# 1973 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1973 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 92nd season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; the 87th in the National League. The Pirates finished third in the National League East with a record of 80–82.

## Offseason

* October 25, 1972: Gene Garber was traded by the Pirates to the Kansas City Royals for Jim Rooker.
* November 25, 1972: Dick Sharon was traded by the Pirates to the Detroit Tigers for Jim Foor and Norm McRae.
* December 31, 1972: Roberto Clemente was killed in an airplane crash.
* April 2, 1973: Charlie Sands was traded by the Pirates to the Detroit Tigers for Chris Zachary.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| New York Mets | 82 | 79 | .509 | — | 43‍–‍38 | 39‍–‍41 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 81 | 81 | .500 | 1½ | 43‍–‍38 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 80 | 82 | .494 | 2½ | 41‍–‍40 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Montreal Expos | 79 | 83 | .488 | 3½ | 43‍–‍38 | 36‍–‍45 |
| Chicago Cubs | 77 | 84 | .478 | 5 | 41‍–‍39 | 36‍–‍45 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 71 | 91 | .438 | 11½ | 38‍–‍43 | 33‍–‍48 |

### 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 | — |

### Game log

1973 Game Log: 80–82 (Home: 41–40; Away: 39–42) :
April: 8–7 (Home: 4–4; Away: 4–3)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 6Cardinals7–5Rooker (1–0)SeguiHernandez (1)51,6951–0
2April 8Cardinals4–3 (10)Giusti (1–0)Granger—2–0
3April 8Cardinals5–3Ellis (1–0)SpinksHernandez (2)23,3913–0
4April 12Cubs6–0Moose (1–0)Jenkins—3,7644–0
5April 14@ Expos4–6WalkerBriles (0–1)—21,1984–1
6April 15@ Expos8–3Ellis (2–0)TorrezGiusti (1)12,1015–1
7April 17@ Cardinals4–3 (14)Hernandez (1–0)FosterRooker (1)9,8516–1
8April 18@ Cardinals8–2Moose (2–0)WiseWalker (1)6,2287–1
9April 21@ Cubs9–10LockerBriles (0–2)—16,6377–2
10April 22@ Cubs10–4Ellis (3–0)PappasRooker (2)8–2
11April 22@ Cubs3–11GuraBlass (0–1)Bonham28,2718–3
12April 24Padres5–7TroedsonMoose (2–1)Romo10,1088–4
13April 28Dodgers2–3SuttonBriles (0–3)—9,6438–5
14April 29Dodgers8–9 (13)DowningHernandez (1–1)—8–6
15April 29Dodgers1–2OsteenEllis (3–1)—18,0838–7 :
May: 13–14 (Home: 7–7; Away: 6–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
16May 1@ Giants7–8SosaHernandez (1–2)—7,9728–8
17May 2@ Giants2–1Walker (1–0)BarrGiusti (2)4,8189–8
18May 3@ Giants14–5Briles (1–3)Willoughby—4,19810–8
19May 4@ Padres12–6Blass (1–1)Norman—9,59511–8
20May 5@ Padres5–6RomoEllis (3–2)—10,61911–9
21May 6@ Padres0–8CaldwellMoose (2–2)—7,17611–10
22May 7@ Dodgers5–4Johnson (1–0)SuttonRooker (3)17,74512–10
23May 8@ Dodgers4–7MessersmithBriles (1–4)Brewer13,62012–11
