1973 National League Championship Series
| 1973 National League Championship Series | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | |||||||||||||
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| Dates | October 6–10 | ||||||||||||
| Umpires | Ed Sudol, Ed Vargo, Chris Pelekoudas, Bob Engel, Bruce Froemming, Jerry Dale | ||||||||||||
| Broadcast | |||||||||||||
| Television | NBC | ||||||||||||
| TV announcers |
Curt Gowdy, Tony Kubek (Games 1–2) Jim Simpson, Maury Wills (Games 3–5) |
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| Team (Wins) | Manager | Season | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Mets (3) | Yogi Berra | 82–79, .509, GA: 1 1⁄2 | |
| Cincinnati Reds (2) | Sparky Anderson | 99–63, .611, GA: 3 1⁄2 |
The 1973 National League Championship Series was played between the New York Mets and the Cincinnati Reds from October 6 to 10. New York won the series three games to two and advanced to the World Series, where they lost to the Oakland A's in what was the second of three straight world championships for Oakland. The Mets set a record for lowest win percentage by a pennant winner, finishing the regular season with an 82–79 record. The Mets winning this series has gone down as one of the greatest upsets in MLB history, as they dominated the heavily favored Big Red Machine.
The 1973 NLCS was marked by a fight that broke out in the fifth inning of the third game, beginning with a tussle between Cincinnati's Pete Rose and New York's Bud Harrelson at second base. Players from both sides joined in a general melee that lasted for several minutes and set off rowdy fan behavior at Shea Stadium in New York. Photographs of the fight, autographed by Rose and Harrelson, are now available at a number of Internet sites.
This was the only NLCS between 1970 and 1980 not to feature either the Philadelphia Phillies or the Pittsburgh Pirates. In fact, from 1969 to 1980 The NL East champion was either the Mets, Phillies or Pirates.
New York won the series, 3–2.
Saturday, October 6, 1973, at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio
The starting pitchers, New York's Tom Seaver and Cincinnati's Jack Billingham, produced a classic pitchers' duel in Game 1. The Mets threatened in the first, loading the bases with one out, but Cleon Jones grounded into a double play to end the inning. New York scored its run in the second when Seaver doubled home Bud Harrelson. On the mound, Seaver was in control of a normally potent Reds offense, holding the Reds scoreless through seven innings. In the eighth, Pete Rose homered with one out. Seaver yielded another homer in the ninth to Johnny Bench, and the Reds walked off with a 1–0 advantage in the series.
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