1970 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1970 Pittsburgh Pirates season resulted in the team winning their 1st National League East Division title with a record of 89–73, five games ahead of the Chicago Cubs. However, they lost the NLCS to the National League West Division Champion Cincinnati Reds, three games to none.

1970 Pittsburgh Pirates
1970 National League East Division Champion
Major League affiliations
Location
Other information
OwnersJohn W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Bing Crosby, Thomas P. Johnson (minority shareholders)
General managersJoe L. Brown
ManagersDanny Murtaugh
Local televisionKDKA-TV
Bob Prince, Nellie King, Gene Osborn
Local radioKDKA
Bob Prince, Nellie King, Gene Osborn
< Previous season     Next season >

The Pirates were managed by Danny Murtaugh and played their home games at Forbes Field during the first part of the year, before moving into the brand new Three Rivers Stadium on July 16. Coinciding with their move, the Pirates became the first major league team to adopt pullover jerseys and sans-a-belt pants for their uniforms, a style copied by a majority of MLB for the next two decades and which the Pirates themselves would wear through the 1990 season.[2]

Offseason

Three Rivers Stadium

In 1958, the Pirates had sold Forbes Field to the University of Pittsburgh, who wanted the land for expanded graduate facilities. Pitt then leased Forbes back to the Pirates until a new multipurpose stadium could be built. The Steelers opted to play at Pitt Stadium in the meantime. In June 1970, the Pirates played their final game at Forbes Field. It was a doubleheader sweep of the Chicago Cubs and Bill Mazeroski got the final hit at Forbes Field.[3]

A site on the North Side had been chosen earlier in the year, but it took until April 25, 1968, to finally break ground. Three Rivers Stadium opened on July 16, 1970, and became the home of the Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Notable transactions

Regular season
  • June 12, 1970: Dock Ellis threw a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres.[7] Allegedly, Ellis pitched the no-hitter on acid. According to Ellis, in Donald Hall's book, In the Country of Baseball, the Pirates were starting a west-coast road trip. After the Pirates landed in San Diego, Ellis visited his hometown of Los Angeles for a party. Ellis had forgotten he was slated to pitch the next day, so he took some acid the night before the game. At around 10 a.m., after catching maybe an hour of sleep, he realized he was in the wrong place.[8]

Season standings
NL East W L Pct. GB Home Road
Pittsburgh Pirates 8973 0.549 — 50–32 39–41
Chicago Cubs 8478 0.519 5 46–34 38–44
New York Mets 8379 0.512 6 44–38 39–41
St. Louis Cardinals 7686 0.469 13 34–47 42–39
Philadelphia Phillies 7388 0.453 15½ 40–40 33–48
Montreal Expos 7389 0.451 16 39–41 34–48

Record vs. opponents
1970 National League record

Sources:
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta —8–45–139–96–126–66–67–56–69–97–117–5
Chicago 4–8—7–57–56–613–57–119–98–109–37–57–11
Cincinnati 13–55–7—15–313–57–58–47–58–48–109–99–3
Houston 9–95–73–15—8–108–46–64–86–614–410–86–6
Los Angeles 12–66–65–1310–8—8–47–56–56–611–79–97–5
Montreal 6–65–135–74–84–8—10–811–79–96–66–67–11
New York 6–611–74–86–65–78–10—13–56–126–66–612–6
Philadelphia 5-79–95–78–45–67–115–13—4–149–38–48–10
Pittsburgh 6–610–84–86–66–69–912–614–4—6–64–812–6
San Diego 9–93–910–84–147–116–66–63–96–6—5–134–8
San Francisco 11–75–79–98–109–96–66–64–88–413–5—7–5
St. Louis 5–711–73–96–65–711–76–1210–86–128–45–7—

