# 1973 Boston Red Sox season

The 1973 Boston Red Sox season was the 73rd season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished second in the American League East with a record of 89 wins and 73 losses, eight games behind the Baltimore Orioles. The team was managed by Eddie Kasko until he was reassigned at the end of September; third-base coach Eddie Popowski managed the team in their final contest of the season.

## Offseason

* January 18, 1973: Orlando Cepeda was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.
* March 27, 1973: Phil Gagliano and Andy Kosco were traded by the Red Sox to the Cincinnati Reds for Mel Behney.

## Regular season

Record by month :
| Month | Record | Record | Cumulative | Cumulative | AL East | AL East | Ref. |
| Month | Won | Lost | Won | Lost | Position | GB | Ref. |
| April | 7 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 6th | 2 | |
| May | 13 | 13 | 20 | 23 | 4th | 3+1⁄2 | |
| June | 15 | 12 | 35 | 35 | 4th | 5 | |
| July | 19 | 14 | 54 | 49 | 4th | 3+1⁄2 | |
| August | 18 | 13 | 72 | 62 | 2nd | 6 | |
| September | 17 | 11 | 89 | 73 | 2nd | 8 | |

### Season standings

vteAL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Baltimore Orioles | 97 | 65 | .599 | — | 50‍–‍31 | 47‍–‍34 |
| Boston Red Sox | 89 | 73 | .549 | 8 | 48‍–‍33 | 41‍–‍40 |
| Detroit Tigers | 85 | 77 | .525 | 12 | 47‍–‍34 | 38‍–‍43 |
| New York Yankees | 80 | 82 | .494 | 17 | 50‍–‍31 | 30‍–‍51 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 74 | 88 | .457 | 23 | 40‍–‍41 | 34‍–‍47 |
| Cleveland Indians | 71 | 91 | .438 | 26 | 34‍–‍47 | 37‍–‍44 |

### Record vs. opponents

1973 American League recordvte 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 | — |

### Opening Day lineup

| 4 | Tommy Harper | CF |
| 11 | Luis Aparicio | SS |
| 8 | Carl Yastrzemski | 1B |
| 7 | Reggie Smith | CF |
| 25 | Orlando Cepeda | DH |
| 6 | Rico Petrocelli | 3B |
| 27 | Carlton Fisk | C |
| 2 | Doug Griffin | 2B |
| 40 | Dwight Evans | RF |
| 23 | Luis Tiant | P |
Source:

### Roster
## Player statistics
### 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 | Carlton Fisk | 135 | 508 | 125 | .246 | 26 | 71 |
| 1B | Carl Yastrzemski | 152 | 540 | 160 | .296 | 19 | 95 |
| 2B | Doug Griffin | 113 | 396 | 101 | .255 | 1 | 33 |
| SS | Luis Aparicio | 132 | 499 | 135 | .271 | 0 | 49 |
| 3B | Rico Petrocelli | 100 | 356 | 87 | .244 | 13 | 45 |
| LF | Tommy Harper | 147 | 566 | 159 | .281 | 17 | 71 |
| CF | Reggie Smith | 115 | 423 | 128 | .303 | 21 | 69 |
| RF | Dwight Evans | 119 | 282 | 63 | .223 | 10 | 32 |
| DH | Orlando Cepeda | 142 | 550 | 159 | .289 | 20 | 86 |

#### 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 |
| Rick Miller | 143 | 441 | 115 | .261 | 6 | 43 |
| Mario Guerrero | 66 | 219 | 51 | .233 | 0 | 11 |
| Danny Cater | 63 | 195 | 61 | .313 | 1 | 24 |
| John Kennedy | 67 | 155 | 28 | .181 | 1 | 16 |
| Ben Oglivie | 58 | 147 | 32 | .218 | 2 | 9 |
| Bob Montgomery | 34 | 128 | 41 | .320 | 7 | 25 |
| Cecil Cooper | 30 | 101 | 24 | .238 | 3 | 11 |
| Buddy Hunter | 13 | 7 | 3 | .429 | 0 | 2 |

