1970 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1970 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1970 in baseball.

The 1970 major league baseball season began on April 6, 1970, while the regular season ended on October 1. The postseason began on October 3. The 67th World Series began with Game 1 on October 10 and ended with Game 5 on October 15, with the Baltimore Orioles of the American League defeating the Cincinnati Reds of the National League, four games to one, capturing their second championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1966. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the New York Mets from the 1969 season.

1970 MLB season
League	American League (AL) National League (NL)
Sport	Baseball
Duration	Regular season: April 6 – October 1, 1970 Postseason: October 3–15, 1970
Number of games	162
Number of teams	24 (12 per league)
TV partner(s)	NBC
Draft
Top draft pick	Mike Ivie
Picked by	San Diego Padres
Regular season
Season MVP	AL: Boog Powell (BAL) NL: Johnny Bench (CIN)
Postseason
AL champions	Baltimore Orioles
AL runners-up	Minnesota Twins
NL champions	Cincinnati Reds
NL runners-up	Pittsburgh Pirates
World Series
Champions	Baltimore Orioles
Runners-up	Cincinnati Reds
World Series MVP	Brooks Robinson (BAL)

Angels

White Sox

Royals

Brewers

Twins

     Athletics

Orioles

Red Sox

Indians

Tigers

Yankees

Senators

Locations of teams for the 1970–1971 American League seasons
West   East

Braves

Reds

Astros

Dodgers

Padres

  Giants

Cubs

Expos

Mets

     Phillies

Pirates  

Cardinals

Locations of teams for the 1970 National League season
West   East

The 41st Major League Baseball All-Star Game, was held on July 14 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, home of the Cincinnati Reds. The National League won in twelve innings, 5–4, concluding their eight-season win streak.

During spring training, the Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin as the Milwaukee Brewers, being the ninth team since 1953 to relocate, and the fifth of American League teams since them. Due to stadium issues and the team declaring bankruptcy, the team was sold to a Milwaukee-based group and promptly relocated. After having a team for only a single season, Seattle would be without a major league team for seven seasons until the expansion in 1977, with the enfranchisement of the Seattle Mariners. The team was tied with the coincidentally named 1901 Milwaukee Brewers (modern-day Baltimore Orioles) as the shortest-tenured team of the American League.

Schedule

See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1970 schedule consisted of 162 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had twelve teams. Each league was split into two six-team divisions. Each team was scheduled to play 18 games against their five division rivals, totaling 90 games, and 12 games against six interdivision opponents, totaling 72 games. This continued the format put in place since the previous season and would be used until 1977 in the American League and 1993 in the National League.

Opening Day took place on April 6, featuring four teams. The final day of the regular season was on October 1, featuring 22 teams. Each League Championship Series took place between October 3 and October 5. The World Series took place between October 10 and October 15.

Rule change

The 1970 season saw the following rule change:

• A "caveat emptor" amendment was approved by both leagues, regarding player trades. Under the new rule, all trades, once agreed upon, would stand, such that a player could not elect to retire and freeze/cancel a trade as a means to stop it. Now, the trade would occur, and it was up to a team themselves to persuade their players to report to work.^[1]