Detailed records

Game log
1970 Game Log: 89–73 (Home: 50–32; Away: 39–41)
April: 11–8 (Home: 7–7; Away: 4–1)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 7Mets3–5 (11)TaylorHartenstein (0–1)McGraw34,2490–1
2April 9Mets2–1Ellis (1–0)Koosman—9,8841–1
3April 10@ Phillies0–2FrymanVeale (0–1)—3,6631–2
4April 11@ Phillies4–0Walker (1–0)JacksonHartenstein (1)7,6732–2
5April 12@ Phillies3–1 (10)Blass (1–0)Bunning—22,3953–2
6April 14@ Mets6–4 (10)Hartenstein (1–1)McGraw—41,6794–2
7April 16@ Mets7–4Dal Canton (1–0)Cardwell—8,6235–2
8April 17Cardinals2–5CulverBlass (1–1)—14,3695–3
9April 18Cardinals1–6CarltonWalker (1–1)—8,4655–4
10April 20Astros3–1Ellis (2–0)BoutonGiusti (1)4,0516–4
11April 21Astros9–8Veale (1–1)DierkerGibbon (1)3,5897–4
12April 22Astros6–1Blass (2–1)Lemaster—6,1788–4
13April 23Braves8–6Walker (2–1)JarvisGiusti (2)4,9879–4
14April 24Braves0–9NashMoose (0–1)—5,4139–5
15April 25Braves8–7Giusti (1–0)WilhelmMcBean (1)7,12510–5
16April 26Braves0–2NiekroVeale (1–2)—15,30710–6
17April 27Cubs0–1DeckerBlass (2–2)Regan6,63510–7
18April 28Cubs6–1Walker (3–1)HoltzmanGiusti (3)6,71711–7
19April 29Cubs5–10HandsMoose (0–2)Regan7,90011–8
May: 12–18 (Home: 6–5; Away: 6–13)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
20May 1@ Reds4–6SimpsonEllis (2–1)Gullett19,47011–9
21May 2@ Reds2–7McGlothlinVeale (1–3)—7,72111–10
22May 3@ Reds7–11MerrittBlass (2–3)Carroll15,21911–11
23May 4@ Braves3–5NashWalker (3–2)Priddy7,45711–12
24May 5@ Braves6–12StoneMoose (0–3)Wilhelm9,19911–13
25May 6@ Braves0–3NiekroEllis (2–2)—9,78211–14
26May 7@ Astros9–5Walker (4–2)BoutonGiusti (4)11,67812–14
27May 8@ Astros5–7RayBlass (2–4)—13,38312–15
28May 9@ Astros6–3Moose (1–3)Griffin—15,13713–15
29May 10@ Astros2–9DierkerEllis (2–3)—16,76813–16
30May 11Reds4–1Veale (2–3)McGlothlin—7,72214–16
31May 12Reds3–5MerrittBlass (2–5)—7,50214–17
32May 13@ Cardinals5–1Moose (2–3)GibsonGiusti (5)12,67715–17
33May 14@ Cardinals7–11JohnsonGarber (0–1)—10,84015–18
34May 15Expos1–2McGinnVeale (2–4)—7,88315–19
35May 16Expos4–3Walker (5–2)Raymond—4,23716–19
36May 17Expos7–8StrohmayerGarber (0–2)Raymond8,60416–20
37May 18Phillies2–1Moose (3–3)Bunning—5,79617–20
38May 19Phillies0–2ShortEllis (2–4)—6,25117–21
39May 20Phillies3–2 (14)Dal Canton (2–0)Selma—5,97718–21
40May 21@ Expos6–7DillmanWalker (5–3)—13,34618–22
41May 22@ Expos3–6StonemanMoose (3–4)—10,57618–23
42May 23@ Expos8–4Ellis (3–4)McGinnGiusti (6)28,70219–23
43May 24@ Expos3–0Veale (3–4)Morton—29,30620–23
44May 26@ Cubs3–6HoltzmanBlass (2–6)—12,44020–24
45May 27@ Cubs4–0Moose (4–4)Jenkins—11,00221–24
46May 28@ Cubs7–8ColbornGarber (0–3)—10,80521–25
47May 29Giants6–3Veale (4–4)RobertsonGiusti (7)11,49722–25
48May 30Giants11–13BryantBlass (2–7)Faul10,65822–26
49May 31Giants7–3Moose (5–4)MarichalGiusti (8)9,51523–26
June: 17–11 (Home: 13–4; Away: 4–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
50June 1Padres5–1Ellis (4–4)Coombs—5,03624–26
51June 2Padres8–14HerbelVeale (4–5)Dukes4,74724–27
52June 4Dodgers0–5OsteenBlass (2–8)—5,42324–28
53June 5Dodgers3–0Moose (6–4)Moeller—7,69125–28
54June 6Dodgers7–6 (12)Giusti (2–0)Pena—13,15326–28
55June 7Dodgers3–1Veale (5–5)Foster—11,24327–28
56June 9@ Giants5–1Blass (3–8)Marichal—4,25028–28
