# 1971 Baltimore Orioles season

In 1971, the Baltimore Orioles finished first in the American League East, with a record of 101 wins and 57 losses. As of 2024, the 1971 Orioles are one of only two Major League Baseball clubs (the 1920 Chicago White Sox being the other) to have four 20-game winners in a season: Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar, and Pat Dobson.

## Offseason

* December 16, 1970: Roger Freed was traded by the Orioles to the Philadelphia Phillies for Grant Jackson, Jim Hutto and Sam Parrilla

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteAL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Baltimore Orioles | 101 | 57 | .639 | — | 53‍–‍24 | 48‍–‍33 |
| Detroit Tigers | 91 | 71 | .562 | 12 | 54‍–‍27 | 37‍–‍44 |
| Boston Red Sox | 85 | 77 | .525 | 18 | 47‍–‍33 | 38‍–‍44 |
| New York Yankees | 82 | 80 | .506 | 21 | 44‍–‍37 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Washington Senators | 63 | 96 | .396 | 38½ | 35‍–‍46 | 28‍–‍50 |
| Cleveland Indians | 60 | 102 | .370 | 43 | 29‍–‍52 | 31‍–‍50 |

### Record vs. opponents

1971 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | WSH |
| Baltimore | — | 9–9 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 6–5 | 9–3 | 10–2 | 11–7 | 7–4 | 13–3 |
| Boston | 9–9 | — | 6–6 | 10–2 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 1–11 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 7–11 | 3–9 | 12–6 |
| California | 5–7 | 6–6 | — | 8–10 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 12–6 | 6–6 | 7–11 | 4–8 |
| Chicago | 4–8 | 2–10 | 10–8 | — | 3–9 | 7–5 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 5–7 | 11–7 | 10–2 |
| Cleveland | 5–13 | 7–11 | 4–8 | 9–3 | — | 6–12 | 2–10 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 7–11 |
| Detroit | 10–8 | 6–12 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 12–6 | — | 8–4 | 10–2 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 4–8 | 14–4 |
| Kansas City | 5–6 | 11–1 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 10–2 | 4–8 | — | 8–10 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 5–13 | 9–3 |
| Milwaukee | 3–9 | 6–6 | 12–6 | 7–11 | 8–4 | 2–10 | 10–8 | — | 10–7 | 2–10 | 3–15 | 6–6 |
| Minnesota | 2–10 | 4–8 | 6–12 | 11–7 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 7–10 | — | 8–4 | 8–10 | 5–6 |
| New York | 7–11 | 11–7 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 7–5 | 10–2 | 4–8 | — | 5–7 | 7–11 |
| Oakland | 4–7 | 9–3 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 13–5 | 15–3 | 10–8 | 7–5 | — | 9–3 |
| Washington | 3–13 | 6–12 | 8–4 | 2–10 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 6–5 | 11–7 | 3–9 | — |

### Opening Day starters

* Mark Belanger (SS)
* Paul Blair (CF)
* Elrod Hendricks (C)
* Davey Johnson (2B)
* Dave McNally (P)
* Boog Powell (1B)
* Merv Rettenmund (LF)
* Brooks Robinson (3B)
* Frank Robinson (RF)

### Notable transactions

* May 28, 1971: Jim Hardin was traded by the Orioles to the New York Yankees for Bill Burbach.
* May 28, 1971: Dave Boswell was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.

#### Draft picks

* June 8, 1971: 1971 Major League Baseball Draft
** Randy Stein was drafted by the Orioles in the 1st round (23rd pick).
** Kiko Garcia was drafted by the Orioles in the 3rd round. Player signed June 27, 1971.

