1970 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1970 Pittsburgh Pirates season resulted in the team winning their first National League East title with a record of 89–73, five games ahead of the Chicago Cubs. However, they lost the NLCS to the NL West Champion Cincinnati Reds, three games to none.

1970 Pittsburgh Pirates
1970 NL East Champions
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1887)
Eastern Division (since 1969)
Location
Forbes Field (since 1909) Three Rivers Stadium (since 1970) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1] (since 1907)
Other information
Owner(s)	John W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Bing Crosby, Thomas P. Johnson (minority shareholders)
General manager(s)	Joe L. Brown
Manager(s)	Danny Murtaugh
Local television	KDKA-TV Bob Prince, Nellie King, Gene Osborn
Local radio	KDKA Bob Prince, Nellie King, Gene Osborn
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The Pirates were managed by Danny Murtaugh and played their home games at Forbes Field during the first part of the year, before moving into the brand new Three Rivers Stadium on July 16. Coinciding with their move, the Pirates became the first major league team to adopt pullover jerseys and sans-a-belt pants for their uniforms, a style copied by a majority of MLB for the next two decades and which the Pirates themselves would wear through the 1990 season.[2]

Offseason

Three Rivers Stadium

In 1958, the Pirates had sold Forbes Field to the University of Pittsburgh, who wanted the land for expanded graduate facilities. Pitt then leased Forbes back to the Pirates until a new multipurpose stadium could be built. The Steelers opted to play at Pitt Stadium in the meantime. In June 1970, the Pirates played their final game at Forbes Field. It was a doubleheader sweep of the Chicago Cubs and Bill Mazeroski got the final hit at Forbes Field.[3]

A site on the North Side had been chosen earlier in the year, but it took until April 25, 1968, to finally break ground. Three Rivers Stadium opened on July 16, 1970, and became the home of the Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Notable transactions

• October 9, 1969: Danny Murtaugh named Manager of the Pirates.[4]
• October 21, 1969: Dave Giusti and Dave Rickets were traded to the Pirates by the St. Louis Cardinals for Carl Taylor.[5]
• February 4, 1970: Bo Belinsky was traded by the Pirates to the Cincinnati Reds for Dennis Ribant.[6]

Regular season

• June 12, 1970: Dock Ellis threw a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres.[7] Allegedly, Ellis pitched the no-hitter on acid. According to Ellis, in Donald Hall's book, In the Country of Baseball, the Pirates were starting a west-coast road trip. After the Pirates landed in San Diego, Ellis visited his hometown of Los Angeles for a party. Ellis had forgotten he was slated to pitch the next day, so he took some acid the night before the game. At around 10 a.m., after catching maybe an hour of sleep, he realized he was in the wrong place.[8]

Season standings

NL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Pittsburgh Pirates	89	73	0.549	—	50–32	39–41
Chicago Cubs	84	78	0.519	5	46–34	38–44
New York Mets	83	79	0.512	6	44–38	39–41
St. Louis Cardinals	76	86	0.469	13	34–47	42–39
Philadelphia Phillies	73	88	0.453	15½	40–40	33–48
Montreal Expos	73	89	0.451	16	39–41	34–48

Record vs. opponents

1970 National League Records Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	8–4	5–13	9–9	6–12	6–6	6–6	7–5	6–6	9–9	7–11	7–5
Chicago	4–8	—	7–5	7–5	6–6	13–5	7–11	9–9	8–10	9–3	7–5	7–11
Cincinnati	13–5	5–7	—	15–3	13–5	7–5	8–4	7–5	8–4	8–10	9–9	9–3
Houston	9–9	5–7	3–15	—	8–10	8–4	6–6	4–8	6–6	14–4	10–8	6–6
Los Angeles	12–6	6–6	5–13	10–8	—	8–4	7–5	6–5	6–6	11–7	9–9	7–5
Montreal	6–6	5–13	5–7	4–8	4–8	—	10–8	11–7	9–9	6–6	6–6	7–11
New York	6–6	11–7	4–8	6–6	5–7	8–10	—	13–5	6–12	6–6	6–6	12–6
Philadelphia	5-7	9–9	5–7	8–4	5–6	7–11	5–13	—	4–14	9–3	8–4	8–10
Pittsburgh	6–6	10–8	4–8	6–6	6–6	9–9	12–6	14–4	—	6–6	4–8	12–6
San Diego	9–9	3–9	10–8	4–14	7–11	6–6	6–6	3–9	6–6	—	5–13	4–8
San Francisco	11–7	5–7	9–9	8–10	9–9	6–6	6–6	4–8	8–4	13–5	—	7–5
St. Louis	5–7	11–7	3–9	6–6	5–7	11–7	6–12	10–8	6–12	8–4	5–7	—