57June 10@ Giants2–4PerryMoose (6–5)—3,73228–29
58June 12@ Padres2–0Ellis (5–4)Roberts—29–29
59June 12@ Padres2–5CoombsVeale (5–6)—9,90329–30
60June 13@ Padres7–2Blass (4–8)Santorini—7,10530–30
61June 14@ Padres1–2KirbyMoose (6–6)—15,78130–31
62June 15@ Dodgers5–2Nelson (1–0)MoellerGiusti (9)14,49031–31
63June 16@ Dodgers0–1SuttonVeale (5–7)—20,06931–32
64June 17@ Dodgers0–4OsteenEllis (5–5)—17,32731–33
65June 19Expos8–4Dal Canton (3–0)DillmanWalker (1)9,70732–33
66June 20Expos4–2Blass (5–8)MortonGiusti (10)5,14833–33
67June 21Expos2–3NyeVeale (5–8)—12,32533–34
68June 22Cardinals1–6ReussEllis (5–6)—33–35
69June 22Cardinals1–0 (10)Nelson (2–0)Linzy—15,15834–35
70June 23Cardinals7–2Moose (7–6)Taylor—7,65435–35
71June 24Cardinals4–3 (11)Walker (6–3)McCool—8,09536–35
72June 25Cardinals3–2Giusti (3–0)Carlton—9,91037–35
73June 27Cubs2–1Ellis (6–6)Jenkins—10,18838–35
74June 28Cubs3–2Giusti (4–0)HandsWalker (2)39–35
75June 28Cubs4–1Nelson (3–0)PappasGiusti (11)40,91840–35
76June 29@ Mets2–3SeaverBlass (5–9)—42,41640–36
77June 30@ Mets6–7KoosmanVeale (5–9)Taylor38,68140–37
July: 16–11 (Home: 5–4; Away: 11–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
78July 1@ Mets4–3Ellis (7–6)McAndrewGiusti (12)34,31641–37
79July 3@ Cubs16–14Giusti (5–0)Regan—26,60242–37
80July 4@ Cubs10–6Blass (6–9)HoltzmanWalker (3)43–37
81July 4@ Cubs2–7PappasVeale (5–10)Gura26,63443–38
82July 5@ Cubs5–2Ellis (8–6)Jenkins—25,56944–38
83July 6@ Phillies7–5Nelson (4–0)BunningGiusti (13)6,14545–38
84July 7@ Phillies4–2Veale (6–10)ShortGiusti (14)6,93846–38
85July 8@ Phillies0–2WiseBlass (6–10)—7,03846–39
86July 9@ Cardinals6–0Ellis (9–6)Carlton—22,34547–39
87July 10@ Cardinals6–2Giusti (6–0)Gibson—23,92048–39
88July 11@ Cardinals8–7Dal Canton (4–0)TaylorPena (1)25,68649–39
89July 12@ Cardinals7–6 (10)Giusti (7–0)HraboskyDal Canton (1)45,77650–39
90July 16Reds2–3CarrollEllis (9–7)—48,84650–40
91July 17Reds4–3Giusti (8–0)Simpson—23,29851–40
92July 18Reds1–3 (10)MerrittGiusti (8–1)Granger27,90651–41
93July 19Reds7–3Walker (7–3)GullettGibbon (2)32,29452–41
94July 20@ Astros4–5 (12)CookDal Canton (4–1)—17,93452–42
95July 21@ Astros1–3WilsonNelson (4–1)Cook17,74152–43
96July 22Braves5–3Dal Canton (5–1)StoneGiusti (15)19,14553–43
97July 23Braves6–5Colpaert (1–0)McQueenGiusti (16)14,37754–43
98July 24Astros11–0Ellis (10–7)Griffin—43,29055–43
99July 25Astros4–8CookVeale (6–11)Dierker14,06955–44
100July 26Astros4–6 (10)LemasterGiusti (8–2)Gladding40,13155–45
101July 28@ Reds4–3Dal Canton (6–1)McGlothlinGiusti (17)25,80756–45
102July 29@ Reds3–4NolanEllis (10–8)Granger25,78856–46
103July 30@ Reds4–8CloningerVeale (6–12)Gullett26,29856–47
104July 31@ Braves3–4JarvisNelson (4–2)Wilhelm12,19656–48
August: 14–15 (Home: 9–7; Away: 5–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
105August 1@ Braves20–10Pena (1–0)StoneGiusti (18)28,33357–48
106August 2@ Braves10–7Ellis (11–8)NashGiusti (19)15,22758–48
107August 3@ Expos0–8McGinnMoose (7–7)—18,11058–49
108August 4@ Expos4–2Veale (7–12)Marshall—27,11259–49
109August 5Phillies4–0Walker (8–3)Wise—12,91560–49
110August 6Phillies4–0Ellis (12–8)Bunning—61–49
111August 6Phillies8–3Dal Canton (7–1)Champion—26,66462–49
