1973 Houston Astros season

1973 Houston Astros
LeagueNational League
DivisionWest
BallparkAstrodome
CityHouston, Texas
Record82–80 (.506)
Divisional place4th
OwnersRoy Hofheinz
General managersSpec Richardson
ManagersLeo Durocher
TelevisionKPRC-TV
RadioKPRC (AM)
(Gene Elston, Loel Passe)

The 1973 Houston Astros season was the 12th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their ninth as the Astros, 12th in the National League (NL), fifth in the NL West division, and ninth at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season having posted a record of 84–69—the first-ever winning season in franchise history—in second place in the NL West, 10+1⁄2 games behind the division-champion and NL pennant-winning Cincinnati Reds.

On April 6, Dave Roberts made his first Opening Day start for the Astros, who defeated the Braves at Atlanta Stadium, 2–1. During the amateur draft, Houston selected shortstop Calvin Portley in the first round, and pitcher Joe Sambito in the 17th round.

Center fielder César Cedeño and left fielder Bob Watson represented the Astros at the MLB All-Star Game and played for the National League. It was the second career selection for Cedeño and first for Watson. Cedeño produced a second consecutive 20–50 club season, with 25 home runs and 56 stolen bases, the first major leaguer to accomplish this feat.

The Astros concluded the regular season fourth in the NL West with a record of 82–80, 17 games behind the division champions, Cincinnati. Hence, this performance established the Astros' first-ever instance of consecutive winning seasons.

Following the season, Cedeño (second career selection), shortstop Roger Metzger (first) and third baseman Doug Rader (fourth) each earned Gold Glove Awards. For the first time in the award's history, this Gold Glove edition rostered three Astros players.

Offseason

Summary

The Houston Astros concluded the 1972 campaign having delivered myriad best-ever showings to date, including an 84–69 (.549) record, among other first-time club achievements. Houston tied for second place with the Los Angeles Dodgers and 10+1⁄2 games behind the division-champion Cincinnati Reds.[1] The 84 victories surpassed the 1969 iteration (81), and in winning percentage (.500).[2] The Astros led the National League in runs scored (708) for the first time, while blasting a then-club record 134 home runs—placing third in the Senior Circuit, and tied that figure this year.[a][3] Center fielder César Cedeño became the second Major Leaguer to attain the 20–50 club.[4] Moreover, Cedeño became the first player in franchise history to hit for the cycle (August 2),[5] earned a Gold Glove Award, MLB All-Star selection, and The Sporting News NL All-Star honors.[6] Third baseman Doug Rader also received the Gold Glove accolade, the first time Houston had fielded multiple Gold Glove winners.[7]

Transactions

Regular season

Summary

April

Opening Day starting lineup
Uniform Player Position
24 Jimmy Wynn Right fielder
19 Tommy Helms Second baseman
28 César Cedeño Center fielder
27 Bob Watson Left fielder
23 Lee May First baseman
12 Doug Rader Third baseman
7 Johnny Edwards Catcher
14 Roger Metzger Shortstop
15 Dave Roberts Pitcher
Venue: Atlanta Stadium • Houston 2, Atlanta 1

Sources:[10][11]

The Astros played Opening Day on April 6 at Atlanta Stadium, where they defeated the Braves, 2–1. In the top of the 13th inning, César Cedeño doubled home Tommy Helms for the game-winning run batted in (RBI), one of his three extra-base hits. Jimmy Wynn slammed a game-tying home run in the sixth. Astros Opening Day starter Dave Roberts lasted the first nine innings, scattered eight hits, and allowed one run.[12]

Starting April 9, Bob Watson authored a career-high 19-game hitting streak, batting .388. The streak lasted until April 27.[13]

The first-ever Player of the Week Award was presented for the National League by president Chub Feeney to Astros left fielder Jimmy Wynn for the week ended April 16, 1973. Considering the 11 games played since Opening Day on April 6, Wynn connected for 6 home runs, 10 RBI, one double, one triple, and had carried a batting average of .313 (15-for-48).[14]

May

Displeased with the result of a contest on May 15, Houston GM Spec Richardson resorted to sending his message through the scoreboard of the Astrodome, blaming umpires Augie Donatelli and Bruce Froemming for blown calls in a 4–1 loss to the Atlanta Braves. He charged the missed calls changed the outcome of the game; however, this instead resulted in a $500 fine.[15]

Down 7–0 on May 20, the San Francisco Giants came all the way back to tie, 7–7. However, a solo home run from Jimmy Wynn gave Houston an 8–7 win, while also allowing them to take sole possession of first place.[16]

Beginning May 30, and until June 21, Lee May put together a 21-game hitting streak to set a franchise record, punctuated by his performance during the final four days from June 17–21. On June 17, May went 3-for-5, including his 1,000th career hit.[13]

June

May also proceeded to tie the club record with three home runs in one game on June 21,[b][17] on the way to career day. It was the only three-home run game and four-run contest of May's career, and his only four-hit game of the campaign.[18] Meanwhile, Ken Forsch hurled a complete game to lead a 12–2 win over the San Diego Padres. May delivered 5 RBI and Tommy Helms also connected for a grand slam.[19]

During the final four games of Lee's hitting streak he collected 13 RBI. Over the entirety of the steak, Lee batted .407, going 35-for-86. One curiosity emerged as Lee did not draw any bases on balls from the streak's start to finish. His record displaced Rusty Staub's 20-game streak from June 30 to July 21, 1967, and remained until surpassed by teammate César Cedeño from August 25 to September 21, 1977, when Cedeño hit in 22 contests consecutively. On June 22, 1973, the day that Lee's streak ended, he went 0-for-2 while drawing two walks.[13]

MLB All-Star Game

Center fielder César Cedeño and left fielder Bob Watson were both recognized as MLB All-Stars, representing the Astros, while the game was hosted at Royals Stadium. Cedeño was named starter at center field, his first time as starter, first Astro to start at the position, and first All-Star Game starter from the Astros since teammate Lee May at first base during the 1972 Classic. This was the second career selection for Cedeño and first for Watson.[20] Cedeño collected a single and an RBI in three at bats while Watson was inserted as a defensive replacement in left field as the National League defeated the American League, 7–1.[21]

August

A harbinger of their fortunes against this moundsman,[22] J. R. Richard chucked his first major league shutout on August 1, a 5–0 triumph over the Los Angeles Dodgers.[23] Shaking a deep slump,[22] Jimmy Wynn collected a double, single, drew a base on balls and hit a run batted in (RBI) to spearhead Houston's tallies.[24]

On August 20, Richard stymied the Pittsburgh Pirates on a complete game two-hitter as Houston bombed to a 10-2 triumph. He took a no-hit bid into the seventh until Al Oliver singled with two outs By that point, Lee May had blasted a three-run shot in the bottom of the fourth and Bob Watson followed up in the fifth by launching a grand slam. Richard ended up with nine strikeouts and a game score of 81.[25]

September

At the Astrodome on September 22, Hank Aaron hoisted a Dave Roberts offering into the left field stands during the sixth inning for his 712th career home run.[26] The enormous outfield scoreboard commemorated Aaron's blast with, “712!” adding, “Aaron is now two away from tying mark + 3 from 715!” Aaron received one more at bat that evening, fouling out to first baseman Lee May. The Astros and Braves faced each other for four of the final six bouts of the season.[27]

During the penultimate day of the season on September 29, Hank Aaron hammered a Jerry Reuss offering for his 40th home runs of the campaign during the fifth inning,[28] and 713th of his career, placing Aaron just one home run away from Babe Ruth for the all-time Major League lead.[22] The excitement crescendoed as Atlanta dropped Houston, 7–0. Darrell Evans (41) and Dusty Baker (21) also went deep, while Baker added a double (29).[28]

On the final day of the campaign, also against Atlanta, Dave Roberts and Don Wilson collaborated to limit Aaron to three singles, placing his all-time home record quest on hiatus until the following season.[22] Roberts (17–11) tossed the first six frames of a 5–3 Houston victory, while Wilson (2) etched a three-inning save. César Cedeño went deep (25} and purloined two more bases (56), but was also twice caught stealing (15). Doug Rader doubled (26) while collecting three safeties.[29]

