Posted on 10/17/2020 6:16:19 AM PDT by Rummyfan
In 1970, baseballs post-season consisted of a best of five playoff series in both leagues plus the World Series. Thus, the minimum number of post-season games was ten.
The 1970 playoffs were completed in one game over that minimum number. The Baltimore Orioles, smarting from their upset loss to the New York Mets in the 1969 World Series, swept aside the Minnesota Twins in three straight. The combined score of the three games was 27-10.
In the National League, the Cincinnati Reds swept the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, this was a tighter series.
The Reds needed ten innings to win the opener. Gary Nolan and Doc Ellis pitched nine shutout innings each. Cincinnati scored three runs in the tenth. The key hits were a triple by Ty Cline (pinch hitting for Nolan), a single by Pete Rose, and a triple by Lee May.
Clay Carroll pitched a perfect bottom of the tenth to seal the win.
The next two games were also tight. Cincinnati won them 3-1 and 3-2. Although the Reds were known for their hitting (the Big Red Machine), they featured strong pitching, too, and it was the pitchers (especially Nolan, Carroll, Don Gullett, Milt Wilcox, and Jim Merritt) who saw them through the NLCS.
The sweeps by the Baltimore and Cincinnati set up what looked like a dream World Series. The Orioles were a team for the ages. They had followed their 109 win season in 1969 with a 108 win season in 70 (ten more games than the Twins won that year). The pitching staff featured three 20 game winners Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar (24 wins each) and Jim Palmer (20). The staff boasted the lowest ERA in the American League. Their hitters led the League in runs scored.
(Excerpt) Read more at powerlineblog.com ...
I used to sit up there. I remember us singing “Ain’t She Sweet” as that cute usherette had to go get the 2 kids (Wild Bill paid?) to move back from the front row because you weren’t allowed to sit on the front row for some reason.
Back then, I rented out rooms in my house so I could afford to trek up to Baltimore for weekend games. I was born in Essex.
GOTTA be Roberto Clemente.
I once read the story of a wet-behind-the-ears sportswriter who found Brooks Robinson in the Orioles dugout or something before a game, and asked him to go find his brother Frank so he could photograph them together...
The Reds were a great team and Sparky Anderson was a class person as evidenced by his appearance at the end of the Brooks video on the link.
Steve Blass?
From 1975 (won Game 7 against the Red Sox), 1976 (swept the Yankees), and 1990, swept the As.
Post season games:
3 games to win NLCS.
3 games to win ALCS.
4 Games to win World Series.
Minimum ‘Post Season’ games = 10 games!
A-Rod is a terrible color guy. With an expanded post season this year, they needed announcers from everywhere.
I admit the game has changed a lot, but it’s still baseball. With the crazy abridged season this year I did not watch a single regular season game and never even checked the standings. But the playoffs have gained my interest and I have watched a bit. The Rays seemed to be the team to beat as recently as Tuesday but now I don’t know. Astros seem to be on a mission, but how can they do this without Verlander and Cole?
With all the great 60s - 70s players passing away recently - Gibson, Brock, Seaver, Morgan, Ford et al - I have been on a big baseball nostalgia kick.
Understandable - today’s MLB just isn’t the same game we loved back then.
LOL!
And you point out another Reds - Orioles connection. Frank Robinson was acquired by the Os in a trade from CIncy, for Milt Pappas and I don’t know who else. A rare trade in that F Robbie was an MVP winner in Cincy.... He promptly won the AL MVP and Triple Crown in 1966.
We’re talkin’ baseball!
Kluszewski, Campanella.
Talkin’ baseball!
The Man and Bobby Feller.
The Scooter, the Barber, and the Newc,
They knew ‘em all from Boston to Dubuque.
Especially Willie, Mickey, and the Duke.
There was a story about a young reporter who saw the Orioles John Lowenstein making one-handed catches in the outfield, so he asked Lo who was the first MLB player to routinely catch fly balls one-handed. Lo said that would be Pete Gray. So this reporter does a unresearched story on Pete Gray the originator of the one handed catch without knowing Pete was a one-armed player for the St Louis Browns back during WWII. Priceless.
I remember watching the 1979 World Series between Pittsburgh (Papa Willie Stargell) and Baltimore and that was a good one to watch, IIRC.
One real shame with that decade in baseball was when places like Forbes Field, Crosley Field, and Connie Mack Stadium were retired. I recall reading someone’s comment on a Facebook page devoted to lost ballparks and they said that when the Phillies moved to Veterans in about 1971 (over from Connie Mack), they immediately missed watching a ballgame the way you could at the old ballpark. Veterans was that way bit back from the field and had bad sightlines compared to Connie Mack/Shibe according to this person.
The Orioles ran out to a 3 - 1 games lead then their bats went totally silent. I think they only scored two runs in the next three games. Kent Tekulve... aka Ichabod Crane... I blame it mostly on Earl Weaver not handling the starting pitching properly. He had Jim Palmer and a Cy Young winning Mike Flanagan yet who started Game 7? Scott MacGregor!?
I attended one game at Connie Mack stadium. I remember feeling the upper deck steps were so steep I felt like I could just fly away.
My dad took me to Game 7 of the 1971 World Series between BAL and PIT.
As an Oriole fan, it sucked :)
Back then sports meant something. I was a diehard Orioles and Colts fan. Then the Colts moved to Indy and I moved away.
Not really a fan anymore. Of any sport. They’ve started to think the game is about them and I really DON’T care about them.
The Great One - Roberto Clemente
After spring training got cancelled I was watching old games on YouTube, including the 71 Series Game 7. Man, the game has changed - Steve Blass shut the O’s down on what looked to be a lot of hittable pitches. I guess he would be a “pitch to contact” pitcher today.
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