1970

Let's see, the Baltimore Orioles won their division with a resounding 108-54 W/L record and beat the Minnesota Twins (98-64) in the 1970 ALCS. Meanwhile, over in the National League the Cincinnati Reds complied a 102-60 mark And beat the Pittsburgh Pirates (89-73) in the 1970 NLCS.

It was Baltimore's year in the Series. They handed the Reds a 4 games to 1 bruising in the 1970 World Series.

By staff @baseballhistorian.com

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Players Bios:

* Carl Yastrzemski, Boston Red Sox Outfielder/1B, RH - born in Southampton, NY... one of the top players in the history of baseball... he led the league in batting 3 times in the '60s, hitting .321 in '63, .326 in '67 and .301 in '68. Yaz was the MVP of the AL in '67 when he won the Triple Crown, by leading the league with 44 homers, 121RBIs and with his .326 batting average. In 1970, Yastrzemski hit a robust .329, lined 29 doubles, smashed 40 home runs, 102 RBIs and led the league with 125 runs scored... And, in the 1967 World Series, Yaz batted .400, getting 10 hits in 25 at-bats, and crashed 2 doubles and 3 home runs, scored 4 runs and had 5 RBIs

* Jim Wynn, Houston Astros, Outfielder RH - born in Cincinnati, Ohio... broke in with Houston as a 21-year old back in 1963. By the time the '70s rolled in Jim Wynn, nicknamed 'the Toy Cannon' because he packed a lot of power in a relatively small body - 5ft 9inch, 170-pounds, was one of baseball's leading power hitters. He smashed 37, 20, 33 and 27 homers from 1967-70... and in his 15-year career shot off 291 homers. He had 107 RBIs in '67 and in 1970 batted a solid .280, 32Ds, 27Hr, scored 82 runs and drove in 88.

* Roy White, New York Yankees Outfielder, Switch-hitter, T RH - born in Los Angeles... a fleet-footed ballhawk, he broke into the big leagues with the Yankees in 1965 as a second baseman but was quickly moved to the outfield due to his speed and sure hands. In '68, Roy White played 159 games, hit .267, scored 89 runs, line 17 homers. His best best hitting season was 1970 when he hit a career best .296, 30 doubles, 22 homers, scored 109 runs and had 94 RBIs.

* Bobby Tolan, Cincinnati Reds Outfielder/1B, LH - born in Los Angeles... a speedster, and line drive hitter, he broke into the majors with the Cardinals in 1965, played in the 1967 and 1968 World Series with the Redbirds. After four years with St Louis he was traded to Cincinnati and helped the 'Big Red Machine' win the 1970 NL pennant. Bobby Tolan led the league with 57 stolen bases in '70, batted a solid .316, scored 112 runs, lined 34 doubles and 16 homers.

* Ron Santo, Chicago Cubs Third Baseman, RH - born in Seattle, Washington... debuted with Cubs in 1960, an All-Star third baseman, he hit over 20 home runs eight consecutive years from 1963-70... and drove in over 100 runs four times, after collecting 99 RBIs in 1963 he had 114 RBIs in '64... 101 in '65... 123 in '69... and 114 in '70. The durable Ron Santo missed only 23 games out of a possible 1,595 games from 1960-70, and set a major league record by leading the league in total chances 9 times. In his career, he hit 365 career doubles and 342 homers in 15 seasons.

* Jerry Koosman, New York Mets Pitcher LH - born in Appleton, Minnesota... an All-Star performer, he was discovered by the Mets while pitching in the US Army in 1964. After three years in the minors, Jerry Koosman won 19 games in his rookie season (1968) and tied a NL rookie record with seven shutouts - 19-12, 2.08 ERA, 178Ks in 264 innings. In 1969 his 17-9 mark, 2.28 ERA helped the Mets win the pennant and he won two games for the World Champion Mets in the 1969 World Series. In 1970 he went 12-7, 3.14 ERA in 212 innings, 30 games.

* Jim Kaat, Minnesota Twins Pitcher, LH - born in Zeeland, Michigan... one of the mainstays of the majors, he hurled over 200 innings in 9-of-the-last-10 years - 1961-70 and led the league in innings pitched with 305 in 1966 when he led the league in wins - 25-13 record. In 1970, went 14-10, 3.50 ERA in 230 innings. In his 25-year major league career he posted a compelling 285-237 record, a fine 3.45 ERA, hit 16 homers, and his 134 sacrifice hits is also a record. And, he holds the major league record of winning 14 consecutive Gold Gloves.

* Cesar Tovar, Minnesota Twins OF, 2B/3B/SS, RH - born in Caracas, Venezuela... an all-around athlete, the 5'9", 155-pounder was considered one of baseball fastest on the base paths. He debuted with Minnesota in 1965, and stole 35, 45 and 30 bases from 1968 thru 1970. A sparkplug for the 1970 western division winning Twins in '70, he hit a even .300, and led the league in doubles with 36 and in triples with 13, had a fine .359 on/base/pct and scored 120 runs - second in the AL behind Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski's 125.

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