### Roster
## 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 | 101 | 316 | 79 | .250 | 9 | 42 |
| 1B | Boog Powell | 128 | 418 | 107 | .256 | 22 | 92 |
| 2B | Davey Johnson | 142 | 510 | 144 | .282 | 18 | 72 |
| 3B | Brooks Robinson | 156 | 589 | 160 | .272 | 20 | 92 |
| SS | Mark Belanger | 150 | 500 | 133 | .266 | 0 | 35 |
| LF | Don Buford | 122 | 449 | 130 | .290 | 19 | 54 |
| CF | Paul Blair | 141 | 516 | 135 | .262 | 10 | 44 |
| RF | Frank Robinson | 133 | 455 | 128 | .281 | 28 | 99 |

#### 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 | 141 | 491 | 156 | .318 | 11 | 75 |
| Andy Etchebarren | 70 | 222 | 60 | .270 | 9 | 29 |
| Chico Salmon | 42 | 84 | 15 | .179 | 2 | 7 |
| Jerry DaVanon | 38 | 81 | 19 | .235 | 0 | 4 |
| Tom Shopay | 47 | 74 | 19 | .257 | 0 | 5 |
| Curt Motton | 38 | 53 | 10 | .189 | 4 | 8 |
| Clay Dalrymple | 23 | 49 | 10 | .204 | 1 | 6 |
| Bobby Grich | 7 | 30 | 9 | .300 | 1 | 6 |
| Terry Crowley | 18 | 23 | 4 | .174 | 0 | 1 |
| Don Baylor | 1 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 |

### 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 |
| Mike Cuellar | 38 | 292.1 | 20 | 9 | 3.08 | 124 |
| Pat Dobson | 38 | 282.1 | 20 | 8 | 2.90 | 187 |
| Jim Palmer | 37 | 282.0 | 20 | 9 | 2.68 | 184 |
| Dave McNally | 30 | 224.1 | 21 | 5 | 2.89 | 91 |

#### 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 |
| Grant Jackson | 29 | 77.2 | 4 | 3 | 3.13 | 51 |
| Dave Leonhard | 12 | 54.0 | 2 | 3 | 2.83 | 18 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Eddie Watt | 35 | 39.2 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 1.82 | 26 |
| Pete Richert | 35 | 36.1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3.47 | 35 |
| Tom Dukes | 28 | 38.1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 3.52 | 30 |
| Dick Hall | 27 | 43.1 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 4.98 | 26 |
| Dave Boswell | 16 | 24.2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4.38 | 14 |
| Jim Hardin | 6 | 5.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.76 | 3 |
| Orlando Peña | 5 | 14.2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.07 | 4 |

## Postseason
### ALCS

Baltimore Orioles defeat the Oakland Athletics, 3–0
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
| 1 | Oakland – 3, Baltimore – 5 | October 3 | Memorial Stadium | 42,641 |
| 2 | Oakland – 1, Baltimore – 5 | October 4 | Memorial Stadium | 35,003 |
| 3 | Baltimore – 5, Oakland – 3 | October 5 | Oakland Coliseum | 33,176 |

### World Series

NL Pittsburgh Pirates (4) vs. AL Baltimore Orioles (3)
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance | Time of Game |
| 1 | Pirates – 3, Orioles – 5 | October 9 | Memorial Stadium | 53,229 | 2:06 |
| 2 | Pirates – 3, Orioles – 11 | October 11 | Memorial Stadium | 53,239 | 2:55 |
| 3 | Orioles – 1, Pirates – 5 | October 12 | Three Rivers Stadium | 50,403 | 2:20 |
| 4 | Orioles – 3, Pirates – 4 | October 13 | Three Rivers Stadium | 51,378 | 2:48 |
| 5 | Orioles – 0, Pirates – 4 | October 14 | Three Rivers Stadium | 51,377 | 2:16 |
| 6 | Pirates – 2, Orioles – 3 (10 inns) | October 16 | Memorial Stadium | 44,174 | 2:59 |
| 7 | Pirates – 2, Orioles – 1 | October 17 | Memorial Stadium | 47,291 | 2:10 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Rochester Red Wings | International League | Joe Altobelli |
| AA | Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs | Texas League | Cal Ripken Sr. |
| A | Stockton Ports | California League | Ray Malgradi |
| A | Miami Orioles | Florida State League | Woody Smith |
| A-Short Season | Aberdeen Pheasants | Northern League | Ken Rowe |
| Rookie | Bluefield Orioles | Appalachian League | Jimmie Schaffer |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rochester, Miami, Bluefield

