1971 Major League Baseball season

Last updated

1971 MLB season
League Major League Baseball
Sport Baseball
DurationApril 5 – October 17, 1971
Number of games162
Number of teams24
TV partner(s) NBC
Draft
Top draft pick Danny Goodwin
Picked by Chicago White Sox
Regular season
Season MVP AL: Vida Blue (OAK)
NL: Joe Torre (STL)
Postseason
AL champions Baltimore Orioles
  AL runners-up Oakland Athletics
NL champions Pittsburgh Pirates
  NL runners-up San Francisco Giants
World Series
Champions Pittsburgh Pirates
  Runners-up Baltimore Orioles
World Series MVP Roberto Clemente (PIT)
MLB seasons

The 1971 Major League Baseball season was the final season for the Senators in Washington, D.C., before the team's relocation to the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb Arlington for the following season, as the Texas Rangers, leaving the nation's capital without a baseball team of its own until 2005.

Contents

This was the final season the majority of MLB teams wore wool flannel uniforms. The Pirates and Cardinals wore double knit uniforms of nylon and rayon throughout 1971, and the Orioles gradually phased out flannels, going all-double knit in time for the ALCS. By 1973, flannel uniforms completely disappeared from the MLB scene.

Standings

American League

AL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Baltimore Orioles 10157.63953244833
Detroit Tigers 9171.5621254273744
Boston Red Sox 8577.5251847333844
New York Yankees 8280.5062144373843
Washington Senators 6396.39638½35462850
Cleveland Indians 60102.3704329523150
AL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Oakland Athletics 10160.62746355525
Kansas City Royals 8576.5281644374139
Chicago White Sox 7983.48822½39424041
California Angels 7686.46925½35464140
Minnesota Twins 7486.46326½37423744
Milwaukee Brewers 6992.4293234483544

National League

NL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Pittsburgh Pirates 9765.59952284537
St. Louis Cardinals 9072.556745364536
Chicago Cubs 8379.5121444373942
New York Mets 8379.5121444373942
Montreal Expos 7190.44125½36443546
Philadelphia Phillies 6795.4143034473348
NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
San Francisco Giants 9072.55651303942
Los Angeles Dodgers 8973.549142394734
Atlanta Braves 8280.506843393941
Cincinnati Reds 7983.4881146353348
Houston Astros 7983.4881139424041
San Diego Padres 61100.37928½33482852

Postseason

Bracket

League Championship Series
(ALCS, NLCS)
World Series
      
East Baltimore 3
West Oakland 0
AL Baltimore 3
NL Pittsburgh4
East Pittsburgh 3
West San Francisco 1

Umpires

Awards and honors

Statistical leaders

Statistic American League National League
AVG Tony Oliva MIN.337 Joe Torre STL.363
HR Bill Melton CWS33 Willie Stargell PIT48
RBIs Harmon Killebrew MIN119 Joe Torre STL137
Wins Mickey Lolich DET25 Ferguson Jenkins CHC24
ERA Vida Blue OAK1.82 Tom Seaver NYM1.76
SO Mickey Lolich DET308 Tom Seaver NYM289
SV Ken Sanders MIL31 Dave Giusti PIT30
SB Amos Otis KC52 Lou Brock STL64

Regular Season Recap

Three of the four division races were anticlimactic; the only race was in the N.L. West between old rivals Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. The Giants led by 8.5 games on September 1 but the Dodgers chipped away. In mid September, the Dodgers won 8 in a row, including 5 over the Giants to narrow the gap to one game. But they could get no closer; ultimately both teams won on the final day of the season and the Giants won the division by 1 game.

Home field attendance

Team nameWinsHome attendancePer game
New York Mets [53] 830.0%2,266,680-16.0%27,984
Los Angeles Dodgers [54] 892.3%2,064,59421.7%25,489
Boston Red Sox [55] 85-2.3%1,678,7325.2%20,984
Chicago Cubs [56] 83-1.2%1,653,0070.6%20,407
St. Louis Cardinals [57] 9018.4%1,604,671-1.5%19,569
Detroit Tigers [58] 9115.2%1,591,0736.0%19,643
Philadelphia Phillies [59] 67-8.2%1,511,223113.4%18,657
Pittsburgh Pirates [60] 979.0%1,501,13211.9%18,764
Cincinnati Reds [61] 79-22.5%1,501,122-16.8%18,532
Montreal Expos [62] 71-2.7%1,290,963-9.4%16,137
Houston Astros [63] 790.0%1,261,5890.6%15,575
San Francisco Giants [64] 904.7%1,106,04349.3%13,655
New York Yankees [65] 82-11.8%1,070,771-5.8%13,219
Baltimore Orioles [66] 101-6.5%1,023,037-3.2%13,286
Atlanta Braves [67] 827.9%1,006,320-6.7%12,272
Minnesota Twins [68] 74-24.5%940,858-25.4%11,910
California Angels [69] 76-11.6%926,373-14.0%11,437
Oakland Athletics [70] 10113.5%914,99317.6%11,296
Kansas City Royals [71] 8530.8%910,78431.4%11,244
Chicago White Sox [72] 7941.1%833,89168.3%10,295
Milwaukee Brewers [73] 696.2%731,531-21.7%8,921
Washington Senators [74] 63-10.0%655,156-20.6%8,088
Cleveland Indians [75] 60-21.1%591,361-19.0%7,301
San Diego Padres [76] 61-3.2%557,513-13.4%6,883

Events

January–June

July–December

Television coverage

NBC was the exclusive national TV broadcaster of MLB, airing the weekend Game of the Week , the All-Star Game, both League Championship Series, and the World Series.

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