1973 Cleveland Indians - 71-91 - 6th Pl AL East - 26 GB

By mid June the Tribe found themselves out of first by double digits and it just got worse from there.  With a pitching staff that ranked 11th (out of 12) and an offense that was middle of the pack Cleveland had about 48 hours worth of pennant fever before reality set in.  The positives:  They had an up and coming young starting lineup of players mostly under 25.  The bad news, which they didn't know then was that most of them would wind up being traded to other teams where they became stars.

Here is a list of the players, their ages and where they went:
Chris Chambliss (24) - NYY
Jack Brohamer (23) - BOS
Buddy Bell (21) - TEX
George Hendrick (23) - STL
Oscar Gamble (23) - NYY
John Lowenstein (26) - BAL
Alan Ashby (21) - HOU

If only the Tribe didn't trade their core, especially to the Yankees thing might really have been different in the AL East in the latter part of the decade.  It just seemed like the Tribe had the reverse Midas Touch.  Some blamed it on the "Curse of Rocky Colavito".  Others blamed it on just poor management.  Other than Gaylord Perry (19-19, 3.38, 344IP) this team had absolutely no starting pitching.  To illustrate this Dick Tidrow (14-16, 4.42, 274.2IP) was the next reliable starter.  Tom Hilgendorf (5-3, 3.14, 6sv) was decent out of the pen.  The rest of the relief core was horrible at best.  It might be considered a miracle that Ken Aspromonte's squad didn't lose 100 games.

To complete the team set I created 23 new Cards.

Ashby made his major league debut with the Indians on July 3, 1973. In his first game, Ashby was a defensive replacement in the ninth inning, as he caught Jerry Johnson for a scoreless inning as the Indians lost 5-4 against the Detroit Tigers. The next day, on July 4, Ashby was in the starting lineup, going 1 for 4 with an RBI in Cleveland's 5-2 win over the Tigers. Ashby collected his first career hit off of Tigers pitcher Mike Strahler in his first career at-bat. On September 29, Ashby hit his first career home run, hitting a two-run home run off of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Mike Cuellar. Ashby finished the 1973 season appearing in 11 games with Cleveland, batting .172 with 1 HR and 2 RBI.  He would pretty much replicate that the following year.  After getting extensive playing time during the following two seasons he didn't overly impress anyone and was traded to the expansion Blue Jays wherer he played 2 seasons before being traded to Houston where he found a home.  In his 11 seasons in Houston Ashby was either the regular catcher or part of a platoon.  He played on two division winners (1980 & 1986).  He retired after the '89 season. 

On November 27, 1972, Strom was traded by the Mets, with fellow pitcher Bob Rauch, to the Indians for pitcher Phil Hennigan. He played only one season with the Indians, 1973, going 2–10 with a 4.61 ERA in 27 games (18 starts).  After sitting out the 1974 season due to injury he resumed his career in San Diego with 2 promising seasons.  Then in 1977 he bottomed out (0-2, 12.42) due to injury.  After once again sitting out a season (1978) he returned to baseball in the Astros chain.  After two sub par seasons he caught on with the Dodgers AAA team in Albuquerque where his performance and healthy didn't allow the 32 year old to keep playing.

Spikes was drafted in the first round of the 1969 Major League Baseball Draft by the Yankees. He made his major league debut with the Yankees in 1972. Following the 1972 season, he was traded by the Yankees with John Ellis, Jerry Kenney and Rusty Torres to the Indians for Graig Nettles and Jerry Moses. He played for the Indians through the 1977 season, when he was traded to the Tigers for Tom Veryzer.  The "Bogalusa Bomber" slammed 23 homers for the Tribe in '73 and followed it up with 22 the following year.  After that the power numbers and average numbers began to tail off thanks to an eye injury hat he sustained in Winter Ball following the '74 season.  By the time he was dealt to Detroit in 1978 he was barely a part time player.  1978 saw him play just 10 games on the major league level with the Tigers and 16 on the minor league level with Evansville (AAA).  As a 4th outfielder with the Braves in '79 and '80 he posted respectable numbers.  In '81 he decided to play in Japan with Chunichi, where he hit just .122.  That was his final stop.

The 1971 AL ROY had a great season in 1973 (.273-11-53) while playing near gold glove 1st base.  Inexplicably he was traded to the Yankees on April 26th 1974 with Tidrow and Cecil Upshaw for Beene, Buskey, Kline and Peterson (a quartet of broken down pitchers).  In his 5 1/2 seasons in the Bronx he flourished into an All-Star on 3 consecutive pennant winning squads.  After leaving New York he spent 7 seasons in Atlanta where he found his long ball stroke.  In 17 big league seasons Chambliss would hit .279 with 185 homers and 2,109 hit.  No hit was more important than his walk off homer in game 5 of the 1976 ALCS to win the pennant for the Yankees for the first time in 12 years.

