1971 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1971 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1971 in baseball.

The 1971 major league baseball season began on April 5, 1971, while the regular season ended on September 30. The postseason began on October 2. The 68th World Series began with Game 1 on October 9 and ended with Game 7 on October 17, with the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League defeating the Baltimore Orioles of the American League, four games to three, capturing their fourth championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1960. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Baltimore Orioles from the 1970 season.

1971 MLB season
League	American League (AL) National League (NL)
Sport	Baseball
Duration	Regular season: April 5 – September 30, 1971 Postseason: October 2–17, 1971
Number of games	162
Number of teams	24 (12 per league)
TV partner(s)	NBC
Draft
Top draft pick	Danny Goodwin
Picked by	Chicago White Sox
Regular season
Season MVP	AL: Vida Blue (OAK) NL: Joe Torre (STL)
Postseason
AL champions	Baltimore Orioles
AL runners-up	Oakland Athletics
NL champions	Pittsburgh Pirates
NL runners-up	San Francisco Giants
World Series
Champions	Pittsburgh Pirates
Runners-up	Baltimore Orioles
World Series MVP	Roberto Clemente (PIT)

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 1971–1976 National League seasons
West   East

The 42nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game, was held on July 13 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit, Michigan, home of the Detroit Tigers. The American League won, 6–4, and was the first American League win since the second game of 1962, and their last until 1983.

This was the final season that the Washington Senators would play in Washington, D.C., as the team would relocate to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex city of Arlington, Texas as the Texas Rangers the following season. Washington would remain vacant of a major league team for 33 seasons until the Montreal Expos relocated there as the Washington Nationals in 2005.

This was the final season the majority of MLB teams wore wool flannel uniforms. The Pirates and Cardinals wore double knit uniforms of nylon and rayon throughout 1971, and the Orioles gradually phased out flannels, going all-double knit in time for the ALCS. By 1973, flannel uniforms completely disappeared from the MLB scene.

Schedule

See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1971 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 1969 and would be used until 1977 in the American League and 1993 in the National League.

Opening Day took place on April 5, featuring six teams. The final day of the regular season was on September 30, featuring 18 teams. The National League Championship Series took place between October 2 and October 6, while the American League Championship Series took place between October 3 and October 5. The World Series took place between October 9 and October 17.

Rule changes

The 1971 season saw the following rule changes:

• Players on the current hitting team are now required to wear a batting helmet.^[1] Players who previously used a cap liner in 1970 could continue to do so.^[2]
• Rules regarding players interacting fans were relaxed, as previously, players could not talk or give autographs once batting practice started. Now, players could interact with players up to 30 minutes before the start of a game.^[2]
• Rule 5.09B was amended to prohibit baserunners from advancing if the home-plate umpire interfered with a catcher.^[2]
• The disabled list was expanded. Previously, a team could have as many as three players disabled at a time — two for 21 days and one for 60. Now, a team could also disable a nonpitcher for 15 days, making it permissible to have a total of four at a time.^[2]

Teams

League	Division	Team	City	Stadium	Capacity	Manager[3]
American League	East	Baltimore Orioles	Baltimore, Maryland	Baltimore Memorial Stadium	52,137	Earl Weaver
		Boston Red Sox	Boston, Massachusetts	Fenway Park	33,379	Eddie Kasko
		Cleveland Indians	Cleveland, Ohio	Cleveland Stadium	76,966	Alvin Dark
						Johnny Lipon
		Detroit Tigers	Detroit, Michigan	Tiger Stadium	54,226	Billy Martin
		New York Yankees	New York, New York	Yankee Stadium	65,010	Ralph Houk
		Washington Senators	Washington, D.C.	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	45,016	Ted Williams
	West	California Angels	Anaheim, California	Anaheim Stadium	43,202	Lefty Phillips
		Chicago White Sox	Chicago, Illinois	White Sox Park	46,550	Chuck Tanner
		Kansas City Royals	Kansas City, Missouri	Municipal Stadium	35,561	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	Dick Williams
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	Veterans Stadium	56,371	Frank Lucchesi
		Pittsburgh Pirates	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Three Rivers Stadium	50,235	Danny Murtaugh
		St. Louis Cardinals	St. Louis, Missouri	Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium	50,126	Red Schoendienst
	West	Atlanta Braves	Atlanta, Georgia	Atlanta Stadium	51,383	Lum Harris
		Cincinnati Reds	Cincinnati, Ohio	Riverfront Stadium	51,744	Sparky Anderson
		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	Charlie Fox

