1973 National League Championship Series

Game 1

Saturday, October 6, 1973 at Riverfront Stadium

Cinergy Field

Riverfront Stadium , later known as Cinergy Field , was the home of the Cincinnati Reds National League baseball team and the Cincinnati Bengals National Football League team. Located on the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati, the stadium was best known as the home of "The Big Red Machine," as the...

in Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

The starting pitchers, New York's Tom Seaver

Tom Seaver

George Thomas "Tom" Seaver , nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "The Franchise", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched from 1967-1986 for four different teams in his career, but is noted primarily for his time with the New York Mets...

and Cincinnati's Jack Billingham

Jack Billingham

John Eugene Billingham is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , Houston Astros , Cincinnati Reds , Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox...

, produced a classic pitcher's duel in Game 1. The Mets threatened in the first, loading the bases with one out, but Cleon Jones

Cleon Jones

Cleon Joseph Jones is a former Major League Baseball left fielder who is best remembered as the man who caught the final out of the "Miracle Mets" improbable World Series Championship over the Baltimore Orioles....

grounded into a double play to end the inning. New York got what proved to be their only run in the second when Seaver himself doubled home Bud Harrelson

Bud Harrelson

Derrel McKinley "Bud" Harrelson is a former Major League Baseball shortstop who played for the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers from to . After retiring, he served as a coach for the World Champion Mets, and as manager of the Mets in 1990 and 1991...

of later fight fame. Meanwhile, Cincinnati did little except make outs against the masterful pitching of Seaver until the eighth inning, when Harrelson’s eventual fisticuffs partner Pete Rose

Pete Rose

Peter Edward Rose , nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989....

homered with one out. Seaver yielded another homer in the ninth to Johnny Bench

Johnny Bench

Johnny Lee Bench is a former professional baseball catcher who played in the Major Leagues for the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983 and is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame...

, and the Reds walked off with a 1–0 advantage in the series. Despite his complete-game six-hit effort Seaver took the loss, though he would later gain a measure of revenge.

Game 2

Sunday, October 7, 1973 at Riverfront Stadium

Cinergy Field

in Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati, Ohio

New York leveled the series in Game 2 behind the superb pitching of starter Jon Matlack

Jon Matlack

Jonathan Trumpbour Matlack is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher...

. Rusty Staub

Rusty Staub

Daniel Joseph "Rusty" Staub is an American former Major League Baseball right fielder, designated hitter, and first baseman. He enjoyed a 23-year baseball career with 5 different teams...

homered for the Mets in the fourth, and that was the only scoring either team could manage against the stingy pitching staffs for the first eight innings. Cincinnati's bullpen—in particular, Tom Hall and Pedro Borbon

Pedro Borbón

Spudro spärde Von Dolan is a former pitcher. He played Major League Baseball for 12 seasons for four teams, including 10 seasons for the Cincinnati Reds , playing on two World Series winning teams...

—finally collapsed in the ninth and allowed four runs. Cleon Jones

Cleon Jones

, Jerry Grote

Jerry Grote

Gerald Wayne Grote is a former professional baseball player. He played the majority of his Major League Baseball career as a catcher for the New York Mets and was regarded as one of the best defensive catchers of his era.-Early life:...

and Bud Harrelson

Bud Harrelson

all connected on run-scoring singles for New York to break open the game. Matlack completed his sparkling two-hitter (reserve outfielder Andy Kosco

Andy Kosco

Andy Kosco is a former Major League Baseball player who was affiliated at various times with the Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, California Angels, Boston Red Sox, and Cincinnati Reds....

collected both hits, in the second and seventh innings) by retiring the Reds 1-2-3 in the ninth, striking out Johnny Bench

Johnny Bench

Johnny Lee Bench is a former professional baseball catcher who played in the Major Leagues for the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983 and is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame...

for the final out, and the series went to Shea Stadium

Shea Stadium

William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...

tied 1–1.

Game 3

Monday, October 8, 1973 at Shea Stadium

Shea Stadium

in Queens, New York
Game 3 wasn’t much of a contest in baseball terms, but the Shea Stadium

Shea Stadium

crowd got plenty of excitement from another source. The Mets scored early and often, piling up nine runs in the first four innings. Rusty Staub

Rusty Staub

Daniel Joseph "Rusty" Staub is an American former Major League Baseball right fielder, designated hitter, and first baseman. He enjoyed a 23-year baseball career with 5 different teams...

hit his second homer of the series in the first inning, and the Mets erupted for five more runs in the second, highlighted by yet another homer from Staub, a three-run shot. The Reds got their only two runs of the game in the third on a Denis Menke

Denis Menke

Denis John Menke is a former professional baseball infielder. He played all or part of thirteen seasons in Major League Baseball from 1962 to 1974. He played for the Milwaukee Braves , Atlanta Braves , Houston Astros and Cincinnati Reds , all of the National League...

homer and an RBI single by Joe Morgan

Joe Morgan

Joe Leonard Morgan is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Oakland Athletics from 1963 to 1984. He won two World Series championships with the Reds in 1975 and 1976 and was also named the...

. Mets starting pitcher Jerry Koosman

Jerry Koosman

Jerome Martin Koosman is a former left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies between 1967 and 1985...

got in on the fun in the third with a run-scoring single of his own, and the Mets closed the scoring with two more in the fourth on RBI hits from Cleon Jones

Cleon Jones

and John Milner

John Milner

John David Milner was an American first baseman and left fielder in Major League Baseball. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, he grew up a huge Hank Aaron fan, even appropriating his idol's nickname, "The Hammer." He was a member of the "We Are Family" Pittsburgh Pirates team that won the World Series...