Detailed records

National League Opponent W L WP RS RA NL East Chicago Cubs 10 8 0.556 87 88 Montreal Expos 9 9 0.500 78 68 New York Mets 12 6 0.667 80 72 Philadelphia Phillies 14 4 0.778 68 39 Pittsburgh Pirates St. Louis Cardinals 12 6 0.667 83 68 Total 57 33 0.633 396 335 NL West Atlanta Braves 6 6 0.500 69 73 Cincinnati Reds 4 8 0.333 45 57 Houston Astros 6 6 0.500 64 56 Los Angeles Dodgers 6 6 0.500 40 38 San Diego Padres 6 6 0.500 56 43 San Francisco Giants 4 8 0.333 59 62 Total 32 40 0.444 333 329 Season Total 89 73 0.549 729 664

Month Games Won Lost Win % RS RA April 19 11 8 0.579 73 74 May 30 12 18 0.400 138 154 June 28 17 11 0.607 97 84 July 27 16 11 0.593 138 117 August 29 14 15 0.483 156 132 September 28 18 10 0.643 118 98 October 1 1 0 1.000 9 5 Total 162 89 73 0.549 729 664 Games Won Lost Win % RS RA Home 82 50 32 0.610 356 315 Away 80 39 41 0.488 373 349 Total 162 89 73 0.549 729 664