In March 1973 after a contract squabble with A's owner Charlie Finley, Duncan was traded along with George Hendrick to the Cleveland Indians for Ray Fosse and Jack Heidemann.  Duncan became the Indians' starting catcher in 1973 however, he broke his wrist on June 28 and missed two months of the season.  He finished the season hitting for a .233 average with 17 home runs and 43 runs batted in while leading American League catchers in range factor. He played in a career-high 136 games in the 1974 season but, the heavy workload caused his batting average to fall to .200. In February 1975, Duncan was traded with Al McGraw to the Baltimore Orioles for Don Hood and Boog Powell. With the Orioles, Duncan shared catching duties with Elrod Hendricks during the 1975 season before Rick Dempsey took over as the Orioles starting catcher in 1976. Duncan would be traded to the Chicago White Sox in November of that year. When the White Sox released him in March 1977, he retired as a player at the age of 32 and embarked on a career that arguably made him the greatest pitching coach in the history of major league baseball.

Early in the 1973 season, Bosman was traded by the Rangers, along with outfielder Ted Ford, to the Indians for pitcher Steve Dunning. On July 19, 1974, Bosman no-hit the defending World Series Champion Oakland Athletics.  He missed a rare perfect game due only to his own throwing error in the fourth inning, which gave the A's their lone baserunner in a 4-0 Indians victory.  The following season, Bosman would be traded to the very team he no-hit, as he was traded by the Indians along with Jim Perry to the A's in exchange for Blue Moon Odom. During the 1975 season, Bosman won 11 games to help Oakland to a division title. He remained with Oakland in 1976, but was released by the A's in spring training of 1977, bringing his baseball career to an end.  His '73 season on Lake Erie was completely forgettable (1-8, 6.22 22G).

Silent George was "Skinny George" back in 1973.  In a breakout season he let his bat do all the talking for him (.268-21-61).  For the next 3 seasons he posted similar numbers, and was an All-Star in '74 & '75.  Somehow both he and the Indians soured on each other and after the '76 season he was shipped to San Diego for some spare parts.  Once again Cleveland got rooked in a deal.  Hendrick then found his way to St. Louis where he became the team's one true long ball threat.  His reward?  A shiny championship ring in 1982.  After a pit stop in Pittsburgh and 3 seasons in Anaheim he retired from baseball with a lifetime .278 average with 267 homers and 1,980 hits.  One can only imagine how many homers he would have hit if he actually played in hitters park.

Johnson was converted to a pitcher for good by the New York–Penn League's Auburn Mets. He pitched in the Mets' minor league system through 1967. Following the season, he was obtained by the Philadelphia Phillies from the Mets in the 1967 minor league draft.  During Spring training 1973, Johnson was selected off waivers by the Cleveland Indians. After one season in the American League, he was traded to the Houston Astros for Cecil Upshaw. He was released by the Astros at the end of the 1974 season, and signed with the San Diego Padres in 1975. After two seasons in San Diego, he was traded to the newly created Toronto Blue Jays for Dave Roberts, who had just been purchased by the Jays from the Padres. Johnson was the winning pitcher (as a reliever) in the Blue Jays first ever regular season game on April 7, 1977. Johnson went 2-4 with a 4.60 ERA in the Blue Jays' inaugural season, at the end of which, he retired.  Following his majors career, Johnson played for the St. Lucie Legends of the Senior Professional Baseball Association.

If you read "When the Yankees Were on the Fritz" by Fritz Peterson, you already know a lot about Johnny Ellis.  John didn't have a spot in the Yankee lineup because this "Munson guy" was starting ahead of him.  Ellis arrived in Cleveland in an off-season trade with the Yankees along with 3 other players for Jerry Moses and Graig Nettles.  In his first year in Cleveland he hit .270 with 14 homers.  After 3 solid seasons in Cleveland he moved over to Texas for 6 more years.  Ellis put together an underrated 13 year career where he hit .262.

After his playing career ended he started managing in the Indians farm system starting in 1968.  After two years guiding their AAA team in Wichita he was promoted to the big club where he inherited a 100 loss team.  The team improved to 12 games under .500 in '72, but slumped a bit over the next two seasons, so his contract wasn't renewed.

After bottoming out in MIN (2-4, 6.09) Sanders arrived in Cleveland on August 8th and was 5-1, 1.65 over the final 2 months of the season.  Sanders' stay in Cleveland didn't last long as he bounced to the Angels, Mets and Royals before hanging it up after spending the '77 season in AAA Spokane (MIL).  His best season was 1971 in Milwaukee where he led the league with 31 saves and 83 appearance.

As a former 5 time All-Star SS it was a tough pill to swallow when Cárdenas was dealt to Cleveland and asked to be a utility player.  In just 72 games with the Tribe in his only season in Cleveland he hit just .215 and was dealt to Texas in February of '74.  Cárdenas played 2 seasons in Texas in the same role in a utility role as well before being released after hitting .235 in 1975.  His best seasons were in Cincy where he was a 4x All-Star and a gold glover in 1965.  Interestingly the Cuban native played on the 1960 Havana AAA team that had to be relocated to Jersey City when Castro nationalized everything.  The year before he was accidentally shot during a revolutionary celebration.

27 year old southpaw Michael Warren Jackson played all of 1 game for the Tribe in 1973 after pitching in 9 games for the Royals earlier in the season.  The pitching starved Indians were willing to take a flyer on anyone who could throw.  His AAA number in OKC were horrible (4-5, 6.18), so he was demoted to AA Thetford Mines in the Pittsburgh chain for his final season in 1974.

