![Tony Oliva](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Oliva-Tony-1973.jpg)
July 3, 1973: DH Tony Oliva’s three home runs are not enough as Royals beat Twins
After the American League adopted the designated hitter rule…
![](https://sabr.org/sites/default/files/Eddie%20Bane.png)
July 4, 1973: Eddie Bane makes major-league debut for Twins in Independence Day sellout
In 1972 the Minnesota Twins’ attendance hit a low of 797,901.…
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July 6, 1973: John Boccabella becomes first Expo to slug two homers in same inning
The author of the UPI wire story on the Montreal-Houston doubleheader…
![Jon Matlack (THE TOPPS COMPANY)](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/1973-Matlack-Jon.jpg)
July 10, 1973: Jon Matlack’s one-hitter beats the Astros at Shea Stadium
The New York Mets entered July 1973 in the National League East…
![Willie Stargell (Trading Card DB)](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1974-Stargell-Willie.jpg)
July 11, 1973: Willie Stargell sets Pirates’ franchise home run record in win over Padres
Ralph Kiner’s 301 home runs, the product of an unparalleled…
![Dwight Evans (Trading Card DB)](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Evans-Dwight-1982-460x400.png)
July 15, 1973: After long delay, Red Sox beat Rangers at rain-deluged Fenway
When the visiting Texas Rangers lost a rain-shortened and much-delayed…
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July 15, 1973: Nolan Ryan tosses second no-hitter of season for Angels
As Detroit Tigers first baseman Norm Cash prepared to dig in…
![Willie Mays (Trading Card DB)](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/MaysWillie-400x400.jpg)
July 17, 1973: Mets score 7 runs in 9th inning to beat Braves, 8-7
The Mets were playing poorly in July 1973. They arrived in Atlanta…
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July 22, 1973: Freddie Velázquez breaks 4-year hitless streak; Braves lose anyway
Between May 5, 1969, and July 22, 1973, Freddie Velázquez went…
![Bobby Bonds (Trading Card DB)](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1973-Bonds-Bobby-356x400.png)
July 24, 1973: New park, same old result: NL romps in All-Star Game
Kansas City’s new Royals Stadium provided a fresh, attractive…
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July 26, 1973: Steve Rogers tosses one-hit shutout to win first MLB game
“He can pitch,” said Montreal Expos skipper Gene Mauch about…
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July 29, 1973: Brewers’ Boomer drives in six to sweep the Yankees
As July 1973 drew to a close, the Milwaukee Brewers were struggling…
![George Brett (THE TOPPS COMPANY)](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Brett-George-KCR-Topps-600x400-1-495x400.jpg)
August 2, 1973: George Brett makes his debut with Kansas City Royals
In late July of the 1973 season, Royals third baseman Paul Schaal…
![Oscar Gamble (Trading Card DB)](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/1974-Gamble-Oscar.jpg)
August 5, 1973: Oscar Gamble homers twice in Cleveland’s comeback win over Milwaukee
American League greats debate the designated hitter, 1973:
“It’s…
![Orlando Cepeda (Trading Card DB)](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/1973-Cepeda-Orlando-BOS-380x400.jpg)
August 12, 1973: Veteran DHs Orlando Cepeda, Frank Robinson rake in temperamental Fenway slugfest
This dog day afternoon at Fenway Park was “a strange and sticky…
![](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/willie-mays-five-tools-000042.jpg)
August 17, 1973: Willie Mays’s 660th and final HR goes for naught in Mets’ nailbiter loss to Reds
Willie Mays hit the 660th and final home run of his career…
![](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/BoitanoDanny.jpg)
August 21, 1973: Future reliever Danny Boitano dominant in NY-Penn no-hitter
Some baseball fans of the 1970s and ’80s might say that pitcher…
![](https://sabr.org/sites/default/files/Yastrzemski-Carl-1973.jpg)
August 24, 1973: Yaz takes over for Red Sox … at third base?
Jim Bouton’s Ball Four is full of cutting personal commentary…
![John Adams (Courtesy of the Cleveland Guardians)](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Adams-John-drummer-Cleveland-Guardians-495x400.jpg)
August 24, 1973: Rare Duffy power surge gives Cleveland a win in John Adams’ debut on drums
There wasn’t a lot on the line when the Cleveland Indians and…
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August 26, 1973: Rangers’ Jim Merritt retires hitters and admits to throwing spitters
When a team finishes with a 57-105 record, there is rarely a…
![Al Bumbry](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Bumbry-Al-1973-336x400.jpg)
September 22, 1973: Al Bumbry’s 3 triples, Tommy Davis’s 4 singles lead Orioles in AL East clincher
To former Los Angeles Dodgers great Tommy Davis, the American…
![RodriguezEduardo](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/RodriguezEduardo-327x400.jpg)
September 3, 1973: Brewers’ Eduardo Rodríguez triples for first hit by AL pitcher in DH era
Neither team was in contention when the Milwaukee Brewers and…
![](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/KaatJim.jpg)
September 4, 1973: Jim Kaat mows down Rangers with 5-hit shutout
Both Jim Kaat and the Chicago White Sox came into 1973 with…
![Mike Marshall (THE TOPPS COMPANY)](https://sabrweb.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Marshall-Mike-1973.jpg)
September 7, 1973: Mike Marshall throws 11 relief innings, breaks two NL pitching records
The headline on the front page of the September 7, 1973, edition…