# 1973 Los Angeles Dodgers season

The 1973 Los Angeles Dodgers finished the season in second place in the National League West with a record of 95–66.
From June 17 through September 2, the Dodgers held first place in their division. At one point, on July 17, LA had an 8.5 game lead over the Reds. On September 4, they relinqished their lead to the Reds, and despite winning their last five contests of the season in a row, the Dodgers finished 3.5 games behind.

## Offseason

* October 26, 1972: Larry Hisle was traded by the Dodgers to the St. Louis Cardinals for Rudy Arroyo and Greg Milliken (minors).
* November 28, 1972: Frank Robinson, Bill Singer, Mike Strahler, Billy Grabarkewitz and Bobby Valentine were traded by the Dodgers to the California Angels for Andy Messersmith and Ken McMullen.
* March 26, 1973: George Culver was purchased by the Dodgers from the Houston Astros.
* March 27, 1973: Dick Dietz was purchased from the Dodgers by the Atlanta Braves.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Cincinnati Reds | 99 | 63 | .611 | — | 50‍–‍31 | 49‍–‍32 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 95 | 66 | .590 | 3½ | 50‍–‍31 | 45‍–‍35 |
| San Francisco Giants | 88 | 74 | .543 | 11 | 47‍–‍34 | 41‍–‍40 |
| Houston Astros | 82 | 80 | .506 | 17 | 41‍–‍40 | 41‍–‍40 |
| Atlanta Braves | 76 | 85 | .472 | 22½ | 40‍–‍40 | 36‍–‍45 |
| San Diego Padres | 60 | 102 | .370 | 39 | 31‍–‍50 | 29‍–‍52 |

### Record vs. opponents

1973 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 7–5 | 5–13 | 11–7 | 2–15–1 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 12–6 | 8–10 | 6–6 |
| Chicago | 5–7 | — | 8–4 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 9–9 | 10–7 | 10–8 | 6–12 | 7–5 | 2–10 | 9–9 |
| Cincinnati | 13–5 | 4–8 | — | 11–7 | 11–7 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 13–5 | 10–8 | 6–6 |
| Houston | 7–11 | 6–6 | 7–11 | — | 11–7 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 11–7 | 5–7 |
| Los Angeles | 15–2–1 | 7–5 | 7–11 | 7–11 | — | 7–5 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 10–2 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 8–4 |
| Montreal | 6–6 | 9–9 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | — | 9–9 | 13–5 | 6–12 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 8–10 |
| New York | 6–6 | 7–10 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 9–9 | — | 9–9 | 13–5 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 10–8 |
| Philadelphia | 6-6 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 5–13 | 9–9 | — | 8–10 | 9–3 | 5–7 | 9–9 |
| Pittsburgh | 5–7 | 12–6 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 2–10 | 12–6 | 5–13 | 10–8 | — | 8–4 | 5–7 | 10–8 |
| San Diego | 6–12 | 5–7 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 3–9 | 4–8 | — | 7–11 | 4–8 |
| San Francisco | 10–8 | 10–2 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 11–7 | — | 6–6 |
| St. Louis | 6–6 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 8–4 | 6–6 | — |

### Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters :
| Name | Position |
| Lee Lacy | Second baseman |
| Manny Mota | Left fielder |
| Bill Buckner | First baseman |
| Willie Davis | Center fielder |
| Willie Crawford | Right fielder |
| Joe Ferguson | Catcher |
| Ken McMullen | Third baseman |
| Bill Russell | Shortstop |
| Don Sutton | Starting pitcher |

### Notable transactions

* April 24, 1973: Tim Johnson was traded by the Dodgers to the Milwaukee Brewers for Rick Auerbach.
* August 10, 1973: George Culver was purchased from the Dodgers by the Philadelphia Phillies.

### Memorable events

On June 13 in a game versus the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium, Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Ron Cey and Bill Russell play together as an infield for the Dodgers for first time, going on to set the record of staying together for 8½ years.

### 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
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Joe Ferguson | 136 | 487 | 128 | .263 | 25 | 88 |
| 1B | Bill Buckner | 140 | 575 | 158 | .275 | 8 | 46 |
| 2B | Davey Lopes | 142 | 535 | 147 | .275 | 6 | 37 |
| SS | Bill Russell | 162 | 615 | 163 | .265 | 4 | 56 |
| 3B | Ron Cey | 152 | 507 | 124 | .245 | 15 | 80 |
| LF | Manny Mota | 89 | 293 | 92 | .314 | 0 | 23 |
| CF | Willie Davis | 152 | 599 | 171 | .285 | 16 | 77 |
| RF | Willie Crawford | 145 | 457 | 135 | .295 | 14 | 66 |

#### 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 |
| Steve Garvey | 114 | 349 | 106 | .304 | 8 | 50 |
| Tom Paciorek | 96 | 195 | 51 | .262 | 5 | 18 |
| Von Joshua | 75 | 159 | 40 | .252 | 2 | 17 |
| Lee Lacy | 57 | 135 | 28 | .207 | 0 | 8 |
| Steve Yeager | 54 | 134 | 34 | .254 | 2 | 10 |
| Ken McMullen | 42 | 85 | 21 | .247 | 5 | 18 |
| Chris Cannizzaro | 17 | 21 | 4 | .190 | 0 | 3 |
| Jerry Royster | 10 | 19 | 4 | .211 | 0 | 2 |
| Jim Fairey | 10 | 9 | 2 | .222 | 0 | 0 |
| Orlando Álvarez | 4 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Powell | 2 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 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 |
| Don Sutton | 33 | 256.1 | 18 | 10 | 2.42 | 200 |
| Andy Messersmith | 33 | 249.2 | 14 | 10 | 2.70 | 177 |
| Claude Osteen | 33 | 236.2 | 16 | 11 | 3.31 | 86 |
| Tommy John | 36 | 218.0 | 16 | 7 | 3.10 | 116 |
| Al Downing | 30 | 193.0 | 9 | 9 | 3.31 | 124 |