.

By now the Reds, fabled as Cincinnati's Big Red Machine, were getting frustrated with their feeble offense against New York's strong pitching staff. In the top of the fifth Pete Rose

Pete Rose

Peter Edward Rose , nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989....

slid hard into Bud Harrelson

Bud Harrelson

as he tried (unsuccessfully) to break up a double play. Exactly who started the fight is disputed, but Rose and Harrelson were soon battling at second. Both teams poured onto the field and a general brouhaha ensued, marked by particularly vigorous efforts from Cincinnati's excitable relief pitcher Pedro Borbon

Pedro Borbón

. Order was eventually restored, but the Shea Stadium crowd showered Rose with debris when he returned to his left field position in the bottom of the fifth. Cincinnati manager Sparky Anderson

Sparky Anderson

George Lee "Sparky" Anderson was an American Major League Baseball manager. He managed the National League's Cincinnati Reds to the 1975 and 1976 championships, then added a third title in 1984 with the Detroit Tigers of the American League. He was the first manager to win the World Series in both...

pulled his team off the field until several Mets players persuaded the fans to stop the rowdiness. The rest of the game was relatively uneventful as the Mets took a 2–1 advantage in the series.

Game 4

Tuesday, October 9, 1973 at Shea Stadium

Shea Stadium

in Queens, New York
After the fight in the preceding game, Game 4 turned into a tense affair that wasn’t decided until the twelfth inning. The Mets opened the scoring with what would be their only run of the game in the third, when Felix Millan

Félix Millán

Félix Bernardo Millán Martínez is a former second baseman in Major League Baseball.-Baseball career:Millán, nicknamed "The Kitten" , born in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, made his major league debut on June 2, 1966 with the Atlanta Braves, and played for Atlanta until 1973. Millan was primarily a second...

singled home Don Hahn

Don Hahn (baseball)

Donald Antone Hahn, born November 16, 1948 in San Francisco, California, is a former Major League baseball player, an outfielder known primarily for his fielding ability. Hahn played for the Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, and San Diego Padres.Hahn...

. Cincinnati's pitchers clamped down almost completely after that, holding the Mets to two harmless singles for the rest of the game. Meanwhile, the Reds finally broke through in the seventh on a game-tying homer from Tony Pérez

Tony Pérez

Atanasio Pérez Rigal , more commonly known as Tony Pérez, is a former Major League Baseball player. He was also known by the nickname "Big Dog," "Big Doggie," and "Doggie."...

. The game went into extra innings, and Cincinnati threatened in both the tenth and eleventh but couldn't score. One reason was an unbelievable catch by Rusty Staub

Rusty Staub

Daniel Joseph "Rusty" Staub is an American former Major League Baseball right fielder, designated hitter, and first baseman. He enjoyed a 23-year baseball career with 5 different teams...

in the 11th inning, robbing Dan Driessen

Dan Driessen

Daniel Driessen is a former Major League Baseball infielder who played for five teams in his eighteen year career, and is best known as a member of the Cincinnati Reds "Big Red Machine" of the 1970s....

of an extra base hit. However, he wound up separating his shoulder in the process. And much to the displeasure of the Shea Stadium

Shea Stadium

crowd, Pete Rose

Pete Rose

Peter Edward Rose , nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989....

then hit a game-breaking homer in the 12th to give the Reds a 2–1 win and even the series.

Game 5

Wednesday, October 10, 1973 at Shea Stadium

Shea Stadium

in Queens, New York
Game 5 gave the Mets their second National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

pennant, as Tom Seaver

Tom Seaver

once again pitched New York to victory. After the Reds loaded the bases in the top of the first but couldn't score, the Mets took the lead on a two-run single by Ed Kranepool

Ed Kranepool

Edward Emil Kranepool is a former first baseman who spent his entire Major League Baseball career with the New York Mets....

in the bottom of the inning. Cincinnati bounced back to tie the game with single runs in the third and fifth on a sacrifice fly by Dan Driessen

Dan Driessen

and an RBI single by Tony Pérez

Tony Pérez

Atanasio Pérez Rigal , more commonly known as Tony Pérez, is a former Major League Baseball player. He was also known by the nickname "Big Dog," "Big Doggie," and "Doggie."...

. The Mets won the game and the series with four runs on four hits in the bottom of the fifth, capped by a run-scoring single from Game 3 combatant Bud Harrelson

Bud Harrelson

. Seaver himself scored New York's final run in the sixth when he doubled and came home on a Cleon Jones

Cleon Jones

single. The Reds could do little against Seaver after the fifth, though they finally loaded the bases in the ninth. But New York closer Tug McGraw

Tug McGraw

Frank Edwin "Tug" McGraw Jr. was a Major League Baseball relief pitcher and the father of Country music singer Tim McGraw and actor/TV personality Mark McGraw and Cari McGraw...

came on to get the final two outs, and the Mets went to the World Series. The Shea Stadium crowd poured onto the field at the game’s conclusion, which sent players for both teams—especially Pete Rose

Pete Rose

Peter Edward Rose , nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989....

, who was a baserunner at first—scurrying for safety.

Composite box

1973 NLCS (3–2): New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...

over Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....

Series quotes

External links

Baseball-reference.com - 1973 NLCS

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