Kekich was 1-4, 7.02 for the Tribe in '73 after being traded by the Yanks on June 12th for Lowell Palmer.  That wasn't the biggest trade that he was involved in that year.  The trade he's most known for is the wife swap he made with Fritz Peterson.  Peterson found a wife for life, but not Kekich, who broke up with his new trade partner and was shipped off to the mistake by the lake.  In his 9 year career Kekich was no more than a lefty arm with a high ERA.  Even in the years that he won double digits in NY his ERA was well above league average.  After his horrible 16 games in Cleveland during the '73 season he wound up spending the '74 season split between AAA Spokane and Nippon Ham in Japan.  Neither performances were anything to write home about.  After 23 sub par games in Texas in '75 he was farmed out to Spokane again.  After being cut by the Rangers he sat out the whole '76 season, but returned to baseball with the expansion Mariners in '77 where he posted a winning record (5-4, 5.60) with an extremely high ERA.  '78 was split between San Jose (AAA-SEA) and Spokane (AAA-MIL).  He gave it one final go in Santo Domingo (DR) in '79 where he won 1 and lost 4.

Oscar Gamble was discovered by the beloved Buck O'Neil back in the mid-60's and then drafted by the Cubs.  Known for his patented 'fro, Gamble spent 3 fantastic (by 1970's Cleveland standards) seasons along Lake Erie.  In his first season with the Tribe (1973) he hit .267 with 20 homer and curiously just 44 RBI.  After the '75 season he moved to New York in exchange for Pat Dobson and helped the Bombers win their first pennant in 12 years.  In 17 years Gamble hit an even 200 homers with his best season being in 1977 with the Chisox where he hit 31.

Cousin of the portly 1968 World Series hero Mickey Lolich, Ron was quite the opposite of his more acclaimed relative.  Built tall and lanky Ron hit just .229 with 2 homers in his 2nd and final season in Cleveland.  He was quite the slugger in the minors where he hit 20 or more homers 3 times.  Midway through his AAA season in '74 he went to japan and had two 20+ homer seasons.  After faltering in his 3rd season in Japan he headed back to North America and played for Chihuahua in the Mexican league before hanging up the spikes.

Torres was the Indians' Opening Day right fielder and leadoff hitter in 1973.  He started 51 games in right field for the Indians that season, more than any other player.  Overall, he appeared in 121 games in his first full major league season, but hit just .205. Still, his defensive skills were enough for him to claim a regular spot in the lineup of the lowly Indians.  They were not, however, enough for him to keep that spot in 1974. John Lowenstein moved into the lineup as the everyday left fielder, with Charlie Spikes moving into Torres' position in right field. With Leron Lee also joining the team, Torres became the Indians' fifth outfielder. Torres' true claim to fame is that he is the only player to play in the Senators final forfeit game vs the Yanks in '71, 10 cent Beer Night in Cleveland (1974) and Disco Demolition Night in Chicago (1979). 

After being drafted by the Indians in 1967, Ted was drafted by a more powerful authority...the United States Army.  After missing the entire '68 and '69 seasons while fighting in Vietnam Ford returned to baseball in 1970 and hit .326 in AAA Wichita.  His callup to the big club saw him hit just .174 in 46 AB's.  In '71 he improved modestly to .194 with just 2 homers in almost 200 AB's.  Ford played a full season in Texas in '72 and showed some pop (14) homers, but his average was sub par (.235).  He returned to Cleveland for 11 games in '73 and hit .225 with no homers.  In 1974 he had a whale of a year (.309-17-70) with the powerhouse Hawaii Islander.  After that he went south of the border and played 8 successful years in the Mexican League.

Tom Hilgendorf was signed by the Cardinals as a free agent in 1960. It took until 1969 for him to make it to the major leagues when the Cardinals brought him up from the minors as a 27-year-old rookie. The left-hander made his debut against Atlanta.  He was traded to the Kansas City Royals, then on to Cleveland (1973), where the fork-baller managed six saves and a 5–3 record for a team that finished dead last in the AL East.  The following year, he was involved in the infamous Ten Cent Beer Night on June 4, 1974, and was hit by a steel folding chair thrown by one of the drunk fans who took part in the riot that ended the Indians game in a forfeit. The next night he came on in relief in the Indians' rout of the Texas Rangers.  His best year was also his last year when he won 7 and lost 3 with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1975.

Ragland played in 67 games for the Tribe in '73 as a part time middle infielder.  He hit a career high .257, but was let go by the Indians after the season.  1974 was his final year in baseball.  In AAA Denver, where the ball flies like rocket ships he hit just .249 with only 3 homers and was given his release.  Ragland played on the 1971 Senators team that moved to Texas the following season, where he played in 25 games.

On June 15, 1973, the Tigers traded Timmermann to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for Ed Farmer.  Timmermann started 15 games for the Indians in 1973 and made 14 relief appearances, finishing with a record of 8-7 with a high ERA (4.92).   Timmermann pitched only four games for the Indians in 1974. He played his final major league game on April 26, 1974.  He concluded his professional baseball career in 1974 playing for the Toledo Mudhens and Oklahoma City 89ers.  His best season was with the 1972 AL East Champion Detroit Tigers where he was 8-10, 2.89.