112August 7Mets6–1Moose (8–7)McAndrew—37,55663–49
113August 8Mets9–12KoosmanVeale (7–13)Gentry27,84363–50
114August 9Mets8–3Walker (9–3)RyanPena (2)41,77264–50
115August 10Mets2–10SeaverEllis (12–9)—47,14864–51
116August 11Dodgers4–5OsteenDal Canton (7–2)Brewer16,70864–52
117August 12Dodgers4–11MikkelsenMoose (8–8)Hough34,55164–53
118August 14Padres2–1Pena (2–0)Roberts—65–53
119August 14Padres10–1Walker (10–3)Dobson—26,97966–53
120August 15Padres9–3Veale (8–13)Wilson—14,11067–53
121August 16Padres6–8HerbelPena (2–1)Dukes18,96967–54
122August 17Giants4–5PerryDal Canton (7–3)—21,14867–55
123August 18Giants6–2Blass (7–10)PitlockGiusti (20)25,32568–55
124August 19Giants4–7MarichalWalker (10–4)—24,65568–56
125August 21@ Dodgers1–2OsteenVeale (8–14)—24,37268–57
126August 22@ Dodgers2–1 (16)Dal Canton (8–3)Mikkelsen—39,82969–57
127August 23@ Dodgers11–0Blass (8–10)Foster—20,67870–57
128August 25@ Padres3–4DukesWalker (10–5)—4,87670–58
129August 26@ Padres1–2DobsonCambria (0–1)Dukes6,06770–59
130August 28@ Giants1–5MarichalMoose (8–9)—6,17470–60
131August 29@ Giants9–10 (10)McMahonDal Canton (8–4)—8,18870–61
132August 30@ Giants3–7JohnsonWalker (10–6)Robertson70–62
133August 30@ Giants1–2BryantGiusti (8–3)—15,96370–63
September: 18–10 (Home: 10–5; Away: 8–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
134September 1@ Expos8–4Veale (9–14)StonemanGiusti (21)20,12371–63
135September 2@ Expos7–10MarshallGibbon (0–1)—15,46171–64
136September 4Phillies4–3Blass (9–10)WiseLamb (1)22,54772–64
137September 5Phillies6–4Cambria (1–1)LerschGiusti (22)22,92573–64
138September 6Phillies4–3 (10)Walker (11–6)Selma—19,04974–64
139September 7Cubs8–3Moose (9–9)Pappas—75–64
140September 7Cubs2–9JenkinsVeale (9–15)—42,55675–65
141September 8Cubs3–10HandsBlass (9–11)—6,77775–66
142September 9Cardinals4–6BertainaCambria (1–2)Hilgendorf14,92775–67
143September 10Cardinals2–0Walker (12–6)Briles—14,38676–67
144September 12@ Cubs5–4Moose (10–9)JenkinsGiusti (23)33,19977–67
145September 13@ Cubs2–3HandsBlass (9–12)—22,56777–68
146September 15@ Phillies8–3Walker (13–6)LerschGiusti (24)4,80278–68
147September 16@ Phillies5–3Moose (11–9)BunningLamb (2)4,41879–68
148September 17@ Phillies2–3ShortLamb (0–1)Selma4,19979–69
149September 18@ Mets3–2Blass (10–12)McAndrewGiusti (25)42,22580–69
150September 19@ Mets2–1Walker (14–6)GentryGibbon (3)41,32381–69
151September 20@ Mets1–4KoosmanMoose (11–10)—81–70
152September 20@ Mets9–5 (10)Giusti (9–3)McGraw—54,80682–70
153September 22Expos0–1StonemanEllis (12–10)—82–71
154September 22Expos3–1Veale (10–15)WegenerGibbon (4)19,52483–71
155September 23Expos2–3MortonBrunet (0–1)Marshall12,42083–72
156September 24Expos8–0Walker (15–6)Renko—14,02684–72
157September 25Mets4–3Grant (1–0)ChanceGibbon (5)41,48485–72
158September 26Mets4–3Grant (2–0)Herbel—34,31186–72
159September 27Mets2–1Ellis (13–10)McAndrewGiusti (26)50,46987–72
160September 29@ Cardinals7–2Dal Canton (9–4)GibsonLamb (3)13,23288–72
161September 30@ Cardinals3–4BrilesGrant (2–1)—8,08488–73
October: 1–0 (Home: 0–0; Away: 1–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
162October 1@ Cardinals9–5Brunet (1–1)ClevelandAcosta (1)8,45789–73
Legend:        = Win        = Loss
Bold = Pirates team member

