1971 Baltimore Orioles season

1971 Baltimore Orioles
1971 AL East Champions 1971 AL Champions
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
East Division (since 1969)
Location
Memorial Stadium (since 1954)
Baltimore, Maryland (since 1954)
Results
Record	101–57 (.639)
Divisional place	1st
Other information
Owner(s)	Jerold Hoffberger
General manager(s)	Harry Dalton
Manager(s)	Earl Weaver
Local television	WJZ-TV
Local radio	WBAL (AM) (Chuck Thompson, John Gordon, Bill O'Donnell)
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In 1971, the Baltimore Orioles finished first in the American League East, with a record of 101 wins and 57 losses. As of 2015, 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.

Offseason

• December 16, 1970: Roger Freed was traded by the Orioles to the Philadelphia Phillies for Grant Jackson, Jim Hutto and Sam Parrilla

Regular season

Season standings

AL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Baltimore Orioles	101	57	0.639	—	53–24	48–33
Detroit Tigers	91	71	0.562	12	54–27	37–44
Boston Red Sox	85	77	0.525	18	47–33	38–44
New York Yankees	82	80	0.506	21	44–37	38–43
Washington Senators	63	96	0.396	38½	35–46	28–50
Cleveland Indians	60	102	0.370	43	29–52	31–50

Record vs. opponents

1971 American League Records 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

• Mark Belanger (SS)
• Paul Blair (CF)
• Elrod Hendricks (C)
• Davey Johnson (2B)
• Dave McNally (P)
• Boog Powell (1B)
• Merv Rettenmund (LF)
• Brooks Robinson (3B)
• Frank Robinson (RF)

Notable transactions

• May 28, 1971: Jim Hardin was traded by the Orioles to the New York Yankees for Bill Burbach.
• May 28, 1971: Dave Boswell was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.

Draft picks

• June 8, 1971: 1971 Major League Baseball Draft
  • Randy Stein was drafted by the Orioles in the 1st round (23rd pick).
  • Kiko Garcia was drafted by the Orioles in the 3rd round. Player signed June 27, 1971.

Roster

1971 Baltimore Orioles
Roster
Pitchers 32 Dave Boswell 35 Mike Cuellar 37 Pat Dobson 36 Tom Dukes 29 Dick Hall 44 Jim Hardin 23 Grant Jackson 40 Dave Leonhard 19 Dave McNally 22 Jim Palmer 27 Orlando Peña 24 Pete Richert 39 Eddie Watt		Catchers  3 Clay Dalrymple  8 Andy Etchebarren 10 Elrod Hendricks Infielders  7 Mark Belanger  2 Jerry DaVanon 16 Bobby Grich 15 Davey Johnson 26 Boog Powell  5 Brooks Robinson 30 Chico Salmon		Outfielders 25 Don Baylor  6 Paul Blair  9 Don Buford 11 Terry Crowley 21 Curt Motton 14 Merv Rettenmund 20 Frank Robinson 28 Tom Shopay		Manager  4 Earl Weaver Coaches 31 George Bamberger 41 Jim Frey 55 Billy Hunter 48 George Staller

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	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

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

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	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	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

References

• 1971 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference
• 1971 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com