Smith was drafted by the Tribe in the 3rd round of the 1970 draft out of NC State.  3 years later (1973) he was called up to the majors where he hit .244 in 41 AB's.  The following two seasons he saw limited action with the parent club (31 games total) and spent most of his time in AAA (OKC) where he hit a blistering .342.  Over the next two season he hit north of .300 in AAA and by '76 got 164 AB's in Cleveland.  With too many outfielder on their roster the Indians left him unprotected and the Mariners selected him in the expansion draft.  Seattle didn't give him much of a shot either (21 games), so he wound up back in AAA, this time with Baltimore's Rochester affiliate.  After hitting .284 in 47 games he was released.  He resurfaced with the Independent Miami Marlins team two years later and hit .302, but when no major league teams showed interest he retired at the age of 30.

After 6 solid seasons with the Pale Hose Walt "No Neck" Williams was traded to the Tribe for utility man Eddie Leon.  As the Indians 4th outfielder and part time DH he hit .289 with 8 homers and 38 RBI's in 350 AB's.  After the season he was packaged up in a huge deal with 3 teams and wound up in Bronx for 2 seasons.  After hitting .281 in 1975 the 31 year old was released by the Yankees unceremoniously.  Not to be daunted he headed to Japan for 2 All-Star caliber seasons, then back onto the Mexican League for 2 final campaigns before hanging it until 1989 when he made a brief comeback to play for St. Lucie of the Senior Professional Baseball Association.

1973 New York Mets 82-79 - 1st Pl NL East

"Ya Gotta Believe"...That was the rallying cry for the '73 Mets, who on paper looked to be one of the favorites to win the division back in April.  That was before the team suffered an unbelievable battery of injuries, bad luck, bad bounces and poor performances.  By July 9th the Mets were in a stretch where they lost 7 of their last 8 games to fall 12.5 games behind the 1st place Cubs.  M.Donald Grant, the Wall Street Banker who represented beloved owner Mrs. Joan Payson, addressed the team in the locker room prior to their 81st game of the season.  Grant, not known to be any sort of a motivational speaker went on with a boring diatribe on why the team still had time to be successful and make something of themselves if they just believed in themselves.  Free spirited southpaw reliever Tug McGraw seized on the moment and blurted out "Ya Gotta Believe".  McGraw then got up and began bouncing around the locker room yelling the newly born mantra at the top of his lungs.  Grant was taken aback and insulted so much that he stopped speaking and left the room thinking McGraw (ever the jokester) was mocking him.  Tug, who was struggling to save games to this point, spoke with a friend earlier in the day who said the same thing to him.  The light-bulb went on and so did his enthusiasm.  The team began to slowly, but surely chip away at the 12.5 game deficit they faced thanks to the Cubs folding more so than the Mets really improving.  In any case the Mets were "only" 6.5 games out on August 30th.  Sure they were in sole possession of last place, but they were within striking distance thanks to fact that the teams ahead of them were in the process of folding like a cheap suit from Bonds.  The Mets would go 20-8 down the stretch to pull off the improbable, an NL East Division Flag.  Along the way they needed every bounce and break to go their way like the "Wall Ball" off of Dave Augustine's bat that helped the Mets sweep the Pirates in a late September series at Shea to move into 1st place on September 21st.  Needing to win just one game at October 1st Double Header vs the eliminated Cubs the Mets put the ball in Tom Seaver's hands and fittingly both he and Tug McGraw beat the Cubs 6-4 in front of just 1,913 fans at Wrigley to clinch the flag.

 

If all the Mets did was win the NL East after being dead and buried the season would have been considered a success.  Upsetting the mighty 99 win Reds just added to the miracle.  Yet the Amazin's toppled the Big Red Machine in 5 games to win the NL Pennant.  Everyone points to the playoff game where Buddy Harrelson and Pete Rose got into a scuffle at second base as the turning point of the series.  In any case somehow the Mets did it and were rewarded with a chance to topple the defending champion Oakland A's.  Sadly for Met fan the miracles ran out as the A's came back from being down 3 games to 2 to capture their second championship in a row.  Many Met fans in NY still blame Yogi Berra's decision to use Seaver on short rest in game 6, instead of using George Stone and saving Seaver for game 7.  We will never know how that would have played out.  Met Second baseman Felix Millan told me in 2013 that, "Seaver told Yogi he was good to go, and if Seaver tells you he's good you have to pitch him.  He was the best pitcher in baseball".  Felix know a bit more about baseball, especially the '73 Mets, than we do, so we have to go with what he said.  Still this team took their fans on an incredible run.  Personally, it was great to see my mom & my grandparents have so much joy during those fantastic 6 weeks where everything went right for the Mets.  They were huge Met fans.  We went to about 20-25 games that year.  We watched every minute of the Pirate series on our small B&W 9" TV in our kitchen.  We didn't miss a single playoff game.  Till the day that she died my mom still hated Pete Rose for beating up "her Buddy".

Talk about injures.  Only Rusty Staub and Felix Millan played in more than 150 games.  Harrelson barely played in 100 games.  Grote, Jones and Hahn played in 90.  The pitching staff remained relatively healthy, which was how they were able to stay afloat.  Seaver (19-10, 2.08) won the Cy Young award and on any other team might have won 25.  Koosman (14-15, 2.84) was below .500 even though he had a fantastic ERA and WHIP.  The Mets just didn't score a lot of runs (11th in NL).  McGraw couldn't save pennies, let alone games, for the first 3 months of the season.  Thankfully Ray Sadeck and Harry Parker were able to keep things afloat until Tug became Tug again.

