The 1973 National League Championship Series was played between the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

and the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

from October 6 to 10. New York won the series three games to two and advanced to the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

, where they lost to the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

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. However, most of the season was plagued by the injury jinx to their key players. In September they finally got healthy and just in time for the playoffs. The Mets' victory 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 marred by a fight that broke out in the fifth inning of the third game, beginning with a tussle between Cincinnati's

Pete Rose Peter Edward Rose Sr. (born April 14, 1941), also known by his nickname "Charlie Hustle", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. Rose played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a membe ...

and New York's

Bud Harrelson Derrel McKinley "Bud" Harrelson (born June 6, 1944) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop. He is a coach and part-owner of the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He played for the New York Mets, Philadelphia ...

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 Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Inter ...

ed by Rose and Harrelson, are now available at a number of

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

sites. This was the fifth

National League Championship Series The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two National ...

in all and the only NLCS between

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

and

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

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, Pirates or the Phillies.

Summary

New York Mets vs. Cincinnati Reds

Game summaries

Game 1

The starting pitchers, New York's

Tom Seaver George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cinc ...

and Cincinnati's

Jack Billingham John Eugene Billingham (born February 21, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty th ...

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

Cleon Jones Cleon Joseph Jones (born June 24, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder. Jones played most of his career for the New York Mets and in 1969 caught the final out of the "Mira ...

grounded into a double play to end the inning. The Mets scored their lone run in the second when Seaver doubled home

. Seaver was also in control of a normally potent Cincinnati offense, holding the Reds scoreless through seven innings. In the eighth, however,

homered off Seaver with one out, and Seaver yielded another solo homer in the ninth to

Johnny Bench John Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted from through , with the Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher. Bench was the leader of t ...

. The Reds walked off with a 1–0 advantage in the series. Tom Seaver's 13 strikeout performance would be later matched by

Jacob DeGrom Jacob Anthony deGrom (born June 19, 1988), is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the New York Mets. Prior to playing professionally, deGrom attend ...

in Game 1 of the 2015 National League Division Series.

Game 2

New York leveled the series behind the superb pitching of starter

Jon Matlack Jonathan Trumpbour Matlack (born January 19, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through for the New York Mets and the Texas Rangers. The three-t ...

. Just as in Game 1, pitching dominated Game 2, as lefties Matlack of Mets and

Don Gullett Donald Edward Gullett (born January 6, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that wo ...

of the Reds were near the top of their respective games. A

Rusty Staub Daniel Joseph "Rusty" Staub (April 1, 1944 – March 29, 2018) was an American professional baseball player and television color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball for 23 seasons as a right fielder, designated hitter, and first basem ...

home run in the fourth inning was the only run through eight innings. After Gullett exited for a pinch hitter in the sixth inning,

Clay Carroll Clay Palmer Carroll (born May 2, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won three division ...

shut down the Mets for three innings, but New York put the game away with four runs in the ninth against Reds' relievers

Tom Hall Tom Hall is an American game designer best known for his work with id Software on titles such as ''Doom'' and ''Commander Keen''. Career Hall attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he earned a B.S. in Computer Science. In 1987, ...

and

Pedro Borbón Pedro Borbón Rodriguez (December 2, 1946 – June 4, 2012) was a Dominican professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won four National League pennants a ...

. Matlack completed his two-hitter (reserve outfielder

Andy Kosco Andrew John Kosco (born October 5, 1941) is a former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, California Angels, Boston Red Sox, and ...

collected both hits, in the second and seventh innings) by retiring the Reds 1–2–3 in the ninth. In a postgame interview, the light-hitting Harrelson said, "He (Matlack) made the

Big Red Machine The Big Red Machine is a nickname for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team that dominated the National League from 1970 to 1979 and is widely recognized as being among the best in baseball history. The team won six National League West Division titl ...

look like me hitting today."

Game 3

During pregame warm-ups, Harrelson was confronted by Reds second baseman

Joe Morgan Joe Leonard Morgan (September 19, 1943 – October 11, 2020) was an American professional baseball second baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Colt .45s / Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, ...

, who told Harrelson that 1973 batting champion and eventual NL MVP,

, didn't appreciate Harrelson's Game 2 post-game disparaging comments, saying Harrelson was finding more fault with the Reds rather than giving Matlack credit. The Mets scored early and often in Game 3, racing out to a 6–0 lead after just two innings.

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 scored their runs in the third on a

Denis Menke Denis John Menke (July 21, 1940 – December 1, 2020) was a professional baseball infielder and coach. He played all or parts of 13 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1962 to 1974. He played for the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1962–67), H ...

homer and an RBI single by

off Mets starting pitcher

Jerry Koosman Jerome Martin Koosman (born December 23, 1942) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies between and . Koosm ...

