1971 Baltimore Orioles season

1971 Baltimore Orioles
American League Champions
American League East Champions
LeagueAmerican League
DivisionEast
BallparkMemorial Stadium
CityBaltimore, Maryland
Record101–57 (.639)
Divisional place1st
OwnersJerold Hoffberger
General managersHarry Dalton
ManagersEarl Weaver
TelevisionWJZ-TV
RadioWBAL (AM)
(Chuck Thompson, John Gordon, Bill O'Donnell)
← 1970 Seasons 1972 →

In 1971, the Baltimore Orioles finished first in the American League East, with a record of 101 wins and 57 losses. As of 2024, the 1971 Orioles are one of only two Major League Baseball clubs (the 1920 Chicago White Sox being the other) to have four 20-game winners in a season: Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar, and Pat Dobson.[1]

Offseason

Regular season

Season standings

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

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
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 —


Opening Day starters

Notable transactions

Draft picks

Roster

1971 Baltimore Orioles
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

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 Elrod Hendricks 101 316 79 .250 9 42
1B Boog Powell 128 418 107 .256 22 92
2B Davey Johnson 142 510 144 .282 18 72
3B Brooks Robinson 156 589 160 .272 20 92
SS Mark Belanger 150 500 133 .266 0 35
LF Don Buford 122 449 130 .290 19 54
CF Paul Blair 141 516 135 .262 10 44
RF Frank Robinson 133 455 128 .281 28 99

[1]

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
Merv Rettenmund 141 491 156 .318 11 75
Andy Etchebarren 70 222 60 .270 9 29
Chico Salmon 42 84 15 .179 2 7
Jerry DaVanon 38 81 19 .235 0 4
Tom Shopay 47 74 19 .257 0 5
Curt Motton 38 53 10 .189 4 8
Clay Dalrymple 23 49 10 .204 1 6
Bobby Grich 7 30 9 .300 1 6
Terry Crowley 18 23 4 .174 0 1
Don Baylor 1 2 0 .000 0 1

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
Mike Cuellar 38 292.1 20 9 3.08 124
Pat Dobson 38 282.1 20 8 2.90 187
Jim Palmer 37 282.0 20 9 2.68 184
Dave McNally 30 224.1 21 5 2.89 91

[1]

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
Grant Jackson 29 77.2 4 3 3.13 51
Dave Leonhard 12 54.0 2 3 2.83 18

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L SV ERA SO
Eddie Watt 35 39.2 3 1 11 1.82 26
Pete Richert 35 36.1 3 5 4 3.47 35
Tom Dukes 28 38.1 1 5 4 3.52 30
Dick Hall 27 43.1 6 6 1 4.98 26
Dave Boswell 16 24.2 1 2 0 4.38 14
Jim Hardin 6 5.2 0 0 0 4.76 3
Orlando Peña 5 14.2 0 1 0 3.07 4

Postseason

ALCS

Main article: 1971 American League Championship Series

Baltimore Orioles defeat the Oakland Athletics, 3–0

Game Score Date Location Attendance
1 Oakland – 3, Baltimore – 5 October 3 Memorial Stadium 42,641
2 Oakland – 1, Baltimore – 5 October 4 Memorial Stadium 35,003
3 Baltimore – 5, Oakland – 3 October 5 Oakland Coliseum 33,176

World Series

Main article: 1971 World Series

NL Pittsburgh Pirates (4) vs. AL Baltimore Orioles (3)

Game Score Date Location Attendance Time of Game
1 Pirates – 3, Orioles – 5 October 9 Memorial Stadium 53,229 2:06
2 Pirates – 3, Orioles – 11 October 11 Memorial Stadium 53,239 2:55
3 Orioles – 1, Pirates – 5 October 12 Three Rivers Stadium 50,403 2:20
4 Orioles – 3, Pirates – 4 October 13 Three Rivers Stadium 51,378 2:48
5 Orioles – 0, Pirates – 4 October 14 Three Rivers Stadium 51,377 2:16
6 Pirates – 2, Orioles – 3 (10 inns) October 16 Memorial Stadium 44,174 2:59
7 Pirates – 2, Orioles – 1 [8] October 17 Memorial Stadium 47,291 2:10

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Rochester Red Wings International League Joe Altobelli
AA Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs Texas League Cal Ripken Sr.
A Stockton Ports California League Ray Malgradi
A Miami Orioles Florida State League Woody Smith
A-Short Season Aberdeen Pheasants Northern League Ken Rowe
Rookie Bluefield Orioles Appalachian League Jimmie Schaffer