Performance overview

Houston concluded the season with an 82–80 (.506) record, in fourth place and trailing the division-champion Reds by 17 games.[30] Though the Astros' record slipped from a then-franchise best 84–69 (.549) by two victories and from second to fourth place, the 1972–1973 campaigns distinguished the first time in franchise annals with consecutive winning seasons. This was their third season of 81 wins or more (also 1969). Moreover, the 82 wins signified a fifth consecutive season of winning a minimum of 79 bouts, after having lost 90 or more contests in each of the first seven campaigns.[2]

This Astros team golfed 134 home runs, which equaled the 1972 ensemble for the club record. The record maintained until the 1993, when that team hit 138.[31]

Cedeño proceeded to repeat the 20–50 club for the second consecutive season, with 25 home runs and 56 stolen bases,[6] also accomplished that year by former Houston Astros teammate Joe Morgan, then a member of the Cincinnati Reds.[32] Cedeño became the first player in major league history to repeat over consecutive seasons.[5] In addition, Cedeño expanded on his status as the first Astro to attain 50 stolen bases for a second campaign, during a club-record span of six consecutive seasons through 1977.[c][33]

Also for the first time, the Astros headlined three Gold Glove awardees. Third baseman Doug Rader captured a third sequential to extend his club record. Cedeño was recognized among outfielders for a second season, joining Rader as Astros who had won in multiplex seasons. Meanwhile, Roger Metzger drew his first, also becoming the first Astro to win for the position of shortstop.[7]

Season standings

NL 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 record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
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

Draft picks

Roster

1973 Houston Astros
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
C Skip Jutze 90 278 62 .223 0 18
1B Lee May 148 545 147 .270 28 105
2B Tommy Helms 146 543 156 .287 4 61
SS Roger Metzger 154 580 145 .250 1 35
3B Doug Rader 154 574 146 .254 21 89
LF Bob Watson 158 573 179 .312 16 94
CF César Cedeño 139 525 168 .320 25 70
RF Jim Wynn 139 481 106 .220 20 55

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
Johnny Edwards 79 250 61 .244 5 27
Tommie Agee 83 204 48 .235 8 15
Bob Gallagher 71 148 39 .264 2 10
Jimmy Stewart 61 68 13 .191 0 3
Héctor Torres 38 66 6 .091 0 2
Jesús Alou 28 55 13 .236 1 8
Gary Sutherland 16 54 14 .259 0 3
Larry Howard 20 48 8 .167 0 4
Greg Gross 14 39 9 .231 0 1
Cliff Johnson 7 20 6 .300 2 6
Ray Busse 15 17 1 .059 0 0
Rafael Batista 12 15 4 .267 0 2
Dave Campbell 9 15 4 .267 0 2
Mike Easler 6 7 0 .000 0 0
Otis Thornton 2 3 0 .000 0 1
Norm Miller 3 3 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
Jerry Reuss 41 279.1 16 13 3.74 177
Dave Roberts 39 249.1 17 11 2.85 119
Don Wilson 37 239.1 11 16 3.20 149
Doug Konieczny 2 13.0 0 1 5.54 6

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
Ken Forsch 46 201.1 9 12 4.20 149
Tom Griffin 25 99.2 4 6 4.15 69
J.R. Richard 16 72.0 6 2 4.00 75
Larry Dierker 14 27.0 1 1 4.33 18

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
Jim Crawford 48 2 4 6 4.50 56
Jim Ray 42 6 4 6 4.43 25
Jim York 41 3 4 6 4.42 22
Cecil Upshaw 35 2 3 1 4.46 21
Fred Gladding 16 2 0 1 4.50 9
Juan Pizarro 15 2 2 0 6.56 10
Mike Cosgrove 13 1 1 0 1.80 2

Awards and achievements

Offensive achievements

Grand slams

No. Date Astros batter Venue Inning Pitcher Opposing team Box
1 May 6 Lee May Shea Stadium 7 Ray Sadecki New York Mets [37]
2 June 21 Tommy Helms San Diego Stadium 4 Mike Corkins San Diego Padres [38]
3 July 4 Lee May Atlanta Stadium 9 Danny Frisella Atlanta Braves [39]