Game log

1970 Game Log: 89–73 (Home: 50–32; Away: 39–41)
April: 11–8 (Home: 7–7; Away: 4–1) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 7 Mets 3–5 (11) Taylor Hartenstein (0–1) McGraw 34,249 0–1 2 April 9 Mets 2–1 Ellis (1–0) Koosman — 9,884 1–1 3 April 10 @ Phillies 0–2 Fryman Veale (0–1) — 3,663 1–2 4 April 11 @ Phillies 4–0 Walker (1–0) Jackson Hartenstein (1) 7,673 2–2 5 April 12 @ Phillies 3–1 (10) Blass (1–0) Bunning — 22,395 3–2 6 April 14 @ Mets 6–4 (10) Hartenstein (1–1) McGraw — 41,679 4–2 7 April 16 @ Mets 7–4 Dal Canton (1–0) Cardwell — 8,623 5–2 8 April 17 Cardinals 2–5 Culver Blass (1–1) — 14,369 5–3 9 April 18 Cardinals 1–6 Carlton Walker (1–1) — 8,465 5–4 10 April 20 Astros 3–1 Ellis (2–0) Bouton Giusti (1) 4,051 6–4 11 April 21 Astros 9–8 Veale (1–1) Dierker Gibbon (1) 3,589 7–4 12 April 22 Astros 6–1 Blass (2–1) Lemaster — 6,178 8–4 13 April 23 Braves 8–6 Walker (2–1) Jarvis Giusti (2) 4,987 9–4 14 April 24 Braves 0–9 Nash Moose (0–1) — 5,413 9–5 15 April 25 Braves 8–7 Giusti (1–0) Wilhelm McBean (1) 7,125 10–5 16 April 26 Braves 0–2 Niekro Veale (1–2) — 15,307 10–6 17 April 27 Cubs 0–1 Decker Blass (2–2) Regan 6,635 10–7 18 April 28 Cubs 6–1 Walker (3–1) Holtzman Giusti (3) 6,717 11–7 19 April 29 Cubs 5–10 Hands Moose (0–2) Regan 7,900 11–8
May: 12–18 (Home: 6–5; Away: 6–13) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 20 May 1 @ Reds 4–6 Simpson Ellis (2–1) Gullett 19,470 11–9 21 May 2 @ Reds 2–7 McGlothlin Veale (1–3) — 7,721 11–10 22 May 3 @ Reds 7–11 Merritt Blass (2–3) Carroll 15,219 11–11 23 May 4 @ Braves 3–5 Nash Walker (3–2) Priddy 7,457 11–12 24 May 5 @ Braves 6–12 Stone Moose (0–3) Wilhelm 9,199 11–13 25 May 6 @ Braves 0–3 Niekro Ellis (2–2) — 9,782 11–14 26 May 7 @ Astros 9–5 Walker (4–2) Bouton Giusti (4) 11,678 12–14 27 May 8 @ Astros 5–7 Ray Blass (2–4) — 13,383 12–15 28 May 9 @ Astros 6–3 Moose (1–3) Griffin — 15,137 13–15 29 May 10 @ Astros 2–9 Dierker Ellis (2–3) — 16,768 13–16 30 May 11 Reds 4–1 Veale (2–3) McGlothlin — 7,722 14–16 31 May 12 Reds 3–5 Merritt Blass (2–5) — 7,502 14–17 32 May 13 @ Cardinals 5–1 Moose (2–3) Gibson Giusti (5) 12,677 15–17 33 May 14 @ Cardinals 7–11 Johnson Garber (0–1) — 10,840 15–18 34 May 15 Expos 1–2 McGinn Veale (2–4) — 7,883 15–19 35 May 16 Expos 4–3 Walker (5–2) Raymond — 4,237 16–19 36 May 17 Expos 7–8 Strohmayer Garber (0–2) Raymond 8,604 16–20 37 May 18 Phillies 2–1 Moose (3–3) Bunning — 5,796 17–20 38 May 19 Phillies 0–2 Short Ellis (2–4) — 6,251 17–21 39 May 20 Phillies 3–2 (14) Dal Canton (2–0) Selma — 5,977 18–21 40 May 21 @ Expos 6–7 Dillman Walker (5–3) — 13,346 18–22 41 May 22 @ Expos 3–6 Stoneman Moose (3–4) — 10,576 18–23 42 May 23 @ Expos 8–4 Ellis (3–4) McGinn Giusti (6) 28,702 19–23 43 May 24 @ Expos 3–0 Veale (3–4) Morton — 29,306 20–23 44 May 26 @ Cubs 3–6 Holtzman Blass (2–6) — 12,440 20–24 45 May 27 @ Cubs 4–0 Moose (4–4) Jenkins — 11,002 21–24 46 May 28 @ Cubs 7–8 Colborn Garber (0–3) — 10,805 21–25 47 May 29 Giants 6–3 Veale (4–4) Robertson Giusti (7) 11,497 22–25 48 May 30 Giants 11–13 Bryant Blass (2–7) Faul 10,658 22–26 49 May 31 Giants 7–3 Moose (5–4) Marichal Giusti (8) 9,515 23–26