I created 39 new cards to finish off the '73 set for the Mets.  Many of these cards were created from scans that I did from my '73 Mets yearbook.  Many of the players here already had a fine card in the original Topps set, but I really wanted to create a card set of my own as a tribute to my mom, who loved this team and it's players with all her heart.

Apodaca's statline for 1973 was 1 game, no innings pitched and an "infinity" ERA.  Starting in '74 he would have some rock solid years as a reliever for the Metsies, until arm injuries ended his career.  He would go on to spend many years in coaching after his playing days including a stint with the Mets.

This card was made from a '73 yearbook scan.

Bob Miller was an original (1962) Met, who was acquired on 9/23 from Detroit.  He pitched in just one inning for the Mets in '73, but warned up in the pen numerous times when it looked like McGraw might be running out of gas.  After going 2-2, 3.58 in 58 games for the Mets in '74 he retired from baseball having spent 17 years in the majors for 10 different teams. 

This was a photo taken from the '74 Mets yearbook.

Ostrosser was promoted from AA Memphis to help fortify the bench while the Mets were realing from injury.  In just 4 games of action he went 0-5 before being returned to Memphis.  He made his major league debut against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 5, 1973, going 0 for 2, striking out twice. He also played two games against the San Francisco Giants before his final Major League game on August 13, 1973 against the San Diego Padres. He did not get a hit in any of the 5 at-bats he received during his 4-game stint with the Mets. As of 2009, he was one of six Canadians to have played for the Mets, and was the last Canadian to play for the Mets until Jason Bay joined the team in 2009.  The following season he would split time between AAA Tidewater (NYM) and AAA OKC (CLE).  After hitting .202 for OKC in '75 he was released.

This was a yearbook photo that I scanned.

Arguably the greatest glove man to play SS for the Mets in their 55 year history.  Buddy was not only a wizard with the glove, he was a beloved fan favorite.  When Pete Rose took him out on his slide into second in the NLCS the fans bombarded Pete with anything that wasn't strapped down.  To his credit, Buddy admitted that he might have brought it on himself when he accused the Big Red Machine of hitting "just like me" during the LCS thanks to the awesome Met pitching.  The Mets floundered while he missed 58 games due to injury.  When the gold glover returned the team began to streak toward the pennant.  Maybe the word streak is not a good word to use when describing anything from back in 1973, LOL !

This card was created by using a yearbook photo.

Here is an "Action shot" taken during the '73 World Series of Buddy going back on a pop up during one of the 3 night games played in NY.

Capra was 2-7, 3.86 in 53 innings worth of work for the Metsies during the '73 season.  With the rotation stocked with talent and no place for him the Mets sold his contract to the Braves just before the start of the '74 season.  Capra went 16-8 and led the league in ERA (2.28), but developed arm trouble over the course of the next 3 partial seasons and was out of baseball by the age of 29.  Over the years he has stayed in baseball as a respected pitching coach.  His claim to fame during the '73 season was that Pedro Borbon grabbed his hat during the infamous Harrelson / Rose brawl and took a huge bite out of it.

Many consider Cleon the offensive MVP of the Mets during the '73 season.  During the 70 games that he missed due to injury the team found it near impossible to score runs.  When he got back in time for the September run he cranked out key homers and clutch hits.  His playing the carroum off the top of the wall on the Augustine play is legendary.  In 12 seasons in Flushing he hit a career .281 and narrowly missed the 1969 batting crown when he hit .340.  Jones got the last laugh by catching the Series clinching out in game 5.  In 92 games in '73 he hit .260.

This action shot came from a picture taken during the '73 series.

22 year old fireballer Craig Swan didn't contribute much to the '73 team (0-1, 8.64), but by 1976 he would establish himself as a front line starter in the team's rotation.  Sadly for Swan his emergence occurred just around the time the team began to plumet into a 7 year abyss.  Playing for a last place team in 1978 he was 9-6 and led the league in ERA (2.43).  A series of arm injuries and a freak rib injury (hit with a thrown ball by the catcher) curtailed his effectiveness.  In another cruel twist of fate his arm gave out in 1984, which was a season where the Mets returned to contention.  At the age of 33 he was finished.  He missed out on 5 of the greatest years (84-88) in franchise history.

This card was created using a '73 yearbook photo.

Schneck was hitting just .245 in AAA Tidewater when the injury depleted Mets promoted him to Flushing.  In 13 games he hit .194 (7-36).  Schneck was originally drafted as a pitcher in 1967, but due to arm trouble didn't start his career until 1968 when he was converted to an outfielder.  After missing the next two seasons while serving our country in Vietnam he began to progress in the Mets chain in 1971.  After hitting .305 with 24 homers in AA and AAA the Mets called him up for 37 games where he hit just .187, but he did have 3 homers.  He hit just .205 with 5 homers in extended action in 1974 (93 games) and was traded to the Phillies at the end of the season as part of the Tug McGraw deal.  After 3 years in AAA he was given his release after the 1977 season.  Schneck went 2–11 at the plate on September 11, 1974 during a 25 inning marathon night game against the St. Louis Cardinals. He tied a major league record for at bats in a game.