Power—speed club

20 home runs—50 stolen bases club
Player AVG HR SB
César Cedeño[6] .320 25 56

Awards

Minor league system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Denver Bears American Association Jimmy Williams
AA Columbus Astros Southern League Wayne Terwilliger
A Cedar Rapids Astros Midwest League Leo Posada
Rookie Covington Astros Appalachian League Billy Smith

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Surpassed in 1993 with 138.
  2. ^ The second three-home run game in club history, May was preceded by Wynn on June 15, 1967, while Glenn Davis succeeded him on September 10, 1987.
  3. ^ For single seasons, playing for HOU, in the regular season, requiring stolen bases ≥ 50, sorted by descending stolen bases.

References

  1. ^ "1972 National League team statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Houston Astros team history & encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
  3. ^ "Houston Astros team yearly batting stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  4. ^ Wittenmyer, Gordon (August 7, 2024). "Fast company: Look who's in the elite club Cincinnati Reds SS Elly De La Cruz just joined". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved November 9, 2025 – via AOL.
  5. ^ a b "Astros history – Timeline". MLB.com. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d "César Cedeño stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "MLB Gold Glove Award winners—National League". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Tommie Agee stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  9. ^ "Mike Stanton stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  10. ^ "Houston Astros (2) vs Atlanta Braves (1) box score". Baseball Almanac. April 6, 1973. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
  11. ^ "1973 Houston Astros uniform numbers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
  12. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers (2) vs Houston Astros (5) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. April 5, 1973. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  13. ^ a b c Smith, David. "Houston Astros hitting streaks". Astros Daily. Retrieved September 27, 2025 – via Retrosheet.
  14. ^ a b "Jimmy Wynn is Player of Week". The World. Coos Bay, Oregon. United Press International (UPI). April 17, 1973. p. 13. Retrieved September 23, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 15, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 15". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  16. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (May 20, 2025). "Today in Astros history - May 20". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  17. ^ "3 home runs in a game". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  18. ^ "Top performances for Lee May". Retrosheet. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  19. ^ Schwartzberg, Seth (June 21, 2025). "Today in Astros history - June 21". The Crawfish Boxes. SB Nation. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
  20. ^ "Houston Astros All-Star player register". Baseball-Refererence.com. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  21. ^ a b "1973 All-Star Game box score". Baseball-Reference.com. July 24, 1973. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  22. ^ a b c d Hulsey, Bob. "This date in Astros history". Astros Daily. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
  23. ^ "J. R. Richard 1973 pitching game logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  24. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers (0) vs Houston Astros (5) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. August 1, 1973. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  25. ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates (2) vs Houston Astros (10) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. August 20, 1973. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  26. ^ "Henry Aaron Hits 712th Career Home Run". Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  27. ^ Young, Matt (January 22, 2021). "How the Astros avoided giving up Hank Aaron's record-setting home run". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  28. ^ a b "Houston Astros (0) vs Atlanta Braves (7) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. September 29, 1973. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  29. ^ "Houston Astros (5) vs Atlanta Braves (3) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. September 30, 1973. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  30. ^ "1973 National League team statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
  31. ^ "Houston Astros team yearly batting stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  32. ^ "Joe Morgan stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  33. ^ "Player batting season & career stats finder–baseball". Stathead. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 13, 2026.
  34. ^ "Jesús Alou stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  35. ^ "Ken Landreaux stats, height, weight, position, rookie status & more". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  36. ^ Mike Davey at Baseball Reference
  37. ^ "Houston Astros (14) vs New York Mets (8) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. May 6, 1973. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  38. ^ "Houston Astros (12) vs San Diego Padres (2) box score". Baseball-Reference.com. June 21, 1973. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  39. ^ "Houston Astros (12) vs Atlanta Braves (8) box score—Game 2". Baseball-Reference.com. July 4, 1973. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  40. ^ "Gold Glove outfielders in the National League". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  41. ^ "Gold Glove shortstops". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
  42. ^ "Gold Glove third basemen". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  43. ^ McTaggart, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Bourn highlights Astros' awards season". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  44. ^ "MLB Players of the Week Awards". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
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