# 1973 San Diego Padres season

The 1973 San Diego Padres season was the fifth season in franchise history.

## Offseason

* December 27, 1972: Curt Blefary was released by the Padres.
* January 10, 1973: Dave Wehrmeister was drafted by the Padres in the 1st round (3rd pick) of the 1973 Major League Baseball draft.

## Regular season
### Dave Winfield

Dave Winfield came to the Padres in 1973 from the University of Minnesota without having played a single game in the minor leagues. Winfield was also drafted by the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League, the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association and the Utah Stars of the American Basketball Association. Winfield made his Major League Baseball debut on June 19 against the Houston Astros. Winfield had 4 at bats and 1 hit.

### 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 starters

* Nate Colbert
* Bob Davis
* Cito Gaston
* Johnny Grubb
* Enzo Hernández
* Dave Hilton
* Clay Kirby
* Leron Lee
* Dave Roberts

### Notable transactions

* June 5, 1973: Dave Winfield was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 1st round (4th pick) of the 1973 Major League Baseball draft.
* June 12, 1973: Fred Norman was traded by the Padres to the Cincinnati Reds for Gene Locklear and Mike Johnson.

### 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 | Fred Kendall | 145 | 507 | 143 | .282 | 10 | 59 |
| 1B | Nate Colbert | 145 | 529 | 153 | .270 | 22 | 80 |
| 2B | Rich Morales | 90 | 244 | 40 | .164 | 0 | 16 |
| SS | Derrel Thomas | 113 | 404 | 96 | .238 | 0 | 22 |
| 3B | Dave Roberts | 127 | 479 | 137 | .286 | 21 | 64 |
| LF | Leron Lee | 118 | 333 | 79 | .237 | 3 | 30 |
| CF | Johnny Grubb | 113 | 389 | 121 | .311 | 8 | 37 |
| RF | Cito Gaston | 133 | 476 | 119 | .250 | 16 | 57 |

#### 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 Morales | 122 | 388 | 109 | .281 | 9 | 34 |
| Enzo Hernández | 70 | 247 | 55 | .223 | 0 | 9 |
| Dave Hilton | 70 | 234 | 46 | .197 | 5 | 16 |
| Ivan Murrell | 93 | 210 | 48 | .229 | 9 | 21 |
| Gene Locklear | 67 | 154 | 37 | .240 | 3 | 25 |
| Dave Winfield | 56 | 141 | 39 | .277 | 3 | 12 |
| Dwain Anderson | 53 | 107 | 13 | .121 | 0 | 3 |
| Dave Campbell | 33 | 98 | 22 | .224 | 0 | 8 |
| Pat Corrales | 29 | 72 | 15 | .208 | 0 | 3 |
| Dave Marshall | 39 | 49 | 14 | .286 | 0 | 4 |
| Bob Davis | 5 | 11 | 1 | .091 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Mason | 8 | 8 | 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 |
| Bill Greif | 36 | 199.1 | 10 | 17 | 3.21 | 120 |
| Clay Kirby | 34 | 191.2 | 8 | 18 | 4.79 | 129 |
| Steve Arlin | 34 | 180.0 | 11 | 14 | 5.10 | 98 |
| Randy Jones | 20 | 139.2 | 7 | 6 | 3.16 | 77 |
| Fred Norman | 12 | 74.0 | 1 | 7 | 4.26 | 49 |

#### 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 |
| Rich Troedson | 50 | 152.1 | 7 | 9 | 4.25 | 81 |
| Mike Caldwell | 55 | 149.0 | 5 | 14 | 3.74 | 86 |
| Mike Corkins | 47 | 122.0 | 5 | 8 | 4.50 | 82 |
Mike Caldwell led the Padres in saves with 10.

#### 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 |
| Gary Ross | 58 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5.42 | 44 |
| Vicente Romo | 49 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 3.70 | 51 |
| Bob Miller | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.11 | 15 |
| Frank Snook | 18 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3.62 | 13 |

## Award winners

1973 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Hawaii Islanders | Pacific Coast League | Rocky Bridges, Warren Hacker and Roy Hartsfield |
| AA | Alexandria Aces | Texas League | Jackie Brandt |
| A-Short Season | Walla Walla Padres | Northwest League | Cliff Ditto |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Walla Walla