| 1970 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Games | 162 |
| Teams | 24 (12 per league) |
| TV partner | NBC |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Mike Ivie |
| Picked by | San Diego Padres |
| Regular season | |
| SeasonMVP | 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 SeriesMVP | Brooks Robinson (BAL) |
| MLB seasons | |
The1970 major league baseball season began on April 6, 1970, while the regular season ended on October 1. Thepostseason began on October 3. The67th World Series began with Game 1 on October 10 and ended with Game 5 on October 15, with theBaltimore Orioles of theAmerican League defeating theCincinnati Reds of theNational League, four games to one, capturing their second championship in franchise history, since their previous in1966. Going into the season, the defendingWorld Series champions were theNew York Mets from the1969 season.
The41st Major League Baseball All-Star Game, was held on July 14 atRiverfront Stadium inCincinnati,Ohio, home of theCincinnati Reds. TheNational League won intwelve innings, 5–4, concluding their eight-season win streak.
Duringspring training, theSeattle Pilots moved toMilwaukee,Wisconsin as theMilwaukee Brewers, being the ninth teamsince 1953 to relocate, and the fifth of American League teams since them. Due to stadium issues and the teamdeclaring 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 theexpansion in1977, with the enfranchisement of theSeattle Mariners. The team was tied with the coincidentally named1901 Milwaukee Brewers (modern-dayBaltimore Orioles) as the shortest-tenured team of the American League.
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-teamdivisions. 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 theprevious season and would be used until1977 in the American League and1993 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. EachLeague Championship Series took place between October 3 and October 5. TheWorld Series took place between October 10 and October 15.
The 1970 season saw the following rule change:
An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
The postseason began on October 3 and ended on October 15 with theBaltimore Orioles defeating theCincinnati Reds in the1970 World Series in five games.
| 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 | ||||||
| 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 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Alex Johnson (CAL) | .329 |
| OPS | Carl Yastrzemski (BOS) | 1.044 |
| HR | Frank Howard (WAS) | 44 |
| RBI | Frank Howard (WAS) | 126 |
| R | Carl Yastrzemski (BOS) | 125 |
| H | Tony Oliva (MIN) | 204 |
| SB | Bert Campaneris (OAK) | 42 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Rookie of the Year | Carl Morton (MON) | 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 (LAD) | 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) | |
| Month | National League |
|---|---|
| May | Rico Carty (ATL) |
| June | Tommie Agee (NYM) |
| July | Bill Singer (LAD) |
| August | Bob Gibson (STL) |
| 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 |
The 1970 season saw three teams move to three new venues.
ThePhiladelphia Phillies would play their final game atConnie Mack Stadium on October 1 against theMontreal Expos, moving intoVeterans Stadium for the start of the1971 season.
NBC was the exclusive national TV broadcaster of MLB, airing the weekendGame of the Week, theAll-Star Game, both League Championship Series, and theWorld Series.
