1970 Oakland Athletics season

1970  Oakland Athletics
League	American League
Division	West
Ballpark	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
City	Oakland, California
Record	89–73 (.549)
Owners	Charles O. Finley
Managers	John McNamara
Television	KBHK-TV
Radio	KNBR (Monte Moore, Harry Caray)
←  1969 Seasons 1971  →

The 1970 Oakland Athletics season involved the A's finishing second in the American League West with a record of 89 wins and 73 losses. In 1970, owner Charlie Finley officially changed the team name from the Athletics to the "A's". An "apostrophe-s" was added to the cap and uniform emblem to reflect that fact.

Offseason

During the off-season, Reggie Jackson sought an increase in salary, and A's owner Charlie Finley threatened to send Jackson to the minors. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn successfully intervened in their dispute. Reggie Jackson demanded $60,000 per season, while he was offered $40,000 by Charlie Finley. Both parties settled on $45,000, ^[1] but Jackson's numbers in 1970 dropped sharply, as he hit just 23 home runs while batting .237.

Notable transactions

• December 1, 1969: Manny Trillo was drafted by the Athletics from the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1969 rule 5 draft. ^[2]
• December 5, 1969: Danny Cater and Ossie Chavarria were traded by the Athletics to the New York Yankees for Al Downing and Frank Fernández. ^[3]
• December 7, 1969: George Lauzerique and Ted Kubiak were traded by the Athletics to the Milwaukee Brewers for Diego Seguí and Ray Oyler. ^[4]
• January 15, 1970: Phil Roof, Mike Hershberger, Lew Krausse Jr., and Ken Sanders were traded by the Athletics to the Milwaukee Brewers for Don Mincher and Ron Clark. ^[5]
• January 17, 1970: 1970 Major League Baseball draft (January draft) notable picks: ^[6]

Round 4: Mitchell Page (did not sign)

Secondary Phase ^[7]

Round 1: Vic Harris ^[8]

Regular season

• During the 1970 season, there were rumours of the Athletics attempting to relocate to Toronto. ^[9]
• At the end of May, the Athletics were 25–23, and 8 games back of the first place Minnesota Twins. ^[10]
• September 21: Vida Blue threw a no-hitter versus the Minnesota Twins, winning 6-0. A walk by Harmon Killebrew prevented Blue from pitching a perfect game. ^{[11] [12]}
• The club hired Harry Caray to do the play by play for the Athletics. Charlie Finley wanted Caray to change his broadcast chant of Holy Cow to Holy Mule. Caray refused and left after the season. ^[13]

Season standings

v t e AL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Minnesota Twins	98	64	0.605	—	51–30	47–34
Oakland Athletics	89	73	0.549	9	49–32	40–41
California Angels	86	76	0.531	12	43–38	43–38
Kansas City Royals	65	97	0.401	33	35–44	30–53
Milwaukee Brewers	65	97	0.401	33	38–42	27–55
Chicago White Sox	56	106	0.346	42	31–53	25–53

Record vs. opponents

1970 American League record v t e Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	WSH
Baltimore	—	13–5	7–5	9–3	14–4	11–7	12–0	7–5	5–7	11–7	7–5	12–6
Boston	5–13	—	5–7	8–4	12–6	9–9	7–5	5–7	7–5	10–8	7–5	12–6
California	5–7	7–5	—	12–6	6–6	6–6	10–8	12–6	8–10	5–7	8–10	7–5
Chicago	3–9	4–8	6–12	—	6–6	6–6	7–11	7–11	6–12	5–7	2–16	4–8
Cleveland	4–14	6–12	6–6	6–6	—	7–11	8–4	7–5	6–6	8–10	7–5	11–7
Detroit	7–11	9–9	6–6	6–6	11–7	—	6–6	8–4	4–8	7–11	6–6	9–9
Kansas City	0–12	5–7	8–10	11–7	4–8	6–6	—	12–6	5–13	1–11	7–11	6–6
Milwaukee	5–7	7–5	6–12	11–7	5–7	4–8	6–12	—	5–13	3–9–1	8–10	5–7
Minnesota	7–5	5–7	10–8	12–6	6–6	8–4	13–5	13–5	—	5–7	13–5	6–6
New York	7–11	8–10	7–5	7–5	10–8	11–7	11–1	9–3–1	7–5	—	6–6	10–8
Oakland	5–7	5–7	10–8	16–2	5–7	6–6	11–7	10–8	5–13	6–6	—	10–2
Washington	6–12	6–12	5–7	8–4	7–11	9–9	6–6	7–5	6–6	8–10	2–10	—

Notable transactions

• May 18, 1970: Roberto Peña was traded by the Athletics to the Milwaukee Brewers for John Donaldson. ^[14]
• June 4, 1970: 1970 Major League Baseball draft (June Draft) notable picks: ^[15]

Round 1: Dan Ford (18th pick) ^[16]

• June 11, 1970: Al Downing and Tito Francona were traded by the Athletics to the Milwaukee Brewers for Steve Hovley. ^[17]

Roster

1970 Oakland Athletics
Roster
Pitchers 17,35 Vida Blue 29 Chuck Dobson 38 Al Downing 34 Rollie Fingers 28 Mudcat Grant 27 Catfish Hunter 14,16 Marcel Lachemann 25 Paul Lindblad 36 Bob Locker 13 Blue Moon Odom 35 Darrell Osteen 45 Roberto Rodríguez 33 Jim Roland 24 Diego Seguí 46 Fred Talbot 16 Dooley Womack		Catchers 10 Dave Duncan 39 Frank Fernández 12 Larry Haney 38,54 Gene Tenace Infielders  6 Sal Bando 19 Bert Campaneris  2 John Donaldson 2,21 Jim Driscoll 36 Tito Francona  1 Dick Green 32 Bob Johnson 22 Tony La Russa 5,30 Don Mincher 14 Roberto Peña		Outfielders  8 Felipe Alou 15 Bobby Brooks 12,42 Tommy Davis 23 Steve Hovley  9 Reggie Jackson 32 Allan Lewis  7 Rick Monday 26 Joe Rudi 31 José Tartabull		Manager 11 John McNamara Coaches  5 Joe DiMaggio (Hitting) 43 Bobby Hofman (Third base) 41 Charley Lau (First base) 44 Vern Hoscheit (Bullpen) 40 Bill Posedel (Pitching)

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
C	Frank Fernández	94	252	54	.214	15	44
1B	Don Mincher	140	463	114	.246	27	74
2B	Dick Green	135	384	73	.190	4	29
SS	Bert Campaneris	147	603	168	.279	22	64
3B	Sal Bando	155	502	132	.263	20	75
LF	Felipe Alou	154	575	156	.271	8	55
CF	Rick Monday	112	376	109	.290	10	37
RF	Reggie Jackson	149	426	101	.237	23	66

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
Joe Rudi	106	350	108	.309	11	42
Dave Duncan	86	232	60	.259	10	29
Tommy Davis	66	200	58	.290	1	27
Tony La Russa	52	106	21	.198	0	6
Gene Tenace	38	105	32	.305	7	20
Steve Hovley	72	100	19	.190	0	1
John Donaldson	41	89	22	.247	1	11
Roberto Peña	19	58	15	.259	0	3
Jim Driscoll	21	52	10	.192	1	2
Bob Johnson	30	46	8	.174	1	2
Tito Francona	32	33	8	.242	1	6
Bobby Brooks	7	18	6	.333	2	5
José Tartabull	24	13	3	.231	0	2
Allan Lewis	9	8	2	.250	1	1
Larry Haney	2	2	0	.000	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
Chuck Dobson	41	267.0	16	15	3.74	149
Catfish Hunter	40	262.1	18	14	3.81	178
Blue Moon Odom	29	156.1	9	8	3.80	88
Vida Blue	6	38.2	2	0	2.09	35

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
Diego Seguí	47	162.0	10	10	2.56	95
Rollie Fingers	45	148.0	7	9	3.65	79
Al Downing	10	41.0	3	3	3.95	26
Darrell Osteen	3	5.2	1	0	6.35	3

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
Mudcat Grant	72	6	2	24	1.82	54
Paul Lindblad	62	8	2	3	2.70	42
Marcel Lachemann	41	3	3	3	2.78	39
Bob Locker	38	3	3	4	2.88	33
Jim Roland	28	3	3	2	2.70	26
Roberto Rodríguez	6	0	0	0	2.92	8
Dooley Womack	2	0	0	0	15.00	3
Fred Talbot	1	0	1	0	10.80	0

Awards and honors

• Bert Campaneris led the American League in Stolen Bases (42) ^[18]

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Iowa Oaks	American Association	Sherm Lollar
AA	Birmingham A's	Southern League	Phil Cavarretta
A	Burlington Bees	Midwest League	Roy Sievers
A-Short Season	Coos Bay-North Bend A's	Northwest League	Harry Bright

References

1. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.134, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN   978-0-8027-1745-0
2. Manny Trillo page at Baseball Reference
3. Danny Cater page at Baseball Reference
4. Diego Seguí page at Baseball Reference
5. Phil Roof page at Baseball Reference
6. 1970 Oakland Athletics Picks in the MLB January Amateur Draft
7. 1970 Oakland Athletics Picks in the MLB January Amateur Draft (secondary phase)
8. Vic Harris page at Baseball Reference
9. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.120, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN   978-0-8027-1745-0
10. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.134, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN   978-0-8027-1745-0
11. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.140, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN   978-0-8027-1745-0
12. "Boxscore of Vida Blue No-Hitter". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
13. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.141, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN   978-0-8027-1745-0
14. John Donaldson page at Baseball Reference
15. 1970 Oakland Athletics Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft
16. Dan Ford page at Baseball Reference
17. Steve Hovley page at Baseball Reference
18. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.141, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN   978-0-8027-1745-0

External links

• 1970 Oakland Athletics team page at Baseball Reference
• 1970 Oakland Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com