24May 9@ Dodgers5–8OsteenBlass (1–2)Culver17,50912–12
25May 11Mets3–4ParkerEllis (3–3)McGraw17,56412–13
26May 12Mets0–6SeaverMoose (2–3)—13,05812–14
27May 13Mets4–6McAndrewWalker (1–1)McGraw14,31012–15
28May 14Expos2–3 (10)WalkerBriles (1–5)—6,32712–16
29May 15Expos9–8 (11)Giusti (2–0)Gilbert—5,44113–16
30May 16Phillies2–5TwitchellEllis (3–4)Scarce6,88513–17
31May 17Phillies5–2Moose (3–3)CarltonRooker (4)6,88514–17
32May 18@ Mets3–4SeaverWalker (1–2)—34,56514–18
33May 19@ Mets4–1 (10)Giusti (3–0)McGraw—32,62215–18
34May 21@ Phillies5–4Blass (2–2)ScarceGiusti (3)9,01016–18
35May 22@ Phillies4–7TwitchellEllis (3–5)—11,61716–19
36May 25Astros2–7ReussMoose (3–4)—13,95616–20
37May 26Astros7–2Briles (2–5)ForschGiusti (4)15,76817–20
38May 27Astros2–6RobertsBlass (2–3)—15,38617–21
39May 28Astros4–2Ellis (4–5)WilsonGiusti (5)21,54618–21
40May 29Braves6–1Walker (2–2)MortonRooker (5)7,91119–21
41May 30Braves4–2Moose (4–4)Reed—7,96320–21
42May 31Braves3–1Briles (3–5)Gentry—10,44621–21 :
June: 13–18 (Home: 9–9; Away: 4–9)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
43June 1Reds9–6Blass (3–3)SpragueGiusti (6)24,21322–21
44June 2Reds4–3Ellis (5–5)BillinghamGiusti (7)19,21223–21
45June 3Reds1–5CarrollWalker (2–3)Borbon22,45023–22
46June 4Giants2–7BradleyMoose (4–5)—12,57023–23
47June 5Giants2–3BryantBriles (3–6)Moffitt14,97523–24
48June 6Giants7–9WilliamsRooker (1–1)Moffitt13,88423–25
49June 8@ Astros3–4ForschEllis (5–6)Ray25,48623–26
50June 9@ Astros4–1Moose (5–5)Wilson—29,71624–26
51June 10@ Astros1–7ReussBriles (3–7)—23,05724–27
52June 11@ Braves7–9MortonBlass (3–4)Schueler6,87824–28
53June 12@ Braves2–4NiekroWalker (2–4)—10,41824–29
54June 13@ Braves3–18ReedEllis (5–7)—9,55324–30
55June 15@ Reds0–6NormanMoose (5–6)—27,02924–31
56June 16@ Reds5–0Briles (4–7)Gullett—39,10625–31
57June 17@ Reds1–3BillinghamWalker (2–5)Hall25–32
58June 17@ Reds1–5GrimsleyDettore (0–1)—50,23225–33
59June 18Cubs3–1Ellis (6–7)Jenkins—11,47026–33
60June 19Cubs3–6GuraJohnson (1–1)Aker26–34
61June 19Cubs4–3Giusti (4–0)Locker—28,25627–34
62June 20Cubs3–5ReuschelBriles (4–8)Aker17,89527–35
63June 21Mets2–1Walker (3–5)Capra—10,09928–35
64June 22Mets4–5StoneBlass (3–5)—21,12928–36
65June 23Mets3–2 (10)Hernandez (2–2)Hennigan—24,33729–36
66June 24Mets2–5SeaverMoose (5–7)—20,98429–37
67June 25@ Expos8–6Giusti (5–0)McAnally—30–37
68June 25@ Expos3–1Briles (5–8)Strohmayer—24,40231–37
69June 26@ Expos3–10StonemanWalker (3–6)Marshall12,80631–38
70June 27Cardinals4–15ClevelandRooker (1–2)—33,04131–39
71June 28Cardinals6–0Ellis (7–7)Wise—34,47132–39
72June 29Expos4–0Moose (6–7)McAnally—26,63833–39
73June 30Expos5–1Briles (6–8)MooreHernandez (3)11,67634–39 :
July: 17–12 (Home: 9–4; Away: 8–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
