1970 Baltimore Orioles
World Series Champions
American League Champions
American League East Champions
LeagueAmerican League
DivisionEast
BallparkMemorial Stadium
CityBaltimore, Maryland
Record108–54 (.667)
Divisional place1st
OwnersJerold Hoffberger
General managersHarry Dalton
ManagersEarl Weaver
TelevisionWJZ-TV
RadioWBAL (AM)
(Chuck Thompson, Bill O'Donnell)
← 1969 Seasons 1971 →

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 put together one of the most dominant postseason runs of all time, scoring 60 runs in just eight games as they swept the Minnesota Twins for the second straight year in the American League Championship Series and 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 home runs and 58 RBI. The Minnesota Twins were the only team in the American League to have a winning record in the regular season versus the Baltimore Orioles.[3]

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 34 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

AL 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 record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
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

= Indicates team leader

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 Elrod Hendricks 106 322 79 .242 12 41
1B Boog Powell 154 527 156 .297 35 114
2B Davey Johnson 149 530 149 .281 10 53
3B Brooks Robinson 158 608 168 .276 18 94
SS Mark Belanger 145 459 100 .218 1 36
LF Don Buford 144 504 137 .272 17 66
CF Paul Blair 133 480 128 .267 18 65
RF Frank 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
Merv Rettenmund 106 338 109 .322 18 58
Andy Etchebarren 78 230 56 .243 4 28
Chico Salmon 63 172 43 .250 7 22
Terry Crowley 83 152 39 .257 5 20
Bobby Grich 30 95 20 .211 0 8
Curt Motton 52 84 19 .226 3 19
Clay Dalrymple 13 32 7 .219 1 3
Dave May 25 31 6 .194 1 6
Johnny Oates 5 18 5 .278 0 2
Don Baylor 8 17 4 .235 0 4
Roger Freed 4 13 2 .154 0 1
Bobby 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
Jim Palmer 39 305.0 20 10 2.71 199
Mike Cuellar 40 297.2 24 8 3.48 190
Dave McNally 40 296.0 24 9 3.22 185
Tom Phoebus 27 135.0 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
Jim 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
Pete Richert 50 7 2 13 1.98 66
Eddie Watt 53 7 7 12 3.25 33
Dick Hall 32 10 5 3 3.08 30
Marcelino López 25 1 1 0 2.08 49
Dave Leonhard 23 0 0 1 5.08 14
Moe Drabowsky 21 4 2 1 3.78 21
Fred Beene 4 0 0 0 6.00 4

Postseason

ALCS

Main article: 1970 American League Championship Series

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

Game Score Date Location Attendance
1 Baltimore – 10, Minnesota – 6 October 3 Metropolitan Stadium 26,847
2 Baltimore – 11, Minnesota – 3 October 4 Metropolitan Stadium 27,490
3 Minnesota – 1, Baltimore – 6 October 5 Memorial Stadium 27,608

World Series

Main article: 1970 World Series

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

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

Awards and honors

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
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

  1. ^ Tom Shopay page at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ Doug DeCinces page at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ 100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Dan Connolly, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2015, ISBN 978-1-62937-041-5, p.51
  4. ^ Rob Andrews page at Baseball Reference

References

Categories