Original Expo Don Hahn was brought over to NY in 1971 to be the team's 4th outfielder and add defense.  By 1973 he was asked to more or less be the regular centerfielder after Tommie Agee was traded.  In 93 games he hit just .229, but was invaluable with the glove covering that huge OF in Flushing.  He appeared in every playoff/World Series game that year and hit .239 (11-46).  After improving his average to .251 in '74 he was traded to the Phillies in the Tug McGraw deal, but didn't have a place to play on a team that already had Garry Maddox paroling center.  He split 50 games between 3 teams (PHI/STL/SDP) in 1975 and never again played in the majors.  His final 2 seasons in Phoenix (AAA-SFG) where he hit close to .300 he was released.

Bronx native and original Met "Steady Eddie" Kranepool was in his 12th season in Flushing.  As a 17 year old signed right out of James Monroe HS in the Bronx "Krane" was expected to be a star.  While he never achieved those lofty goals he was a solid contributor for 18 seasons.  1973 saw fit nicely into the role of backup OF'er and 1B.  With all the injuries that the team faced he played in 100 games and hit .239.  Surprisingly he only hit 1 home run, which was his all time low.  Krane appeared in 1 game in the LCS and went 1-2 with 2 RBI's.  He was 0-3 in pinch hitting opportunities in the World Series.

I created this card off of a Yearbook photo.

"The Cat" arrived in Flushing along with George Stone in the offseason in exchange for Danny Frisella and Gary Gentry.  The 3 time All-Star & 2 time GG winner played in the most games (153) of any Met in 1973 and led the team with a .290 average.  Millan played in all 12 post season games in '73 and hit .316 in the NLCS.  His career was cut short when Pittsburgh's Ed Ott slammed him on his shoulder during an on field brawl during an August 12, 1977 game.  Not to be discouraged he went to Japan and played 3 highly productive seasons for Taiyo and then went to Mexico for one year.  He was a huge fan favorite in both Atlanta and in Flushing.  His unorthodox style of choking up 1/3 of the way on the bat was his trademark.

An action shot that was taken during the World Series in Oakland.

An action shot taken during the World Series games in NY.

Met fans, who loved Rusty Staub, were not ecstatic when the man who hit him with a pitch in 1972 and put him out of action was brought in to join the team.  After starting in the pen, Stone was promoted to the rotation.  He won his last 8 decisions as he, like the Mets, got hot down the stretch.  Stone pitched brilliantly in the NLCS, but got a no-decision in a 12 inning game that the Mets lost.  He did not start in the World Series and to this day he is part of a "what if" question that Met fans still ponder (What if Yogi started George Stone in game 6?).  Stone led the Mets in winning % (.800) during the '73 season as he compiled a 12-3, 2.80 record.  At 26 years of age and just entering his prime the future couldn't have been brighter for tall lefty, but after two horrible seasons (1974 & 1975) where he posted ERA's north of 5.00 he was traded by the Mets to Texas, but decided to retire instead.

Appropriately nicknamed "the Stork", this 6'4" gangly outfielder was a huge folk hero to the Flushing Faithful.  Remembered less for the 45 games he played in 1973, where he hit .259 and more remembered for the horrific outfield collision with Don Hahn, Theodore played in parts of 2 seasons in Flushing.  After hitting just .158 in 60 games in 1974 he returned to AAA Tidewater in 1975 and hit a powerless .253.  Rather than grind it out in baseball he went back to school and got his degree and became a school counselor for over 35 years.

This was a "future star" photo in the '73 Yearbook

I don't remember much if anything about Greg Harts.  The stats show that he played in 3 games for the Mets during the '73 season and went 1 for 2 as a pinch runner / pinch hitter.  He was hitting .263 in AA Memphis when the Mets called him up to help plug the leak caused by all those injuries.  In '74 he was promoted to Tidewater (AAA) where he hit just .184, so he was demoted back to double A.  He appeared in just 19 games in A ball in '75 and was released. 

Webb was the losing pitcher in the longest game played to a decision in National League history. On September 11, 1974, Webb pitched the 25th inning of the Mets' loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Webb was charged with the only error of his major league career when his wild pickoff throw allowed Bake McBride to score all the way from first base to give St. Louis the victory. It was the first decision of Webb's major league career.  Web appeared in just 2 games for the Mets in '73 and had a 10.80 ERA in 1.2 innings of work.

Parker's most productive season came in 1973, when he went 8–4 with a 3.35 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 96  2⁄3 innings of work to become an integral contributor for the Mets National League pennant run.  Parker teamed up with McGraw to form a lethal righty/lefty combo out of the pen for New York.  In '74 he split time between the pen and the rotation and won just 4 games while losing 12.  '75 saw his role reduced to the point where is former team the Cardinals selected him off of waivers in late August.  After just 3 games for Cleveland in '76 his major league career was over.  After a miserable season in AAA (Toledo) where he went 9-11, 5.09 he was given his walking papers.

This card was made from a '73 yearbook photo.

Simply put, "Kooz" is the best lefty starter in the history of the Mets franchise and is #3 on their All-Time win list.  After starting the season 0-5 he found his mojo and got hot just like the team did to finish 14-15, 2.84.  At one point down the stretch he put together almost 32 consecutive scoreless innings, a team record that would stand for close to 40 seasons.  Kooz spent 12 seasons in Flushing.  His tenure ended when he was traded after the '78 season to Minnesota for Jesse Orosco.  After spending 2 1/2 seasons in his home state of Minnesota he played 2 1/2 seasons with the White Sox, then finished up with 2 seasons with the Phillies before retiring at the age of 42.  His lifetime 222-209, 3.36 tells us that he never truly had much run support to work with, especially with the Mets.  His 3-0, 2.39 world series record tells us what type of clutch pitcher he was.  He pitched a complete game shutout in the '73 NLCS and was 1-0, 3.12 in the World seies in 2 starts.