Teams

An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at

League	Division	Team	City	Stadium	Capacity	Manager[2]
American League	East	Baltimore Orioles	Baltimore, Maryland	Baltimore Memorial Stadium	52,137	Earl Weaver
		Boston Red Sox	Boston, Massachusetts	Fenway Park	33,375	Eddie Kasko
		Cleveland Indians	Cleveland, Ohio	Cleveland Stadium	76,966	Alvin Dark
		Detroit Tigers	Detroit, Michigan	Tiger Stadium	54,226	Mayo Smith
		New York Yankees	New York, New York	Yankee Stadium	67,000	Ralph Houk
		Washington Senators	Washington, D.C.	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	43,500	Ted Williams
	West	California Angels	Anaheim, California	Anaheim Stadium	43,202	Lefty Phillips
		Chicago White Sox	Chicago, Illinois	White Sox Park	46,550	Don Gutteridge
						Bill Adair
						Chuck Tanner
		Kansas City Royals	Kansas City, Missouri	Municipal Stadium	34,164	Charlie Metro
						Bob Lemon
		Milwaukee Brewers	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Milwaukee County Stadium	45,768	Dave Bristol
		Minnesota Twins	Bloomington, Minnesota	Metropolitan Stadium	45,914	Bill Rigney
		Oakland Athletics	Oakland, California	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	50,000	John McNamara
National League	East	Chicago Cubs	Chicago, Illinois	Wrigley Field	36,644	Leo Durocher
		Montreal Expos	Montreal, Quebec	Jarry Park Stadium	28,456	Gene Mauch
		New York Mets	New York, New York	Shea Stadium	55,300	Gil Hodges
		Philadelphia Phillies	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Connie Mack Stadium	33,608	Frank Lucchesi
		Pittsburgh Pirates	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Forbes Field	35,500	Danny Murtaugh
				Three Rivers Stadium*	50,500*
		St. Louis Cardinals	St. Louis, Missouri	Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium	49,450	Red Schoendienst
	West	Atlanta Braves	Atlanta, Georgia	Atlanta Stadium	51,383	Lum Harris
		Cincinnati Reds	Cincinnati, Ohio	Crosley Field*	29,603*	Sparky Anderson
				Riverfront Stadium	51,500
		Houston Astros	Houston, Texas	Houston Astrodome	44,500	Harry Walker
		Los Angeles Dodgers	Los Angeles, California	Dodger Stadium	56,000	Walter Alston
		San Diego Padres	San Diego, California	San Diego Stadium	50,000	Preston Gómez
		San Francisco Giants	San Francisco, California	Candlestick Park	42,500	Clyde King
						Charlie Fox

Standings

American League

• v
• t
• e

AL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
(1) Baltimore Orioles	108	54	.667	—	59‍–‍22	49‍–‍32
New York Yankees	93	69	.574	15	53‍–‍28	40‍–‍41
Boston Red Sox	87	75	.537	21	52‍–‍29	35‍–‍46
Detroit Tigers	79	83	.488	29	42‍–‍39	37‍–‍44
Cleveland Indians	76	86	.469	32	43‍–‍38	33‍–‍48
Washington Senators	70	92	.432	38	40‍–‍41	30‍–‍51

• v
• t
• e

AL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
(2) Minnesota Twins	98	64	.605	—	51‍–‍30	47‍–‍34
Oakland Athletics	89	73	.549	9	49‍–‍32	40‍–‍41
California Angels	86	76	.531	12	43‍–‍38	43‍–‍38
Kansas City Royals	65	97	.401	33	35‍–‍44	30‍–‍53
Milwaukee Brewers	65	97	.401	33	38‍–‍42	27‍–‍55
Chicago White Sox	56	106	.346	42	31‍–‍53	25‍–‍53

National League

• v
• t
• e

NL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
(2) Pittsburgh Pirates	89	73	.549	—	50‍–‍32	39‍–‍41
Chicago Cubs	84	78	.519	5	46‍–‍34	38‍–‍44
New York Mets	83	79	.512	6	44‍–‍38	39‍–‍41
St. Louis Cardinals	76	86	.469	13	34‍–‍47	42‍–‍39
Philadelphia Phillies	73	88	.453	15½	40‍–‍40	33‍–‍48
Montreal Expos	73	89	.451	16	39‍–‍41	34‍–‍48

• v
• t
• e

NL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
(1) Cincinnati Reds	102	60	.630	—	57‍–‍24	45‍–‍36
Los Angeles Dodgers	87	74	.540	14½	39‍–‍42	48‍–‍32
San Francisco Giants	86	76	.531	16	48‍–‍33	38‍–‍43
Houston Astros	79	83	.488	23	44‍–‍37	35‍–‍46
Atlanta Braves	76	86	.469	26	42‍–‍39	34‍–‍47
San Diego Padres	63	99	.389	39	31‍–‍50	32‍–‍49

Postseason

See also: 1970 Major League Baseball postseason

The postseason began on October 3 and ended on October 15 with the Baltimore Orioles defeating the Cincinnati Reds in the 1970 World Series in five games.

