The 1973 Kansas City Royals season was their fifth in Major League Baseball and first in the new Royals Stadium. Promoted from Triple-A Omaha, Jack McKeon replaced the fired Bob Lemon as manager and the Royals finished second in the American League West in with a record of 88–74, six games behind the Oakland A's. The 88 wins were the most in the franchise's brief history, five more than in 1971. Lefthander Paul Splittorff (20–11) became the first Royal to win twenty games in a season.

Offseason

Regular season

The Royals opened the new Royals Stadium with a 12–1 rout of the Texas Rangers on April 10. The Tuesday night game was attended by 39,464 braving cool temperatures; 39 F at first pitch. On April 27, Steve Busby threw the first no-hitter in Royals history, as visiting KC shut out Detroit 3–0 at Tiger Stadium. At Royals Stadium on May 15, Nolan Ryan of the California Angels threw the first no-hitter of his career. On August 2, George Brett made his major league debut, starting at third base and hitting a single in a 3–1 road win over the`Chicago White Sox.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Kingsport, Billings