. In the top of the fifth with

on first, Morgan hit a double play ball to Mets first baseman John Milner, Rose slid hard into

as he tried unsuccessfully to break up the double play. Harrelson said something to Rose and they began to fight at second as both teams poured onto the field. Order was eventually restored and neither Rose nor Harrelson were ejected. But when Rose returned to his left field position in the bottom of the fifth, fans at

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.Sparky Anderson George Lee "Sparky" Anderson (February 22, 1934 – November 4, 2010) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player, coach, and manager. He managed the National League's Cincinnati Reds to the 1975 and 1976 championships, then added a third t ...

then pulled his team off the field. After a whiskey bottle almost hit Rose, National League president

Chub Feeney Charles Stoneham "Chub" Feeney (August 31, 1921January 10, 1994) was an American front office executive in Major League Baseball. Feeney was vice president of the San Francisco Giants, president of the National League (NL), and president of the Sa ...

threatened to force the Mets to declare a

forfeit Forfeit or forfeiture may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Forfeit'', a 2007 thriller film starring Billy Burke * "Forfeit", a song by Chevelle from ''Wonder What's Next'' * ''Forfeit/Fortune'', a 2008 album by Crooked Fingers L ...

, unless they could calm the fans.

Yogi Berra Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of Manager (baseball), manager and Coach (baseball), coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball ...

, as well as

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid" and "Buck", is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-tim ...

, Seaver, Staub and

walked out to left field and persuaded fans to stop throwing debris. "Look at the scoreboard!" Mays told them. "We're ahead! Let 'em play the game."* The game was completed without any more incidents from either team and the Mets won to take a 2 games to 1 lead.

Game 4

The Reds evened the series behind outstanding pitching and a clutch home run from

. The Mets opened the scoring in the third off Reds starter

Fred Norman Fredie Hubert Norman (born August 20, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won four div ...

, when

Félix Millán Félix Bernardo Millán Martínez (born August 21, 1943) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball second baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets. He holds one of the best at-bat to str ...

singled home

Don Hahn Donald Paul Hahn (born November 26, 1955) is an American film producer who is credited with producing some of the most successful animated films in recent history, including Disney’s ''Beauty and the Beast'' (the first animated film to be nom ...

. Norman with the help of seven shutout innings from the Reds bullpen, held the Mets to two singles for the rest of the game. The Reds tied the game in the seventh inning on a

Tony Pérez Atanasio "Tony" Pérez Rigal (born May 14, 1942) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and third baseman from through , most notably as a member of the ...

home run. The Reds had scoring threats in the 10th and 11th innings, but couldn't score because of two outstanding catches by

. The latter unfortunately resulted in a severe injury to Staub's right shoulder when he crashed into the right field fence. Then In the 12th, much to the displeasure of the Shea Stadium crowd, Rose hit a tie-breaking homer off Met reliever Harry Parker to give the Reds a 2–1 lead.

came on to retire the Mets in the bottom of the 12th to even the series at 2–2.

Game 5

A Game 5 victory gave the Mets their second

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

pennant in five years, as

pitched New York to victory. 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 Edward Emil Kranepool (born November 8, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He spent his entire Major League Baseball career with the New York Mets. He was predominantly a first baseman, but he also played in the outfield ...

(playing in place of the injured

) in the bottom of the inning. Cincinnati tied the game with single runs in the third and fifth on a sacrifice fly by

Dan Driessen Daniel Driessen (born July 29, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1973 to 1987, most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won three National Leag ...

and an RBI single by

. The Mets went ahead for good with four runs on four hits in the fifth, capped by a run-scoring single from

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

single. Seaver kept the Reds off the board after the fifth, although closer

Tug McGraw Frank Edwin "Tug" McGraw Jr. (August 30, 1944 – January 5, 2004) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher and long-time Major League Baseball (MLB) player, often remembered for coining the phrase "Ya Gotta Believe", which became th ...

came on to get the final two outs for the save after the Reds had loaded the bases in the ninth. The Mets got just six more hits than the Reds in the series (37-31), but outscored them 23-8. The Mets hit just .220 but the great NY Mets staff held the hard-hitting Reds to a meager .186 team batting average. NBC interrupted its coverage of the game to report the resignation of Vice President

Spiro Agnew Spiro Theodore Agnew (November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th vice president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second vice president to resign the position, the other being John ...

after pleading nolo contendere to corruption charges.

Composite line score

1973 NLCS (3–2):

over

References

External links

Baseball-reference.com
– 1973 NLCS {{Navboxes, list1= {{1973 MLB Playoffs navbox {{NLCS {{New York Mets {{Cincinnati Reds {{Major League Baseball on NBC

New York Mets postseason Cincinnati Reds postseason National League Championship Series

1970s in Cincinnati

Sports competitions in Cincinnati Sports competitions in New York City 1970s in Queens Shea Stadium