### 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 |
| Bill Lee | 38 | 284.2 | 17 | 11 | 2.75 | 120 |
| Luis Tiant | 35 | 272.0 | 20 | 13 | 3.34 | 206 |
| John Curtis | 35 | 221.1 | 13 | 13 | 3.58 | 101 |
| Marty Pattin | 34 | 219.1 | 15 | 15 | 4.31 | 119 |
| Ray Culp | 10 | 50.1 | 2 | 6 | 4.47 | 32 |

#### 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 |
| Roger Moret | 30 | 156.1 | 13 | 2 | 3.17 | 90 |
| Dick Pole | 12 | 54.2 | 3 | 2 | 5.60 | 24 |
| Lynn McGlothen | 6 | 23.0 | 1 | 2 | 8.22 | 16 |

#### 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 |
| Bobby Bolin | 39 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 2.70 | 31 |
| Bob Veale | 32 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 3.47 | 25 |
| Mike Garman | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.32 | 9 |
| Craig Skok | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6.28 | 22 |
| Don Newhauser | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | 8 |
| Sonny Siebert | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7.71 | 5 |
| Ken Tatum | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 0 |

## Statistical leaders

| Category | Player | Statistic |
| Youngest player | Dwight Evans | 21 |
| Oldest player | Luis Aparicio | 39 |
| Wins Above Replacement | Bill Lee | 6.1 |
Source:

### Batting

| Abbr. | Category | Player | Statistic |
| G | Games played | Carl Yastrzemski | 152 |
| PA | Plate appearances | Carl Yastrzemski | 652 |
| AB | At bats | Tommy Harper | 566 |
| R | Runs scored | Tommy Harper | 92 |
| H | Hits | Carl Yastrzemski | 160 |
| 2B | Doubles | Orlando Cepeda | 25 |
| 2B | Doubles | Carl Yastrzemski | 25 |
| 3B | Triples | Rick Miller | 7 |
| HR | Home runs | Carlton Fisk | 26 |
| RBI | Runs batted in | Carl Yastrzemski | 95 |
| SB | Stolen bases | Tommy Harper | 54 |
| CS | Caught stealing | Tommy Harper | 14 |
| BB | Base on balls | Carl Yastrzemski | 105 |
| SO | Strikeouts | Carlton Fisk | 99 |
| BA | Batting average | Carl Yastrzemski | .296 |
| OBP | On-base percentage | Carl Yastrzemski | .407 |
| SLG | Slugging percentage | Reggie Smith | .515 |
| OPS | On-base plus slugging | Reggie Smith | .913 |
| OPS+ | Adjusted OPS | Reggie Smith | 150 |
| TB | Total bases | Carl Yastrzemski | 250 |
| GIDP | Grounded into double play | Orlando Cepeda | 24 |
| HBP | Hit by pitch | Carlton Fisk | 10 |
| SH | Sacrifice hits | Doug Griffin | 13 |
| SF | Sacrifice flies | Luis Aparicio | 7 |
| IBB | Intentional base on balls | Orlando Cepeda | 13 |
| IBB | Intentional base on balls | Carl Yastrzemski | 13 |
Source:

### Pitching

| Abbr. | Category | Player | Statistic |
| W | Wins | Luis Tiant | 20 |
| L | Losses | Marty Pattin | 15 |
| W-L % | Winning percentage | Roger Moret | .867 (13–2) |
| ERA | Earned run average | Bob Bolin | 2.70 |
| G | Games pitched | Bob Bolin | 39 |
| GS | Games started | Luis Tiant | 35 |
| GF | Games finished | Bob Bolin | 29 |
| CG | Complete games | Luis Tiant | 23 |
| SHO | Shutouts | John Curtis | 4 |
| SV | Saves | Bob Bolin | 15 |
| IP | Innings pitched | Bill Lee | 284+2⁄3 |
| SO | Strikeouts | Luis Tiant | 206 |
| WHIP | Walks plus hits per inning pitched | Luis Tiant | 1.085 |
Source:

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Pawtucket Red Sox | International League | Darrell Johnson |
| AA | Bristol Red Sox | Eastern League | Rac Slider |
| A | Winston-Salem Red Sox | Carolina League | Bill Slack |
| A | Winter Haven Red Sox | Florida State League | Al Lehrer |
| A-Short Season | Elmira Pioneers | New York–Penn League | Dick Berardino |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Pawtucket, Winston-Salem
Source: