Neha Patil (Editor)

1970 Pittsburgh Pirates season

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General manager(s)
  
Joe L. Brown

Manager(s)
  
Danny Murtaugh

Owner(s)
  
John W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Bing Crosby, Thomas Johnson (minority shareholders)

Local television
  
KDKA-TV Bob Prince, Nellie King, Gene Osborn

Local radio
  
KDKA Bob Prince, Nellie King, Gene Osborn

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.

Contents

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 the MLB for the next two decades and which the Pirates themselves would wear through the 1990 season.

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.

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

  • February 4, 1970: Bo Belinsky was traded by the Pirates to the Cincinnati Reds for Dennis Ribant.

    • Regular season

  • June 12, 1970: Dock Ellis threw a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres. 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 started doing 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.

    • Notable transactions

  • June 4, 1970: Dave Parker was drafted by the Pirates in the 14th round of the 1970 Major League Baseball draft.
  • June 22, 1970: Chuck Hartenstein was selected off waivers from the Pirates by the St. Louis Cardinals.

    • National League Championship Series

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

    Statistics

    Batting
    Pitching

    Awards and honors

  • Danny Murtaugh, Associated Press NL Manager of the Year

    • 1970 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

    Farm system

    LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Waterbury

    References

    1970 Pittsburgh Pirates season Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA