1973 International League season

BR minors page

The 1973 International League season was the 88th in the league's history, and ended with the Pawtucket Red Sox winning the Governors' Cup in the franchise's first year after moving from Louisville. The Red Sox would go on to win the Junior World Series.

This was also the first year since 1963 that the IL went to a two-division format, becoming the last of the three Triple-A leagues to do so. The two divisions were split along MLB affiliations: the American Division featured AL farm clubs, the National Division NL farm clubs. This also necessitated a change in the playoff format: the two division winners would play for the IL pennant, while the two second-place teams squared off in the other semifinal. The semifinal winners would then play for the Governors' Cup.

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

American Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Rochester Red Wings	79	67	.541	—	Joe Altobelli	Baltimore Orioles
Pawtucket Red Sox	78	68	.534	1	Darrell Johnson	Boston Red Sox
Syracuse Chiefs	76	70	.521	3	Bobby Cox	New York Yankees
Toledo Mud Hens	65	81	.445	14	John Lipon/Cot Deal	Detroit Tigers

National Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Charleston Charlies	85	60	.582	-	Joe Morgan	Pittsburgh Pirates
Tidewater Tides	75	70	.493	10	Johnny Antonelli	New York Mets
Peninsula Whips	72	74	.429	13½	Bill Adair	Montreal Expos
Richmond Braves	53	93	.314	32½	Bobby Hofman/Clint Courtney	Atlanta Braves

Playoffs

	First Round					Governors' Cup Finals
	A1	Rochester Red Wings	0
	N1	Charleston Charlies	3
						N1	Charleston Charlies	2
						A2	Pawtucket Red Sox	3
	A2	Pawtucket Red Sox	3
	N2	Tidewater Tides	2

First Round

Rochester vs. Charleston Date Away Home September 4 Rochester 5 Charleston 10 September 5 Rochester 2 Charleston 6 September 6 Charleston 13 Rochester 4 Charleston wins series 3-0

Pawtucket vs. Tidewater Date Away Home September 4 Pawtucket 2 Tidewater 6 September 5 Pawtucket 6 Tidewater 3 September 7 Tidewater 3 Pawtucket 1 September 8 Tidewater 3 Pawtucket 4 September 9 Tidewater 5 Pawtucket 7 Pawtucket wins series 3-2

Governor's Cup Finals

Charleston vs. Pawtucket Date Away Home September 10 Charleston 1 Pawtucket 4 September 11 Charleston 2 Pawtucket 4 September 12 Pawtucket 2 Charleston 3 September 13 Pawtucket 0 Charleston 4 September 14 Pawtucket 8 Charleston 1 Pawtucket wins series 3-2 and advances to Junior World Series

References

Jim Mandelaro and Scott Pitoniak. “Silver Seasons.” Syracuse University Press, 1995.

Brian Bennett, On A Silver Diamond: The Story Of Rochester Community Baseball from 1956-1996. Triphammer Publishing, 1997.

The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, editors. Baseball America, 1993.

External Links

1973 Rochester Red Wings review – On A Silver Diamond