1973 Texas Rangers season

1973 Texas Rangers
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1961)
Western Division (since 1972)
Location
Arlington Stadium (since 1972)
Arlington, Texas (since 1972)
Other information
Owner(s)	Bob Short
General manager(s)	Joe Burke, Dan O'Brien, Sr.
Manager(s)	Whitey Herzog, Del Wilber, Billy Martin
Local television	KDFW (Dick Risenhoover, Tom Hedrick)
Local radio	KRLD (Dick Risenhoover, Bill Mercer)
< Previous season     Next season  >

The 1973 Texas Rangers season involved the Rangers finishing sixth in the American League West with a record of 57 wins and 105 losses.

Offseason

• October 27, 1972: Jim Panther was traded by the Rangers to the Atlanta Braves for Rico Carty.^[1]
• November 30, 1972: Horacio Piña was traded by the Rangers to the Oakland Athletics for Mike Epstein.^[2]
• November 30, 1972: Tom Ragland was traded by the Texas Rangers to the Cleveland Indians for Vince Colbert.^[3]
• January 10, 1973: 1973 Major League Baseball Draft
  • Jeff Schneider was drafted by the Rangers in the 2nd round, but did not sign.^[4]
  • Jim Sundberg was drafted by the Rangers in the 1st round (2nd pick) of the Secondary Phase.^[5]

Regular season

On July 30, 1973, Jim Bibby threw the first no-hitter in Texas Rangers history as he no-hit the Oakland Athletics.^[6] The Rangers won the game 6-0.

Season standings

AL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Oakland Athletics	94	68	0.580	—	50–31	44–37
Kansas City Royals	88	74	0.543	6	48–33	40–41
Minnesota Twins	81	81	0.500	13	37–44	44–37
California Angels	79	83	0.488	15	43–38	36–45
Chicago White Sox	77	85	0.475	17	40–41	37–44
Texas Rangers	57	105	0.352	37	35–46	22–59

Record vs. opponents

1973 American League Records 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

• May 20, 1973: Mike Epstein, Rich Hand and Rick Stelmaszek were traded by the Rangers to the California Angels for Jim Spencer and Lloyd Allen.^[7]
• June 5, 1973: David Clyde was drafted by the Rangers in the 1st round (1st pick) of the 1973 Major League Baseball Draft.^[8]
• July 11, 1973: Jim Fregosi was purchased by the Rangers from the New York Mets.^[9]

David Clyde

David Clyde was a high school pitching phenom who was made the number one overall pick in the 1973 June draft. 22 days later, without having played in the minor leagues, Clyde made his MLB debut, the youngest player to play in an MLB game that year. Clyde won his first ever major league start (in front of a sellout crowd at Arlington Stadium, the first sellout in club history) and played in eighteen games (all starts) that season, finishing with a record of 4-8, with a 5.01 ERA.

Roster

1973 Texas Rangers
Roster
Pitchers 26 Lloyd Allen 22 Jim Bibby 27 Dick Bosman 18 Pete Broberg 31 Jackie Brown 32,50 David Clyde 27 Steve Dunning 34 Don Durham 29 Steve Foucault 28 Bill Gogolewski 25 Rich Hand 22 Rick Henninger 14 Charlie Hudson 33 Jim Kremmel 16 Jim Merritt 30 Mike Paul 25 Jim Shellenback 19 Sonny Siebert 17 Don Stanhouse 39 Rick Waits		Catchers  8 Dick Billings 32 Rick Stelmaszek 10 Ken Suarez Infielders 26 Mike Epstein 17 Jim Fregosi 11 Toby Harrah 35 Joe Lovitto 24 Pete Mackanin 38 Bill Madlock  2 Jim Mason  1 Dave Nelson 21 Lenny Randle 3,24 Jim Spencer 21 Bill Sudakis		Outfielders  4 Larry Biittner 20 Jeff Burroughs 5,25 Rico Carty  6 Tom Grieve  7 Vic Harris 15 Alex Johnson 23 Elliott Maddox Other batters 37 Don Castle		Manager 40 Whitey Herzog  1 Billy Martin 44 Del Wilber Coaches 43 Chuck Estrada 41 Chuck Hiller 42 Jackie Moore

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
2B	Nelson, DaveDave Nelson	142	576	165	.286	7	48
LF	Carty, RicoRico Carty	86	306	71	.232	3	33
CF	Harris, VicVic Harris	152	555	138	.249	8	44

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
Biittner, LarryLarry Biittner	83	258	65	.252	1	12
Epstein, MikeMike Epstein	27	85	16	.188	1	6
Randle, LennyLenny Randle	10	29	6	.207	1	1
Castle, DonDon Castle	4	13	4	.308	0	2

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
Bibby, JimJim Bibby	26	180.1	9	10	3.24	155
Hand, RichRich Hand	8	41.2	2	3	5.40	14
Bosman, DickDick Bosman	7	40.1	2	5	4.24	14

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
Allen, LloydLloyd Allen	23	41	0	6	9.22	25
Durham, DonDon Durham	15	40.1	0	4	7.59	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
Gogolewski, BillBill Gogolewski	49	3	6	6	4.22	77

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Spokane Indians	Pacific Coast League	Del Wilber
AA	Pittsfield Rangers	Eastern League	Joe Klein
A	Gastonia Rangers	Western Carolinas League	Rich Donnelly
Rookie	GCL Rangers	Gulf Coast League	Bill Haywood

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Spokane, GCL Rangers

Notes

1. Rico Carty page at Baseball Reference
2. Horacio Piña page at Baseball Reference
3. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/raglato01.shtml
4. Jeff Schneider page at Baseball Reference
5. Jim Sundberg page at Baseball Reference
6. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 144, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
7. Mike Epstein page at Baseball Reference
8. David Clyde page at Baseball Reference
9. Jim Fregosi page at Baseball Reference

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
• 1973 Texas Rangers team page at Baseball Reference
• 1973 Texas Rangers team page at www.baseball-almanac.com