1970 Milwaukee Brewers season

Last updated

1970  Milwaukee Brewers
League American League
Division West
Ballpark Milwaukee County Stadium
City Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Record65–97 (.401)
Divisional place4th
Owners Bud Selig
General managers Marvin Milkes
Managers Dave Bristol
Television WTMJ-TV
Radio WEMP
(Merle Harmon, Tom Collins)
Stats ESPN.com
Baseball Reference
  1969 Seasons 1971  

The 1970 Milwaukee Brewers season was the second season for the franchise. The team finished fourth in the American League West with a record of 65 wins and 97 losses, 33 games behind the Minnesota Twins. This was the team's inaugural season in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, after spending its first year of existence in Seattle, Washington as the Pilots.

Contents

Offseason

Relocation to Milwaukee

During the offseason, Dewey Soriano, president of the financially strapped Seattle Pilots, crossed paths with Bud Selig, a Milwaukee car dealer who had been working to bring baseball back to Milwaukee since the Braves (of which he'd been a minority owner) left for Atlanta after the 1965 season. They met in secret for over a month after the end of the season, and during Game 1 of the World Series, Soriano agreed to sell the Pilots to Selig for $10 to $13 million (depending on the source). Selig would then move the team to Milwaukee and rename it the Brewers. However, the owners turned it down in the face of pressure from Washington's two senators, Warren Magnuson and Henry (Scoop) Jackson, as well as state attorney general Slade Gorton. MLB asked Soriano and chairman William Daley to find a local buyer.

Local theater chain owner Fred Danz came forward in October 1969 with a $10 million deal, but it fizzled when the Bank of California called in a $4 million loan it had made to Soriano and Daley for startup costs. In January 1970, Westin Hotels owner Eddie Carlson put together a nonprofit group to buy the team. However, the owners rejected the idea almost out of hand since it would have devalued the other clubs' worth. A more traditional deal came one vote short of approval.

After a winter and spring full of court action, the Pilots reported for spring training under new manager Dave Bristol unsure of where they would play. The owners had given tentative approval to the Milwaukee group, but the state of Washington got an injunction on March 17 to stop the deal. Soriano immediately filed for bankruptcy — a move intended to forestall any post-sale legal action. At the bankruptcy hearing a week later, general manager Marvin Milkes testified there was not enough money to pay the coaches, players and office staff. Had Milkes been more than 10 days late in paying the players, they would have all become free agents and left Seattle without a team for the 1970 season. With this in mind, Federal Bankruptcy Referee Sidney C. Volinn declared the Pilots bankrupt on March 31—seven days before Opening Day—clearing the way for them to move to Milwaukee. The team's equipment had been sitting in Provo, Utah, with the drivers awaiting word on whether to drive toward Seattle or Milwaukee. MLB returned to Seattle in 1977, when the Mariners began play at the Kingdome.

Coincidentally, Milwaukee had gained its previous team under circumstances similar to some of those surrounding this move. The Braves had moved from Boston to Milwaukee only a few weeks before the 1953 season.

Notable transactions

Regular season

Opening Day starters

Season standings

AL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Minnesota Twins 9864.60551304734
Oakland Athletics 8973.549949324041
California Angels 8676.5311243384338
Kansas City Royals 6597.4013335443053
Milwaukee Brewers 6597.4013338422755
Chicago White Sox 56106.3464231532553

Record vs. opponents


Sources:
TeamBALBOSCALCWSCLEDETKCMILMINNYYOAKWSH
Baltimore 13–57–59–314–411–712–07–55–711–77–512–6
Boston 5–135–78–412–69–97–55–77–510–87–512–6
California 5–77–512–66–66–610–812–68–105–78–107–5
Chicago 3–94–86–126–66–67–117–116–125–72–164–8
Cleveland 4–146–126–66–67–118–47–56–68–107–511–7
Detroit 7–119–96–66–611–76–68–44–87–116–69–9
Kansas City 0–125–78–1011–74–86–612–65–131–117–116–6
Milwaukee 5–77–56–1211–75–74–86–125–133–9–18–105–7
Minnesota 7–55–710–812–66–68–413–513–55–713–56–6
New York 7–118–107–57–510–811–711–19–3–17–56–610–8
Oakland 5–75–710–816–25–76–611–710–85–136–610–2
Washington 6–126–125–78–47–119–96–67–56–68–102–10

