| Minnesota Twins | |
| Season: | 1970 |
| Misc: | American League West Champions |
| League: | American League |
| Division: | West |
| Ballpark: | Metropolitan Stadium |
| City: | Bloomington, Minnesota |
| 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 1970 Minnesota 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.
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.
| 1970 Minnesota Twins | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | CatchersInfielders | Outfielders | ManagerCoaches | ||||||
| = Indicates team leader |
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 | 117 | 369 | 82 | .222 | 15 | 46 | ||
| 1B | 153 | 501 | 131 | .261 | 10 | 56 | ||
| 2B | 96 | 302 | 66 | .219 | 0 | 22 | ||
| 3B | 157 | 527 | 143 | .271 | 41 | 113 | ||
| SS | 160 | 588 | 145 | .247 | 11 | 65 | ||
| LF | 94 | 258 | 75 | .291 | 16 | 61 | ||
| CF | 161 | 650 | 195 | .300 | 10 | 54 | ||
| RF | 157 | 628 | 204 | .325 | 23 | 107 |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 142 | 319 | 85 | .266 | 3 | 40 | ||
| 51 | 191 | 70 | .366 | 4 | 28 | ||
| 81 | 179 | 41 | .229 | 7 | 25 | ||
| 69 | 149 | 40 | .268 | 5 | 22 | ||
| 111 | 141 | 32 | .227 | 2 | 12 | ||
| 47 | 72 | 15 | .208 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 59 | 64 | 12 | .188 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 24 | 46 | 9 | .196 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 27 | 22 | 2 | .091 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 13 | 20 | 5 | .250 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 16 | 16 | 3 | .188 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 9 | 11 | 2 | .182 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 5 | 7 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 2 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 278.2 | 24 | 12 | 3.04 | 168 | |
| 45 | 230.0 | 14 | 10 | 3.56 | 120 | |
| 27 | 164.0 | 10 | 9 | 3.18 | 135 | |
| 18 | 92.2 | 7 | 3 | 3.40 | 50 | |
| 18 | 68.2 | 3 | 7 | 6.42 | 45 | |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | 155.1 | 11 | 6 | 2.55 | 184 | ||
| 43 | 151.0 | 9 | 4 | 3.22 | 64 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 67 | 7 | 8 | 34 | 2.43 | 55 | ||
| 68 | 10 | 1 | 15 | 1.99 | 76 | ||
| 21 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3.82 | 22 | ||
| 18 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4.61 | 14 | ||
| 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5.51 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 4 |
See main article: 1970 American League Championship Series.
See also: Minor League Baseball.
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Auburn