1973 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

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The 1973 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 44th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played on July 24, 1973, at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, home of the Kansas City Royals of the American League.[1] The game resulted in a 7–1 victory for the NL.[1]

1973 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
National League 0 0 2 1 2 2 0 0 0 7 10 0
American League 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0
DateJuly 24, 1973[1][2]
VenueRoyals Stadium[1][2]
CityKansas City, Missouri
Managers
MVPBobby Bonds[1][2] (SF)
Attendance40,849[1][2]
Ceremonial first pitchLefty Gomez, Bill Hallahan and Ewing Kauffman
TelevisionNBC
TV announcersCurt Gowdy and Tony Kubek
RadioNBC
Radio announcersJim Simpson and Maury Wills

Royals Stadium had not even been open for four months when it hosted this, its first All-Star Game. The game had been hosted in Kansas City once before (1960) when the Kansas City Athletics had been the host team at Kansas City's Municipal Stadium. After this game was played, the Royals did not host another All-Star Game until they were awarded the 2012 All-Star Game.

Arrowhead Stadium, which shares the same parking lot as part of the Harry S. Truman Sports Complex, hosted the 1974 Pro Bowl about six months after this game.

This game marked the 40th anniversary year of the first All-Star Game in 1933. As a part of that recognition, some of the surviving stars from that first game, including Dick Bartell, Joe Cronin, Jimmie Dykes, Charlie Gehringer, Lefty Gomez, Lefty Grove, Bill Hallahan, and Carl Hubbell were in attendance.[2]

National League roster

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View of Royals Stadium during the All-Star Game

The National League roster included 11 future Hall of Fame players and coaches, denoted in italics.[2][4]

Elected starters

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Position Player Team Notes
C Johnny Bench Cincinnati Reds
1B Hank Aaron Atlanta Braves
2B Joe Morgan Cincinnati Reds
3B Ron Santo Chicago Cubs
SS Chris Speier San Francisco Giants
OF César Cedeño Houston Astros
OF Pete Rose Cincinnati Reds
OF Billy Williams Chicago Cubs

Pitchers

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Throws Pitcher Team Notes
RH Jack Billingham Cincinnati Reds did not pitch
LH Jim Brewer Los Angeles Dodgers
RH Dave Giusti Pittsburgh Pirates
LH Claude Osteen Los Angeles Dodgers
RH Tom Seaver New York Mets
RH Don Sutton Los Angeles Dodgers
RH Wayne Twitchell Philadelphia Phillies
RH Rick Wise St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher

Reserve position players

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Position Player Team Notes
C Ted Simmons St. Louis Cardinals
1B Nate Colbert San Diego Padres
1B Ron Fairly Montréal Expos
2B Davey Johnson Atlanta Braves
3B Darrell Evans Atlanta Braves
3B Joe Torre St. Louis Cardinals
SS Dave Concepción Cincinnati Reds injured
SS Bill Russell Los Angeles Dodgers
OF Bobby Bonds San Francisco Giants
OF Willie Davis Los Angeles Dodgers
OF Willie Mays New York Mets
OF Manny Mota Los Angeles Dodgers
OF Willie Stargell Pittsburgh Pirates
OF Bob Watson Houston Astros

Coaching staff

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Position Manager Team
Manager Sparky Anderson Cincinnati Reds
Coach Gene Mauch Montréal Expos
Coach Bill Virdon Pittsburgh Pirates

American League roster

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The American League roster included 11 future Hall of Fame players and coaches, denoted in italics.[2][4]

Elected starters

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Position Player Team Notes
C Carlton Fisk Boston Red Sox
1B Dick Allen Chicago White Sox injured
2B Rod Carew Minnesota Twins
3B Brooks Robinson Baltimore Orioles
SS Bert Campaneris Oakland Athletics
OF Reggie Jackson Oakland Athletics
OF Bobby Murcer New York Yankees
OF Amos Otis Kansas City Royals

Pitchers

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Throws Pitcher Team Notes
RH Bert Blyleven Minnesota Twins
RH Jim Colborn Milwaukee Brewers did not pitch
RH Rollie Fingers Oakland Athletics
LH Ken Holtzman Oakland Athletics
RH Catfish Hunter Oakland Athletics starting pitcher
LH Bill Lee Boston Red Sox did not pitch
LH Sparky Lyle New York Yankees
RH Nolan Ryan California Angels
RH Bill Singer California Angels

Reserve position players

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Position Player Team Notes
C Bill Freehan Detroit Tigers did not play
C Thurman Munson New York Yankees
1B John Mayberry Kansas City Royals started for Allen
1B Jim Spencer Texas Rangers
1B Carl Yastrzemski Boston Red Sox injured
2B Dave Nelson Texas Rangers
2B Cookie Rojas Kansas City Royals
3B Sal Bando Oakland Athletics
3B Buddy Bell Cleveland Indians
SS Ed Brinkman Detroit Tigers
OF Paul Blair Baltimore Orioles
OF Willie Horton Detroit Tigers
OF Pat Kelly Chicago White Sox
OF Dave May Milwaukee Brewers

Coaching staff

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Position Manager Team
Manager Dick Williams Oakland Athletics
Coach Whitey Herzog Texas Rangers
Coach Chuck Tanner Chicago White Sox

Starting lineups

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While the starters were elected by the fans, the batting orders and starting pitchers were selected by the managers.[2]

