1973 Kansas City Royals season

Offseason

• November 30, 1972: Roger Nelson and Richie Scheinblum were traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Hal McRae and Wayne Simpson.
• February 1, 1973: Joe Keough was traded to the Chicago White Sox for Jim Lyttle.

Regular season

The Royals opened the new Royals Stadium with a 12–1 rout of the Texas Rangers on April 10. The Tuesday night game was attended by 39,464 braving cool temperatures; 39 F at first pitch.

On April 27, Steve Busby threw the first no-hitter in Royals history, as visiting KC shut out Detroit 3–0 at Tiger Stadium.

At Royals Stadium on May 15, Nolan Ryan of the California Angels threw the first no-hitter of his career.

On August 2, George Brett made his major league debut, starting at third base and hitting a single in a 3–1 road win over the`Chicago White Sox.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

• April 2: Greg Minton was traded to the San Francisco Giants for Fran Healy.
• May 8: Tom Murphy was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Al Santorini.
• June 5: 1973 Major League Baseball draft
  • Ruppert Jones was selected in the third round.
  • Rob Picciolo was selected in the fourth round of the secondary phase, but did not sign.

Roster

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

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Awards and honors

All-Star Game

• Amos Otis, Outfield, Starter
• John Mayberry, 1B, Reserve
• Cookie Rojas, 2B, Reserve

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Kingsport, Billings

References

References

1. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/n/nelsoro02.shtml Roger Nelson] at ''Baseball Reference''
2. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/k/keougjo01.shtml Joe Keough] at ''Baseball Reference''
3. (April 10, 1973). "Royals Stadium ready for opener tonight". Lawrence Daily Journal-World.
4. Woodling, Chuck. (April 11, 1973). "Royals rap Rangers, 12–1". Lawrence Daily Journal-World.
5. ''Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures'', 2008 Edition, p. 144, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, {{ISBN. 978-0-451-22363-0
6. (April 28, 1973). "KC's Busby throws first AL gem since '70". Lawrence Daily Journal-World.
7. ''Baseball's Top 100: The Game's Greatest Records'', p. 12, Kerry Banks, 2010, Greystone Books, Vancouver, BC, {{ISBN. 978-1-55365-507-7
8. (May 16, 1973). "'Ryan Express' hurls no-hitter at Royals". Lawrence Daily Journal-World.
9. (May 16, 1973). "Blazing Ryan finally gets his gem". Eugene Register-Guard.
10. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brettge01.shtml George Brett] at ''Baseball Reference''
11. (August 3, 1973). "Sports scoreboard". Eugene Register-Guard.
12. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/m/mintogr01.shtml Greg Minton] at ''Baseball Reference''
13. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/santoal01.shtml Al Santorini] at ''Baseball-Reference''
14. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jonesru01.shtml Ruppert Jones] at ''Baseball-Reference''
15. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/p/picciro01.shtml Rob Picciolo] at ''Baseball Reference''