1971 Washington Senators season

1971  Washington Senators
League	American League
Division	East
Ballpark	RFK Stadium
City	Washington, D.C.
Record	63–96 (.396)
League place	6th
Owners	Bob Short
Managers	Ted Williams
Television	WTOP – (Warner Wolf, Ray Scott, Tony Roberts)
Radio	WWDC (FM) (Ron Menchine, Tony Roberts)
←  1970 Seasons 1972  →

The 1971 Washington Senators season involved the Senators finishing fifth in the American League East with a record of 63 wins and 96 losses (.396). This was the Senators' 11th and last season in Washington, D.C.; they moved to Arlington, Texas, and became the Texas Rangers in 1972. The previous Senators (now Minnesota Twins) were in Washington from 1901 through 1960.

The move to Texas left Washington without a Major League Baseball team for 33 seasons, until the Montreal Expos of the National League relocated there in 2005 and became the current Washington Nationals.

Offseason

Opening Day 1971

• October 9, 1970: Ed Brinkman, Aurelio Rodríguez, Joe Coleman, and Jim Hannan were traded by the Senators to the Detroit Tigers for Denny McLain, Elliott Maddox, Norm McRae, and Don Wert. ^[1]
• November 3, 1970: Greg Goossen and Gene Martin were traded by the Senators to the Philadelphia Phillies for Curt Flood and a player to be named. The Phillies completed the deal by sending Jeff Terpko to the Senators on April 10, 1971. ^[2]
• November 30, 1970: Joe Foy was drafted by the Washington Senators from the New York Mets in the 1970 rule 5 draft. ^[3]
• March 29, 1971: Ed Stroud was traded by the Senators to the Chicago White Sox for Tommy McCraw. ^[4]

Regular season

The acquisition of former Cy Young Award winner Denny McLain did not pay dividends for the franchise. Amid constant run-ins with no-nonsense Washington manager Ted Williams, McLain lost 22 games in 1971. ^[5]

Relocation to Texas

By the end of the 1970 season, Senators owner Bob Short had issued an ultimatum: unless someone was willing to buy the Senators for $12 million, he would not renew his lease at RFK Stadium and move elsewhere. Several parties offered to buy the team, but all fell short of Short's asking price.

Short was especially receptive to an offer from Arlington mayor Tom Vandergriff, who had been trying to get a major league team to play in the Metroplex for over a decade. Years earlier, Charlie Finley, the owner of the Kansas City Athletics, sought to move his team to Dallas, but the idea was rebuffed by the other AL team owners.

Arlington's hole card was Turnpike Stadium, a 10,000-seat park which opened in 1965 to house the AA Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs of the Texas League. Built to major league specifications, it was located in a natural bowl, and only minor excavations were necessary to expand the park to major-league size.

After Vandergriff offered a multimillion-dollar up-front payment, Short finally decided to pull up stakes and move. On September 20, 1971, he got his wish, receiving approval from AL owners to move the franchise to Arlington for the 1972 season.

Washington fans were outraged, leaving public relations director Ted Rodgers with the unenviable task of putting a positive spin on such events as fans unfurling a giant banner that contained Short's name, preceded by a popular four-letter invective. A photo of the banner appeared on the front page of a DC newspaper the following day.

Fan enmity came to a head in the team's last game in Washington, on September 30. Thousands of fans simply walked in without paying because the security guards left early in the game, swelling the paid attendance of 14,460 to around 25,000. The Senators led 7–5 with two outs in the top of the ninth. Just then, fans poured onto the field, thinking the final out had already been made. A teenager scooped up first base and ran away. With no security guards in sight, the game was forfeited to the Yankees, 9–0.

Opening Day starters

• Dick Bosman
• Paul Casanova
• Tim Cullen
• Mike Epstein
• Curt Flood
• Joe Foy
• Toby Harrah
• Frank Howard
• Elliott Maddox ^[6]

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

AL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Baltimore Orioles	101	57	.639	—	53‍–‍24	48‍–‍33
Detroit Tigers	91	71	.562	12	54‍–‍27	37‍–‍44
Boston Red Sox	85	77	.525	18	47‍–‍33	38‍–‍44
New York Yankees	82	80	.506	21	44‍–‍37	38‍–‍43
Washington Senators	63	96	.396	38½	35‍–‍46	28‍–‍50
Cleveland Indians	60	102	.370	43	29‍–‍52	31‍–‍50

Record vs. opponents

1971 American League record v t e Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	WSH
Baltimore	—	9–9	7–5	8–4	13–5	8–10	6–5	9–3	10–2	11–7	7–4	13–3
Boston	9–9	—	6–6	10–2	11–7	12–6	1–11	6–6	8–4	7–11	3–9	12–6
California	5–7	6–6	—	8–10	8–4	6–6	8–10	6–12	12–6	6–6	7–11	4–8
Chicago	4–8	2–10	10–8	—	3–9	7–5	9–9	11–7	7–11	5–7	11–7	10–2
Cleveland	5–13	7–11	4–8	9–3	—	6–12	2–10	4–8	4–8	8–10	4–8	7–11
Detroit	10–8	6–12	6–6	5–7	12–6	—	8–4	10–2	6–6	10–8	4–8	14–4
Kansas City	5–6	11–1	10–8	9–9	10–2	4–8	—	8–10	9–9	5–7	5–13	9–3
Milwaukee	3–9	6–6	12–6	7–11	8–4	2–10	10–8	—	10–7	2–10	3–15	6–6
Minnesota	2–10	4–8	6–12	11–7	8–4	6–6	9–9	7–10	—	8–4	8–10	5–6
New York	7–11	11–7	6–6	7–5	10–8	8–10	7–5	10–2	4–8	—	5–7	7–11
Oakland	4–7	9–3	11–7	7–11	8–4	8–4	13–5	15–3	10–8	7–5	—	9–3
Washington	3–13	6–12	8–4	2–10	11–7	4–14	3–9	6–6	6–5	11–7	3–9	—