National League American League
Order Player Team Position Order Player Team Position
1 Pete Rose Cincinnati Reds LF 1 Bert Campaneris Oakland Athletics SS
2 Joe Morgan Cincinnati Reds 2B 2 Rod Carew Minnesota Twins 2B
3 César Cedeño Houston Astros CF 3 John Mayberry Kansas City Royals 1B
4 Hank Aaron Atlanta Braves 1B 4 Reggie Jackson Oakland Athletics RF
5 Billy Williams Chicago Cubs RF 5 Amos Otis Kansas City Royals CF
6 Johnny Bench Cincinnati Reds C 6 Bobby Murcer New York Yankees LF
7 Ron Santo Chicago Cubs 3B 7 Carlton Fisk Boston Red Sox C
8 Chris Speier San Francisco Giants SS 8 Brooks Robinson Baltimore Orioles 3B
9 Rick Wise St. Louis Cardinals P 9 Catfish Hunter Oakland Athletics P

Umpires

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Position Umpire[5]
Home Plate Nestor Chylak(AL)
First Base Ken Burkhart(NL)
Second Base Larry Barnett(AL)
Third Base Bill Williams(NL)
Left Field Ron Luciano(AL)
Right Field Bob Engel (NL)

Scoring summary

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Scoring began in the bottom of the second inning, with Rick Wise in his second and final inning of pitching for the NL. Reggie Jackson led off with a double, and came home when the next batter, Amos Otis, singled.[1][6] This would be the beginning and end of scoring for the American League.

The National League wasted no time coming back, taking advantage of new pitcher, Bert Blyleven, in the top of the third inning. Darrell Evans, pinch hitting for Rick Wise, walked, and was forced out at second base when Pete Rose hit into a fielder's choice. Joe Morgan walked. César Cedeño's single scored Rose, and sent Morgan to third base. Hank Aaron singled to Murcer who threw out Cedeño at third, but not before Morgan had scored to give the NL a 2–1 lead.[6]

The NL added a single run in the top of the fourth inning, as Johnny Bench, the first hitter AL relief pitcher Bill Singer faced, hit a lead off home run.[1][6]

In the top of the fifth inning, the NL scoring continued off of Bill Singer. Joe Morgan led off with a double. Three hitters later, with two outs, Bobby Bonds hit a two-run home run, bringing the score to 5–1.[6]

In the top of the sixth inning, Nolan Ryan came in to pitch in relief, though the outcome was virtually identical to the previous inning. Ron Santo led off with a walk. Two batters later with one out, Willie Davis, pinch hitting for the pitcher, Don Sutton, hit a two-run home run to extend the NL lead to 7–1, and closing out scoring for the game.[6]

Line score

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Tuesday, July 24, 1973 7:30 pm (CT) at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
National League 0 0 2 1 2 2 0 0 0 7 10 0
American League 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0
WP: Rick Wise (1-0)   LP: Bert Blyleven (0-1)   Sv: Jim Brewer (1)
Home runs:
NL: Johnny Bench (1), Bobby Bonds (1), Willie Davis (1)
AL: None

Game notes and records

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Rick Wise was credited with the win. Bert Blyleven was credited with the loss. Jim Brewer was credited with the save.[5]

This was the 24th and final All-Star Game appearance for Willie Mays. Mays appeared in every game from 1954 to 1973.[7] Only Hank Aaron and Stan Musial have played in as many All-Star Games as Mays.[8]

Jim Spencer became the first member of the Texas Rangers to appear in an All-Star Game. The Rangers were playing their second season in Arlington, Texas after moving from Washington, D.C., where they were the second incarnation of the Washington Senators from 1961 to 1971. Toby Harrah, Texas' lone representative in the 1972 game, was injured.

Catfish Hunter was removed from the game in the second inning after Billy Williams hit a line drive that hit Hunter's right hand, breaking his thumb.[5] He missed two weeks of the regular season.[9][10]

This All-Star Game saw 54 players (28 for the NL and 26 for the AL) enter the game. This became a new All-Star Game record for participating players.[2]

Buddy Bell became the second son of a former All-Star (Gus Bell) to appear in an All-Star Game.[11]

In total, there were 19 future hall of famers involved with the game. The non-players involved in the 1973 All-Star Game that have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame are Sparky Anderson, Dick Williams, Whitey Herzog, and Nestor Chylak.

As of 2020, Royals Stadium is the last facility to host the MLB All-Star Game in its first season of operation. Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium hosted the 1970 game 12 days after it opened, and St. Louis' Busch Memorial Stadium opened two months prior to the 1966 game. Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, which opened two weeks after Riverfront, hosted the 1974 game. Royals Stadium was scheduled to open for the 1972 season, but labor strife and bad weather caused long delays, forcing the Royals to spend 1972 at Municipal Stadium.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Total Baseball, 5th ed., 1997, Viking Press, Thorn, John et al. ed, p. 253
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 1973 All-Star Game, baseball-almanac.com; accessed 27 September 2008
  3. ^ a b All-Time All-Star Managers, @mlb.com; accessed 20 September 2008
  4. ^ a b All-Star Results – 1973, @mlb.com; accessed 27 September 2008
  5. ^ a b c 1973 All-Star Game box score, @baseball almanac.com; accessed 13 November 2008
  6. ^ a b c d e 1973 All-Star Game Play-by-Play, @baseball-almanac.com; accessed 27 September 2008
  7. ^ Willie Mays All-Star Stats, baseball-almanac.com; accessed 27 September 2008
  8. ^ Most Seasons on All-Star Roster, baseball-reference.com; accessed 26 June 2015
  9. ^ Catfish Hunter Biography at Baseball Biography
  10. ^ O'Leary, Ted, Time for a Catfish fry in KC, 6 August 1973, Sports Illustrated; accessed 27 September 2008
  11. ^ All-Star Father/Son Combos, @mlb.com; accessed 27 September 2008
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