# 1970 Cleveland Indians season

The 1970 Cleveland Indians season was the 70th season for the franchise. The club finished in fifth place in the American League East with a record of 76 wins and 86 losses.

## Offseason

* December 5, 1969: Horacio Piña, Ron Law and Dave Nelson were traded by the Indians to the Washington Senators for Dennis Higgins and Barry Moore.
* December 10, 1969: Luis Tiant and Stan Williams were traded by the Indians to the Minnesota Twins for Dean Chance, Bob Miller, Ted Uhlaender, and Graig Nettles.
* January 17, 1970: Chris Chambliss was drafted by the Indians in the 1st round (1st pick) of the 1970 Major League Baseball Draft.

## Regular season
### 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: 1970 Major League Baseball Draft
** Tommy Smith was drafted by the Indians in the 5th round.
** Dennis Kinney was drafted by the Indians in the 10th round.
* August 11, 1970: Lou Klimchock was released by the Indians.

### Opening Day Lineup

Opening Day Starters :
| # | Name | Position |
| 22 | Ted Ford | RF |
| 26 | Ted Uhlaender | CF |
| 27 | Roy Foster | LF |
| 11 | Tony Horton | 1B |
| 8 | Ray Fosse | C |
| 18 | Jack Heidemann | SS |
| 12 | Graig Nettles | 3B |
| 24 | Eddie Leon | 2B |
| 48 | Sam McDowell | P |

### 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; AVG = Batting Average; SB = Stolen bases
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | AVG | SB |
| Rick Austin | 31 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .111 | 0 |
| Buddy Bradford | 75 | 163 | 25 | 32 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 23 | .196 | 0 |
| Larry Brown | 72 | 155 | 17 | 40 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 15 | .258 | 1 |
| Lou Camilli | 16 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Dean Chance | 45 | 42 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .071 | 0 |
| Vince Colbert | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Steve Dunning | 19 | 31 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .161 | 0 |
| Dick Ellsworth | 29 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Ted Ford | 26 | 46 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .174 | 0 |
| Ray Fosse | 120 | 450 | 62 | 138 | 17 | 1 | 18 | 61 | .307 | 1 |
| Roy Foster | 139 | 477 | 66 | 128 | 26 | 0 | 23 | 60 | .268 | 3 |
| Vern Fuller | 29 | 33 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .182 | 0 |
| Rich Hand | 35 | 41 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .146 | 0 |
| Steve Hargan | 28 | 45 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .111 | 0 |
| Ken Harrelson | 17 | 39 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .282 | 0 |
| Jack Heidemann | 133 | 445 | 44 | 94 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 37 | .211 | 2 |
| Phil Hennigan | 42 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .143 | 0 |
| Dennis Higgins | 58 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .250 | 0 |
| Chuck Hinton | 107 | 195 | 24 | 62 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 29 | .318 | 0 |
| Tony Horton | 115 | 413 | 48 | 111 | 19 | 3 | 17 | 59 | .269 | 3 |
| Lou Klimchock | 41 | 56 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .161 | 0 |
| Fred Lasher | 43 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Eddie Leon | 152 | 549 | 58 | 136 | 20 | 4 | 10 | 56 | .248 | 1 |
| John Lowenstein | 17 | 43 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | .256 | 1 |
| Sam McDowell | 40 | 105 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .124 | 0 |
| Bob Miller | 15 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 | 0 |
| Steve Mingori | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Barry Moore | 13 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .095 | 0 |
| Russ Nagelson | 17 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .125 | 0 |
| Graig Nettles | 157 | 549 | 81 | 129 | 13 | 1 | 26 | 62 | .235 | 3 |
| Mike Paul | 30 | 26 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .154 | 0 |
| Vada Pinson | 148 | 574 | 74 | 164 | 28 | 6 | 24 | 82 | .286 | 7 |
| Jim Rittwage | 8 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .375 | 0 |
| Rich Rollins | 42 | 43 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .233 | 0 |
| Duke Sims | 110 | 345 | 46 | 91 | 12 | 0 | 23 | 56 | .264 | 0 |
| Ted Uhlaender | 141 | 473 | 56 | 127 | 21 | 2 | 11 | 46 | .268 | 3 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 5463 | 649 | 1358 | 197 | 23 | 183 | 617 | .249 | 25 |

### 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; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
| Rick Austin | 2 | 5 | 4.79 | 31 | 8 | 3 | 67.2 | 74 | 36 | 36 | 26 | 53 |
| Dean Chance | 9 | 8 | 4.24 | 45 | 19 | 4 | 155.0 | 172 | 80 | 73 | 59 | 109 |
| Vince Colbert | 1 | 1 | 7.26 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 31.0 | 37 | 25 | 25 | 16 | 17 |
| Steve Dunning | 4 | 9 | 4.96 | 19 | 17 | 0 | 94.1 | 93 | 55 | 52 | 54 | 77 |
| Dick Ellsworth | 3 | 3 | 4.53 | 29 | 1 | 2 | 43.2 | 49 | 23 | 22 | 14 | 13 |
| Rich Hand | 6 | 13 | 3.83 | 35 | 25 | 3 | 159.2 | 132 | 71 | 68 | 69 | 110 |
| Steve Hargan | 11 | 3 | 2.90 | 23 | 19 | 0 | 142.2 | 101 | 47 | 46 | 53 | 72 |
| Phil Hennigan | 6 | 3 | 4.02 | 42 | 1 | 3 | 71.2 | 69 | 34 | 32 | 44 | 43 |
| Dennis Higgins | 4 | 6 | 3.99 | 58 | 0 | 11 | 90.1 | 82 | 43 | 40 | 54 | 82 |
| Fred Lasher | 1 | 7 | 4.06 | 43 | 1 | 5 | 57.2 | 57 | 34 | 26 | 30 | 44 |
| Sam McDowell | 20 | 12 | 2.92 | 39 | 39 | 0 | 305.0 | 236 | 108 | 99 | 131 | 304 |
| Bob Miller | 2 | 2 | 4.18 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 28.0 | 35 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 15 |
| Steve Mingori | 1 | 0 | 2.66 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 20.1 | 17 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 16 |
| Barry Moore | 3 | 5 | 4.22 | 13 | 12 | 0 | 70.1 | 70 | 34 | 33 | 46 | 35 |
| Mike Paul | 2 | 8 | 4.81 | 30 | 15 | 0 | 88.0 | 91 | 51 | 47 | 45 | 70 |
| Jim Rittwage | 1 | 1 | 4.15 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 26.0 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 21 | 16 |
| Team Totals | 76 | 86 | 3.91 | 162 | 162 | 35 | 1451.1 | 1333 | 675 | 630 | 689 | 1076 |

## Award winners

* Ray Fosse, Gold Glove Award
* All-Star Game

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Wichita Aeros | American Association | Ken Aspromonte |
| AA | Savannah Indians | Southern League | Ray Hathaway |
| A | Reno Silver Sox | California League | Pinky May |
| A | Sumter Indians | Western Carolinas League | Len Johnston |
| Rookie | GCL Indians | Gulf Coast League | Joe Lutz |