 | 8 | 5.01 | 74 |
| Rich Hand | 8 | 41.2 | 2 | 3 | 5.40 | 14 |
| Dick Bosman | 7 | 40.1 | 2 | 5 | 4.24 | 14 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Merritt | 35 | 160.0 | 5 | 13 | 4.05 | 65 |
| Steve Dunning | 23 | 94.1 | 2 | 6 | 5.34 | 38 |
| Mike Paul | 36 | 87.1 | 5 | 4 | 4.95 | 49 |
| Don Stanhouse | 21 | 70.0 | 1 | 7 | 4.76 | 42 |
| Lloyd Allen | 23 | 41.0 | 0 | 6 | 9.22 | 25 |
| Don Durham | 15 | 40.1 | 0 | 4 | 7.59 | 23 |
| Rick Henninger | 6 | 23.0 | 1 | 0 | 2.74 | 6 |
| Jim Kremmel | 4 | 9.0 | 0 | 2 | 9.00 | 6 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Foucault | 32 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 3.88 | 28 |
| Bill Gogolewski | 49 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 4.22 | 77 |
| Jackie Brown | 25 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3.92 | 45 |
| Charlie Hudson | 25 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4.62 | 34 |
| Jim Shellenback | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 |
| Rick Waits | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 0 |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Spokane, GCL Rangers
- 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
- 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 Texas Rangers team page at Baseball Reference
- 1973 Texas Rangers team page at www.baseball-almanac.com