# 1970 Los Angeles Dodgers season

The 1970 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the 81st for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their 13th season in Los Angeles, California. Walter O'Malley stepped down as team president, turning the reins over to his son Peter, while remaining as the team's chairman. The Dodgers remained competitive, finishing the season in second place, 14+1⁄2 games behind the NL Champion Cincinnati Reds in the National League West.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| 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 |

### Record vs. opponents

1970 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 8–4 | 5–13 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 7–5 |
| Chicago | 4–8 | — | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 13–5 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 7–11 |
| Cincinnati | 13–5 | 5–7 | — | 15–3 | 13–5 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 9–3 |
| Houston | 9–9 | 5–7 | 3–15 | — | 8–10 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 14–4 | 10–8 | 6–6 |
| Los Angeles | 12–6 | 6–6 | 5–13 | 10–8 | — | 8–4 | 7–5 | 6–5 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 7–5 |
| Montreal | 6–6 | 5–13 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 4–8 | — | 10–8 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–11 |
| New York | 6–6 | 11–7 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 8–10 | — | 13–5 | 6–12 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 12–6 |
| Philadelphia | 5-7 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 5–6 | 7–11 | 5–13 | — | 4–14 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 8–10 |
| Pittsburgh | 6–6 | 10–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 12–6 | 14–4 | — | 6–6 | 4–8 | 12–6 |
| San Diego | 9–9 | 3–9 | 10–8 | 4–14 | 7–11 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 3–9 | 6–6 | — | 5–13 | 4–8 |
| San Francisco | 11–7 | 5–7 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 13–5 | — | 7–5 |
| St. Louis | 5–7 | 11–7 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 11–7 | 6–12 | 10–8 | 6–12 | 8–4 | 5–7 | — |

### Opening Day lineup

Opening Day starters :
| Name | Position |
| Maury Wills | Shortstop |
| Bill Buckner | Left fielder |
| Willie Davis | Center fielder |
| Willie Crawford | Right fielder |
| Wes Parker | First baseman |
| Steve Garvey | Third baseman |
| Tom Haller | Catcher |
| Ted Sizemore | Second baseman |
| Claude Osteen | Starting pitcher |

### Notable transactions

* August 21, 1970: Jerry Royster was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers.
* August 24, 1970: Sergio Ferrer was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers.
* September 28, 1970: Fred Norman was purchased from the Dodgers by the St. Louis Cardinals.

### First major league foul ball injury death

On May 16, the Dodgers were playing a home game against the Giants when, during the third inning, Mota fouled off a Gaylord Perry pitch into the stands near first base. It struck Alan Fish, 14, attending the game with other boys from his nearby recreational baseball team and their coach. Fish was unconscious for a minute, and spoke incoherently when he reawakened and, while his speech had recovered, needed assistance walking to the Dodger Stadium's first-aid center.
There, he seemed to have recovered completely. The stadium doctor did not ask whether he had lost consciousness or check his blood pressure, and released him after giving him two aspirin for the lingering pain. He returned to his seat and watched the rest of the game normally, even trying to get autographs from the Dodgers afterwards. However, on his return home he began experiencing dizziness, shaking and crying, and his parents decided to take him to a hospital.
Two hospitals were unable to take the boy immediately, even as his condition deteriorated, and he was not admitted until early the next morning. His condition at first improved, but then became even worse, and a neurosurgeon discovered a large mass at the site of the injury. Before he could operate, however, Fish suffered a convulsion that left him brain dead, and three days later he died after being taken off life support.
The autopsy found that Fish had died due to an intracerebral hemorrhage after the hairline fracture caused by the foul ball had pushed a piece of his skull into his brain. Had he been required to rest and hospitalized immediately afterward, the neurosurgeon believed he could have recovered completely. The Fishes sued the Dodgers, the stadium physician and the two hospitals that had not been able to treat their son for negligence and medical malpractice; at trial, after dropping the other hospitals, the jury found for the team and doctor. However, an appeals court reversed that verdict three years later due to a jury instruction that should have been given but was not.