Bracket

	League Championship Series (ALCS, NLCS)					World Series
	East	Baltimore	3
	West	Minnesota	0
						AL	Baltimore	4
						NL	Cincinnati	1
	East	Pittsburgh	0
	West	Cincinnati	3

Managerial changes

Off-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Boston Red Sox	Eddie Popowski	Eddie Kasko
Cincinnati Reds	Dave Bristol	Sparky Anderson
Kansas City Royals	Joe Gordon	Charlie Metro
Milwaukee Brewers	Joe Schultz Jr. (Seattle Pilots)	Dave Bristol
Minnesota Twins	Billy Martin	Bill Rigney
Philadelphia Phillies	George Myatt	Frank Lucchesi
Pittsburgh Pirates	Alex Grammas	Danny Murtaugh

In-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Chicago White Sox	Don Gutteridge	Bill Adair
	Bill Adair	Chuck Tanner
Kansas City Royals	Charlie Metro	Bob Lemon
San Francisco Giants	Clyde King	Charlie Fox

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders^[3]

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Alex Johnson (CAL)	.329
OPS	Carl Yastrzemski (BOS)	1.044
HR	Frank Howard (WSH)	44
RBI	Frank Howard (WSH)	126
R	Carl Yastrzemski (BOS)	125
H	Tony Oliva (MIN)	204
SB	Bert Campaneris (OAK)	42

Pitching leaders^[4]

Stat	Player	Total
W	Mike Cuellar (BAL) Dave McNally (BAL) Jim Perry (MIN)	24
L	Mickey Lolich (DET)	19
ERA	Diego Seguí (OAK)	2.56
K	Sam McDowell (CLE)	304
IP	Sam McDowell (CLE) Jim Palmer (BAL)	305.0
SV	Ron Perranoski (MIN)	34
WHIP	Fritz Peterson (NYY)	1.102

National League

Hitting leaders^[5]

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Rico Carty (ATL)	.366
OPS	Willie McCovey (SF)	1.056
HR	Johnny Bench (CIN)	45
RBI	Johnny Bench (CIN)	148
R	Billy Williams (CHC)	137
H	Pete Rose (CIN) Billy Williams (CHC)	205
SB	Bobby Tolan (CIN)	57

Pitching leaders^[6]

Stat	Player	Total
W	Bob Gibson (STL) Gaylord Perry (SF)	23
L	Steve Carlton (STL)	19
ERA	Tom Seaver (NYM)	2.82
K	Tom Seaver (NYM)	283
IP	Gaylord Perry (SF)	328.2
SV	Wayne Granger (CIN)	35
WHIP	Ferguson Jenkins (CHC)	1.038

Awards and honors

Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award	National League	American League
Rookie of the Year	Carl Morton (MTL)	Thurman Munson (NYY)
Cy Young Award	Bob Gibson (STL)	Jim Perry (MIN)
Most Valuable Player	Johnny Bench (CIN)	Boog Powell (BAL)
Babe Ruth Award (World Series MVP)	—	Brooks Robinson (BAL)
Gold Glove Awards
Position	National League	American League
Pitcher	Bob Gibson (STL)	Jim Kaat (MIN)
Catcher	Johnny Bench (CIN)	Ray Fosse (CLE)
1st Base	Wes Parker (LA)	Jim Spencer (CAL)
2nd Base	Tommy Helms (CIN)	Davey Johnson (BAL)
3rd Base	Doug Rader (HOU)	Brooks Robinson (BAL)
Shortstop	Don Kessinger (CHC)	Luis Aparicio (CWS)
Outfield	Tommie Agee (NYM)	Ken Berry (CWS)
	Roberto Clemente (PIT)	Paul Blair (BAL)
	Pete Rose (CIN)	Mickey Stanley (DET)

Other awards

• Hutch Award: Tony Conigliaro (BOS)
• Sport Magazine's World Series Most Valuable Player Award: Brooks Robinson (BAL)

The Sporting News Awards
Award	National League	American League
Player of the Year[7]	Johnny Bench (CIN)	—
Pitcher of the Year[8]	Bob Gibson (STL)	Sam McDowell (CLE)
Fireman of the Year[9] (Relief pitcher)	Wayne Granger (CIN)	Ron Perranoski (MIN)
Rookie Player of the Year[10]	Bernie Carbo (CIN)	Roy Foster (CLE)
Rookie Pitcher of the Year[11]	Carl Morton (MTL)	Bert Blyleven (MIN)
Comeback Player of the Year[12]	Jim Hickman (CHC)	Clyde Wright (CAL)
Manager of the Year[13]	Danny Murtaugh (PIT)	—
Executive of the Year[14]	—	Harry Dalton (BAL)

