# 1973 Minnesota Twins season

The 1973 Minnesota 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.
* November 30, 1972: César Tovar was traded by the Twins to the Philadelphia Phillies for Joe Lis, Ken Sanders and Ken Reynolds.

## 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

vteAL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Oakland Athletics | 94 | 68 | .580 | — | 50‍–‍31 | 44‍–‍37 |
| Kansas City Royals | 88 | 74 | .543 | 6 | 48‍–‍33 | 40‍–‍41 |
| Minnesota Twins | 81 | 81 | .500 | 13 | 37‍–‍44 | 44‍–‍37 |
| California Angels | 79 | 83 | .488 | 15 | 43‍–‍38 | 36‍–‍45 |
| Chicago White Sox | 77 | 85 | .475 | 17 | 40‍–‍41 | 37‍–‍44 |
| Texas Rangers | 57 | 105 | .352 | 37 | 35‍–‍46 | 22‍–‍59 |

### 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 | — |

### Notable transactions

* June 5, 1973: Luis Gómez was drafted by the Twins in the 7th round of the 1973 Major League Baseball draft.
* August 15, 1973: Jim Kaat was selected off waivers from the Twins by the Chicago White Sox.
* August 17, 1973: Rich Reese was signed as a free agent by the Twins.

### Roster
## 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 | 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 | 28 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 3.14 | 42 |
| Ken Sanders | 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 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| 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