Standings

American League

• v
• t
• e

AL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
(1) Baltimore Orioles	101	57	.639	—	53‍–‍24	48‍–‍33
Detroit Tigers	91	71	.562	12	54‍–‍27	37‍–‍44
Boston Red Sox	85	77	.525	18	47‍–‍33	38‍–‍44
New York Yankees	82	80	.506	21	44‍–‍37	38‍–‍43
Washington Senators	63	96	.396	38½	35‍–‍46	28‍–‍50
Cleveland Indians	60	102	.370	43	29‍–‍52	31‍–‍50

• v
• t
• e

AL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
(2) Oakland Athletics	101	60	.627	—	46‍–‍35	55‍–‍25
Kansas City Royals	85	76	.528	16	44‍–‍37	41‍–‍39
Chicago White Sox	79	83	.488	22½	39‍–‍42	40‍–‍41
California Angels	76	86	.469	25½	35‍–‍46	41‍–‍40
Minnesota Twins	74	86	.463	26½	37‍–‍42	37‍–‍44
Milwaukee Brewers	69	92	.429	32	34‍–‍48	35‍–‍44

National League

• v
• t
• e

NL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
(1) Pittsburgh Pirates	97	65	.599	—	52‍–‍28	45‍–‍37
St. Louis Cardinals	90	72	.556	7	45‍–‍36	45‍–‍36
Chicago Cubs	83	79	.512	14	44‍–‍37	39‍–‍42
New York Mets	83	79	.512	14	44‍–‍37	39‍–‍42
Montreal Expos	71	90	.441	25½	36‍–‍44	35‍–‍46
Philadelphia Phillies	67	95	.414	30	34‍–‍47	33‍–‍48

• v
• t
• e

NL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
(2) San Francisco Giants	90	72	.556	—	51‍–‍30	39‍–‍42
Los Angeles Dodgers	89	73	.549	1	42‍–‍39	47‍–‍34
Atlanta Braves	82	80	.506	8	43‍–‍39	39‍–‍41
Cincinnati Reds	79	83	.488	11	46‍–‍35	33‍–‍48
Houston Astros	79	83	.488	11	39‍–‍42	40‍–‍41
San Diego Padres	61	100	.379	28½	33‍–‍48	28‍–‍52

Postseason

See also: 1971 Major League Baseball postseason

The postseason began on October 2 and ended on October 17 with the Pittsburgh Pirates defeating the Baltimore Orioles in the 1971 World Series in seven games.

Bracket

	League Championship Series (ALCS, NLCS)					World Series
	East	Baltimore	3
	West	Oakland	0
						AL	Baltimore	3
						NL	Pittsburgh	4
	East	Pittsburgh	3
	West	San Francisco	1

Managerial changes

Off-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Detroit Tigers	Mayo Smith	Billy Martin
Oakland Athletics	John McNamara	Dick Williams

In-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Cleveland Indians	Alvin Dark	Johnny Lipon

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders^[4]

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Tony Oliva (MIN)	.337
OPS	Bobby Murcer (NYY)	.969
HR	Bill Melton (CWS)	33
RBI	Harmon Killebrew (MIN)	119
R	Don Buford (BAL)	99
H	César Tovar (MIN)	204
SB	Amos Otis (KC)	52

Pitching leaders^[5]

Stat	Player	Total
W	Mickey Lolich (DET)	25
L	Denny McLain (WSH)	22
ERA	Vida Blue (OAK)	1.82
K	Mickey Lolich (DET)	308
IP	Mickey Lolich (DET)	376.0
SV	Ken Sanders (MIL)	31
WHIP	Vida Blue (OAK)	0.952

National League

Hitting leaders^[6]

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Joe Torre (STL)	.363
OPS	Hank Aaron (ATL)	1.079
HR	Willie Stargell (PIT)	48
RBI	Joe Torre (STL)	137
R	Lou Brock (STL)	126
H	Joe Torre (STL)	230
SB	Lou Brock (STL)	64

Pitching leaders^[7]

Stat	Player	Total
W	Ferguson Jenkins (CHC)	24
L	Steve Arlin (SD)	19
ERA	Tom Seaver (NYM)	1.76
K	Tom Seaver (NYM)	289
IP	Ferguson Jenkins (CHC)	325.0
SV	Dave Giusti (PIT)	30
WHIP	Tom Seaver (NYM)	0.946

Regular season recap

Three of the four division races were anticlimactic; the only race was in the NL West between old rivals Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. The Giants led by 8.5 games on September 1 but the Dodgers chipped away. In mid September, the Dodgers won 8 in a row, including 5 over the Giants to narrow the gap to one game. But they could get no closer; ultimately both teams won on the final day of the season and the Giants won the division by 1 game.