## Japan tour

Three days after the conclusion of the World Series, the Orioles embarked on a tour of Japan to play 18 games against Nippon Professional Baseball competition beginning on October 23. The team had accepted the invitation to participate in the Yomiuri Shimbun-sponsored event at the start of the calendar year on January 1. Included in the 12–2–4 overall record was the Orioles going undefeated at 8–0–3 in head-to-head competition against the Yomiuri Giants which was owned by the tour's sponsor and had recently captured its seventh consecutive Japan Series championship.
The Japanese point of view of high hopes entering the exhibitions and the disappointment with the unfavorably lopsided results is chronicled in Robert Whiting's 1977 book The Chrysanthemum and the Bat.
| Game | Month | Date | Day | Place | Opponent | W/L/D | Score | Orioles Pitcher of Record | Notes |
| 1 | OCT | 23 | SA | Tokyo | Yomiuri Giants | W | 8–4 | Jim Palmer | |
| 2 | OCT | 24 | SU | Tokyo | Yomiuri Giants | W | 8–2 | Mike Cuellar | |
| 3 | OCT | 27 | W | Sendai | Yomiuri Giants | W | 10–1 | Pat Dobson | Dobson three-hitter; two triples and four RBI for Mark Belanger. |
| 4 | OCT | 28 | TH | Kōriyama | Yomiuri Giants | D | 3–3 (10) | – | |
| 5 | OCT | 31 | SU | Osaka | Japan All-Stars | W | 4–1 | Mike Cuellar | |
| 6 | NOV | 1 | M | Nishinomiya | Yomiuri Giants/Nankai Hawks | W | 2–0 | Dave McNally | Scheduled OCT 30 (rain); consecutive homers by Brooks Robinson and Davey Johnson in the fifth. |
| 7 | NOV | 2 | TU | Toyama | Yomiuri Giants | W | 2–0 | Pat Dobson | Dobson pitches a no-hit, no-run game. |
| 8 | NOV | 3 | W | Tokyo | Japan All-Stars | W | 7–0 | Jim Palmer | |
| 9 | NOV | 5 | F | Niigata | Yomiuri Giants | D | 4–4 (10) | – | |
| 10 | NOV | 6 | SA | Tokyo | Yomiuri Giants | D | 9–9 (10) | – | |
| 11 | NOV | 7 | SU | Tokyo | Yomiuri Giants | W | 7–0 (5) | Pat Dobson | Game abbreviated by rain. |
| 12 | NOV | 9 | TU | Kyoto | Yomiuri Giants/Hankyu Braves | L | 2–8 | Jim Palmer | Palmer loses to Hisashi Yamada in a duel between two 20-game winners. |
| 13 | NOV | 10 | W | Hiroshima | Yomiuri Giants/Hiroshima Toyo Carp | W | 4–2 | Mike Cuellar | |
| 14 | NOV | 11 | TH | Matsuyama | Yomiuri Giants | W | 2–0 (11) | Eddie Watt | |
| 15 | NOV | 13 | SA | Fukuoka | Yomiuri Giants/Nishitetsu Lions | D | 9–9 (10) | – | |
| 16 | NOV | 14 | SU | Kitakyushu | Yomiuri Giants | W | 8–7 | Pete Richert | |
| 17 | NOV | 16 | TU | Nagoya | Yomiuri Giants/Chunichi Dragons | L | 1–9 | Grant Jackson | |
| 18 | NOV | 20 | SA | Tokyo | Yomiuri Giants | W | 5–0 | Tom Dukes | Scheduled OCT 26 in Sapporo, then NOV 18 in Tokyo (rain both times). |
Source: Baltimore Orioles 1972 Media Guide (scroll down to pages 25 and 26).