# 1970 Baltimore Orioles season

The 1970 Baltimore Orioles season involved the Orioles finishing first in the American League East with a record of 108 wins and 54 losses, 15 games ahead of the runner-up New 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 the Minnesota Twins for the second straight year in the American League Championship Series and then went on to win their second World Series title over the National League champion Cincinnati Reds in five games, thanks to the glove of third baseman Brooks Robinson.
The team was managed by Earl Weaver, and played their home games at Memorial Stadium.

## Offseason

* December 1, 1969: Tom Shopay was drafted by the Orioles from the New York Yankees in the 1969 rule 5 draft.
* January 17, 1970: Doug DeCinces was drafted by the Orioles in the 3rd round of the 1970 Major League Baseball draft (secondary phase).

## Regular season
### Bouncing back from 1969

Following their upset loss to the New York Mets in the 1969 World Series, the Orioles picked up where they left off in 1969. They opened the season with five wins and ran away with their second straight American League East title, beating back a challenge from the New 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 pitchers Mike Cuellar, Dave McNally, and Jim Palmer each won at least 20 games, and the veteran bullpen seldom faltered. On defense, Brooks Robinson, center fielder Paul Blair, and second baseman Davey Johnson won Gold Gloves. Offensively, first baseman Boog Powell was the AL's Most Valuable Player, leading the team with 35 home runs and 114 RBIs. Don Buford and Blair continued to get on base, and Frank Robinson (.306, 25 home runs), Brooks Robinson (94 RBIs), and Powell continued to drive them home. Elrod Hendricks led a catching platoon that produced 17 homers and 74 RBIs, and outfielder Merv 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.

### Injury to Paul Blair

There was a sobering moment early in the season when Blair was beaned on May 31 in Anaheim, California. The California 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.

### The return of Moe Drabowsky

One personnel change from '69 to '70 was the return of Moe Drabowsky, the eminent prankster relief pitcher who had been lost to the Kansas City Royals in the expansion 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.

### Season standings

vteAL East :
| 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 |

### 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 | — |

### Notable transactions

* June 4, 1970: Rob Andrews was drafted by the Orioles in the 10th round of the 1970 Major League Baseball draft.

### 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 | 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 |

#### 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 | 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 |

### 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 |
| 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 |

#### 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 |
| Jim Hardin | 36 | 145.1 | 6 | 5 | 3.53 | 78 |

#### 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 |
| 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 |

## Postseason
### ALCS

The Orioles win the series over the Minnesota 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 |

### World Series

AL Baltimore Orioles (4) vs. NL Cincinnati 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 |

## Awards and honors

* Boog Powell, American League MVP
* Brooks Robinson, Babe Ruth Award
* Brooks Robinson, World Series MVP

## Farm system

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