1970 Minnesota Twins season
Major League Baseball team season
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The 1970 Minnesota Twins season was the 10th season for the Minnesota Twins franchise in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, their 10th season at Metropolitan Stadium and the 70th overall in the American League.
| 1970 Minnesota Twins | |
|---|---|
| American League West champions | |
| League | American League |
| Division | West |
| Ballpark | Metropolitan Stadium |
| City | Bloomington, Minnesota |
| Record | 98–64 (.605) |
| Divisional place | 1st |
| Owners | Calvin Griffith (majority owner, with Thelma Griffith Haynes) |
| General managers | Calvin Griffith |
| Managers | Bill Rigney |
| Television | WTCN-TV |
| Radio | 830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal, Halsey Hall, Al Shaver, Ray Christensen, Frank Buetel) |
Led by new manager Bill Rigney, the Twins won the American League West with a 98–64 record, nine games ahead of the Oakland Athletics. The Twins were swept by the Baltimore Orioles in the ALCS. Of note, the Twins were the only team in the American League to have a winning record in the regular season versus the Orioles.[1] The 1970 ALCS would be the last MLB postseason games played at Metropolitan Stadium, as the Twins would not return to the postseason stage until 1987 when they won the World Series.
Offseason
- October 13, 1969: John Roseboro was released by the Twins.[2]
- December 1, 1969: 1969 rule 5 draft
- Mike Sadek was drafted from the Twins by the San Francisco Giants.[3]
- Hal Haydel was drafted by the Twins from the San Francisco Giants.[4]
- December 10, 1969: Graig Nettles, Dean Chance, Bob Miller, and Ted Uhlaender were traded by the Twins to the Cleveland Indians for Luis Tiant and Stan Williams.[5]
- March 21, 1970: Joe Grzenda and Charley Walters were traded by the Twins to the Washington Senators for Brant Alyea.[6]
Regular season
On April 7, newly acquired Twin Brant Alyea homered twice in going 4 for 4 and driving in 7 RBIs. The RBI total set a record for major league baseball's Opening Day.
On May 20, in a 10–5 win over the Kansas City Royals, Rod Carew became the first Twin to hit for the cycle—going single, homer, double, triple. Over time, his feat will be matched by nine other Twins (César Tovar, 1972; Larry Hisle, 1976; Lyman Bostock, 1976; Mike Cubbage, 1978; Gary Ward, 1980; Kirby Puckett, 1986; Carlos Gómez, 2008; Jason Kubel, 2009; and Michael Cuddyer, 2009).
On June 5, pitcher Bert Blyleven debuted, allowing a home run off the first batter he faced.
Four Twins made the All-Star Game: first baseman Harmon Killebrew, second baseman Rod Carew, outfielder Tony Oliva, and pitcher Jim Perry.
On September 16, Blyleven struck out the first six batters he faced to tie a major league record. However, the Twins lost the game to the California Angels, 5–1.[7]
The Twins are no-hit for the second time in their history, losing 6–0 to Oakland's Vida Blue.[8]
The Twins won the American League West, led by leadoff batter César Tovar (120 runs), Oliva (.325, 23 HR, 107 RBI) and Killebrew (41 HR, 113 RBI). Carew was batting .366 (after 51 games) when his knee was injured turning a double play. Perry won 24 games and became the first Twins pitcher to win the AL Cy Young Award. Jim Kaat added 14 wins and rookie Bert Blyleven won 10. Kaat also won his 9th Gold Glove Award. Reliever Ron Perranoski led the AL with 34 saves.
1,261,887 fans attended Twins games, the third highest total in the American League.
Season standings
| 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
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | WAS | |
| 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 27, 1970: Craig Kusick was signed as an amateur free agent by the Twins.[9]
Roster
| 1970 Minnesota Twins | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
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 | George Mitterwald | 117 | 369 | 82 | .222 | 15 | 46 |
| 1B | Rich Reese | 153 | 501 | 131 | .261 | 10 | 56 |
| 2B | Danny Thompson | 96 | 302 | 66 | .219 | 0 | 22 |
| 3B | Harmon Killebrew | 157 | 527 | 143 | .271 | 41 | 113 |
| SS | Leo Cárdenas | 160 | 588 | 145 | .247 | 11 | 65 |
| LF | Brant Alyea | 94 | 258 | 75 | .291 | 16 | 61 |
| CF | César Tovar | 161 | 650 | 195 | .300 | 10 | 54 |
| RF | Tony Oliva | 157 | 628 | 204 | .325 | 23 | 107 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Holt | 142 | 319 | 85 | .266 | 3 | 40 |
| Rod Carew | 51 | 191 | 70 | .366 | 4 | 28 |
| Rick Renick | 81 | 179 | 41 | .229 | 7 | 25 |
| Paul Ratliff | 69 | 149 | 40 | .268 | 5 | 22 |
| Frank Quilici | 111 | 141 | 32 | .227 | 2 | 12 |
| Bob Allison | 47 | 72 | 15 | .208 | 1 | 7 |
| Charlie Manuel | 59 | 64 | 12 | .188 | 1 | 7 |
| Tom Tischinski | 24 | 46 | 9 | .196 | 1 | 2 |
| Herman Hill | 27 | 22 | 2 | .091 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Nettles | 13 | 20 | 5 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Minnie Mendoza | 16 | 16 | 3 | .188 | 0 | 2 |
| Steve Brye | 9 | 11 | 2 | .182 | 0 | 2 |
| Rick Dempsey | 5 | 7 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Cotton Nash | 4 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 2 |
Pitching
| = Indicates league leader |
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 Perry | 40 | 278.2 | 24* | 12 | 3.04 | 168 |
| Jim Kaat | 45 | 230.0 | 14 | 10 | 3.56 | 120 |
| Bert Blyleven | 27 | 164.0 | 10 | 9 | 3.18 | 135 |
| Luis Tiant | 18 | 92.2 | 7 | 3 | 3.40 | 50 |
| Dave Boswell | 18 | 68.2 | 3 | 7 | 6.42 | 45 |
- Tied with Mike Cuellar and Dave McNally (both with Baltimore) for league lead
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ron Perranoski | 67 | 7 | 8 | 34 | 2.43 | 55 |
| Stan Williams | 68 | 10 | 1 | 15 | 1.99 | 76 |
| Dick Woodson | 21 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3.82 | 22 |
| Steve Barber | 18 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4.61 | 14 |
| Pete Hamm | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5.51 | 3 |
| Hal Haydel | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 4 |
Postseason
ALCS
Awards and honors
- Jim Perry, American League Cy Young Award
Farm system
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | Evansville Triplets | American Association | Ralph Rowe |
| AA | Charlotte Hornets | Southern League | Harry Warner and Pete Appleton |
| A | Lynchburg Twins | Carolina League | Tom Umphlett and Spencer "Red" Robbins |
| A | Orlando Twins | Florida State League | Jackie Ferrell |
| A | Wisconsin Rapids Twins | Midwest League | Johnny Goryl |
| A-Short Season | Auburn Twins | New York–Penn League | Boyd Coffie |
| A-Short Season | St. Cloud Rox | Northern League | Jim Merrick |
| Rookie | GCL Twins | Gulf Coast League | Fred Waters |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Auburn