June: 17–11 (Home: 13–4; Away: 4–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 50 June 1 Padres 5–1 Ellis (4–4) Coombs — 5,036 24–26 51 June 2 Padres 8–14 Herbel Veale (4–5) Dukes 4,747 24–27 52 June 4 Dodgers 0–5 Osteen Blass (2–8) — 5,423 24–28 53 June 5 Dodgers 3–0 Moose (6–4) Moeller — 7,691 25–28 54 June 6 Dodgers 7–6 (12) Giusti (2–0) Pena — 13,153 26–28 55 June 7 Dodgers 3–1 Veale (5–5) Foster — 11,243 27–28 56 June 9 @ Giants 5–1 Blass (3–8) Marichal — 4,250 28–28 57 June 10 @ Giants 2–4 Perry Moose (6–5) — 3,732 28–29 58 June 12 @ Padres 2–0 Ellis (5–4) Roberts — 29–29 59 June 12 @ Padres 2–5 Coombs Veale (5–6) — 9,903 29–30 60 June 13 @ Padres 7–2 Blass (4–8) Santorini — 7,105 30–30 61 June 14 @ Padres 1–2 Kirby Moose (6–6) — 15,781 30–31 62 June 15 @ Dodgers 5–2 Nelson (1–0) Moeller Giusti (9) 14,490 31–31 63 June 16 @ Dodgers 0–1 Sutton Veale (5–7) — 20,069 31–32 64 June 17 @ Dodgers 0–4 Osteen Ellis (5–5) — 17,327 31–33 65 June 19 Expos 8–4 Dal Canton (3–0) Dillman Walker (1) 9,707 32–33 66 June 20 Expos 4–2 Blass (5–8) Morton Giusti (10) 5,148 33–33 67 June 21 Expos 2–3 Nye Veale (5–8) — 12,325 33–34 68 June 22 Cardinals 1–6 Reuss Ellis (5–6) — 33–35 69 June 22 Cardinals 1–0 (10) Nelson (2–0) Linzy — 15,158 34–35 70 June 23 Cardinals 7–2 Moose (7–6) Taylor — 7,654 35–35 71 June 24 Cardinals 4–3 (11) Walker (6–3) McCool — 8,095 36–35 72 June 25 Cardinals 3–2 Giusti (3–0) Carlton — 9,910 37–35 73 June 27 Cubs 2–1 Ellis (6–6) Jenkins — 10,188 38–35 74 June 28 Cubs 3–2 Giusti (4–0) Hands Walker (2) 39–35 75 June 28 Cubs 4–1 Nelson (3–0) Pappas Giusti (11) 40,918 40–35 76 June 29 @ Mets 2–3 Seaver Blass (5–9) — 42,416 40–36 77 June 30 @ Mets 6–7 Koosman Veale (5–9) Taylor 38,681 40–37
July: 16–11 (Home: 5–4; Away: 11–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 78 July 1 @ Mets 4–3 Ellis (7–6) McAndrew Giusti (12) 34,316 41–37 79 July 3 @ Cubs 16–14 Giusti (5–0) Regan — 26,602 42–37 80 July 4 @ Cubs 10–6 Blass (6–9) Holtzman Walker (3) 43–37 81 July 4 @ Cubs 2–7 Pappas Veale (5–10) Gura 26,634 43–38 82 July 5 @ Cubs 5–2 Ellis (8–6) Jenkins — 25,569 44–38 83 July 6 @ Phillies 7–5 Nelson (4–0) Bunning Giusti (13) 6,145 45–38 84 July 7 @ Phillies 4–2 Veale (6–10) Short Giusti (14) 6,938 46–38 85 July 8 @ Phillies 0–2 Wise Blass (6–10) — 7,038 46–39 86 July 9 @ Cardinals 6–0 Ellis (9–6) Carlton — 22,345 47–39 87 July 10 @ Cardinals 6–2 Giusti (6–0) Gibson — 23,920 48–39 88 July 11 @ Cardinals 8–7 Dal Canton (4–0) Taylor Pena (1) 25,686 49–39 89 July 12 @ Cardinals 7–6 (10) Giusti (7–0) Hrabosky Dal Canton (1) 45,776 50–39 90 July 16 Reds 2–3 Carroll Ellis (9–7) — 48,846 50–40 91 July 17 Reds 4–3 Giusti (8–0) Simpson — 23,298 51–40 92 July 18 Reds 1–3 (10) Merritt Giusti (8–1) Granger 27,906 51–41 93 July 19 Reds 7–3 Walker (7–3) Gullett Gibbon (2) 32,294 52–41 94 July 20 @ Astros 4–5 (12) Cook Dal Canton (4–1) — 17,934 52–42 95 July 21 @ Astros 1–3 Wilson Nelson (4–1) Cook 17,741 52–43 96 July 22 Braves 5–3 Dal Canton (5–1) Stone Giusti (15) 19,145 53–43 97 July 23 Braves 6–5 Colpaert (1–0) McQueen Giusti (16) 14,377 54–43 98 July 24 Astros 11–0 Ellis (10–7) Griffin — 43,290 55–43 99 July 25 Astros 4–8 Cook Veale (6–11) Dierker 14,069 55–44 100 July 26 Astros 4–6 (10) Lemaster Giusti (8–2) Gladding 40,131 55–45 101 July 28 @ Reds 4–3 Dal Canton (6–1) McGlothlin Giusti (17) 25,807 56–45 102 July 29 @ Reds 3–4 Nolan Ellis (10–8) Granger 25,788 56–46 103 July 30 @ Reds 4–8 Cloninger Veale (6–12) Gullett 26,298 56–47 104 July 31 @ Braves 3–4 Jarvis Nelson (4–2) Wilhelm 12,196 56–48