Opening Day lineup
Opening Day Starters
#NamePosition
18Matty AlouCF
20Richie Hebner3B
21Roberto ClementeRF
8Willie StargellLF
16Al Oliver1B
14Gene AlleySS
12Jerry MayC
9Bill Mazeroski2B
28Steve BlassSP

[9]

Notable transactions

Roster
1970 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

 Manager

Coaches

Postseason

National League Championship Series
Main article: 1970 National League Championship Series

The Cincinnati Reds won the series, three games to none, over the Pirates.

GameScoreDateLocationAttendance
1Cincinnati – 3, Pittsburgh – 0October 3Three Rivers Stadium33,088
2Cincinnati – 3, Pittsburgh – 1October 4Three Rivers Stadium39,317
3Pittsburgh – 2, Cincinnati – 3October 5Riverfront Stadium40,538

Statistics
Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pitching

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Awards and honors

1970 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Farm system
See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Columbus Jets International League Joe Morgan
AA Waterbury Pirates Eastern League Red Davis
A Salem Rebels Carolina League Billy Klaus
A Gastonia Pirates Western Carolinas League Ed Hobaugh
A-Short Season Niagara Falls Pirates New York–Penn League Irv Noren
Rookie GCL Pirates Gulf Coast League Dick Cole
Rookie GCL Tourists Gulf Coast League Ed Napoleon

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Waterbury

Notes
  1. From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Side in 1907.
  2. "Pirates tickets, merchandise, news and more... The Official Site of The Pittsburgh Pirates: History: Pirates Uniforms and Logos". Archived from the original on August 10, 2007.
  3. The Best Game Ever, Preface, p.xiii, Jim Reisler, Carroll & Graf Publishers, New York, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7867-1943-3
  4. Danny Murtaugh
  5. Dave Giusti at "Baseball Almanac"
  6. Bo Belinsky at Baseball Reference
  7. Dock Ellis No Hitter
  8. ESPN.com – Page2 – The List: Baseball's biggest rumors
  9. 1970 Opening Day lineup at "Baseball-Almanac"
  10. Al McBean at Baseball Reference
  11. Dave Parker at Baseball Reference
  12. Ed Ott at Baseball Almanac
  13. Orlando Pena at Baseball Almanac
  14. Chuck Hartenstein at Baseball-Reference
  15. George Brunet at Baseball Almanac
  16. Dave Ricketts at Baseball Almanac
  17. Mudcat Grant at Baseball Almanac
  18. "Major League Baseball Regular Season Hitting Stats | pirates.com: Stats". Pittsburgh Pirates. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  19. "Major League Baseball Postseason Hitting Stats | pirates.com: Stats". Pittsburgh Pirates. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  20. "Major League Baseball Regular Season Pitching Stats | pirates.com: Stats". Pittsburgh Pirates. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  21. "Major League Baseball Postseason Pitching Stats | pirates.com: Stats". Pittsburgh Pirates. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2016.

References
  • 1970 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Reference
  • 1970 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Almanac
  • Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
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