Series Wrapup

Story

The 1970 National League campaign began with Gold Glove centerfielder Curt Flood protesting his offseason trade from St. Louis to Philadelphia by refusing to report to the Phillies.  Flood subsequently chose to pursue an antitrust lawsuit challenging baseball’s reserve clause, which gave team owners the right to trade players against their wishes.  

Flood’s absence made virtually no impact on the N.L. East division race, since both the Phillies and Cardinals finished well out of contention.  The Pittsburgh Pirates captured the first of three consecutive National League East titles, finishing the regular season with a record of 89-73, five games ahead of the runner-up Chicago Cubs.  The defending champion New York Mets slipped to third in the division, six games back, while the Cardinals finished fourth, 13 games behind Pittsburgh.  The Phillies barely edged out Montreal for the fifth-spot, coming in at 15 ½ games off the pace.

Although the Pirates finished just eighth in the National League in runs scored, their lineup featured several of the senior circuit’s top batsmen.  Leadoff hitter Matty Alou batted .297, scored 97 runs, and collected 201 hits.  Even though he appeared in only 108 games, Roberto Clemente batted .352.  Willie Stargell led the team with 31 home runs and 85 runs batted in.  Powerful first baseman Bob Robertson hit 27 homers and drove in 82 runs in only 390 at-bats.  Catcher Manny Sanguillen placed among the league leaders with a .325 batting average.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh’s underrated pitching staff finished third in the league with a 3.70 team ERA.  Although no one on the team won more than 15 games, five staff members posted double-digit win totals.  Dock Ellis and Luke Walker were the club’s most effective starters.  Ellis won 13 games and compiled a 3.21 ERA.  Walker finished 15-6 with a team-leading 3.04 ERA.  Dave Giusti anchored the bullpen, winning nine games and saving 26 others.

The second-place Chicago Cubs had arguably the league’s best all-around player in Billy Williams.  The Cubs left-fielder earned a second-place finish in the N.L. MVP balloting by placing among the league leaders with 42 home runs, 129 runs batted in, and a .322 batting average, and topping the circuit with 137 runs scored, 205 hits, and 373 total bases

The eventual winner of the league MVP Award came from the N.L. West, where a powerful Cincinnati Reds team put an early end to the division race.  Cincinnati finished the regular season with a record of 102-60, 14 ½ games ahead of the second-place Dodgers, and 16 games in front of the third-place Giants.

San Francisco actually had the league’s most potent offense, topping the circuit with 831 runs scored.  Willie McCovey and Bobby Bonds both had big years for the Giants.  McCovey followed up his 1969 MVP campaign by hitting 39 home runs, knocking in 126 runs, batting .289, scoring 98 runs, and leading the league with 137 walks and a .612 slugging percentage.  Bonds hit 26 round-trippers, batted .302, scored 134 runs, and collected 200 hits.  Unfortunately for the Giants, they also surrendered a league-leading 826 runs to the opposition.  

Wes Parker performed extremely well for the second-place Dodgers.  The slick-fielding first baseman drove in 111 runs, batted .319, and led the league with 47 doubles.  

However, the Reds were the N.L. West’s strongest team, riding their powerful offense to the first of five division titles they captured over the course of the next six years.  Cincinnati topped the senior circuit with 191 home runs and a team batting average of .270.  Leadoff hitter Bobby Tolan hit 16 homers, drove in 80 runs, scored 112 others, batted .316, and led the league with 57 stolen bases.  Hitting out of the number two spot in the batting order, Pete Rose batted .316, scored 120 runs, and tied for the league lead with 205 hits.  Slugging first baseman Lee May hit 34 homers and drove in 94 runs.  Tony Perez earned a third-place finish in the N.L. MVP voting by batting .317, scoring 107 runs, and placing among the league leaders with 40 home runs and 129 runs batted in.  Johnny Bench won the first of his two MVP trophies by topping the circuit with 45 home runs and 148 runs batted in, scoring 97 runs, and batting .293

In spite of their potent offense, the Reds defeated the Pirates in the NLCS largely on the strength of their pitching.  Cincinnati hurlers posted a team ERA of 1.29 during the club’s three-game sweep of Pittsburgh.

The Reds subsequently entered the World Series as favorites against the Baltimore Orioles.  However, Baltimore’s exceptional team balance proved to be too much for the Reds to overcome.  The Orioles took the Fall Classic in five games, with Baltimore’s pitching staff holding Cincinnati’s lineup to a team batting average of only .213.  Meanwhile, the Orioles slugged 10 home runs against Reds pitching, with Brooks Robinson earning Series MVP honors by batting .429, hitting two home runs, driving in six runs, and making several extraordinary defensive plays at third base.

Other outstanding performers, notable events, and points of interest from around the league follow:

• January 16 - Curt Flood filed a civil lawsuit challenging Major League Baseball's reserve clause, a suit that ended up having historic implications.  Flood refused to report to the Philadelphia Phillies after he was traded by the Cardinals three months earlier, contending the baseball rule violated federal antitrust laws.

• January 17 - The Sporting News named Willie Mays the Player of the Decade for the 1960s.

• May 12 - At Chicago's Wrigley Field, Ernie Banks became the eighth member of the 500 home run club, connecting off Atlanta Braves pitcher Pat Jarvis during a 4-3 11-inning Chicago Cubs win over the Braves.  Banks also drove in his 1,600th career run with the blast.

• May 17 – Hank Aaron collected his 3,000th career hit, making him the founding member of the 3,000-500 Club.

• June 24 - The Cincinnati Reds defeated the San Francisco Giants, 5-4, in the final game the Reds played at Crosley Field.

• June 28 – In the last two games played at Forbes Field, the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Chicago Cubs in both games of a doubleheader, 3-2 and 4-1.

• June 30 – Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium opened, with the Reds losing to the Atlanta Braves, 8-2.

• July 16 – The Pirates christened their new home ballpark, Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, with a 4-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds in front of 48,846 fans.

• July 18 - Willie Mays recorded his 3,000th career hit, joining Hank Aaron as the lone members of the 3,000-500 Club.

• September 3 – Chicago’s Billy Williams asked to be kept out of the Cubs lineup, snapping his National League record streak of 1,117 consecutive games played.  Steve Garvey established a new N.L. record in 1983.

• The Reds averted a sweep in the World Series by winning Game Four on a three-run homer by Lee May, who batted .389 and drove in eight runs in the Fall Classic.

• Bob Gibson won his second Cy Young Award by tying Gaylord Perry for the league lead with 23 wins.  He finished the year with a record of 23-7.  

• Atlanta's Rico Carty hit 25 home runs, drove in 101 runs, and led the league with a .366 batting average and a .456 on-base percentage.

• On April 22, Tom Seaver set a major league record when he struck out 10 San Diego Padres in a row.  He also tied a major league mark by fanning 19 batters in total.  

• Seaver led the National League with 283 strikeouts and a 2.81 ERA.

• The National League won its eighth straight All-Star Game, defeating the American League 5-4 in 12 innings at Cincinnati.  The game ended when Pete Rose bowled over A.L. catcher Ray Fosse at the plate, en route to scoring the winning run.

• Carl Morton of the Expos (18-11, 3.60 ERA and 154 strikeouts) earned N.L. Rookie of the Year honors.

• Cincinnati's Wayne Granger set a new major league record with 35 saves.

• Rico Carty compiled a 31-game hitting streak.

• Fergie Jenkins established a Cubs record by striking out 274 batters.

• Dock Ellis of Pittsburgh threw a no-hitter against San Diego on June 12.

• Bill Singer of Los Angeles tossed a no-hitter against Philadelphia on July 20.

• Willie Davis of the Dodgers led the major leagues with 16 triples.

• San Francisco’s Gaylord Perry led all N.L. hurlers with 23 wins, five shutouts, and 329 innings pitched.

Seasons of the National League

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