Here is a nice action shot taken during the World Series.

Backup catcher Jerry May's contract was purchased from the Royals on May 14th after Grote went down to injury.  He plasted until July 10th before being released.  During that stretch he played in 4 games and went 2 for 8.  The Pirates picked him up a week after the Mets let him go, and assigned him to AAA Charleston, where he remained for the balance of the season before being released for the final time.

The photo for this card came from the "revised" 1973 yearbook.

After 10 All-Star seasons in Anaheim the Angels dealt Fregosi to the Mets in exchange for the enigmatic Nolan Ryan.  Met fans know all too well how that deal turned out.  Fregosi, who was supposed to solve the Mets ongoing 3rd base problem only added to their woes.  He discovered the nightlife in NY and never found his stride in uniform.  After a horrible 1972 season he followed it up by hitting just .234 in 45 games to start off the '73 season.  The Mets management was ecstatic to dump him in Texas for some cash in a July 11th deal.  As a part time player in Arlington he found his hitting stroke again.  He finished up his career as a utility man for the Pirates in 1978 and moved into broadcasting and managing.

Jim Gosger was a guest on my old show back in February of 2016.  1973 was his second stint with the Mets, but neither time did he make the post season roster.  The Michigan native was a godsend to have with all the injuries that the Mets sustained in the outfield.  He was a gold glove caliber fielder that hit .239 in a little more than 100 AB's.  After hitting .091 in 26 games during the 74 season he was sent down to AAA Tidewater, where he hit .268 for his final season.

"The Hammer" led the Mets in homers with 23, while only playing in 129 games thanks to injury.  Milner finished 3rd (behind teammate Jon Matlack) in the NL ROY Award voting the year before took over as the team's regular 1st baseman.  Milner started all 7 games of the World Series and hit .296.  He would have to wait 6 years to win his ring as the Pirates 1st baseman 2 seasons after the Mets traded him in a wild 4 team deal.  Milner played 3 1/2 seasons in PIT before being acquired by the Expos for the 1981 post season.  In '82 he split time between Montreal and Pittsburgh before being released.

Strohmayer was selected off of waivers from the Expos on July 16th and got into 7 games and gave up 9 earned runs in 10 innings of work.  His career would come to an end after going 2-4, 3.45 in AAA Tidewater the following season.

Barnes hit .236 in 24 games for the Mets during the prior season ('72).  In '73 he appeared in 3 games and went 1-2 with an RBI after hitting just .226 in 142 in AAA Tidewater.  After hitting .167 the following season in Tidewater he wound up in AAA Indianapolis (CIN) where he hit .175.  After hitting .201 the following season the Reds cut him.  Barnes had two promising seasons ('70 & '71) in the minors where he hit .290 and .273 earning his promotion in '72.

Fresh off 4 straight decent seasons in Cleveland's pen Henningan was acquired in the off season for Brent Strom and a minor leaguer.  The Mets saw his ERA balloon by almost 4.00 as he went 0-4, 6.23, 3sv in 30 games during the '73 campaign.  When he was sent down to AAA (Tidewater) his numbers got worse.  After an 0-3, 4.50 record in 7 games with Tidewater the following season ('74) he was given his unconditional release.

Chiles was acquired, along with Buddy Harris, from the Astros in exchange for 1969 World Series hero Tommie Agee.  In just 8 games with the big club he hit .120 (3-25).  When the Mets released him he wound up in Tucson (AAA-OAK) and hit .276.  The following season he hit .276 with 11 homers for the powerhouse Hawaii Islanders (AAA-SDP).  After sitting out a whole year he returned to the Astros and got into 5 games and hit 2-4 plus he hit .302 in AAA (Memphis).  With the Astros having no intention on promoting him to the big club the Twins selected him as a rule 5 draft pick in 1977 and he responded with two above average seasons as their 4th outfielder.  After hitting .264 and .268 he curiously was not in the Twins plans and found his way to the Indians AAA affiliate in Tacoma where he hit .262.  After hitting just .244 in AAA Portland (PIT) he was released at the age of 30 after spending 10 years in the minors and parts of 6 seasons in the majors.

After Grote and Dyer both went down and a string of veterans failed to hold down the job the Mets called Hodges up from AA Memphis where he was hitting just .173.  Hodges responded by hitting .260 and manning the tools of ignorance until Grote got healthy.    He made his major league debut on June 13, 1973, catching Tom Seaver. Four days later, he hit his first career home run off the San Diego Padres' Bill Greif.  He had one plate appearance in the World Series and walked.  Hodges was the catcher who made the tag on the Augustine play.  He played 12 seasons for the Mets as their 2nd and 3rd string catcher.  He is best remembered by Met fans as the guy who hit Craig Swan in the back with a throw that broke the hurler's ribs and cost him a season as he attempted to throw Tim Raines out..  Hodges is the Mets version of Horace Clarke, as symbol for their years of futility.

