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 [1970 1970 Minnesota Twins season|Minnesota Twins season|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.

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, Brooks Robinson, 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.

Notable transactions

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

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		106	322	79	.242	12	41
1B		154	527	156	.297	35	114
2B		149	530	149	.281	10	53
3B		158	608	168	.276	18	94
SS		145	459	100	.218	1	36
LF		144	504	137	.272	17	66
CF		133	480	128	.267	18	65
RF		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
	106	338	109	.322	18	58
	78	230	56	.243	4	28
	63	172	43	.250	7	22
	83	152	39	.257	5	20
	30	95	20	.211	0	8
	52	84	19	.226	3	19
	13	32	7	.219	1	3
	25	31	6	.194	1	6
	5	18	5	.278	0	2
	8	17	4	.235	0	4
	4	13	2	.154	0	1
	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
	39	305.0	20	10	2.71	199
	40	297.2	24*	8	3.48	190
	40	296.0	24*	9	3.22	185
	27	135.0	5	5	3.07	72

Tied with Jim Perry for league lead

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
	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
	50	7	2	13	1.98	66
	53	7	7	12	3.25	33
	32	10	5	3	3.08	30
	25	1	1	0	2.08	49
	23	0	0	1	5.08	14
	21	4	2	1	3.78	21
	4	0	0	0	6.00	4