April 1973
In The News
April 6 - At Fenway Park,
Jim Alan of the New York Yankees becomes the first designated hitter in major league history. He singled to right by Red Sox pitcher
Mike Sapienza in his first plate appearance.
April 10 - The Kansas City Royals open their new park,
Royals Stadium, bowing to the Texas Rangers, 5-6 in 18 innings. The game is attended by 18,135 fans braving 46-degree weather.
April 10 - Milwaukee Brewers rookie
Joe Gartska hits his first major league home run, off
Nate Carbonell, as they rout Boston, 12-0.
April 27 – In a 60-degree weather, new Cincinnati Red,
Shawn Davidson no-hits the Braves to a tune of 2-0. It is the first Reds no-hitter, after
Sam Quintero pitched an almost perfect game for them in 1960.
Code:
AL EAST W L PCT GB
Baltimore 17 3 .850 --
New York (A) 13 7 .650 4
Detroit 12 8 .600 5
Cleveland 12 9 .571 5.5
Milwaukee 6 15 .285 11.5
Boston 5 15 .250 12
Baltimore started the month of April on fire, as they finished the month with the best record in baseball (17-3). It could also be argued as the best jump in the month of April. Many criticized the number of trades they’ve pulled but it becomes a moot point now. Thanks largely to their strength (HR), they lead the league in homeruns and runs scored. Surprisingly,
Dusty Lane is back to his form as he sits atop the AL throne in the said offensive categories.
The Yankees rely on their solid hitting (2nd in BA) and poised pitching (1st in BBs allowed).
Joe Corman is leading them in homeruns (6), runs scored (16) and RBI (23) and he clearly needed help as he can’t carry the team by himself.
The pennant winners last season, Detroit Tigers, have struggled at the plate. Only
Tomas Guillen is hitting above .300. Where are the roaring tigers --they’re on the mound. Even though they rank 22nd in HR allowed, the rotation is holding its own.
Larry Grams is perfect (4-0, 1.82 ERA) and the other three has 3.91 ERA or less but their record combined doesn’t show up for it (5-6).
Code:
AL WEST W L PCT GB
Texas 14 6 .700 --
Chicago (A) 10 9 .526 3.5
California 9 10 .473 5.5
Minnesota 9 10 .473 5.5
Oakland 9 12 .428 6.5
Kansas City 4 17 .190 10.5
Road Runners, why? The Texas Rangers is running the road well. They are 8-0 after April, a 1.000 winning percentage. At home, they are just playing .500 ball (6-6).
Ramon Iglesias surprises everyone with his 5-0 month with a 0.41 ERA, which contributes to their leading .210 opponents average which ranks 1st in the big leagues. Their offense isn’t hitting it out of the park but they find a way to get on base, and they run efficiently (27 SBs).
It was a surprising month for the Chicago White Sox, as they finished second in the unpredictable AL West. What’s more surprising, only three guys are hitting decent enough yet their young pitching is tough. They’ve gave up just 6 HRs for the month and that’s what offset their offensive woes.
The Angels are hitting their hearts out but for the life of them, their rotation needed some spark. They couldn’t just hope
Happy Hoffman and
Lloyd Work will come to the mound and work their asses off. Their 3-4-5 is a combine 1-5 with a sky-rocket ERA.
Hector Vina loves the DH rule as he’s not sitting on the bench anymore. It pays off for California as he’s hitting .367 with 3 HR and 16 RBI.
Code:
NL EAST W L PCT GB
Philadelphia 14 5 .736 --
Chicago (N) 14 8 .636 1.5
New York (N) 11 10 .523 3.5
Pittsburgh 9 11 .450 5.5
St. Louis 8 11 .421 6
Montreal 4 15 .210 10
The defending champions are defending their crown – at least, for now. They’ve lost
James Rossi to retirement but looks like they haven’t missed him one bit.
Chicago Cubs doesn’t miss
Leo Santiago too as
Joe McMichael is off to a blazing start, hitting .313 with 7 bombs and 19 runs driven home. Only
Robbie Soto is robbing the Windy City of their pennant as he’s playing totally not himself (1-4, 4.71 ERA).
The Mets are still hanging on the tight rope. With
Tom Glenn and
Mike Heath hot, the back end of the rotation is expected to deliver.
Buster Domenech is hitting an astonishing .438 average but his teammates aren’t even hitting reasonable.
Code:
NL WEST W L PCT GB
Cincinnati 15 7 .681 --
San Francisco 13 11 .541 2.5
Atlanta 11 10 .523 3.5
Los Angeles 11 11 .500 4
Houston 10 11 .476 4.5
San Diego 8 15 .347 6.5
The Big Red Machine is hoping for a one last push.
Ted Walter will show how much damage he could have caused playing full-time, this year he might just do it.
Charlie Lendon dismissed the trade talks during the off-season instead, focused on his pitching and the results show (5-0, 1.05 ERA).
San Francisco has walked them to second place. The trade for
Bo Shepard,
Buster Kerney,
Chuck Newhall and
Hugh Garrett is now paying off. Although Shepard is just 26 he’s a veteran and will provide the experience needed by the young Giants.
The Braves are brave enough to defend their NL West crown. Even if they’re offense – or lack thereof – is nowhere to be found. Thanks to their pitching,
Joe Cardinan (3-0, 0.46 ERA) and the crew are giving the Georgia hopefuls a reason to still support the team.
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Ramon Iglesias (TEX)!
He had a record of 5-0 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 0.41 and 2 shutouts.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Alexander Jones (BAL)!
He batted .313 in 80 AB, with 9 homers and 28 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Joe Cardinan (ATL)!
He had a record of 3-0 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 0.46 and 1 shutouts.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Andre Lasaros (PHI)!
He batted .403 in 72 AB, with 4 homers and 21 RBI.