| 1970 Baltimore Orioles | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Series champions American League champions American League East champions | ||||
| League | American League | |||
| Division | East | |||
| Ballpark | Memorial Stadium | |||
| City | Baltimore, Maryland | |||
| Record | 108–54 (.667) | |||
| Divisional place | 1st | |||
| Owners | Jerold Hoffberger | |||
| General managers | Harry Dalton | |||
| Managers | Earl Weaver | |||
| Television | WJZ-TV | |||
| Radio | WBAL (AM) (Chuck Thompson,Bill O'Donnell) | |||
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The1970Baltimore Orioles season involved the Orioles finishing first in theAmerican League East with a record of 108 wins and 54 losses, 15 games ahead of the runner-upNew 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 theMinnesota Twins for the second straight year in theAmerican League Championship Series and then went on to win their secondWorld Series title over theNational League championCincinnati Reds in five games, thanks to the glove ofthird basemanBrooks Robinson.
The team was managed byEarl Weaver, and played their home games atMemorial Stadium.
Following their upset loss to theNew York Mets in the1969 World Series, the Orioles picked up where they left off in1969. They opened the season with five wins and ran away with their second straight American League East title, beating back a challenge from theNew 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 pitchersMike Cuellar,Dave McNally, andJim Palmer each won at least 20 games, and the veteranbullpen seldom faltered. On defense, Brooks Robinson,center fielderPaul Blair, andsecond basemanDavey Johnson wonGold Gloves. Offensively,first basemanBoog Powell was the AL'sMost Valuable Player, leading the team with 35home runs and 114RBIs.Don Buford and Blair continued to get on base, andFrank Robinson (.306, 25 home runs), Brooks Robinson (94 RBIs), and Powell continued to drive them home.Elrod Hendricks led acatchingplatoon that produced 17 homers and 74 RBIs, andoutfielderMerv 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]
There was a sobering moment early in the season when Blair was beaned on May 31 inAnaheim, California. TheCalifornia 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.
One personnel change from '69 to '70 was the return ofMoe Drabowsky, the eminent pranksterrelief pitcher who had been lost to theKansas City Royals in theexpansion 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.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
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 | WAS | |
| 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 | — | |
| 1970 Baltimore Orioles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager Coaches | ||||||
| = Indicates team leader |
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 |
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 |
| = Indicates league leader |
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 |
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 |
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 |
The Orioles win the series over theMinnesota 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 |
AL Baltimore Orioles (4) vs. NLCincinnati 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 |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Miami, Bluefield
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| World Series championships (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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