#### 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 |
| Geoff Zahn | 6 | 13.1 | 1 | 0 | 1.35 | 9 |

#### 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 |
| Jim Brewer | 56 | 6 | 8 | 20 | 3.01 | 56 |
| Pete Richert | 39 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 3.18 | 31 |
| Charlie Hough | 37 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2.76 | 70 |
| Doug Rau | 31 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3.96 | 51 |
| George Culver | 28 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3.00 | 23 |
| Greg Shanahan | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.45 | 11 |
| Eddie Solomon | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.11 | 6 |
| Greg Heydeman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 1 |

## Awards and honors

* Gold Glove Award
** Willie Davis
* NL Player of the Month
** Willie Crawford (May 1973)
* NL Player of the Week
** Andy Messersmith (May 14–20)
** Willie Crawford (May 21–27)
** Willie Davis (July 9–15)

### All-Stars

* 1973 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
** Jim Brewer reserve
** Willie Davis reserve
** Manny Mota reserve
** Claude Osteen reserve
** Bill Russell reserve
** Don Sutton reserve
* TSN National League All-Stars
** Bill Russell
* Baseball Digest Rookie All-Stars
** Ron Cey
** Davey Lopes

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Albuquerque Dukes | Pacific Coast League | Stan Wasiak |
| AA | Waterbury Dodgers | Eastern League | Don LeJohn |
| A | Bakersfield Dodgers | California League | George Freese |
| A | Daytona Beach Dodgers | Florida State League | Bart Shirley |
| A-Short Season | Bellingham Dodgers | Northwest League | Bill Berrier |
| Rookie | Ogden Dodgers | Pioneer League | Gail Henley |

## 1973 Major League Baseball Draft

This was the ninth year of a Major League Baseball Draft. The Dodgers drafted 22 players in the June draft and nine in the January draft.
The most notable player from this draft class was outfielder Joe Simpson, who played from 1975 to 1983 but made his mark primarily as a broadcaster for the Atlanta Braves. The Dodgers first round pick was catcher Ted Farr of Shadle Park High School in Spokane, Washington. He played 339 games from 1973 to 1977 in the Dodgers farm system, hitting .235.
1973 Draft Picks :
January draft
Round
Name
Position
School
Signed
Career span
Highest level
1
Wes Moore
RHP
Yavapai College
Yes
1973–1975
A
2
Michael Boyd
OF
Chipola College
No
3
Bob McClure
LHP
College of San Mateo
No Royals-1973
1973–1993
MLB
4
Jeff Moore
1B
Middle Georgia College
No
5
Jeff Hill
OF
Phoenix College
No
6
Terry Nance
P
Monterey Peninsula College
No
January Secondary phase
Round
Name
Position
School
Signed
Career span
Highest level
1
Guy Todd
RHP
Blinn College
Yes
1973–1976
AA
2
Bob Purkey
RHP
Gulf Coast Community College
No
3
Craig Minetto
LHP
San Joaquin Delta College
No Expos-1974
1974–1984
MLB
June draft
Round
Name
Position
School
Signed
Career span
Highest level
1
Ted Farr
C
Shadle Park High School
Yes
1973–1977
AAA
2
Mike Paciorek
SS
St. Mary's High School
Yes
1973–1977
A
3
Joe Simpson
OF
University of Oklahoma
Yes
1973–1984
MLB
4
Richard Hance
3B
California State University, Fresno
Yes
1973–1977
AA
5
Thomas Steinmetz
SS
Canevin Catholic High School
No Expos-1978
1978
A-
6
Mike Dimmel
OF
Logansport High School
Yes
1973–1980
MLB
7
David Richards
C
Proviso East High School
Yes
1973–1982
AAA
8
Bradford Drysdale
RHP
Brawley Union High School
No Orioles – 1974
1974–1975
Rookie
9
Bob Stanley
RHP
Kearny High School
No Red Sox-1974
1974–1989
MLB
10
Mark Wilson
OF
Ashland High School
No Twins
1975
A
11
Charles Barrett
RHP
Rancho High School
Yes
1973–1978
AAA
12
William Collins
RHP
University of South Alabama
Yes
1973
A
13
Daniel Smith
RHP
Covina High School
Yes
1973–1980
AAA
14
James Mitchell
SS
Cardinal Mooney High School
Yes
1974–1978
A
15
Kelly Snider
1B
Hillcrest High School
No Dodgers-1976
1976–1982
AAA
16
Edward Davis
3B
West Jefferson High School
Yes
1973
Rookie
17
Robert Arceneaux
C
Manual Arts High School
No
18
Tom Dixon
RHP
William R. Boone High School
No Cardinals-1974
1974–1983
MLB
19
Charles James
OF
Manual Arts High School
No Orioles-1974
1974–1976
A
20
George Kunkler
LHP
Lindbergh High School
No Dodgers-1976
1976–1977
AA
21
Russell Holland
RHP
Parksley High School
Yes
1973
Rookie
June secondary phase
Round
Name
Position
School
Signed
Career span
Highest level
1
William Meyer
SS
University of Michigan
Yes
1973–1976
AA :