1970 Baltimore Orioles season

1970 Baltimore Orioles
1970 World Series Champions
1970 American League Champions
1970 American League East Champions
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record 108–54 (.667)
Divisional place 1st
Other information
Owner(s) Jerold Hoffberger
General manager(s) Harry Dalton
Manager(s) Earl Weaver
Local television WJZ-TV
Local radio WBAL (AM)
(Chuck Thompson, Bill O'Donnell)
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The 1970 Baltimore Orioles season involved the Orioles finishing first in the American League East with a record of 108 wins and 54 losses, 15 games ahead of the runner-up New York Yankees. The Orioles swept the Minnesota Twins for the second straight year in the American League Championship Series. They then went on to win their second World Series title over the National League champion Cincinnati Reds in five games, thanks to the glove of third baseman Brooks Robinson.

The team was managed by Earl Weaver, and played their home games at Memorial Stadium.

Offseason

Regular season

Bouncing back from 1969

Following their upset loss to the New York Mets in the 1969 World Series, the Orioles picked up where they left off in 1969. They opened the season with five wins and ran away with their second straight American League East title, beating back a challenge from the New York Yankees in June. They won 19 of their last 22 games to finish with a 108-win season, one win fewer than the previous year.

The team was mostly the same as 1969. Starting pitchers Mike Cuellar, Dave McNally, and Jim Palmer each won at least 20 games, and the veteran bullpen seldom faltered. On defense, Brooks Robinson, Center fielder Paul Blair, and second baseman Davey Johnson won Gold Gloves. Offensively, first baseman Boog Powell was the AL's Most Valuable Player, leading the team with 35 home runs and 114 RBIs. Don Buford and Blair continued to get on base, and Frank Robinson (.306, 25 home runs), Brooks Robinson (94 RBIs), and Powell continued to drive them home. Elrod Hendricks led a catching platoon that produced 17 homers and 74 RBIs, and outfielder Merv Rettenmund, a product of the farm system, hit .322 with 18 homers.

Injury to Paul Blair

There was a sobering moment early in the season when Blair was beaned on May 31 in Anaheim, California. The California Angels' Ken Tatum threw a pitch that hit Blair in the face. Blair was seemingly on his way to a second straight strong season after having 26 home runs and 76 RBIs in 1969. He missed three weeks after the beaning, coming back to finish with 18 home runs and 65 RBIs, but he seldom produced that well over the rest of his career, and some speculated he was never the same at the plate.

The return of Moe Drabowsky

One personnel change from '69 to '70 was the return of Moe Drabowsky, the eminent prankster relief pitcher who had been lost to the Kansas City Royals in the expansion draft before the '69 season. Now thirty-four and near the end of his career, he was reacquired during the '70 season and won four of six decisions, helping fill out a veteran bullpen.

Season standings

American League East W L Pct. GB Home Road
Baltimore Orioles 108 54 0.667 — 59–22 49–32
New York Yankees 93 69 0.574 15 53–28 40–41
Boston Red Sox 87 75 0.537 21 52–29 35–46
Detroit Tigers 79 83 0.488 29 42–39 37–44
Cleveland Indians 76 86 0.469 32 43–38 33–48
Washington Senators 70 92 0.432 38 40–41 30–51

Record vs. opponents

1970 American League Records

Sources:

Team BAL BOS CAL CWS CLE DET KC MIL MIN NYY OAK WSH
Baltimore — 13–5 7–5 9–3 14–4 11–7 12–0 7–5 5–7 11–7 7–5 12–6
Boston 5–13 — 5–7 8–4 12–6 9–9 7–5 5–7 7–5 10–8 7–5 12–6
California 5–7 7–5 — 12–6 6–6 6–6 10–8 12–6 8–10 5–7 8–10 7–5
Chicago 3–9 4–8 6–12 — 6–6 6–6 7–11 7–11 6–12 5–7 2–16 4–8
Cleveland 4–14 6–12 6–6 6–6 — 7–11 8–4 7–5 6–6 8–10 7–5 11–7
Detroit 7–11 9–9 6–6 6–6 11–7 — 6–6 8–4 4–8 7–11 6–6 9–9
Kansas City 0–12 5–7 8–10 11–7 4–8 6–6 — 12–6 5–13 1–11 7–11 6–6
Milwaukee 5–7 7–5 6–12 11–7 5–7 4–8 6–12 — 5–13 3–9–1 8–10 5–7
Minnesota 7–5 5–7 10–8 12–6 6–6 8–4 13–5 13–5 — 5–7 13–5 6–6
New York 7–11 8–10 7–5 7–5 10–8 11–7 11–1 9–3–1 7–5 — 6–6 10–8
Oakland 5–7 5–7 10–8 16–2 5–7 6–6 11–7 10–8 5–13 6–6 — 10–2
Washington 6–12 6–12 5–7 8–4 7–11 9–9 6–6 7–5 6–6 8–10 2–10 —

