[Joy in Mudville]

In many respects the 1973 Joy in Mudville regular season resembled a broken record.

All four division winners from a season ago repeated. Thus, the American League playoffs will again feature the Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros will sqaure off in the National League playoffs.

The closest race turned out to be the NL East where the Pirates held off Philadelphia down the stretch. Pittsburgh won the NL East flag for the third time.

The league featured three 100-victory teams: Baltimore (126), Houston (113) and Pittsburgh (102). It also had three 100-loss teams: Atlanta (116), Cleveland (102) and Montreal (102).

Diamond JIM Notes: Atlanta's Earl Williams became the fifth player in league history to crank out three home runs in one game. Williams homered thrice and drove home seven runs in a Sept. 30 game against Houston . . . Kansas City second baseman Frank White and Pittsburgh infielder Dave Cash each bagged five-hit games during the final two weeks . . . Among the single-season records that fell during 1973 were strikeouts (379) by Baltimore's Nolan Ryan, doubles (46) by Pittsburgh's Al Oliver, triples (17) by Cincinnati's Pete Rose, stolen bases (88) by St. Louis' Lou Brock and RBIs (131) by Baltimore's Amos Otis.

Major League 1970 10-01-1973 Standings Report

American Standings

Eastern Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Baltimore Orioles 126 36 .778 - 131-31 -5 60-21 66-15 8-4 21-19 Clinched W1 8-2 New York Yankees 108 54 .667 18.0 110-52 -2 59-22 49-32 13-5 35-20 W2 6-4 Detroit Tigers 78 84 .481 48.0 82-80 -4 41-40 37-44 5-3 19-19 L2 2-8 Milwaukee Brewers 70 92 .432 56.0 67-95 3 43-38 27-54 7-16 25-33 L2 3-7 Boston Red Sox 67 95 .414 59.0 69-93 -2 37-44 30-51 10-14 28-31 W2 8-2 Cleveland Indians 60 102 .370 66.0 60-102 0 29-52 31-50 7-10 20-27 L1 4-6 Western Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Texas Rangers 95 67 .586 - 93-69 2 45-36 50-31 5-7 32-22 Clinched W9 9-1 Oakland Athletics 83 79 .512 12.0 74-88 9 46-35 37-44 12-3 32-15 L4 4-6 California Angels 73 89 .451 22.0 61-101 12 34-47 39-42 10-6 30-29 L1 3-7 Minnesota Twins 73 89 .451 22.0 78-84 -5 40-41 33-48 6-9 18-33 W1 5-5 Kansas City Royals 71 91 .438 24.0 71-91 0 37-44 34-47 4-9 21-27 L4 2-8 Chicago White Sox 68 94 .420 27.0 71-91 -3 33-48 35-46 9-10 20-26 W4 7-3

National Standings

Eastern Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Pittsburgh Pirates 102 60 .630 - 105-57 -3 56-25 46-35 10-9 25-21 Clinched W3 7-3 Philadelphia Phillies 98 64 .605 4.0 93-69 5 53-28 45-36 9-6 25-19 W1 6-4 St. Louis Cardinals 80 82 .494 22.0 85-77 -5 41-40 39-42 11-5 24-27 L1 4-6 Chicago Cubs 73 89 .451 29.0 69-93 4 42-39 31-50 5-8 23-30 W6 7-3 New York Mets 68 94 .420 34.0 65-97 3 38-43 30-51 3-6 29-20 L4 2-8 Montreal Expos 60 102 .370 42.0 63-99 -3 35-46 25-56 7-8 23-30 L3 3-7 Western Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Houston Astros 113 49 .698 - 112-50 1 63-18 50-31 15-0 35-16 Clinched L1 9-1 Cincinnati Reds 98 64 .605 15.0 94-68 4 51-30 47-34 10-6 24-20 L3 2-8 Los Angeles Dodgers 88 74 .543 25.0 98-64 -10 49-32 39-42 7-9 23-28 L2 8-2 San Diego Padres 76 86 .469 37.0 72-90 4 41-40 35-46 5-9 30-34 W2 6-4 San Francisco Giants 70 92 .432 43.0 69-93 1 32-49 38-43 6-10 25-24 W3 5-5 Atlanta Braves 46 116 .284 67.0 47-115 -1 26-55 20-61 3-15 14-31 W1 2-8