The 1970 Cincinnati Reds season was the 101st season for the franchise in Major League Baseball. The Reds won the National League West title with a record of 102 wins and 60 losses, games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Reds defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in three straight games in the NLCS to win their first National League pennant since 1961. The team then lost to the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series in five games.

The Reds were managed by first-year manager George "Sparky" Anderson and played their home games at Crosley Field during the first part of the year, before moving into the then-new Riverfront Stadium on June 30.

Offseason October 24, 1969: Mel Queen was purchased from the Reds by the California Angels.Mel Queen at Baseball Reference October 29, 1969: Pedro Ramos was released by the Reds.Pedro Ramos at Baseball Reference November 14, 1969: Joaquín Andújar was signed as an amateur free agent by the Reds.Joaquín Andújar at Baseball Reference November 25, 1969: Alex Johnson and Chico Ruiz were traded by the Reds to the California Angels for Pedro Borbón, Vern Geishert and Jim McGlothlin.Pedro Borbón at Baseball Reference January 14, 1970: Jack Fisher was traded by the Reds to the California Angels for Bill Harrelson and Dan Loomer (minors).Jack Fisher at Baseball Reference January 17, 1970: Joel Youngblood was drafted by the Reds in the 2nd round of the 1970 Major League Baseball draft.Joel Youngblood at Baseball Reference February 4, 1970: Dennis Ribant was traded by the Reds to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Bo Belinsky.Bo Belinsky at Baseball Reference

Regular season Buoyed by a lineup that included third baseman Tony Pérez, NL MVP catcher Johnny Bench, right fielder Pete Rose, center fielder Bobby Tolan and first baseman Lee May, the Reds got off to a 70–30 start. The Reds, who had been near the bottom of the NL in pitching in 1969, were aided by a young staff that included 18-game winner Gary Nolan (22), rookies Wayne Simpson (21) and Don Gullett (19), 20-game winner Jim Merritt (26) and record-setting reliever Wayne Granger, who appeared in a then-record 90 games in 1969.Progressive Leaders & Records for Games Played Simpson, a hard-throwing former first-round draft pick, started the season 9–1 and earned an all-star berth. He was 14–3 before he suffered a season-ending arm injury with 30 games left.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions April 13, 1970: Al Jackson was released by the Reds.Al Jackson at Baseball Reference May 27, 1970: Arturo DeFreites was signed as an amateur free agent by the Reds.Arturo DeFreites at Baseball-Reference June 4, 1970: 1970 Major League Baseball draft Will McEnaney was drafted by the Reds in the 8th round.Will McEnaney at Baseball-Reference Ray Knight was drafted by the Reds in the 10th round.Ray Knight at Baseball-Reference June 15, 1970: Clyde Mashore was traded by the Reds to the Montreal Expos for Ty Cline.Clyde Mashore at Baseball Reference

Riverfront Stadium Riverfront Stadium was opened in 1970, and it was the home of the Cincinnati Reds National League baseball team and the Cincinnati Bengals National Football League team. Located on the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati, the stadium was best known as the home of "The Big Red Machine", as the Reds were often called in the 1970s. Construction began on February 1, 1968, and was completed at a cost of less than $50 million. On June 30, 1970, the Reds hosted the Atlanta Braves in their grand opening, with Hank Aaron hitting the first ever home run at Riverfront. Two weeks later on July 14, Riverfront hosted the 1970 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. This game is most remembered for the often-replayed collision at home plate between the home-grown Pete Rose and catcher Ray Fosse of the Cleveland Indians.

Roster 1970 Cincinnati Reds Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats = Indicates team leader

= Indicates league 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; SB = Stolen bases Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI SB C 158 605 177 .293 45 1485 1B 153 605 153 .253 34 941 2B 150 575 136 .237 1 452 3B 158 587 186 .317 40 1298 SS 101 265 69 .260 1 1910 LF 125 365 113 .310 21 6310 CF 152 589 186 .316 16 8057 RF 159 649 205* .316 15 5212 Tied with Billy Williams (CHC)

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 100 264 59 .223 1 14 70 165 41 .248 8 23 Pat Corrales 43 106 25 .236 1 10 101 105 28 .267 1 8 Darrel Chaney 57 95 22 .232 1 4 65 65 18 .277 0 3 48 63 17 .270 0 8 6 11 2 .182 0 0 4 8 1 .125 0 0 6 3 0 .000 0 0

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 37 250.2 18 7 3.27 181 35 234.0 20 12 4.08 136 35 210.2 14 10 3.59 97 26 176.0 14 3 3.02 119

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 30 148.0 9 7 3.83 56 5 22.1 3 1 2.42 13 7 16.2 0 1 11.34 7 5 10.0 0 2 4.50 2

Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO 67 6 5 35 2.66 38 65 9 4 16 2.59 63 44 5 2 6 2.43 76 35 4 4 0 6.92 37 12 0 2 0 6.75 6 8 0 0 0 8.00 6 3 0 0 0 4.50 6

Postseason

1970 National League Championship Series

Game One October 3, Three Rivers Stadium Team12345678910RHECincinnati0000000003390Pittsburgh0000000000080W: Gary Nolan (1–0)  L: Dock Ellis (0–1)  SV: Clay Carroll (1)HRs: None

Game Two October 4, Three Rivers Stadium Team123456789RHECincinnati001010010381Pittsburgh000001000152W: Jim Merritt (1–0)  L: Luke Walker (0–1)  SV: Don Gullett (1)HRs: CIN – Bobby Tolan (1)

Game Three October 5, Riverfront Stadium Team123456789RHEPittsburgh1000100002100Cincinnati20000001X350W: Milt Wilcox (1–0)  L: Bob Moose (0–1)  SV: Don Gullett (2)HRs: CIN – Tony Pérez (1), Johnny Bench (1)

1970 World Series

After their win in the NLCS, additional injuries to Merritt and Granger caught up to the Reds against the Orioles. In three of their losses, the Reds had leads of 3–0, 4–0 and 3–0. The Reds' only win came in Game 4 on a Lee May 3-run home run in the eighth inning.

1970 World Series (4–1): Baltimore Orioles (A.L.) over Cincinnati Reds (N.L.) Team123456789RHEBaltimore Orioles43638522033505Cincinnati Reds72401123020353Total Attendance: 253,183   Average Attendance: 50,637Winning Player's Share: – $18,216,   Losing Player's Share– $13,688 *Includes Playoffs and World Series

Awards and honors Johnny Bench, National League MVP Award (He was the youngest National League player in the 20th century to win the MVP Award.)Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 152, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York,

All-Star Game

Johnny Bench, Catcher, Starter Tony Perez, Third Base, Starter Jim Merritt, Pitcher, Reserve Pete Rose, Outfield, Reserve

Farm system

Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

Notes

References 1970 Cincinnati Reds season at Baseball Reference