Notable transactions

Roster

1970 Milwaukee Brewers
Roster
PitchersCatchers

Infielders

OutfieldersManager

Coaches

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

PosPlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
C Phil Roof 11032173.2271337
1B Mike Hegan 148476116.2441152
2B Ted Kubiak 158540136.252441
3B Tommy Harper 154604179.2963182
SS Roberto Peña 12141699.238342
LF Danny Walton 117397102.2571766
CF Dave May 10034282.240731
RF Bob Burda 7822255.248420

[12]

Other batters

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

PlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
Jerry McNertney 11129672.243622
Ted Savage 11427677.2791250
Russ Snyder 12427664.232431
Steve Hovley 4013538.281016
Gus Gil 6411922.185112
Max Alvis 6211521.183312
Mike Hershberger 499823.23516
Bernie Smith 447621.27616
Tito Francona 526515.23104
Hank Allen 286114.23004
John Kennedy 255514.25526
Greg Goossen 214712.25513
Floyd Wicker 15418.19513
Rich Rollins 14255.20005
Wayne Comer 13171.05901
Sandy Valdespino 890.00000
Pete Koegel 782.25011
Fred Stanley 600----00

[12]

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

PlayerGIPWLERASO
Marty Pattin 37233.114123.39161
Lew Krausse Jr. 37216.113184.75130
Skip Lockwood 27173.25124.3093
Gene Brabender 29128.26156.0276
Al Downing 1794.12103.3453
Ray Peters 22.00231.501

Other pitchers

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

PlayerGIPWLERASO
Bobby Bolin 32132.05114.9181
John Morris 2073.1433.9340
George Lauzerique 1135.0126.9424

Relief pitchers

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

PlayerGWLSVERASO
Ken Sanders 5052131.7564
John Gelnar 534344.1948
Dave Baldwin 282112.5526
Bob Locker 280133.4119
John O'Donoghue 252005.0113
Bob Humphreys 232433.1532
Dick Ellsworth 140011.729
Bob Meyer 100106.3820
Wayne Twitchell 200010.805
Bruce Brubaker 10009.000

Farm system

The Brewers' farm system consisted of four minor league affiliates in 1970. [13] [14] The Double-A Jacksonville Suns were shared with the Montreal Expos. [14]

LevelTeamLeagueManager
Triple-A Portland Beavers Pacific Coast League Al Federoff
Double-A Jacksonville Suns Southern League Gus Niarhos
Class A Clinton Pilots Midwest League Earl Torgeson
Class A Short Season Newark Co-Pilots New York–Penn League Sandy Johnson

Notes

  1. Mike Marshall at Baseball Reference
  2. Diego Seguí at Baseball Reference
  3. Phil Roof at Baseball Reference
  4. 1970 Milwaukee Brewers Roster by Baseball Almanac
  5. Steve Barber at Baseball Reference
  6. Hank Allen at Baseball Reference
  7. John Donaldson at Baseball Reference
  8. John Tamargo at Baseball Reference
  9. Steve Hovley at Baseball Reference
  10. José Herrera at Baseball Reference
  11. Floyd Wicker at Baseball Reference
  12. 1 2 1970 Milwaukee Brewers Statistics and Roster Baseball-Reference.com
  13. "1970 Milwaukee Brewers Minor League Affiliates". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  14. 1 2 "Niarhos to Manage Jacksonville Club". The Racine Journal-Times Sunday Bulletin. Racine, Wisconsin. January 18, 1970. p. 4C via Newspapers.com.

References