The 1971 Baltimore Orioles season finished first in the American League East, with a record of 101 wins and 57 losses. They returned to the World Series for the third consecutive season, but were defeated by the Pittsburgh Pirates in seven games at home. As of 2025, 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.1971 Baltimore Orioles Statistics and Roster – Baseball-Reference.com

Offseason December 16, 1970: Roger Freed was traded by the Orioles to the Philadelphia Phillies for Grant Jackson, Jim Hutto and Sam ParrillaRoger Freed page at Baseball Reference

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

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)1971 Baltimore Orioles Roster by Baseball Almanac

Notable transactions May 28, 1971: Jim Hardin was traded by the Orioles to the New York Yankees for Bill Burbach.Bill Burbach page at Baseball Reference May 28, 1971: Dave Boswell was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.Dave Boswell page at Baseball Reference

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

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 101 316 79 .250 9 42 1B 128 418 107 .256 22 92 2B 142 510 144 .282 18 72 3B 156 589 160 .272 20 92 SS 150 500 133 .266 0 35 LF 122 449 130 .290 19 54 CF 141 516 135 .262 10 44 RF 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 141 491 156 .318 11 75 70 222 60 .270 9 29 42 84 15 .179 2 7 38 81 19 .235 0 4 47 74 19 .257 0 5 38 53 10 .189 4 8 23 49 10 .204 1 6 7 30 9 .300 1 6 18 23 4 .174 0 1 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 38 292.1 20 9 3.08 124 38 282.1 20 8 2.90 187 37 282.0 20 9 2.68 184 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 29 77.2 4 3 3.13 51 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 35 39.2 3 1 11 1.82 26 35 36.1 3 5 4 3.47 35 28 38.1 1 5 4 3.52 30 27 43.1 6 6 1 4.98 26 16 24.2 1 2 0 4.38 14 6 5.2 0 0 0 4.76 3 5 14.2 0 1 0 3.07 4

Postseason

ALCS

Baltimore Orioles defeat the Oakland Athletics, 3–0

GameScoreDateLocationAttendance1Oakland – 3, Baltimore – 5October 3Memorial Stadium42,6412Oakland – 1, Baltimore – 5October 4Memorial Stadium35,0033Baltimore – 5, Oakland – 3October 5Oakland Coliseum33,176

World Series

NL Pittsburgh Pirates (4) vs. AL Baltimore Orioles (3) GameScoreDateLocationAttendanceTime of Game1 Pirates – 3, Orioles – 5October 9Memorial Stadium 53,229 2:062 Pirates – 3, Orioles – 11October 11Memorial Stadium 53,239 2:553 Orioles – 1, Pirates – 5October 12Three Rivers Stadium 50,403 2:204 Orioles – 3, Pirates – 4October 13Three Rivers Stadium 51,378 2:485 Orioles – 0, Pirates – 4October 14Three Rivers Stadium 51,377 2:166 Pirates – 2, Orioles – 3 (10 inns)October 16Memorial Stadium 44,174 2:597 Pirates – 2, Orioles – 1 1971 World Series – PIT vs. BAL – Baseball-Reference.comOctober 17Memorial Stadium 47,291 2:10

Farm system

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."Orioles to Tour Japan," The Associated Press (AP), Friday, January 1, 1971. Retrieved March 22, 2023. 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."Orioles Look Anemic, Losing 1st to Carp, 1–0," The Washington Post, Sunday, October 28, 1984. Retrieved March 24, 2023.

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."The Chrysanthemum and the Bat," Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 1977. Retrieved March 22, 2023.

GameMonthDateDayPlaceOpponentW/L/DScoreOrioles 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."Orioles Beat Yomiuri Giants," United Press International (UPI), Wednesday, October 27, 1971. Retrieved March 22, 2023. 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);"Orioles Rained Out in Japan," United Press International (UPI), Saturday, October 30, 1971. Retrieved March 22, 2023. consecutive homers by Brooks Robinson and Davey Johnson in the fifth."Orioles Win in Japan, 2-0," The Associated Press (AP), Monday, November 1, 1971. Retrieved March 24, 2023. 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."Orioles Suffer First Japan Loss," The Associated Press (AP), Tuesday, November 9, 1971. Retrieved March 22, 2023. 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).Glassman, Steven M. "The Baltimore Orioles' 1971 Japan Trip," Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Retrieved March 22, 2023.

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

References

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

Bibliography