74July 1Expos6–2Walker (4–6)StonemanJohnson (1)35–39
75July 1Expos8–4Rooker (2–2)TorrezGiusti (8)24,98436–39
76July 3@ Cardinals0–4WiseEllis (7–8)—36–40
77July 3@ Cardinals6–7FolkersBlass (3–6)Segui28,44936–41
78July 4@ Cardinals3–11MurphyMoose (6–8)—12,67136–42
79July 5@ Cardinals3–2Briles (7–8)Pena—14,65237–42
80July 6@ Dodgers2–3SuttonWalker (4–7)—28,01137–43
81July 7@ Dodgers6–8RauLamb (0–1)Brewer33,19737–44
82July 8@ Dodgers2–3 (12)RichertGiusti (5–1)—24,14437–45
83July 10@ Padres4–3Johnson (2–1)TroedsonLamb (1)12,23338–45
84July 11@ Padres10–2Briles (8–8)Arlin—4,76339–45
85July 12@ Padres4–0Walker (5–7)Kirby—2,86540–45
86July 13@ Giants2–5BradleyEllis (7–9)—10,84240–46
87July 14@ Giants7–2Rooker (3–2)Bryant—9,45841–46
88July 15@ Giants0–12MarichalMoose (6–9)—12,85141–47
89July 16Dodgers0–1SuttonBriles (8–9)—16,57041–48
90July 17Dodgers4–8MessersmithWalker (5–8)Brewer17,38941–49
91July 18Dodgers3–2Ellis (8–9)JohnGiusti (9)24,24842–49
92July 20Padres5–4 (10)Giusti (6–1)Caldwell—43–49
93July 20Padres7–0Rooker (4–2)Troedson—25,83244–49
94July 22Padres3–1Briles (9–9)ArlinGiusti (10)45–49
95July 22Padres13–7Walker (6–8)KirbyLamb (2)22,42546–49
96July 26@ Cubs3–2Ellis (9–9)ReuschelGiusti (11)35,77047–49
97July 27@ Cubs10–6Briles (10–9)GuraGiusti (12)22,04548–49
98July 28Phillies0–5TwitchellRooker (4–3)—14,63048–50
99July 29Phillies5–2Hernandez (3–2)Ruthven—49–50
100July 29Phillies5–2Walker (7–8)LerschGiusti (13)26,94750–50
101July 30Phillies0–1CarltonMoose (6–10)—17,22050–51
102July 31@ Mets4–1Ellis (10–9)KoosmanHernandez (4)24,32251–51 :
August: 14–14 (Home: 7–6; Away: 7–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
103August 1@ Mets0–3SeaverBlass (3–7)—51–52
104August 1@ Mets2–5StoneBriles (10–10)Parker27,18951–53
105August 2@ Mets1–5SadeckiRooker (4–4)McGraw13,42951–54
106August 3@ Phillies3–1Morlan (1–0)CarltonHernandez (5)24,15252–54
107August 4@ Phillies5–11BrettWalker (7–9)—52–55
108August 4@ Phillies11–4Hernandez (4–2)Lonborg—48,29453–55
109August 5@ Phillies4–1Ellis (11–9)TwitchellGiusti (14)31,15754–55
110August 7Astros0–2WilsonBriles (10–11)—13,84154–56
111August 8Astros4–3Rooker (5–4)RobertsJohnson (2)15,74555–56
112August 10Braves4–5NiekroEllis (11–10)—25,78155–57
113August 11Braves3–9HarrisonMorlan (1–1)House21,36555–58
114August 12Braves5–2Moose (7–10)Schueler—28,71856–58
115August 13Reds3–2Briles (11–11)NormanGiusti (15)15,39657–58
116August 14Reds4–5CarrollHernandez (4–3)Hall17,84157–59
117August 15Reds0–1BillinghamEllis (11–11)—20,90357–60
118August 17Giants3–5BryantMoose (7–11)Sosa15,78957–61
119August 18Giants6–5Briles (12–11)BarrGiusti (16)19,56958–61
120August 19Giants5–0Rooker (6–4)Marichal—23,64059–61
121August 20@ Astros2–10RichardEllis (11–12)—11,05759–62
122August 21@ Astros6–3Morlan (2–1)Wilson—11,09460–62