Known as "Le Grande Orange" from his 3 All Star seasons in Montreal, "Trusty Rusty" as Met fans referred to him missed almost 100 games the previous year due to injury.  In '73 he played in 152 games, hit .279 and smashed 15 homers in an offense that was lifeless for most of the summer.  Staub hit just .200 in the NLCS, but he had 3 big homers plus two game saving catches, one of which injured his shoulder so much he couldn't throw the ball in the World Series.  Despite his badly damaged shoulder he hit .423 (11-26) and led the Mets offense in the Fall Classic.  When the Mets traded him after the '75 season to Detroit for an over the hill Mickey Lolich the Met fan base was livid.  When he signed as a free agent in 1981 they were ecstatic.  Staub signed with the Mets under the premise that he would be the team's everyday 1st baseman.  Instead he wound up sitting behind Dave Kingman, and then Keith Hernandez for 5 seasons as the team's primary pinch hitter.  In his second stint with the club he had clutch pinch hit after pinch hit.  After the 1985 season, at the age of 41, he retired just one year short of seeing the club win it all in '86.  Due to his not playing regularly for 5 years he wound up 284 hits shy of 3,000, which would have made him a lock for Cooperstown.

Simply known as "the Franchise", Tom Seaver was and will always be the best player to ever put on a Mets uniform.  Seaver won the 1973 Cy Young Award with a 19-10, 2.08 with 3 shutouts.  The Mets jumped on his shoulders and he carried them to the flag.  Seaver was 1-1 with a 1.62 ERA in the NLCS and 0-1, 2.40 in 2 World Series starts, including the gutsy game 6 where he pitched on short rest and by his own admission had "nothing".  Sadly for Met fans the 3x Cy Young Award winner was a casualty of the 1977 trade deadline midnight massacre and was shipped to Cincy.  Seaver was elected to the HOF with the highest % until 2016, when Ken Griffey Jr. topped him.

Here is a great shot of "Tom Terrific" smiling just before his World Series start in Oakland.

Tommy Moore was 9-11, 3.15 in AAA Tidewater during the '73 season.  Desperate for help the Mets called him up for a cup of Joe and he was hit hard (0-1, 10.80).  After spending the '74 season in Tidewater again he managed to get in 22 games with the Cardinals and Rangers in '75.  He spent all of '76 in AAA Sacramento (TEX) where he had a 10-7, 4.65 record.  Thanks to expansion he got 14 more games in the majors with Seattle in '77 (2-1, 4.91) then was sent down to AAA Spokane where he bottomed out and was released.

This was a "future Stars" photo in the '73 yearbook.

Frank Edwin McGraw, simply known as Tug was one of the most beloved Mets in franchise history.  He actually spent more seasons in Philly (10) than he did in Flushing (9), but Met fans never stopped loving him.  His rallying cry of "Ya Gotta Believe" is synonymous with this team.  His free spirit kept the locker room loose.  After a horrible start to the '73 season McGraw found his mo-jo and began to believe.  He saved 25 games that year including the divison and pennant clinchers.  He was a star in Philly as well winning the 1980 championship with them.  In the '73 ost season he pitched in 7 games and was 1-0 with 2 saves.  Sadly he passed away from brain cancer at the age of 59.  Tug was always quotable.  Here are some great quotes by him and about him.

From the minute he arrived in Flushing (1969) till the day he was traded away 7 seasons later the Mets were always in search of someone to replace him.  First it was Joe Foy, then it was Jim Fregosi and finally Joe Torre...yet no one replaced Wayne Garrett.  The Mets traded away All-Stars and HOF'ers in their quest to find a regular thirdbaseman better than the guy who they won 2 pennants and 1 championship with.  In his 5th and best season in Flushing Garrett hit .256 with 16 homers and 58 RBI's in 140 games.  He hit two huge homers in the World Series despite batting only .167.  Garrett played 2 1/2 seasons in Montreal and a half year in St. Louis before moving across the Pacific to play 2 seasons in Chunichi of the Japanese League.

Beloved by all and arguably the greatest player to ever where a pair of spikes, the Say Hey kid was in his final season of an illustrious HOF career.  Willie announced early on that this was going to be it.  When injuries struck men 10 to 15 years younger than him he was asked to do what father time said he couldn't do, which was to patrol center field.  At 42 years of age Will hit just .211 with 6 homers, but his leadership was invaluable.  In the post season he was 1-3 in the NLCS and 2-7 (.286) with a GWRBI in 3 World Series games.  Willie started his career as a pennant winner in New York (1951) and ended it the same way in 1973.  5 years later he was elected to his rightful place in Cooperstown.

I created this card using a yearbook photo which looked much more dignified than the one used by Topps in the '73 set.

Nobody doesn't not like Yogi, right?  The master of the Yogi-isms inherited the club the year before after the untimely death of the immortal Gil Hodges.  When asked if the Mets stood a chance down the stretch Yogi responded, "It ain't over 'till it's over", and boy it wasn't over.  All summer long fans clamored for Yogi's head and blamed him for the team being in the cellar.  When his club got healthy, they got to winning.  Yogi had the respect of his players and management.  In total he would spend 7 years as the team's 1st base coach and 3 1/2 seasons as their manager.  Yogi is one of the few New York stars to be beloved by both Met and Yankee fans.

I created this card using a photo from the World Series where he was making a mound trip.  It was customary to see him posed with his arms folded.