1970 American League Championship Series
Encyclopedia
Game 1
Saturday, October 3, 1970 at Metropolitan StadiumMetropolitan Stadium
Metropolitan Stadium was a sports stadium that once stood in Bloomington, Minnesota, just outside Minneapolis. The area where the stadium once stood is now the site of the Mall of America...
in Bloomington, Minnesota
Bloomington, Minnesota
Bloomington is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota in Hennepin County. Located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, Bloomington lies at the heart of the southern...
Baltimore only had to use their bullpen once in the series when Dick Hall
Dick Hall
Richard Wallace Hall was a Pitcher and part-time Outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates , Kansas City Athletics , Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies .-Biography:He helped the Orioles win the 1966 and 1970 World Series and 1969 and 1971 American League...
came on to relieve Mike Cuellar
Mike Cuellar
Miguel Ángel Cuellar Santana [KWAY-ar] was a Cuban left-handed starting pitcher who spent fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball with the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles and California Angels...
in Game 1. Dave McNally
Dave McNally
David Arthur "Dave" McNally was a Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher from until . He was signed by the Baltimore Orioles and played with them every season except for his final season with the Montreal Expos.McNally has the unique distinction as the only pitcher in Major League...
and Jim Palmer
Jim Palmer
James Alvin "Jim" Palmer , nicknamed "Cakes", is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played his entire 20-year baseball career for the Baltimore Orioles . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in .As of 2008, Palmer and his wife Susan have homes in Palm Beach, Florida, and...
both pitched complete games in Games 2 and 3.
The Twins enjoyed the lead only once, a 1–0 edge in Game 1. Their only tie was forged one inning later. At all other points, the Baltimore behemoths dominated the action. With the teams deadlocked, 2–2, the Orioles put the game out of reach in the fourth inning, aided by Cuellar's bat and the lusty blasts of a strong wind blowing across Metropolitan Stadium. Two singles and Brooks Robinson
Brooks Robinson
Brooks Calbert Robinson, Jr. is a former American professional baseball player. He played his entire 23-year major league career for the Baltimore Orioles . Nicknamed "The Human Vacuum Cleaner", he is generally acclaimed as the greatest defensive third-basemen in major league history...
's sacrifice fly produced one fourth-inning run off Jim perry, the Twins' 24-game winner, and the Orioles loaded the bases with one out.
The lefthanded-hitting Cuellar, with a .089 batting average and 7 RBIs to show for his season's efforts, then pulled a Perry pitch toward foul territory in right field. As the ball passed first base it was patently foul, maybe as much as 15 feet. Cuellar himself stood transfixed at the plate, watching the pellet transcibe a high parabola in the direction of the right-field seats. As the ball soared into the 29-mile-an-hour current, however, it started drifting toward fair territory. Cuellar started jogging from the plate. By the time he arrived at first base, the wind had worked its devilry against the home forces, depositing the ball over the fence in fair territory, and giving Cuellar a grand slam
Grand slam (baseball)
In the sport of baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners , thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the term originated in the card game of contract bridge, in which a grand slam involves...
.
Before the inning was completed, Don Buford cuffed Perry for a knock-out homer and Bill Zepp
Bill Zepp
William Clinton Zepp , is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball.Born in Detroit, Zepp was a "superstar" in high school but decided to attend college at the University of Michigan, "where he lost his velocity and confidence." He was drafted but did not sign on three occasions...
yielded a left-field round-tripper to southpaw-swinging Boog Powell to complete the seven-run outburst. Although the O's had an early 9–3 lead, Mike Cuellar was unable to attain maximum efficiency on the cool and windy afternoon and departed in the fifth inning, Dick Hall, 40-year old relief specialist, allowed only one hit in the final innings to pick up the victory.
Game 2
Sunday, October 4, 1970 at Metropolitan StadiumMetropolitan Stadium
Metropolitan Stadium was a sports stadium that once stood in Bloomington, Minnesota, just outside Minneapolis. The area where the stadium once stood is now the site of the Mall of America...
in Bloomington, Minnesota
Bloomington, Minnesota
Bloomington is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota in Hennepin County. Located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, Bloomington lies at the heart of the southern...
Dave McNally received the second-game assignment and once again delivered another great pitching performance en route to another O's victory. The Birds handed McNally a four-run cushion. Boog Powell doubled home Mark Belanger
Mark Belanger
Mark Henry Belanger was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played almost his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles...
in the first inning, Frank Robinson homered with Belanger aboard in the third and McNally himself singled home Andy Etchebarren
Andy Etchebarren
Andrew Auguste Etchebarren is an American former Major League Baseball catcher who played for a total of 15 seasons. He played for the Baltimore Orioles , California Angels and Milwaukee Brewers ....
in the fourth. The Twins nearly erased the lead with two swings of the bat in their turn, Killebrew connecting for a homer after a pass to Leo Cardenas
Leo Cárdenas
Leonardo Lazaro Cárdenas Alfonso was a prominent shortstop in American Major League Baseball for 16 years...
and Tony Oliva hitting a solo smash.
Stan Williams
Stan Williams (baseball)
Stanley Wilson Williams , nicknamed "Big Daddy" and "The Big Hurt", is a former Major League Baseball starting and relief pitcher who threw and batted right-handed. He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , New York Yankees , Cleveland Indians , Minnesota Twins , St...
, following Tom Hall and Bill Zepp to the mound, blanked Baltimore the next three frames and Ron Perranoski
Ron Perranoski
Ronald Peter Perranoski is a former left-handed Major League Baseball relief pitcher, having played from through ....
zeroed the visitors in the eighth before the East Division champs erupted for their second seven-run rally in the series. McNally's bat ignited the conflagration with a opposite-field double and Davey Johnson concluded with a three-run homer. All the Birds except Blair participated in the 13-hit feast, Belanger and Powell accounting for three apiece.
Game 3
Monday, October 5, 1970 at Memorial StadiumMemorial Stadium (Baltimore)
Memorial Stadium was a sports stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, that formerly stood on 33rd Street on an over-sized block also bounded by Ellerslie Avenue , 36th Street , and Ednor Road...
in Baltimore, Maryland
When the series shifted to Baltimore, Earl Weaver
Earl Weaver
Earl Sidney Weaver is a former Major League Baseball manager. He spent his entire 17-year managerial career with the Baltimore Orioles . Weaver was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.-Playing career:After playing for Beaumont High School in St...
called on his workhouse Jim Palmer to wrap it all up. The big righthander, just 10 days short of his 25th birthday and two years removed from an arm ailment that threatened his career, was razor sharp, scattering seven hits. In fairness, Palmer was entitled to a shutout. A brillant sun blinded Frank Robinson while he was tracking down Cesar Tovar
César Tovar
César Leonardo Tovar , nicknamed "Pepito" and "Mr. Versatility", was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball for the Minnesota Twins , Philadelphia Phillies , Texas Rangers , Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees...
's fifth-inning fly that fell for a single. Cardenas' single produced a run, but that was all for the Twins.
A 20-game winner with a 2.71 ERA in regular season, Palmer set a personal career high of 12 strikeouts and issued only three walks. He also laced a double and prominently in the second-inning Oriole run when his blooper to short center field was misplayed for a two-base error. Palmer subsequently scored on Buford's double. The Minnestoa's starting assigment went to Jim Kaat, a 14-game winner who had been handicapped by late-season arm miseries. The left-hander departed with none out in the third after yielding six hits. By that time the trend of the game had been established and three successors, while more effective, were helpless to change the outcome, the Birds cruising to an easy victory and the Al pennant.
Composite box
1970 ALCS (3–0): Baltimore OriolesBaltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
over Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...