Awards and honors

Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award	National League	American League
Rookie of the Year	Chris Chambliss (CLE)	Earl Williams (ATL)
Cy Young Award	Ferguson Jenkins (CHC)	Vida Blue (OAK)
Most Valuable Player	Joe Torre (STL)	Vida Blue (OAK)
Babe Ruth Award (World Series MVP)	Roberto Clemente (PIT)	—
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)	George Scott (BOS)
2nd Base	Tommy Helms (CIN)	Davey Johnson (BAL)
3rd Base	Doug Rader (HOU)	Brooks Robinson (BAL)
Shortstop	Bud Harrelson (NYM)	Mark Belanger (BAL)
Outfield	Bobby Bonds (SF)	Paul Blair (BAL)
	Roberto Clemente (PIT)	Amos Otis (KC)
	Willie Davis (LA)	Carl Yastrzemski (BOS)

Other awards

• Commissioner's Award (Humanitarian): Willie Mays (SF)
• Hutch Award: Joe Torre (STL)
• Sport Magazine's World Series Most Valuable Player Award: Roberto Clemente (PIT)

The Sporting News Awards
Award	National League	American League
Player of the Year[8]	Joe Torre (STL)	—
Pitcher of the Year[9]	Ferguson Jenkins (CHC)	Vida Blue (OAK)
Fireman of the Year[10] (Relief pitcher)	Dave Giusti (PIT)	Ken Sanders (MIL)
Rookie Player of the Year[11]	Earl Williams (ATL)	Chris Chambliss (CLE)
Rookie Pitcher of the Year[12]	Reggie Cleveland (STL)	Bill Parsons (MIL)
Comeback Player of the Year[13]	Al Downing (LA)	Norm Cash (DET)
Manager of the Year[14]	Charlie Fox (SF)	—
Executive of the Year[15]	—	Cedric Tallis (KC)

Monthly awards

Player of the Month

Main article: Major League Baseball Player of the Month Award

Month	National League
April	Willie Stargell (PIT)
May	Lou Brock (STL)
June	Willie Stargell (PIT)
July	Ferguson Jenkins (CHC)
August	Joe Torre (STL)

Baseball Hall of Fame

Main article: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

• Dave Bancroft
• Jake Beckley
• Chick Hafey
• Harry Hooper
• Joe Kelley
• Rube Marquard
• Satchel Paige
• George Weiss (executive)

Further information: 1971 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting

Home field attendance

Team name	Wins	%±	Home attendance	%±	Per game
New York Mets[16]	83	0.0%	2,266,680	−16.0%	27,984
Los Angeles Dodgers[17]	89	2.3%	2,064,594	21.7%	25,489
Boston Red Sox[18]	85	−2.3%	1,678,732	5.2%	20,984
Chicago Cubs[19]	83	−1.2%	1,653,007	0.6%	20,407
St. Louis Cardinals[20]	90	18.4%	1,604,671	−1.5%	19,569
Detroit Tigers[21]	91	15.2%	1,591,073	6.0%	19,643
Philadelphia Phillies[22]	67	−8.2%	1,511,223	113.4%	18,657
Pittsburgh Pirates[23]	97	9.0%	1,501,132	11.9%	18,764
Cincinnati Reds[24]	79	−22.5%	1,501,122	−16.8%	18,532
Montreal Expos[25]	71	−2.7%	1,290,963	−9.4%	16,137
Houston Astros[26]	79	0.0%	1,261,589	0.6%	15,575
San Francisco Giants[27]	90	4.7%	1,106,043	49.3%	13,655
New York Yankees[28]	82	−11.8%	1,070,771	−5.8%	13,219
Baltimore Orioles[29]	101	−6.5%	1,023,037	−3.2%	13,286
Atlanta Braves[30]	82	7.9%	1,006,320	−6.7%	12,272
Minnesota Twins[31]	74	−24.5%	940,858	−25.4%	11,910
California Angels[32]	76	−11.6%	926,373	−14.0%	11,437
Oakland Athletics[33]	101	13.5%	914,993	17.6%	11,296
Kansas City Royals[34]	85	30.8%	910,784	31.4%	11,244
Chicago White Sox[35]	79	41.1%	833,891	68.3%	10,295
Milwaukee Brewers[36]	69	6.2%	731,531	−21.7%	8,921
Washington Senators[37]	63	−10.0%	655,156	−20.6%	8,088
Cleveland Indians[38]	60	−21.1%	591,361	−19.0%	7,301
San Diego Padres[39]	61	−3.2%	557,513	−13.4%	6,883

Venues

The Philadelphia Phillies leave Connie Mack Stadium from which they played 33 season and opened Veterans Stadium (with the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles), where they would go on to play for 33 seasons through 2003.

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.

See also

• 1971 in baseball (Events, Births, Deaths)
• 1971 Nippon Professional Baseball season