![](http://bioproj.sabr.org/bp_ftp/images3/NorthrupJim.jpg)
October 11, 1972: Northrup’s wallop wins it for Tigers in ALCS Game 4
After winning the 1968 World Series, the Detroit Tigers seemed…
![George Foster (Trading Card DB)](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Foster-George-1972.jpg)
October 11, 1972: Reds’ 9th-inning rally dethrones Pirates in Clemente’s final game
The Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds split the first…
![](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/1972-Odom-Blue-Moon.jpg)
October 12, 1972: Oakland earns all A’s in AL pennant clincher
Thursday, October 12, 1972, brought to Detroit overcast conditions…
![](https://sabr.org/sites/default/files/Finley-Charles-orange-baseballs-Time.jpg)
March 29, 1973: MLB experiments with Charlie Finley’s orange baseballs
In 1963 Kansas City Athletics owner Charlie Finley proposed the…
![](https://sabr.org/sites/default/files/Baylor-Don-1973.jpg)
April 6, 1973: Don Baylor whacks 4 extra-base hits to lead Orioles’ Opening Day rout
The Orioles’ most one-sided Opening Day victory in Baltimore…
![](https://sabr.org/sites/default/files/ron-blomberg.jpg)
April 6, 1973: Yankees’ Ron Blomberg makes debut as baseball’s first designated hitter
Luis Tiant had led the majors with a 1.91 ERA in 1972 but…
![Nolan Ryan (THE TOPPS COMPANY)](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1973-Ryan-Nolan.jpg)
April 6, 1973: Nolan Ryan whiffs 12 on Opening Day; Vietnam War POW throws out first ball
The Watergate investigation took a mammoth leap forward in March…
![Cleon Jones (Trading Card DB)](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/1973-Jones-Cleon.jpg)
April 6, 1973: Cleon Jones belts 2 homers; Mets blank Phillies 3-0 on Opening Day
A World Series berth was 161 games and an NL playoff away.
Coming…
![](https://sabr.org/sites/default/files/images/SanguillenManny.jpg)
April 6, 1973: Something’s missing: No Clemente in right field for Pirates
“You kept looking in right field, and he wasn’t there,”…
![Orlando Cepeda (Trading Card DB)](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/1973-Cepeda-Orlando-BOS-380x400.jpg)
April 8, 1973: First hit by the first Red Sox DH, Orlando Cepeda, is walk-off homer over the Yankees
In 1972 the Boston Red Sox finished a half-game behind the Detroit…
![](https://sabr.org/sites/default/files/Bubsy_Steve.png)
April 27, 1973: Royals rookie Steve Busby throws a no-hitter
The Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals were two contending…
![](http://sabr.org/sites/default/files/RyanNolan-1973.jpg)
May 15, 1973: ‘Just a matter of time’: Nolan Ryan’s first no-hitter
“I felt the pressure building on a no-hitter,” said Nolan…
![](https://sabr.org/sites/default/files/MayDave-1973.jpg)
May 15, 1973: Davey May’s 17th-inning blast hoists Brewers to victory
Glancing at the front page of Milwaukee’s major morning newspaper,…
![Dick Allen](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Allen-Dick-1973.jpg)
May 16, 1973: Despite homer, reigning AL MVP Dick Allen dislikes first DH appearance
After winning the American League Most Valuable Player Award…
![](http://bioproj.sabr.org/bp_ftp/images5/NettlesGraig.jpg)
May 17, 1973: Graig Nettles’ walkoff homer lifts Yankees in 11 innings
The American League East was muddled in mid-May in 1973: six…
![Joe Winkler, circa 1960 (NEWSPAPERS.COM)](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Winkler-Joe-248x400.png)
May 19, 1973: On ‘Akron Night,’ a city baseball legend almost gets dying wish as Indians topple Yankees
“When I die,” Akron, Ohio, baseball legend Joe Winkler would…
![](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/WoodWIlbur-1.jpg)
May 26, 1973: Wilbur Wood, White Sox beat Cleveland in a two-day marathon
The Chicago White Sox entered a Memorial Day weekend series having…
![](https://sabr.org/sites/default/files/Steve%20Blass.png)
June 13, 1973: Pirates’ Steve Blass loses control
Steve Blass was arguably the best pitcher on the Pittsburgh Pirates…
![Cito Gaston (Trading Card DB)](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1973-Gaston-Cito-SDP-439x400.png)
June 15, 1973: Washington, DC viewers watch ‘their Padres’ lose late
Over the decades, residents of Washington, D.C., have turned…
![JIm Palmer (TRADING CARD DB)](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Palmer-Jim-1973.jpg)
June 16, 1973: Jim Palmer takes perfect game into 9th inning for Orioles
Jim Palmer was attempting to recover from an intestinal virus…
![](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2-Hunter-Catfish-TCDB.jpg)
June 23, 1973: A’s turn the corner toward another division title with thrashing of White Sox
With their awful start to the 1973 season, the Oakland A’s…
![](https://sabr.org/sites/default/files/Torre-Joe-1973.jpg)
June 27, 1973: Cardinals clobber Pirates as Torre hits for the cycle
In the first of a two-game series with the division rival St.…
![Colburn Park in Newark, New York, circa 2018 (KURT BLUMENAU)](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Colburn-Park-2018-495x400.png)
June 28, 1973: Oneonta pitcher Bob Majczan has a Ruthian night to remember
Readers of the Binghamton (New York) Press and Sun-Bulletin opened…
![](https://sabr.org/sites/default/files/KingHal.jpg)
July 1, 1973: Hal King is an unlikely hero in the Queen City for Reds
The 1973 season was not going as envisioned by Cincinnati Reds…