August: 14–15 (Home: 9–7; Away: 5–8) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 105 August 1 @ Braves 20–10 Pena (1–0) Stone Giusti (18) 28,333 57–48 106 August 2 @ Braves 10–7 Ellis (11–8) Nash Giusti (19) 15,227 58–48 107 August 3 @ Expos 0–8 McGinn Moose (7–7) — 18,110 58–49 108 August 4 @ Expos 4–2 Veale (7–12) Marshall — 27,112 59–49 109 August 5 Phillies 4–0 Walker (8–3) Wise — 12,915 60–49 110 August 6 Phillies 4–0 Ellis (12–8) Bunning — 61–49 111 August 6 Phillies 8–3 Dal Canton (7–1) Champion — 26,664 62–49 112 August 7 Mets 6–1 Moose (8–7) McAndrew — 37,556 63–49 113 August 8 Mets 9–12 Koosman Veale (7–13) Gentry 27,843 63–50 114 August 9 Mets 8–3 Walker (9–3) Ryan Pena (2) 41,772 64–50 115 August 10 Mets 2–10 Seaver Ellis (12–9) — 47,148 64–51 116 August 11 Dodgers 4–5 Osteen Dal Canton (7–2) Brewer 16,708 64–52 117 August 12 Dodgers 4–11 Mikkelsen Moose (8–8) Hough 34,551 64–53 118 August 14 Padres 2–1 Pena (2–0) Roberts — 65–53 119 August 14 Padres 10–1 Walker (10–3) Dobson — 26,979 66–53 120 August 15 Padres 9–3 Veale (8–13) Wilson — 14,110 67–53 121 August 16 Padres 6–8 Herbel Pena (2–1) Dukes 18,969 67–54 122 August 17 Giants 4–5 Perry Dal Canton (7–3) — 21,148 67–55 123 August 18 Giants 6–2 Blass (7–10) Pitlock Giusti (20) 25,325 68–55 124 August 19 Giants 4–7 Marichal Walker (10–4) — 24,655 68–56 125 August 21 @ Dodgers 1–2 Osteen Veale (8–14) — 24,372 68–57 126 August 22 @ Dodgers 2–1 (16) Dal Canton (8–3) Mikkelsen — 39,829 69–57 127 August 23 @ Dodgers 11–0 Blass (8–10) Foster — 20,678 70–57 128 August 25 @ Padres 3–4 Dukes Walker (10–5) — 4,876 70–58 129 August 26 @ Padres 1–2 Dobson Cambria (0–1) Dukes 6,067 70–59 130 August 28 @ Giants 1–5 Marichal Moose (8–9) — 6,174 70–60 131 August 29 @ Giants 9–10 (10) McMahon Dal Canton (8–4) — 8,188 70–61 132 August 30 @ Giants 3–7 Johnson Walker (10–6) Robertson 70–62 133 August 30 @ Giants 1–2 Bryant Giusti (8–3) — 15,963 70–63
September: 18–10 (Home: 10–5; Away: 8–5) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 134 September 1 @ Expos 8–4 Veale (9–14) Stoneman Giusti (21) 20,123 71–63 135 September 2 @ Expos 7–10 Marshall Gibbon (0–1) — 15,461 71–64 136 September 4 Phillies 4–3 Blass (9–10) Wise Lamb (1) 22,547 72–64 137 September 5 Phillies 6–4 Cambria (1–1) Lersch Giusti (22) 22,925 73–64 138 September 6 Phillies 4–3 (10) Walker (11–6) Selma — 19,049 74–64 139 September 7 Cubs 8–3 Moose (9–9) Pappas — 75–64 140 September 7 Cubs 2–9 Jenkins Veale (9–15) — 42,556 75–65 141 September 8 Cubs 3–10 Hands Blass (9–11) — 6,777 75–66 142 September 9 Cardinals 4–6 Bertaina Cambria (1–2) Hilgendorf 14,927 75–67 143 September 10 Cardinals 2–0 Walker (12–6) Briles — 14,386 76–67 144 September 12 @ Cubs 5–4 Moose (10–9) Jenkins Giusti (23) 33,199 77–67 145 September 13 @ Cubs 2–3 Hands Blass (9–12) — 22,567 77–68 146 September 15 @ Phillies 8–3 Walker (13–6) Lersch Giusti (24) 4,802 78–68 147 September 16 @ Phillies 5–3 Moose (11–9) Bunning Lamb (2) 4,418 79–68 148 September 17 @ Phillies 2–3 Short Lamb (0–1) Selma 4,199 79–69 149 September 18 @ Mets 3–2 Blass (10–12) McAndrew Giusti (25) 42,225 80–69 150 September 19 @ Mets 2–1 Walker (14–6) Gentry Gibbon (3) 41,323 81–69 151 September 20 @ Mets 1–4 Koosman Moose (11–10) — 81–70 152 September 20 @ Mets 9–5 (10) Giusti (9–3) McGraw — 54,806 82–70 153 September 22 Expos 0–1 Stoneman Ellis (12–10) — 82–71 154 September 22 Expos 3–1 Veale (10–15) Wegener Gibbon (4) 19,524 83–71 155 September 23 Expos 2–3 Morton Brunet (0–1) Marshall 12,420 83–72 156 September 24 Expos 8–0 Walker (15–6) Renko — 14,026 84–72 157 September 25 Mets 4–3 Grant (1–0) Chance Gibbon (5) 41,484 85–72 158 September 26 Mets 4–3 Grant (2–0) Herbel — 34,311 86–72 159 September 27 Mets 2–1 Ellis (13–10) McAndrew Giusti (26) 50,469 87–72 160 September 29 @ Cardinals 7–2 Dal Canton (9–4) Gibson Lamb (3) 13,232 88–72 161 September 30 @ Cardinals 3–4 Briles Grant (2–1) — 8,084 88–73
October: 1–0 (Home: 0–0; Away: 1–0) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 162 October 1 @ Cardinals 9–5 Brunet (1–1) Cleveland Acosta (1) 8,457 89–73
Legend:        = Win        = Loss Bold = Pirates team member

Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters
Name	Position
Matty Alou	CF
Richie Hebner	3B
Roberto Clemente	RF
Willie Stargell	LF
Al Oliver	1B
Gene Alley	SS
Jerry May	C
Bill Mazeroski	2B
Steve Blass	SP

[9]

Notable transactions

• April 24, 1970: Al McBean was signed by the Pirates.[10]
• May 18, 1970: Al McBean was released by the Pirates.[11]
• June 4, 1970: 1970 Major League Baseball draft
  • Dave Parker was drafted by the Pirates in the 14th round of the 1970 Major League Baseball draft.[12]
  • Ed Ott was drafted by the Pirates in the 23rd round of the 1970 Major League Baseball draft.[13]
• June 9, 1970: Orlando Pena was signed by the Pirates.[14]
• June 22, 1970: Chuck Hartenstein was selected off waivers from the Pirates by the St. Louis Cardinals.[15]
• August 26, 1970: Orlando Pena was released by the Pirates.[16]
• August 31, 1970: George Brunet was traded to the Pirates by the Washington Senators for Denny Riddleberger.[17]
• September 14, 1970: Dave Ricketts was released by the Pirates.[18]
• September 14, 1970: Mudcat Grant was traded to the Pirates by the Oakland Athletics for Angel Mangual.[19]