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rochester, Miami, Bluefield

Japan tour

Three days after the conclusion of the World Series, the Orioles embarked on a tour of Japan to play 18 games against Nippon Professional Baseball competition beginning on October 23. The team had accepted the invitation to participate in the Yomiuri Shimbun-sponsored event at the start of the calendar year on January 1.[9] Included in the 12–2–4 overall record was the Orioles going undefeated at 8–0–3 in head-to-head competition against the Yomiuri Giants which was owned by the tour's sponsor and had recently captured its seventh consecutive Japan Series championship.[10]

The Japanese point of view of high hopes entering the exhibitions and the disappointment with the unfavorably lopsided results is chronicled in Robert Whiting's 1977 book The Chrysanthemum and the Bat.[11]

Game Month Date Day Place Opponent W/L/D Score Orioles Pitcher of Record Notes
1 OCT 23 SA Tokyo Yomiuri Giants W 8–4 Jim Palmer
2 OCT 24 SU Tokyo Yomiuri Giants W 8–2 Mike Cuellar
3 OCT 27 W Sendai Yomiuri Giants W 10–1 Pat Dobson Dobson three-hitter; two triples and four RBI for Mark Belanger.[12]
4 OCT 28 TH Kōriyama Yomiuri Giants D 3–3 (10) –
5 OCT 31 SU Osaka Japan All-Stars W 4–1 Mike Cuellar
6 NOV 1 M Nishinomiya Yomiuri Giants/Nankai Hawks W 2–0 Dave McNally Scheduled OCT 30 (rain);[13] consecutive homers by Brooks Robinson and Davey Johnson in the fifth.[14]
7 NOV 2 TU Toyama Yomiuri Giants W 2–0 Pat Dobson Dobson pitches a no-hit, no-run game.
8 NOV 3 W Tokyo Japan All-Stars W 7–0 Jim Palmer
9 NOV 5 F Niigata Yomiuri Giants D 4–4 (10) –
10 NOV 6 SA Tokyo Yomiuri Giants D 9–9 (10) –
11 NOV 7 SU Tokyo Yomiuri Giants W 7–0 (5) Pat Dobson Game abbreviated by rain.
12 NOV 9 TU Kyoto Yomiuri Giants/Hankyu Braves L 2–8 Jim Palmer Palmer loses to Hisashi Yamada in a duel between two 20-game winners.[15]
13 NOV 10 W Hiroshima Yomiuri Giants/Hiroshima Toyo Carp W 4–2 Mike Cuellar
14 NOV 11 TH Matsuyama Yomiuri Giants W 2–0 (11) Eddie Watt
15 NOV 13 SA Fukuoka Yomiuri Giants/Nishitetsu Lions D 9–9 (10) –
16 NOV 14 SU Kitakyushu Yomiuri Giants W 8–7 Pete Richert
17 NOV 16 TU Nagoya Yomiuri Giants/Chunichi Dragons L 1–9 Grant Jackson
18 NOV 20 SA Tokyo Yomiuri Giants W 5–0 Tom Dukes Scheduled OCT 26 in Sapporo, then NOV 18 in Tokyo (rain both times).[16]

Source: Baltimore Orioles 1972 Media Guide (scroll down to pages 25 and 26).

References

  1. ^ a b c 1971 Baltimore Orioles Statistics and Roster – Baseball-Reference.com Archived March 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Roger Freed page at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ 1971 Baltimore Orioles Roster by Baseball Almanac
  4. ^ Bill Burbach page at Baseball Reference
  5. ^ Dave Boswell page at Baseball Reference
  6. ^ Randy Stein page at Baseball Reference
  7. ^ Kiko Garcia page at Baseball Reference
  8. ^ 1971 World Series – PIT vs. BAL – Baseball-Reference.com
  9. ^ "Orioles to Tour Japan," The Associated Press (AP), Friday, January 1, 1971. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  10. ^ "Orioles Look Anemic, Losing 1st to Carp, 1–0," The Washington Post, Sunday, October 28, 1984. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  11. ^ "The Chrysanthemum and the Bat," Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 1977. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  12. ^ "Orioles Beat Yomiuri Giants," United Press International (UPI), Wednesday, October 27, 1971. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  13. ^ "Orioles Rained Out in Japan," United Press International (UPI), Saturday, October 30, 1971. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  14. ^ "Orioles Win in Japan, 2-0," The Associated Press (AP), Monday, November 1, 1971. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  15. ^ "Orioles Suffer First Japan Loss," The Associated Press (AP), Tuesday, November 9, 1971. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  16. ^ Glassman, Steven M. "The Baltimore Orioles' 1971 Japan Trip," Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved March 22, 2023.

Bibliography

  • Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.