1970 American League Championship Series
| 1970 American League Championship Series | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | |||||||||||||
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| Dates | October 3–5 | ||||||||||||
| Umpires | Johnny Stevens, Bill Deegan, Darold Satchell, Charlie Berry (Game 1); Bill Haller, Jim Odom, Jerry Neudecker, Jim Honochick, Russ Goetz, Marty Springstead (Games 2–3) | ||||||||||||
| Broadcast | |||||||||||||
| Television | NBC | ||||||||||||
| TV announcers |
Jim Simpson, Sandy Koufax (Games 1–2) Curt Gowdy, Tony Kubek (Game 3) |
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| Team (Wins) | Manager | Season | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Orioles (3) | Earl Weaver | 108–54, .667, GA: 15 | |
| Minnesota Twins (0) | Bill Rigney | 98–64, .605, GA: 9 |
The 1970 American League Championship Series was a match-up between the East Division champion Baltimore Orioles and the West Division champion Minnesota Twins. Like the year before, the Orioles swept the Twins three games to none. The Orioles went on to win the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds.
(Note: Due to a one-day strike by major league umpires, the series was begun using AL supervisor Berry, veteran umpire Stevens—who had been used in a substitute capacity in 1970—and minor league umpires Deegan and Satchell, with the regularly assigned crew returning for Games 2 and 3.)
Baltimore won the series, 3–0.
Saturday, October 3, 1970, at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota
Baltimore only had to use their bullpen once in the series when Dick Hall came on to relieve Mike Cuellar in Game 1. Dave McNally and Jim Palmer 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'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 transcribe 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.
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