1973 Chicago Cubs season

1973 Chicago Cubs
Major League affiliations
Location
Other information
Owner(s) Philip K. Wrigley
General manager(s) John Holland
Manager(s) Whitey Lockman
Local television WGN-TV
(Jack Brickhouse, Jim West)
Local radio WGN
(Vince Lloyd, Lou Boudreau)
Stats ESPN.com
BB-reference
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The 1973 Chicago Cubs season was the 102nd season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 98th in the National League and the 58th at Wrigley Field. The Cubs finished fifth in the National League East with a record of 77–84.

Offseason

Regular season

After a strong finish to the 1972 season,[2] the Cubs dominated the National League East for the first half of 1973. On June 29, they were 47-31 with an 8.5 game lead in the National League East.[3] But then the Cubs fell into a deep swoon, losing 33 of their next 42 games, including 11 straight losses from August 4–16, to fall below .500 and out of the division lead.[4] However, the rest of the division was so mediocre that it was nicknamed the "National League Least", enabling the Cubs to stay in contention even as they remained below .500.

In fact, 1973 was the only season between 1945 and 1984 in which the Cubs were still in contention on the last day of the regular season, September 30. Due to several rainouts, the Cubs still had four games to play against the first place Mets, so double headers were scheduled for September 30 and October 1, the day after the end of the season. If the Cubs were to win all four games, there could have been an unprecedented five-way tie for first place, with each team having a below .500 record of 80-82 (also unprecedented). It would have taken at least three days of games to break a five-way tie.

Rain was still in the forecast for both days, and with Wrigley Field having no lights, the NL President ordered both double headers to start at 10AM (again, unprecedented), making it clear that the umpires would wait out any rain as long as there was daylight.

The Cubs won the first game on September 30, and suddenly it seemed possible that the most unusual end to any season of baseball might happen. But the Mets won the second game, eliminating three of the teams, including the Cubs. On a dismal October 1, in light cold rain, the Mets won the first game and clinched the NL East. The second game was immediately canceled. Milt Pappas was scheduled to pitch for the Cubs in the second game, and the cancellation cost him his chance for his 100th victory in the National League.

Season standings

NL East W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Mets 82 79 0.509 43–38 39–41
St. Louis Cardinals 81 81 0.500 43–38 38–43
Pittsburgh Pirates 80 82 0.494 41–40 39–42
Montreal Expos 79 83 0.488 43–38 36–45
Chicago Cubs 77 84 0.478 5 41–39 36–45
Philadelphia Phillies 71 91 0.438 11½ 38–43 33–48

Record vs. opponents

1973 National League Records

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

Notable transactions

Roster

1973 Chicago Cubs
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

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
1B Hickman, JimJim Hickman 92 201 49 .244 3 20
3B Santo, RonRon Santo 149 536 143 .267 20 77
LF Williams, BillyBilly Williams 156 576 166 .288 20 86
RF Cardenal, JoséJosé Cardenal 145 522 158 .303 11 68

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
Bourque, PatPat Bourque 57 139 29 .209 7 20
Pepitone, JoeJoe Pepitone 31 112 30 .268 3 18
Carty, RicoRico Carty 22 70 15 .214 1 8
Márquez, GonzaloGonzalo Márquez 19 58 13 .224 1 4
Thornton, AndreAndre Thornton 17 35 7 .200 0 2
La Russa, TonyTony La Russa 1 0 0 ---- 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
Jenkins, FergusonFerguson Jenkins 38 271 14 16 3.89 170
Hooton, BurtBurt Hooton 42 239.2 14 17 3.68 134
Pappas, MiltMilt Pappas 30 162 7 12 4.28 48

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
Bonham, BillBill Bonham 44 152 7 5 3.02 121
Gura, LarryLarry Gura 21 64.2 2 4 4.87 43

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
Locker, BobBob Locker 63 10 6 18 2.54 76
Aker, JackJack Aker 47 4 5 12 4.10 25
LaRoche, DaveDave LaRoche 45 4 1 4 5.80 34
Burris, RayRay Burris 31 1 1 0 2.92 57

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Wichita Aeros American Association Jim Marshall
AA Midland Cubs Texas League Al Spangler
A Quincy Cubs Midwest League Walt Dixon
Rookie GCL Cubs Gulf Coast League Q. V. Lowe

Notes

References

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