1973 Minnesota Twins season

March 2026 November 2013 Minnesota Twins 1973 American League West Metropolitan Stadium Bloomington, Minnesota Calvin Griffith (majority owner, with Thelma Griffith Haynes) Calvin Griffith Frank Quilici WCCO-TV (Ray Scott, Ralph Fritz) 830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal, Ray Christensen) The 1973 Minnesota Twins season was the 13th season for the Minnesota Twins franchise in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, their 13th season at Metropolitan Stadium and the 73rd overall in the American League. The Twins finished 81–81, third in the American League West. Offseason November 30, 1972: Rich Reese was purchased from the Twins by the Detroit Tigers.Rich Reese page at baseball Reference November 30, 1972: César Tovar was traded by the Twins to the Philadelphia Phillies for Joe Lis, Ken Sanders and Ken Reynolds.Joe Lis at Baseball Reference Regular season With the American League's new designated hitter rule taking effect, on April 6 in Oakland, California, Tony Oliva became the first DH to hit a home run. On July 3, Tony Oliva hit three home runs against the Kansas City Royals. The Twins record feat was accomplished twice before, by both Bob Allison and Harmon Killebrew in 1963. Two Twins made the All-Star Game: second baseman Rod Carew and pitcher Bert Blyleven. 907,499 fans attended Twins games, the third lowest total in the American League. On September 27, California Angels pitcher Nolan Ryan struck out sixteen Twins and set a major league season mark of 383 strikeouts. Minnesota's Rich Reese was Ryan's 383rd victim. Pitcher Bert Blyleven finished with a 20–17 record and set several team records: total innings pitched (325.0), complete games (25), shutouts (9), and strikeouts (258). Rod Carew won his third AL batting title with a .350 average. Bobby Darwin continued to show potential as a hitter with 18 home runs and 90 RBI. Tony Oliva limped through the season, hitting 16 HR and collecting 92 RBI. Bert Blyleven won 20 games for the first time, and three other pitchers had double digit wins: Jim Kaat (11–12), Dick Woodson (10–8), and Joe Decker (10–10). Kaat also won his 12th Gold Glove Award. Season standings Record vs. opponents MIN Notable transactions June 5, 1973: Luis Gómez was drafted by the Twins in the 7th round of the 1973 Major League Baseball draft.Luis Gómez at Baseball-Reference August 15, 1973: Jim Kaat was selected off waivers from the Twins by the Chicago White Sox.Jim Kaat at Baseball Reference August 17, 1973: Rich Reese was signed as a free agent by the Twins. Roster 1973 Minnesota Twins Roster Pitchers 20 Vic Albury 18 Eddie Bane 28 Bert Blyleven 24 Bill Campbell 23 Ray Corbin 21 Joe Decker 16 Danny Fife 30 Dave Goltz 17 Bill Hands 36 Jim Kaat 20 Ken Sanders 19 Jim Strickland 13 Dick Woodson Catchers 27 Glenn Borgmann 15 George Mitterwald  8 Phil Roof Infielders  4 Steve Braun 29 Rod Carew  3 Harmon Killebrew 22 Craig Kusick 10 Joe Lis 14 Dan Monzon  1 Rich Reese 12 Eric Soderholm  7 Jerry Terrell  5 Danny Thompson Outfielders 25 Mike Adams 11 Steve Brye  2 Bobby Darwin  9 Larry Hisle 26 Jim Holt  6 Tony Oliva 12 Danny Walton Manager 43 Frank Quilici Coaches 44 Vern Morgan 45 Buck Rodgers 42 Ralph Rowe 46 Al Worthington Player stats = Indicates team leader 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 George Mitterwald 125 432 112 .259 16 64 1B Joe Lis 103 253 62 .245 9 25 2B Rod Carew 149 580 203 .350 6 62 SS Danny Thompson 99 347 78 .225 1 36 3B Steve Braun 115 361 102 .283 6 42 LF Jim Holt Jim Holt (baseball) 132 441 131 .297 11 58 CF Larry Hisle 143 545 148 .272 15 64 RF Bobby Darwin 145 560 141 .252 18 90 DH Tony Oliva 146 571 166 .291 16 92 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 Jerry Terrell 124 438 116 .265 1 32 Steve Brye 92 278 73 .263 6 33 Harmon Killebrew 69 248 60 .242 5 32 Phil Roof 47 117 23 .197 1 15 Eric Soderholm 35 111 33 .297 1 9 Danny Walton 37 96 17 .177 4 8 Dan Monzon 39 76 17 .224 0 4 Mike Adams 55 66 14 .212 3 6 Craig Kusick 15 48 12 .250 0 4 Glenn Borgmann 12 34 9 .265 0 9 Rich Reese 22 23 4 .174 1 3 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 Bert Blyleven 40 325.0 20 17 2.52 258 Jim Kaat 29 181.2 11 12 4.41 93 Joe Decker 29 170.1 10 10 4.17 109 Dick Woodson 23 141.1 10 8 3.95 53 Danny Fife 10 51.2 3 2 4.35 18 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 Bill Hands 39 142.0 7 10 3.49 78 Dave Goltz 32 106.1 6 4 5.25 65 Eddie Bane 23 60.1 0 5 4.92 42 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 Ray Corbin 51 8 5 14 3.03 83 Bill Campbell Bill Campbell (baseball) 28 3 3 7 3.14 42 Ken Sanders baseball 27 2 4 8 6.09 19 Vic Albury 14 1 0 0 2.70 13 Jim Strickland 7 0 1 0 11.81 6 Awards and honors All-Star Game Rod Carew, Second Base, Starter Bert Blyleven, Pitcher, Reserve Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Tacoma Twins Pacific Coast League Kerby Farrell AA Orlando Twins Southern League Harry Warner A Lynchburg Twins Carolina League Dick Phillips A Wisconsin Rapids Twins Midwest League Johnny Goryl A-Short Season Geneva Twins New York–Penn League Fred Waters LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Wisconsin Rapids Notes 2 References Johnson Lloyd Wolff Miles The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball 2nd Durham, North Carolina Baseball America 1997 978-0-9637189-8-3 Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com Team info from www.baseball-almanac.com Category:Minnesota Twins seasons Minnesota Twins season Minnesota Twins