Roster

1970 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers 17,46 Ed Acosta 28 Steve Blass 22 George Brunet 36 Fred Cambria 36 Dick Colpaert 27 Bruce Dal Canton 17 Dock Ellis 36 Gene Garber 19 Joe Gibbon 31 Dave Giusti 47 Mudcat Grant 22 Chuck Hartenstein 24 John Lamb 29 Lou Marone 34 Al McBean 38 Bob Moose 24 Jim Nelson 22,46 Orlando Peña 39 Bob Veale 23 Luke Walker		Catchers 12 Jerry May  5 Dave Ricketts 35 Manny Sanguillén Infielders 14 Gene Alley 10,30 Dave Cash 10,20 Richie Hebner 6,10 George Kopacz 15 José Martínez  9 Bill Mazeroski 11 José Pagán  2 Freddie Patek 6,7 Bob Robertson		Outfielders 18 Matty Alou 21 Roberto Clemente 15 Gene Clines 25 Johnny Jeter 16 Al Oliver  8 Willie Stargell Other batters 29 Milt May		Manager 40 Danny Murtaugh Coaches 43 Don Leppert 44 Frank Oceak 42 Don Osborn 41 Bill Virdon

Postseason

National League Championship Series

The Cincinnati Reds won the series, three games to none, over the Pirates.

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance
1	Cincinnati – 3, Pittsburgh – 0	October 3	Three Rivers Stadium	33,088
2	Cincinnati – 3, Pittsburgh – 1	October 4	Three Rivers Stadium	39,317
3	Pittsburgh – 2, Cincinnati – 3	October 5	Riverfront Stadium	40,538

Statistics

Batting

Regular Season[20] Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI Gene Garber 14 3 2 0.667 0 0 Milt May 5 4 2 0.500 0 2 Gene Clines 31 37 15 0.405 0 3 Roberto Clemente 108 412 145 0.352 14 60 Manny Sanguillen 128 486 158 0.325 7 61 Dave Cash 64 210 66 0.314 1 28 Matty Alou 155 677 201 0.297 1 47 Richie Hebner 120 420 122 0.290 11 46 Bob Robertson 117 390 112 0.287 27 82 Al Oliver 151 551 149 0.270 12 83 Jose Pagan 95 230 61 0.265 7 29 Willie Stargell 136 474 125 0.264 31 85 Freddie Patek 84 237 58 0.245 1 19 Gene Alley 121 426 104 0.244 8 41 Johnny Jeter 85 126 30 0.238 2 12 Bill Mazeroski 112 367 84 0.229 7 39 Jerry May 51 139 29 0.209 1 16 Fred Cambria 6 10 2 0.200 0 1 Jim Nelson 15 20 4 0.200 0 3 Dave Giusti 66 16 3 0.188 0 3 George Kopacz 10 16 3 0.188 0 0 Bob Moose 29 66 12 0.182 0 2 Dave Ricketts 14 11 2 0.182 0 0 Bob Veale 34 67 11 0.164 0 6 Luke Walker 42 46 6 0.130 0 5 Steve Blass 32 70 8 0.114 0 2 Dock Ellis 38 70 7 0.100 0 1 Jose Martinez 19 20 1 0.050 0 0 George Brunet 12 4 0 0.000 0 0 Bruce Dal Canton 41 16 0 0.000 0 0 Joe Gibbon 41 3 0 0.000 0 0 Mudcat Grant 8 2 0 0.000 0 0 Chuck Hartenstein 17 1 0 0.000 0 0 John Lamb 23 3 0 0.000 0 0 Al McBean 7 1 0 0.000 0 0 Orlando Pena 23 6 0 0.000 0 0 Ed Acosta 3 0 0 — 0 0 Dick Colpaert 8 0 0 — 0 0 Lou Marone 1 0 0 — 0 0

Postseason[21] Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI Richie Hebner 2 6 4 0.667 0 0 Willie Stargell 3 12 6 0.500 0 1 Jose Pagan 1 3 1 0.333 0 0 Matty Alou 3 12 3 0.250 0 0 Al Oliver 2 8 2 0.250 0 1 Roberto Clemente 3 14 3 0.214 0 1 Bob Robertson 2 5 1 0.200 0 0 Manny Sanguillen 3 12 2 0.167 0 0 Dave Cash 2 8 1 0.125 0 0 Gene Alley 2 7 0 0.000 0 0 Dock Ellis 1 2 0 0.000 0 0 Johnny Jeter 3 2 0 0.000 0 0 Bill Mazeroski 1 2 0 0.000 0 0 Bob Moose 1 4 0 0.000 0 0 Freddie Patek 1 3 0 0.000 0 0 Luke Walker 1 2 0 0.000 0 0 Joe Gibbon 2 0 0 — 0 0 Dave Giusti 2 0 0 — 0 0

