1970 Pittsburgh Pirates season

1970 Pittsburgh Pirates
1970 NL East Champions
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1887)
Eastern Division (since 1969)
Location
Forbes Field (since 1909) Three Rivers Stadium (since 1970)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (since 1907)
Other information
Owner(s)	John W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Bing Crosby, Thomas Johnson (minority shareholders)
General manager(s)	Joe L. Brown
Manager(s)	Danny Murtaugh
Local television	KDKA-TV Bob Prince, Nellie King, Gene Osborn
Local radio	KDKA Bob Prince, Nellie King, Gene Osborn
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The 1970 Pittsburgh Pirates season resulted in the team winning their first National League East title with a record of 89-73, five games ahead of the Chicago Cubs. However, they lost the NLCS to the NL West Champion Cincinnati Reds, three games to none.

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 the MLB for the next two decades and which the Pirates themselves would wear through the 1990 season.

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.

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

• February 4, 1970: Bo Belinsky was traded by the Pirates to the Cincinnati Reds for Dennis Ribant.

Regular season

• June 12, 1970: Dock Ellis threw a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres. 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 started doing 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.

Season standings

NL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Pittsburgh Pirates	89	73	0.549	—	50–32	39–41
Chicago Cubs	84	78	0.519	5	46–34	38–44
New York Mets	83	79	0.512	6	44–38	39–41
St. Louis Cardinals	76	86	0.469	13	34–47	42–39
Philadelphia Phillies	73	88	0.453	15½	40–40	33–48
Montreal Expos	73	89	0.451	16	39–41	34–48

Record vs. opponents

1970 National League Records Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	8–4	5–13	9–9	6–12	6–6	6–6	7–5	6–6	9–9	7–11	7–5
Chicago	4–8	—	7–5	7–5	6–6	13–5	7–11	9–9	8–10	9–3	7–5	7–11
Cincinnati	13–5	5–7	—	15–3	13–5	7–5	8–4	7–5	8–4	8–10	9–9	9–3
Houston	9–9	5–7	3–15	—	8–10	8–4	6–6	4–8	6–6	14–4	10–8	6–6
Los Angeles	12–6	6–6	5–13	10–8	—	8–4	7–5	6–5	6–6	11–7	9–9	7–5
Montreal	6–6	5–13	5–7	4–8	4–8	—	10–8	11–7	9–9	6–6	6–6	7–11
New York	6–6	11–7	4–8	6–6	5–7	8–10	—	13–5	6–12	6–6	6–6	12–6
Philadelphia	5-7	9–9	5–7	8–4	5–6	7–11	5–13	—	4–14	9–3	8–4	8–10
Pittsburgh	6–6	10–8	4–8	6–6	6–6	9–9	12–6	14–4	—	6–6	4–8	12–6
San Diego	9–9	3–9	10–8	4–14	7–11	6–6	6–6	3–9	6–6	—	5–13	4–8
San Francisco	11–7	5–7	9–9	8–10	9–9	6–6	6–6	4–8	8–4	13–5	—	7–5
St. Louis	5–7	11–7	3–9	6–6	5–7	11–7	6–12	10–8	6–12	8–4	5–7	—

Notable transactions

• June 4, 1970: Dave Parker was drafted by the Pirates in the 14th round of the 1970 Major League Baseball Draft.
• June 22, 1970: Chuck Hartenstein was selected off waivers from the Pirates by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Roster

1970 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers 17,46 Ed Acosta 28 Steve Blass 22 George Brunet 36 Fred Cambria 36 Dick Colpaert 27 Bruce Dal Canton 17 Dock Ellis 36 Gene Garber 19 Joe Gibbon 31 Dave Giusti 47 Mudcat Grant 22 Chuck Hartenstein 24 John Lamb 29 Lou Marone 34 Al McBean 38 Bob Moose 24 Jim Nelson 22,46 Orlando Peña 39 Bob Veale 23 Luke Walker		Catchers 12 Jerry May  5 Dave Ricketts 35 Manny Sanguillén Infielders 14 Gene Alley 10,30 Dave Cash 10,20 Richie Hebner 6,10 George Kopacz 15 José Martínez  9 Bill Mazeroski 11 José Pagán  2 Freddie Patek 6,7 Bob Robertson		Outfielders 18 Matty Alou 21 Roberto Clemente 15 Gene Clines 25 Johnny Jeter 16 Al Oliver  8 Willie Stargell Other batters 29 Milt May		Manager 40 Danny Murtaugh Coaches 43 Don Leppert 44 Frank Oceak 42 Don Osborn 41 Bill Virdon

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
2B	Bill Mazeroski	112	367	84	.229	7	39

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
José Pagán	95	230	61	.265	7	29
José Martínez	19	20	1	.050	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
Steve Blass	31	196.2	10	12	3.52	120
Dock Ellis	30	201.2	13	10	3.21	128
Fred Cambria	6	33.1	1	2	3.51	14

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

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
John Lamb	23	0	1	3	2.78	24
Chuck Hartenstein	17	1	1	1	4.56	14
George Brunet	12	1	1	0	2.70	17
Ed Acosta	3	0	0	1	13.50	1

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.

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance
1	Cincinnati - 3, Pittsburgh - 0	October 3	Three Rivers Stadium	33,088
2	Cincinnati - 3, Pittsburgh - 1	October 4	Three Rivers Stadium	39,317
3	Pittsburgh - 2, Cincinnati - 3	October 5	Riverfront Stadium	40,538

Awards and honors

• Danny Murtaugh, Associated Press NL Manager of the Year

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
Short-Season A	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

References

• 1970 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at Baseball Reference
• 1970 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at www.baseball-almanac.com