Notable transactions

Roster

1970 Baltimore Orioles
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders Manager

Coaches

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

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
C Hendricks, ElrodElrod Hendricks 106 322 78 .242 12 41
1B Powell, BoogBoog Powell 154 526 156 .297 35 114
2B Johnson, DaveyDavey Johnson 149 530 149 .281 10 53
3B Robinson, BrooksBrooks Robinson 158 608 168 .276 18 94
SS Belanger, MarkMark Belanger 145 459 100 .218 1 36
LF Buford, DonDon Buford 144 504 137 .272 17 66
CF Blair, PaulPaul Blair 133 480 128 .267 18 65
RF Robinson, FrankFrank Robinson 132 471 144 .306 25 78

Other batters

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

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Rettenmund, MervMerv Rettenmund 106 338 109 .322 18 58
Etchebarren, AndyAndy Etchebarren 78 230 56 .243 4 28
Salmon, ChicoChico Salmon 63 172 43 .250 7 22
Crowley, TerryTerry Crowley 83 152 39 .257 5 20
Grich, BobbyBobby Grich 30 95 20 .211 0 8
Motton, CurtCurt Motton 52 84 19 .226 3 19
Dalrymple, ClayClay Dalrymple 13 32 7 .219 1 3
May, DaveDave May 25 31 6 .194 1 6
Oates, JohnnyJohnny Oates 5 18 5 .278 0 2
Baylor, DonDon Baylor 8 17 4 .235 0 4
Freed, RogerRoger Freed 4 13 2 .154 0 1
Floyd, BobbyBobby Floyd 3 2 0 .000 0 0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Cuellar, MikeMike Cuellar 40 297.2 24 8 3.48 190
McNally, DaveDave McNally 40 296 24 9 3.22 185
Palmer, JimJim Palmer 39 305 20 10 2.71 199
Phoebus, TomTom Phoebus 27 135 5 5 3.07 72

Other pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Hardin, JimJim Hardin 36 145.1 6 5 3.53 78

Relief pitchers

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

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Watt, EddieEddie Watt 53 7 7 12 3.25 33
Richert, PetePete Richert 50 7 2 13 1.98 66
Hall, DickDick Hall 32 10 5 3 3.08 30
López, MarcelinoMarcelino López 25 1 1 0 2.08 49
Leonhard, DaveDave Leonhard 23 0 0 1 5.08 14
Drabowsky, MoeMoe Drabowsky 21 4 2 1 3.78 21
Beene, FredFred Beene 4 0 0 0 6.00 4

Postseason

ALCS

The Orioles win the series over the Minnesota Twins in three straight games.

GameScoreDateLocationAttendance
1Baltimore – 10, Minnesota – 6October 3Metropolitan Stadium26,847
2Baltimore – 11, Minnesota – 3October 4Metropolitan Stadium27,490
3Minnesota – 1, Baltimore – 6October 5Memorial Stadium27,608

World Series

Main article: 1970 World Series

AL Baltimore Orioles (4) vs. AL Cincinnati Reds (1)

Game Score Date Location Attendance Time of Game
1 Orioles – 4, Reds – 3October 10Riverfront Stadium 51,351 2:24
2 Orioles – 6, Reds – 5October 11Riverfront Stadium 51,351 2:26
3 Reds – 3, Orioles – 9October 13Memorial Stadium 51,773 2:09
4 Reds – 6, Orioles – 5October 14Memorial Stadium 53,007 2:26
5 Reds – 3, Orioles – 9October 15Memorial Stadium 45,341 2:35

Awards and honors

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Rochester Red Wings International League Cal Ripken, Sr.
AA Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs Texas League Joe Altobelli
A Stockton Ports California League Bill Werle
A Miami Marlins Florida State League Woody Smith
A-Short Season Aberdeen Pheasants Northern League Ken Rowe
Rookie Bluefield Orioles Appalachian League Ray Malgradi

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Miami, Bluefield

Notes

References

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