[FuzzyRussianHat]

The Bolivar League North Division had a new face on top in 1973 as Bogota finished 91-71, a big jump for their 69 wins the prior year. This gave the Bats their first playoff berth since 1955. Last year’s league champ Caracas dropped to fourth at 80-82, just behind both Maracaibo and Valencia. In the South Division, Guayaquil took first for the third time in five years. The Golds were 91-71, five better than both Quito and La Paz.

Leading the charge for Bogota was 29-year old LF Julio Batista, who won MVP. He tied the former single-season home run record of 62 and led the league with 9.8 WAR, 115 runs, 38 doubles, 133 RBI, 412 total bases, a .690 slugging, 1.057 OPS, and 216 wRC+. Batista would play one more year for the Bats before leaving for MLB’s St. Louis. Guayaquil’s Laurenco Cedillo won his seventh Pitcher of the Year, tying the record set by the legendary Mohamed Ramos. The 38-year old Cedillo proved ageless, posting 8.0 WAR over 280.2 innings with 226 strikeouts, 2.15 ERA, and 21-9 record. Cedillo joined Ramos this season as the only Beisbol Sudamerica pitchers with 300+ career wins. Cedillo would have two more seasons and finish with 342, just short of Ramos’ 347 for the all-time record.



Salvador crushed the competition in the Southern Cone League in 1973 with a franchise record 110-52. This was only the third Brazil Division win for the Storm, who did it in 1949 and 1962. Defending Copa Sudamerica champ Fortaleza was a distant third at 84-78. In the South Division, Santiago finished first yet again at 93-69, six better than Buenos Aires. The Saints extended their record postseason streak to ten years, although it ultimately was the last year of the run. Impressively, Santiago made the playoffs 15 times from 1957-73.

Slugger Valor Melo led Salvador’s turnaround with a record-smashing season for the 24-year old Brazilian left-handed first baseman. He won his first MVP and became the single-season home run king, passing the old record of 62 with 66 dingers. His 143 RBI was only four short of Mike Andrades’ 1962 record of 147 and he had only the seventh 12+ WAR hitting season in BSA history to that point with 12.3. Melo also led the league in runs (127), total bases (418), slugging (.719), OPS (1.125), and wRC+ (231). His OPS was also a single-season record to that point, which he himself would top multiple times later. Pitcher of the Year was Brasilia’s Cristo Manso with the 25-year old leading in wins (23-7) and ERA (1.87) with 10.3 WAR and 311 strikeouts in 279 innings.

In the Bolivar League Championship Series, Bogota bested Guayaquil in six games, giving the Bats their second-ever title (1951). The Golds are now 1-6 all-time in BLCS appearances. Salvador cruised to the Southern Cone Championship with a sweep of Santiago, giving the Storm their third title (1949, 1962). After being a fixture of the finals in the 1950s, 60s, and early 70s, the Saints wouldn’t be back again until 1993.



The 43^rd Copa Sudamerica would be a seven-game classic, the first since 1965. Underdog Bogota gave Salvador a great challenge, but the 110-win Storm were too much to handle, winning the Cup for the second-time in franchise history (1949). RF Dani Manzanares was finals MVP with the second-year lefty posting 10 hits, 6 runs, 3 home runs, and 11 RBI in 11 playoff games. Salvador’s 110-52 record was the best by a Cup winner since Cordoba’s record 120-42 1956 season. The Bats would have to wait until 2000 to get their first overall title.



Other notes: Buenos Aires’ Raphael Grieco struck out 438 batters, setting a single-season BSA record for someone not named Mohamed Ramos (Ramos bested that mark ten times). Another milestone for Laurenco Cedillo was his 5000^th strikeout, becoming the third BSA pitcher to reach to mark. He’d finish with 5358, behind Ramos (7747) and Evan Yho (5591). SS Alexander Rolon won his 10^th Gold Glove. 1973 would also be the final year for Beisbol Sudamerica with just the original 24 teams, as there would be a four-team expansion starting in 1974.