Pitching

Regular Season[22] Player G IP W L ERA SO Mudcat Grant 8 12 2 1 2.25 4 George Brunet 12 16​^2⁄3 1 1 2.70 17 John Lamb 23 32​^1⁄3 0 1 2.78 24 Luke Walker 42 163 15 6 3.04 124 Dave Giusti 66 103 9 3 3.06 85 Dock Ellis 30 201​^2⁄3 13 10 3.21 128 Jim Nelson 15 68​^1⁄3 4 2 3.42 42 Fred Cambria 6 33​^1⁄3 1 2 3.51 14 Steve Blass 31 196​^2⁄3 10 12 3.52 120 Lou Marone 1 2​^1⁄3 0 0 3.86 0 Bob Veale 34 202 10 15 3.92 178 Bob Moose 28 189​^2⁄3 11 10 3.99 119 Chuck Hartenstein 17 23​^2⁄3 1 1 4.56 14 Bruce Dal Canton 41 84​^2⁄3 9 4 4.57 53 Orlando Pena 23 37​^2⁄3 2 1 4.78 25 Joe Gibbon 41 41 0 1 4.83 26 Gene Garber 14 22​^1⁄3 0 3 5.24 7 Dick Colpaert 8 10​^2⁄3 1 0 5.91 6 Al McBean 7 10 0 0 8.10 3 Ed Acosta 3 2​^2⁄3 0 0 13.50 1

Postseason[23] Player G IP W L ERA SO Joe Gibbon 2 ​^1⁄3 0 0 0.00 1 Luke Walker 1 7 0 1 1.29 5 Dock Ellis 1 9​^2⁄3 0 1 2.79 1 Bob Moose 1 7​^2⁄3 0 1 3.52 4 Dave Giusti 2 2​^1⁄3 0 0 3.86 1

Awards and honors

• Danny Murtaugh, Associated Press NL Manager of the Year

1970 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Columbus Jets	International League	Joe Morgan
AA	Waterbury Pirates	Eastern League	Red Davis
A	Salem Rebels	Carolina League	Billy Klaus
A	Gastonia Pirates	Western Carolinas League	Ed Hobaugh
A-Short Season	Niagara Falls Pirates	New York–Penn League	Irv Noren
Rookie	GCL Pirates	Gulf Coast League	Dick Cole
Rookie	GCL Tourists	Gulf Coast League	Ed Napoleon

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Waterbury

Notes

1. From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Shore in 1907.
2. http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/pit/history/uniforms_logos.jsp
3. The Best Game Ever, Preface, p.xiii, Jim Reisler, Carroll & Graf Publishers, New York, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7867-1943-3
4. Danny Murtaugh
5. Dave Giusti at "Baseball Almanac"
6. Bo Belinsky at Baseball Reference
7. Dock Ellis No Hitter
8. ESPN.com – Page2 – The List: Baseball's biggest rumors
9. 1970 Opening Day lineup at "Baseball-Almanac"
10. Al McBean at Baseball Reference
11. Al McBean at Baseball Reference
12. Dave Parker at Baseball Reference
13. Ed Ott at Baseball Almanac
14. Orlando Pena at Baseball Almanac
15. Chuck Hartenstein at Baseball-Reference
16. Orlando Pena at Baseball Almanac
17. George Brunet at Baseball Almanac
18. Dave Ricketts at Baseball Almanac
19. Mudcat Grant at Baseball Almanac
20. "Major League Baseball Regular Season Hitting Stats | pirates.com: Stats". Pittsburgh Pirates.
21. "Major League Baseball Postseason Hitting Stats | pirates.com: Stats". Pittsburgh Pirates.
22. "Major League Baseball Regular Season Pitching Stats | pirates.com: Stats". Pittsburgh Pirates.
23. "Major League Baseball Postseason Pitching Stats | pirates.com: Stats". Pittsburgh Pirates.

References

• 1970 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Reference
• 1970 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Almanac
• 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.