Almost every game was close enough that you could point to one or two pivotal plays that would have turned things around. Oakland scored two unearned runs off of Jon Matlack in Game 1 while Ken Holtzman and a bevy of relievers held the Mets to one run. The A's scored two runs in the 9th to send the game into extra innings but ended up losing 10-7 when the Mets scored four runs in the top of the 12th. All four of those runs were unearned because of an error by A's 2nd baseman Mike Andrews; after the game maverick Oakland owner Charles O. Finley tried to have the "injured" Andrews replaced on the roster, but Commissioner Bowie Kuhn was not stupid. Back in New York Game 3 matched up future Hall of Famers Jim "Catfish" Hunter and Tom "Terrific" Seaver but neither was around at the end when the A's won 3-2 in 11 innings. The Mets went up 3-2 in the series winning Games 4 and 5 behind stellar pitching by starters Matlack and Jerry Koosman, giving up one run in two games. At this point the Mets learned that it ain't over until its over.

Facing elimination at home the A's won Game 6 behind Hunter's pitching and a pair of doubles from Reggie Jackson driving home a pair of runs. In Game 7 the A's went up 4-0 with Jackson and Bert Campaneris hitting two-run homers off of Matlack. But in the 9th inning the Mets were down three runs with two on base and Willie Mays at the plate. But neither Mays not Wayne Garrett (the only player with 2 homers in the Series) could get a hit and Dick Williams and his crew had their second of three consecutive World Series championships. Jackson, who had been injured the previous year and unable to play, was the Series MVP batting .310 with 5 extra base hits and 6 RBIs. Actually the Mets batted .253 while holding the A's to only .212, but that did not make the difference in the end. This color video of 1973 World Series highlights runs 43 minutes and should be of interest to fans of both the A's and the Mets.