## Player stats
### 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 | Tom Haller | 112 | 325 | 93 | .286 | 10 | 47 |
| 1B | Wes Parker | 161 | 614 | 196 | .319 | 10 | 111 |
| 2B | Ted Sizemore | 96 | 340 | 104 | .306 | 1 | 34 |
| SS | Maury Wills | 132 | 522 | 141 | .270 | 0 | 34 |
| 3B | Billy Grabarkewitz | 156 | 529 | 153 | .289 | 17 | 84 |
| LF | Manny Mota | 124 | 417 | 127 | .305 | 3 | 37 |
| CF | Willie Davis | 146 | 593 | 181 | .305 | 8 | 93 |
| RF | Willie Crawford | 109 | 299 | 70 | .234 | 8 | 40 |

#### 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 |
| Jim Lefebvre | 109 | 314 | 79 | .252 | 4 | 44 |
| Bill Russell | 81 | 278 | 72 | .259 | 0 | 28 |
| Bill Sudakis | 94 | 269 | 71 | .264 | 14 | 44 |
| Andy Kosco | 74 | 224 | 51 | .228 | 8 | 27 |
| Jeff Torborg | 64 | 134 | 31 | .231 | 1 | 17 |
| Von Joshua | 72 | 109 | 29 | .266 | 1 | 8 |
| Steve Garvey | 34 | 93 | 25 | .269 | 1 | 6 |
| Bill Buckner | 28 | 68 | 13 | .191 | 0 | 4 |
| Len Gabrielson | 43 | 42 | 8 | .190 | 0 | 6 |
| Gary Moore | 7 | 16 | 3 | .188 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Paciorek | 8 | 9 | 2 | .222 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Ferguson | 5 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Stinson | 4 | 3 | 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 |
| Don Sutton | 38 | 260.1 | 15 | 13 | 4.08 | 201 |
| Claude Osteen | 37 | 258.2 | 16 | 14 | 3.83 | 114 |
| Alan Foster | 33 | 198.2 | 10 | 13 | 4.26 | 83 |
| Sandy Vance | 20 | 115.0 | 7 | 7 | 3.13 | 45 |
| Bill Singer | 16 | 106.1 | 8 | 5 | 3.13 | 93 |

#### 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 |
| Joe Moeller | 31 | 135.1 | 7 | 9 | 3.92 | 63 |

#### 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 |
| Jim Brewer | 58 | 7 | 6 | 24 | 3.13 | 91 |
| Ray Lamb | 35 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3.79 | 32 |
| Pete Mikkelsen | 33 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2.76 | 47 |
| Fred Norman | 30 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5.23 | 27 |
| José Peña | 29 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4.42 | 31 |
| Camilo Pascual | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.57 | 8 |
| Charlie Hough | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5.29 | 8 |
| Mike Strahler | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.45 | 11 |
| Jerry Stephenson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.45 | 6 |
| Al McBean | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |

## Awards and honors

* Gold Glove Award
** Wes Parker
* NL Player of the Month
** Bill Singer (July 1970)

### All-Stars

* 1970 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
** Billy Grabarkewitz reserve
** Claude Osteen reserve

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Spokane Indians | Pacific Coast League | Tommy Lasorda |
| AA | Albuquerque Dodgers | Texas League | Del Crandall |
| A | Bakersfield Dodgers | California League | Don LeJohn |
| A | Daytona Beach Dodgers | Florida State League | Stan Wasiak |
| A | Medford Dodgers | Northwest League | Bill Berrier |
| Rookie | Ogden Dodgers | Pioneer League | Buddy Hollowell |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Albuquerque, Bakersfield