Monthly awards

Player of the Month

Main article: Major League Baseball Player of the Month Award

Month	National League
May	Rico Carty (ATL)
June	Tommie Agee (NYM)
July	Bill Singer (LA)
August	Bob Gibson (STL)

Baseball Hall of Fame

Main article: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

• Lou Boudreau
• Earle Combs
• Jesse Haines
• Ford Frick (executive)

Further information: 1970 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting

Home field attendance

Team name	Wins	%±	Home attendance	%±	Per game
New York Mets[15]	83	−17.0%	2,697,479	24.0%	32,896
Cincinnati Reds[16]	102	14.6%	1,803,568	82.5%	22,266
Los Angeles Dodgers[17]	87	2.4%	1,697,142	−4.9%	20,952
Chicago Cubs[18]	84	−8.7%	1,642,705	−1.9%	20,534
St. Louis Cardinals[19]	76	−12.6%	1,629,736	−3.2%	20,120
Boston Red Sox[20]	87	0.0%	1,595,278	−13.0%	19,695
Detroit Tigers[21]	79	−12.2%	1,501,293	−4.8%	18,534
Montreal Expos[22]	73	40.4%	1,424,683	17.5%	17,809
Pittsburgh Pirates[23]	89	1.1%	1,341,947	74.4%	16,365
Minnesota Twins[24]	98	1.0%	1,261,887	−6.5%	15,579
Houston Astros[25]	79	−2.5%	1,253,444	−13.1%	15,475
New York Yankees[26]	93	16.3%	1,136,879	6.4%	14,036
Atlanta Braves[27]	76	−18.3%	1,078,848	−26.0%	13,319
California Angels[28]	86	21.1%	1,077,741	42.1%	13,305
Baltimore Orioles[29]	108	−0.9%	1,057,069	−0.5%	13,050
Milwaukee Brewers[30]	65	1.6%	933,690	37.7%	11,527
Washington Senators[31]	70	−18.6%	824,789	−10.2%	10,183
Oakland Athletics[32]	89	1.1%	778,355	0.0%	9,609
San Francisco Giants[33]	86	−4.4%	740,720	−15.2%	9,145
Cleveland Indians[34]	76	22.6%	729,752	17.7%	9,009
Philadelphia Phillies[35]	73	15.9%	708,247	36.4%	8,853
Kansas City Royals[36]	65	−5.8%	693,047	−23.2%	8,773
San Diego Padres[37]	63	21.2%	643,679	25.5%	7,947
Chicago White Sox[38]	56	−17.6%	495,355	−16.0%	5,897

Venues

The 1970 season saw three teams move to three new venues.

• With the relocation of the Seattle Pilots from Seattle, Washington to Milwaukee, Wisconsin as the Milwaukee Brewers, they leave Sick's Stadium and move into the former home of the National League's Milwaukee Braves, Milwaukee County Stadium. They would go on to play there for 31 seasons through 2000.

• The Cincinnati Reds would play their last game at Crosley Field on June 24, having played 59 seasons there, and opened Riverfront Stadium on June 30, where they would go on to play for 33 seasons through 2002.

• The Pittsburgh Pirates would play their last game at Forbes Field on June 28, having played 62 seasons there, and opened Three Rivers Stadium (with the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers) on July 16, where they would go on to play for 31 seasons through 2000.

Television coverage

NBC was the exclusive national TV broadcaster of MLB, airing the weekend Game of the Week, the All-Star Game, both League Championship Series, and the World Series.

Retired numbers

• Lou Boudreau had his No. 5 retired by the Cleveland Indians on July 9. This was the second number retired by the team.
• Casey Stengel had his No. 37 retired by the New York Yankees on August 8. This was the fifth number retired by the team. Stengel previously had his No. 37 retired by the New York Mets in 1965.

See also

• 1970 in baseball (Events, Births, Deaths)
• 1970 Nippon Professional Baseball season