Notable transactions

• May 8: Darold Knowles and Mike Epstein were traded to the Oakland Athletics for Frank Fernández, Don Mincher, Paul Lindblad, and cash. ^[7]
• June 8: 1971 Major League Baseball draft
  • Stan Thomas was selected in the 27th round. ^[8]
  • Mike Cubbage was selected in the second round of the secondary phase. ^[9]
• July 16: Joe Foy was released. ^[10]
• September 27: Jim French was released. ^[11]

Roster

1971 Washington Senators
Roster
Pitchers 27 Dick Bosman 18 Pete Broberg 23 Jackie Brown 29 Casey Cox 13 Bill Gogolewski 31 Joe Grzenda 26 Gerry Janeski 32 Darold Knowles 32 Paul Lindblad 17 Denny McLain 28 Horacio Piña 19 Denny Riddleberger 16 Jim Shellenback 24 Mike Thompson		Catchers  8 Dick Billings  5 Paul Casanova 10 Bill Fahey 10 Jim French 20 Rick Stelmaszek Infielders  7 Bernie Allen  1 Tim Cullen  6 Mike Epstein 14 Joe Foy 11 Toby Harrah 14 Jim Mason  6 Don Mincher 15 Dave Nelson 15,21 Tom Ragland  2 Len Randle  2 Don Wert		Outfielders  4 Larry Biittner 20 Jeff Burroughs 25 Frank Fernández 21 Curt Flood 33 Frank Howard 37 Elliott Maddox  3 Tommy McCraw 35 Richie Scheinblum 30 Del Unser		Manager  9 Ted Williams Coaches 40 Joe Camacho 42 Nellie Fox 41 Sid Hudson 43 George Susce 44 Wayne Terwilliger 45 Al Zarilla

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	Paul Casanova	94	311	63	.203	5	26
1B	Don Mincher	100	323	94	.291	10	45
2B	Tim Cullen	125	403	77	.191	2	26
SS	Toby Harrah	127	383	88	.230	2	22
3B	Dave Nelson	85	329	92	.280	5	33
LF	Frank Howard	153	549	153	.279	26	83
CF	Del Unser	153	581	148	.255	9	41
RF	Larry Biittner	66	171	44	.257	0	16

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
Dick Billings	116	349	86	.246	6	48
Elliott Maddox	128	258	56	.217	1	18
Bernie Allen	97	229	61	.266	4	22
Lenny Randle	75	215	47	.219	2	13
Tommy McCraw	122	207	44	.213	7	25
Jeff Burroughs	59	181	42	.232	5	25
Joe Foy	41	128	30	.234	0	11
Mike Epstein	24	85	21	.247	1	9
Richie Scheinblum	27	49	7	.143	0	4
Jim French	14	41	6	.146	0	4
Don Wert	20	40	2	.050	0	2
Curt Flood	13	35	7	.200	0	2
Frank Fernández	18	30	3	.100	0	4
Tom Ragland	10	23	4	.174	0	0
Jim Mason	3	9	3	.333	0	0
Rick Stelmaszek	6	9	0	.000	0	0
Bill Fahey	2	8	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
Dick Bosman	35	236.2	12	16	3.73	113
Denny McLain	33	216.2	10	22	4.28	103
Pete Broberg	18	124.2	5	9	3.47	89
Mike Thompson	16	66.2	1	6	4.86	41

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
Casey Cox	54	124.1	5	7	3.98	43
Bill Gogolewski	27	124.1	6	5	2.75	70
Jim Shellenback	40	120.0	3	11	3.53	47
Gerry Janeski	23	61.2	1	5	4.96	19
Jackie Brown	14	47.0	3	4	5.94	21

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
Paul Lindblad	43	6	4	8	2.58	50
Denny Riddleberger	57	3	1	1	3.23	56
Horacio Piña	56	1	1	2	3.59	38
Joe Grzenda	46	5	2	5	1.92	56
Darold Knowles	12	2	2	2	3.52	16

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Denver Bears	American Association	Del Wilber
AA	Pittsfield Senators	Eastern League	Joe Klein
A	Burlington Senators	Carolina League	Whitey Kurowski
A	Anderson Senators	Western Carolinas League	Frank Gable and Bill Haywood
A-Short Season	Geneva Senators	New York–Penn League	Frank Gable

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Denver

Notes

1. Denny McLain page at Baseball Reference
2. Curt Flood page at Baseball Reference
3. "Joe Foy Stats".
4. Ed Stroud page at Baseball Reference
5. "Denny McLain" . Retrieved October 4, 2008.
6. "1971 Washington Senators Roster by Baseball Almanac".
7. Darold Knowles page at Baseball Reference
8. Stan Thomas page at Baseball Reference
9. Mike Cubbage page at Baseball Reference
10. "Joe Foy Stats".
11. Jim French page at Baseball Reference

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN   978-1-932391-17-6.
• 1971 Washington Senators team page at Baseball Reference
• 1971 Washington Senators team page at www.baseball-almanac.com