## 1970 Major League Baseball Draft

This was the sixth year of a Major League Baseball Draft. The Dodgers drafted 45 players in the June draft and 9 in the January draft.
The most notable pick in this years draft was pitcher Doug Rau, who was selected with the 1st pick in the June Secondary draft out of Texas A&M University. Rau would play for the Dodgers from 1972 to 1979 and made 184 starts for the team, with an 80–58 record and 3.30 ERA before spending his final season with the California Angels in 1981.
The first pick in the regular June draft was pitcher Jim Haller from Creighton Prep High School. Haller was 18–18 in 123 minor league games over six seasons, with a 3.65 ERA.
1970 Draft Picks :
January draft
Round
Name
Position
School
Signed
Career span
Highest level
1
Jim Burnes
RHP
Glendale Community College
No
2
Edward Womboldt
C
Indian Hills Community College
No
3
David Holmes
C
Glendale Community College
No Cubs – 1972 FA
1972
Rookie
4
Ralph Davis
RHP
Alice High School
Yes
1970–1971
A-
5
Ken Harris
1B
Pasadena City College
No Angels – June 1970
1970–1971
A
January Secondary phase
Round
Name
Position
School
Signed
Career span
Highest level
1
John LaRose
LHP
Cumberland High School
No Red Sox – June 1970
1970–1980
MLB
2
Kevin Kooyman
C
Grossmont College
No Reds – 1970 FA
1970–1973
A
3
Bruce Raible
RHP
Western Hills High School
Yes
1970–1972
AA
4
Mike Barlow
RHP
Syracuse University
No Athletics – 1970 FA
1970–1982
MLB
June draft
Round
Name
Position
School
Signed
Career span
Highest level
1
Jim Haller
RHP
Creighton Prep High School
Yes
1970–1975
AAA
2
Randy Fairbanks
LHP
Satellite Beach High School
Yes
1970–1975
AA
3
Lance Rautzhan
LHP
Blue Mountain High School
Yes
1970–1980
MLB
4
Rick Nitz
RHP
Hoover High School
Yes
1970–1978
AAA
5
Dewey Forry
OF
Terra Linda High School
Yes
1972–1977
AAA
6
Janes Vaeth
RHP
Seaford High School
No
7
Thomas Jenkins
OF
University of Tulsa
Yes
1970–1972
AA
8
Rex Peters
1B
Midland Park High School
No
9
John Snider
3B
Fairfield Union High School
Yes
1970–1975
AA
10
Wayne Ristig
2B
Chapman University
Yes
1970–1973
A
11
Creighton Tevlin
OF
Canoga Park High School
No Orioles – 1974
1974–1982
AAA
12
Patrick Paulson
LHP
East Haven High School
No Dodgers – 1971
1971
Rookie
13
Norman Brown
OF
University of California, Berkeley
Yes
1970–1971
A
14
Thomas Corder
SS
San Jose State University
Yes
1970–1972
A
15
John Cosmos
1B
Sacred Heart University
No
16
Michael Plunkett
RHP
Emporia State University
Yes
1970–1971
A
17
Mike Vail
SS
Archbishop Mitty High School
No Cardinals -1971
1971–1984
MLB
18
Larry Tolbert
RHP
East Central High School
No
19
Paul Barnes
OF
Middle Georgia College
Yes
1970–1971
A
20
Philip Keller
RHP
Stanford University
Yes
1970–1974
AAA
21
Albert Taylor
RHP
Kearny High School
Yes
1970–1974
A
22
Wayne Burney
1B
University of Louisiana at Monroe
Yes
1970–1975
AAA
23
Leslie Rogers
3B
University of Tulsa
Yes
1970–1971
A
24
Francisco Suarez
SS
Hialeah High School
No Twins – 1971
1971
A-
25
Dennis Abel
OF
San Francisco State University
No
26
Thomas Gleason
LHP
Grover Cleveland High School
Yes
1970–1972
A
27
John Wade
C
Pasadena High School
No
28
Ronald Hall
LHP
University of Oklahoma
Yes
1970–1972
A
29
Steven Wilson
RHP
South Georgia College
Yes
1970–1972
A
30
James Ivey
LHP
No Braves – 1971 FA
1971
A
31
Bruce Collins
RHP
South San Francisco High School
No
32
Thaddeus Rowe
INF
Brookland-Cayce High School
No
33
Greg Shanahan
RHP
Humboldt State University
Yes
1970–1977
MLB
34
Chris Kinsel
C
St. Augustine High School
No
35
Mike Garrett
OF
No
36
Mark Anderson
OF
Garden Grove High School
No Cardinals -1971
1971
Rookie
37
Michael Sanders
3B
D. W. Daniel High School
No
38
Maury Damkroger
C
Northeast High School
No
39
Vandon Mattison
LHP
John F. Kennedy High School
Yes
1970–1975
A
40
Scott Waltermate
RHP
Steeleville High School
No
June secondary phase
Round
Name
Position
School
Signed
Career span
Highest level
1
Doug Rau
LHP
Texas A&M University
Yes
1970–1981
MLB
2
George Pugh
LHP
Mesa State College
No
3
Red Daniels
OF
University of New Mexico
Yes
1970–1973
AA
4
Kenneth O'Brien
RHP
Villanova University
Yes
1970–1972
AA
5
Paul Womble
3B
University of Kansas
No Mets -1971
1971–1973
AA :