# 1970 Chicago White Sox season

The 1970 Chicago White Sox season was the team's 70th season in the American League, and its 71st overall. They finished with a 56–106 record, their third-worst in 114 seasons of Major League Baseball, and finished in last position in the American League West, 42 wins behind the first-place Minnesota Twins.
Manager Don Gutteridge was fired September 1 with the team 49–87. Bill Adair served briefly as interim manager before Chuck Tanner, manager of the White Sox' Class AAA affiliate in Hawaii, came to the mainland to assume the position with the parent club. Tanner went 3–13 to close 1970 and remained skipper on the South Side through 1975.
The White Sox drew a paltry 495,355 fans to Comiskey Park, the lowest total in Major League Baseball.
The lone bright spot of 1970 was the hiring of organist Nancy Faust, who was a fixture at Comiskey and its successor, U.S. Cellular Field, for 40 years..
This was their last season of 100 losses or more until 2018, when they reached the century mark on the final day of the season.

## Offseason

* October 15, 1969: Woodie Held was released by the White Sox.
* December 18, 1969: Pete Ward was traded by the White Sox to the New York Yankees for Mickey Scott and cash.
* January 17, 1970: John Tamargo was drafted by the White Sox in the 4th round of the 1970 Major League Baseball draft (secondary phase), but did not sign.

## Regular season
### Season standings

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

### Record vs. opponents

1970 American League recordvte Sources: :
| 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 | — |

### Opening Day lineup

* Walt Williams, RF
* Luis Aparicio, SS
* Carlos May, LF
* Bill Melton, 3B
* John Matias, 1B
* Buddy Bradford, CF
* Syd O'Brien, 2B
* Duane Josephson, C
* Tommy John, P

### Notable transactions

* June 4, 1970: 1970 Major League Baseball draft
** Lee Richard was drafted by the White Sox in the 1st round (6th pick).
** Goose Gossage was drafted by the White Sox in the 9th round.
* September 11, 1970: Lee Maye was selected off waivers by the White Sox from the Washington Senators.

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Base on balls; SO = Strikeouts; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | SB |
| Luis Aparicio, SS | 146 | 552 | 86 | 173 | 29 | 3 | 5 | 43 | 53 | 34 | .313 | 8 |
| Ken Berry, CF | 141 | 436 | 45 | 128 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 50 | 43 | 61 | .276 | 6 |
| Ossie Blanco, 1B | 34 | 66 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 14 | .197 | 0 |
| Buddy Bradford, CF,RF | 32 | 91 | 8 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 30 | .187 | 1 |
| Chuck Brinkman, C | 9 | 20 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | .250 | 0 |
| Bob Christian, LF | 12 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | .267 | 0 |
| Ed Herrmann, C | 96 | 297 | 42 | 84 | 9 | 0 | 19 | 52 | 31 | 41 | .283 | 0 |
| Gail Hopkins, 1B | 116 | 287 | 32 | 82 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 29 | 28 | 19 | .286 | 0 |
| Duane Josephson, C | 96 | 285 | 28 | 90 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 41 | 24 | 28 | .316 | 0 |
| Bobby Knoop, 2B | 130 | 402 | 34 | 92 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 36 | 34 | 79 | .229 | 0 |
| Art Kusnyer, C | 4 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .100 | 0 |
| Carlos May, LF,1B | 150 | 555 | 83 | 158 | 28 | 4 | 12 | 68 | 79 | 96 | .285 | 12 |
| Lee Maye, PH | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .167 | 0 |
| Rich McKinney, 3B,SS | 43 | 119 | 12 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 11 | 25 | .168 | 3 |
| Bill Melton, 3B,RF | 141 | 514 | 74 | 135 | 15 | 1 | 33 | 96 | 56 | 107 | .263 | 2 |
| John Matias, 1B,RF,LF | 58 | 117 | 7 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 22 | .188 | 1 |
| Tommy McCraw, 1B,OF | 129 | 332 | 39 | 73 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 31 | 21 | 50 | .220 | 12 |
| Rich Morales, SS,3B,2B | 62 | 112 | 6 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 16 | .161 | 1 |
| Syd O'Brien, 3B,2B,SS | 121 | 441 | 48 | 109 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 44 | 22 | 62 | .247 | 3 |
| José Ortiz, OF | 15 | 24 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | .333 | 1 |
| Bob Spence, 1B | 46 | 130 | 11 | 29 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 11 | 32 | .223 | 0 |
| Walt Williams, RF,LF,CF | 110 | 315 | 43 | 79 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 19 | 30 | .251 | 3 |
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | SB |
| Gerry Arrigo, P | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 |
| Jerry Crider, P | 32 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .083 | 0 |
| Joe Horlen, P | 28 | 52 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 14 | .115 | 0 |
| Gerry Janeski, P | 35 | 66 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 31 | .076 | 0 |
| Tommy John, P | 38 | 84 | 4 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 17 | .202 | 0 |
| Bart Johnson, P | 18 | 29 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | .276 | 0 |
| Jim Magnuson, P | 13 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 0 |
| Bob Miller, P | 16 | 23 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | .174 | 0 |
| Barry Moore, P | 24 | 19 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | .263 | 0 |
| Danny Murphy, P | 51 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | .333 | 0 |
| Tommie Sisk, P | 17 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .250 | 0 |
| Lee Stange, P | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 |
| Floyd Weaver, P | 31 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 |
| Wilbur Wood, P | 77 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 | .111 | 0 |
| Billy Wynne, P | 12 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | .077 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 5514 | 633 | 1394 | 192 | 20 | 123 | 587 | 477 | 872 | .253 | 53 |

### Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; HR = Home runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K |
| Gerry Arrigo | 0 | 3 | 12.83 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 13.1 | 24 | 20 | 19 | 4 | 10 | 12 |
| Jerry Crider | 4 | 7 | 4.45 | 32 | 8 | 4 | 91.0 | 101 | 49 | 45 | 13 | 36 | 40 |
| Don Eddy | 0 | 0 | 2.31 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 11.2 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 9 |
| Steve Hamilton | 0 | 0 | 6.00 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Joe Horlen | 6 | 16 | 4.86 | 28 | 26 | 0 | 172.1 | 198 | 99 | 93 | 18 | 45 | 77 |
| Gerry Janeski | 10 | 17 | 4.77 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 205.2 | 247 | 125 | 109 | 22 | 73 | 79 |
| Tommy John | 12 | 17 | 3.27 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 269.1 | 253 | 117 | 98 | 19 | 117 | 138 |
| Bart Johnson | 4 | 7 | 3.82 | 18 | 15 | 0 | 89.2 | 92 | 53 | 48 | 11 | 48 | 71 |
| Jim Magnuson | 1 | 5 | 4.84 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 44.2 | 45 | 28 | 24 | 7 | 17 | 20 |
| Bob Miller | 4 | 6 | 5.01 | 15 | 12 | 0 | 70.0 | 88 | 42 | 39 | 11 | 36 | 36 |
| Richie Moloney | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Barry Moore | 0 | 4 | 6.37 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 70.2 | 85 | 56 | 50 | 12 | 34 | 34 |
| Danny Murphy | 2 | 3 | 5.69 | 51 | 0 | 5 | 80.2 | 82 | 55 | 51 | 11 | 57 | 42 |
| Denny O'Toole | 0 | 0 | 2.70 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Gene Rounsaville | 0 | 1 | 9.95 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Don Secrist | 0 | 0 | 5.52 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 14.2 | 19 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 12 | 9 |
| Tommie Sisk | 1 | 1 | 5.40 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 33.1 | 37 | 28 | 20 | 6 | 18 | 16 |
| Lee Stange | 1 | 0 | 5.24 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 22.1 | 28 | 13 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 14 |
| Floyd Weaver | 1 | 2 | 4.38 | 31 | 3 | 0 | 61.2 | 52 | 33 | 30 | 7 | 36 | 51 |
| Wilbur Wood | 9 | 13 | 2.81 | 77 | 0 | 21 | 121.2 | 118 | 50 | 38 | 7 | 43 | 85 |
| Billy Wynne | 1 | 4 | 5.32 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 44.0 | 54 | 30 | 26 | 8 | 24 | 19 |
| Team Totals | 56 | 106 | 4.54 | 162 | 162 | 30 | 1430.1 | 1554 | 822 | 722 | 164 | 623 | 762 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Tucson Toros | Pacific Coast League | Gordon Maltzberger |
| AA | Mobile White Sox | Southern League | Tom Saffell and Larry Sherry |
| A | Appleton Foxes | Midwest League | Ira Hutchinson |
| A-Short Season | Duluth–Superior Dukes | Northern League | Joe Sparks |
| Rookie | GCL White Sox | Gulf Coast League | Joe Jones |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Duluth-Superior, GCL White Sox