123August 22@ Astros4–0Moose (8–11)Griffin—10,74661–62
124August 24@ Braves2–3DevineGiusti (6–2)—15,68061–63
125August 25@ Braves6–5 (11)Giusti (7–2)Neibauer—20,10362–63
126August 26@ Braves6–8HarrisonEllis (11–13)Devine26,11362–64
127August 28@ Reds8–3Moose (9–11)GrimsleyJohnson (3)31,72963–64
128August 29@ Reds3–5BillinghamBriles (12–12)—30,03263–65
129August 31Cubs7–0Rooker (7–4)Reuschel—64–65
130August 31Cubs5–2Johnson (3–1)JenkinsHernandez (6)35,88465–65 :
September: 15–16 (Home: 5–9; Away: 10–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
131September 1Cubs1–0Giusti (8–2)Hooton—13,48466–65
132September 2Cubs3–5LockerHernandez (4–4)—19,13066–66
133September 3Cardinals5–4 (13)Giusti (9–2)Fisher—67–66
134September 3Cardinals3–8FolkersWalker (7–10)Pena43,83967–67
135September 4Cardinals2–4AndrewsRooker (7–5)Hrabosky16,28067–68
136September 5Cardinals3–5FosterMorlan (2–2)Segui18,89467–69
137September 7@ Phillies10–8Johnson (4–1)ScarceHernandez (7)15,23368–69
138September 8@ Phillies5–3Moose (10–11)CarltonGiusti (17)16,32069–69
139September 9@ Phillies7–8ScarceJohnson (4–2)—14,35669–70
140September 10@ Cubs11–3Rooker (8–5)Reuschel—7,25570–70
141September 11@ Cubs0–2HootonBlass (3–8)—8,51670–71
142September 12@ Cubs4–2Kison (1–0)PaulGiusti (18)9,85771–71
143September 13@ Cubs6–1Moose (11–11)PappasHernandez (8)7,37572–71
144September 14@ Cardinals3–1Briles (13–12)ClevelandHernandez (9)32,63073–71
145September 15@ Cardinals7–4Rooker (9–5)NagyHernandez (10)28,21974–71
146September 16@ Cardinals3–7FosterWalker (7–11)Hrabosky31,93874–72
147September 17Mets10–3Kison (2–0)SeaverZachary (1)15,00075–72
148September 18Mets5–6McGrawHernandez (4–5)Capra12,33675–73
149September 19@ Mets3–7StoneBriles (13–13)McGraw29,24075–74
150September 20@ Mets3–4 (13)SadeckiWalker (7–12)—24,85575–75
151September 21@ Mets2–10SeaverBlass (3–9)—51,38175–76
152September 23@ Expos6–3Kison (3–0)StonemanHernandez (11)76–76
153September 23@ Expos7–4Ellis (12–13)TorrezGiusti (19)26,17877–76
154September 24@ Expos4–5RenkoMoose (11–12)Marshall77–77
155September 24@ Expos3–0Briles (14–13)McAnallyGiusti (20)20,16878–77
156September 25Phillies1–2CarltonRooker (9–6)—13,31278–78
157September 26Phillies13–2Moose (12–12)LonborgJohnson (4)8,99179–78
158September 27Phillies2–3 (13)CulverZachary (0–1)Wallace11,57779–79
159September 28Expos2–3MarshallEllis (12–14)—27,80479–80
160September 29Expos4–6RogersMcKee (0–1)Marshall9,81679–81
161September 30Expos10–2Rooker (10–6)McAnally—33,37680–81 :
October: 0–1 (Home: 0–1; Away: 0–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
162October 1Padres3–4JonesMoose (12–13)Corkins2,57280–82 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss Bold = Pirates team member :

### Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters :
| # | Name | Position |
| 6 | Rennie Stennett | 2B |
| 35 | Manny Sanguillén | RF |
| 16 | Al Oliver | CF |
| 8 | Willie Stargell | LF |
| 7 | Bob Robertson | 1B |
| 3 | Richie Hebner | 3B |
| 14 | Gene Alley | SS |
| 29 | Milt May | C |
| 28 | Steve Blass | SP |

### Notable transactions

* May 4, 1973: Jerry McNertney was purchased by the Pirates from the Oakland Athletics.
* May 24, 1973: Chuck Goggin was sold by the Pirates to the Atlanta Braves.
* June 5, 1973: Steve Nicosia was chosen by the Pirates in the 1st round of the 1973 Major League Baseball draft.
* June 17, 1973: Rick Langford was signed as an amateur free agent by the Pirates.
* July 5, 1973: Jerry McNertney was released by the Pirates.
* July 7, 1973: Dal Maxvill was purchased by the Pirates from the Oakland Athletics.
* July 31, 1973: Vic Davalillo was sold by the Pirates to the Oakland Athletics.
* September 7, 1973: Bill Virdon was fired as Manager of the Pirates, replaced by Danny Murtaugh.

### 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 | Manny Sanguillén | 149 | 589 | 166 | .282 | 12 | 65 |
| 1B | Bob Robertson | 119 | 397 | 95 | .239 | 14 | 40 |
| 2B | Dave Cash | 116 | 436 | 118 | .271 | 2 | 31 |
| SS | Dal Maxvill | 74 | 217 | 41 | .189 | 0 | 17 |
| 3B | Richie Hebner | 144 | 509 | 138 | .271 | 25 | 74 |
| LF | Willie Stargell | 148 | 522 | 156 | .299 | 44 | 119 |
| CF | Al Oliver | 158 | 654 | 191 | .292 | 20 | 99 |
| RF | Richie Zisk | 103 | 333 | 108 | .324 | 10 | 54 |

#### 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 |
| Rennie Stennett | 128 | 466 | 113 | .242 | 10 | 55 |
| Gene Clines | 110 | 304 | 80 | .263 | 1 | 23 |
| Milt May | 101 | 283 | 76 | .269 | 7 | 31 |
| Gene Alley | 76 | 158 | 32 | .203 | 2 | 8 |
| Dave Parker | 54 | 139 | 40 | .288 | 4 | 14 |
| Vic Davalillo | 59 | 83 | 15 | .181 | 1 | 3 |
| Jackie Hernández | 54 | 73 | 18 | .247 | 0 | 8 |
| Fernando González | 37 | 49 | 11 | .224 | 1 | 5 |
| Dave Augustine | 11 | 7 | 2 | .286 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Campanis | 6 | 6 | 1 | .167 | 0 | 0 |
| Jerry McNertney | 9 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Chuck Goggin | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 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 |
| Nelson Briles | 33 | 218.2 | 14 | 13 | 2.84 | 94 |
| Bob Moose | 33 | 201.1 | 12 | 13 | 3.53 | 111 |
| Dock Ellis | 28 | 192.0 | 12 | 14 | 3.05 | 122 |
| Steve Blass | 23 | 88.2 | 3 | 9 | 9.85 | 27 |
| Bruce Kison | 7 | 43.2 | 3 | 0 | 3.09 | 26 |

#### 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 Rooker | 41 | 170.1 | 10 | 6 | 2.85 | 122 |
| Luke Walker | 37 | 122.0 | 7 | 12 | 4.65 | 74 |
| John Morlan | 10 | 41.0 | 2 | 2 | 3.95 | 23 |

#### 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 |
| Dave Giusti | 67 | 9 | 2 | 20 | 2.37 | 64 |
| Ramón Hernández | 59 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 2.41 | 64 |
| Bob Johnson | 50 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3.62 | 68 |
| John Lamb | 22 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6.07 | 11 |
| Jim McKee | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.67 | 13 |
| Tom Dettore | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.96 | 13 |
| Chris Zachary | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3.00 | 6 |
| Jim Foor | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |

## Awards and honors

1973 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Charleston Charlies | International League | Joe Morgan |
| AA | Sherbrooke Pirates | Eastern League | Tim Murtaugh |
| A | Salem Pirates | Carolina League | Steve Demeter |
| A | Charleston Pirates | Western Carolinas League | Chuck Cottier |
| A-Short Season | Niagara Falls Pirates | New York–Penn League | Woody Huyke |
| Rookie | GCL Pirates | Gulf Coast League | Ed Napoleon |