The 1970

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

season involved the A's finishing second in the

American League West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams curr ...

with a record of 89 wins and 73 losses. In 1970, owner

Charlie Finley Charles Oscar Finley (February 22, 1918 – February 19, 1996), nicknamed Charlie O or Charley O, was an American businessman who owned Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics. Finley purchased the franchise while it was located in Kansas Cit ...

officially changed the team name from the Athletics to the "A's". An "apostrophe-s" was added to the cap and uniform emblem to reflect that fact.

Offseason

During the off-season,

Reggie Jackson Reginald Martinez Jackson (born May 18, 1946) is an American former professional baseball right fielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Cali ...

sought an increase in salary, and A's owner

threatened to send Jackson to the minors. Commissioner

Bowie Kuhn Bowie Kent Kuhn (; October 28, 1926 – March 15, 2007) was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, 1969, to September 30, 1984. He served as legal counsel for Ma ...

successfully intervened in their dispute. Reggie Jackson demanded $60,000 per season, while he was offered $40,000 by Charlie Finley. Both parties settled on $45,000, but Jackson's numbers in 1970 dropped sharply, as he hit just 23

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s while batting .237.

Notable transactions

* December 1, 1969:

Manny Trillo Jesús Manuel Marcano Trillo (born December 25, 1950), also nicknamed "Indio", is a Venezuelan people, Venezuelan former professional baseball second baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics (–), Chicago Cub ...

was drafted by the Athletics from the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

in the 1969 rule 5 draft. * December 5, 1969:

Danny Cater Danny Anderson Cater (born February 25, 1940) is an American former professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter. He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies at the age of 18, on June 8, 1958. Cater played in ...

and Ossie Chavarria were traded by the Athletics to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

for Al Downing and Frank Fernández. * December 7, 1969:

George Lauzerique George Albert Lauzerique (born July 22, 1947) is a Cuban former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1967 to 1970 for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics and the Milwaukee Brewers. 196 ...

and

Ted Kubiak Theodore Rodger Kubiak (born May 12, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played as an infielder in Major League Baseball from through , most notably as a member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thr ...

were traded by the Athletics to the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

for

Diego Seguí Diego Pablo Seguí González (born August 17, 1937) is a Cuban former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Washington Senators, Seattle Pilots ...

and

Ray Oyler Raymond Francis Oyler (August 4, 1937 – January 26, 1981) was an American baseball player, a major league shortstop for the Detroit Tigers (1965–1968), Seattle Pilots (1969), and California Angels (1970). He is best remembered as the slic ...

. * January 15, 1970:

Phil Roof Philip Anthony Roof (born March 5, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and minor league manager. He played for 15 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball in and from to , most notably for the Kansas City/Oakla ...

Mike Hershberger Norman Michael Hershberger (October 9, 1939 – July 1, 2012) was an American professional baseball player and outfielder for the Chicago White Sox (1961–1964, 1971), Kansas City / Oakland Athletics (1965–1969) and Milwaukee Brewers (1970) d ...

Lew Krausse Jr. Lewis Bernard Krausse Jr. (April 25, 1943February 16, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Oakland Athletics, Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewe ...

, and Ken Sanders were traded by the Athletics to the Milwaukee Brewers for

Don Mincher Donald Ray Mincher (June 24, 1938 – March 4, 2012) was an American Major League Baseball first baseman and longtime minor league executive. He played in the majors from 1960–1972 for the "original" Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins, Cal ...

and Ron Clark. * January 17, 1970:

1970 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1970 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Other notable Selections ''*'' Did not sign References External links Complete draft list from ''The Basebal ...

(January Draft) notable picks: ::Round 4:

Mitchell Page Mitchell Otis Page (October 15, 1951 – March 12, 2011) was a Major League Baseball player. He finished second to Hall of Famer Eddie Murray in American League Rookie of the Year balloting when he came up with the Oakland Athletics in . Page pl ...

(did not sign) :Secondary Phase ::Round 1: Vic Harris

Regular season

*During the 1970 season, there were rumours of the Athletics attempting to relocate to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. *At the end of May, the Athletics were 25–23, and 8 games back of the first place Minnesota Twins. *September 21:

Vida Blue Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (born July 28, 1949) is a former American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball between and , most notably as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thr ...

threw a no-hitter versus the Minnesota Twins. *The club hired

Harry Caray Harry Christopher Caray (; March 1, 1914 – February 18, 1998) was an American radio and television Sports commentator, sportscaster. During his career he called the play-by-play for five Major League Baseball teams, beginning with 25 years of ...

to do the play by play for the Athletics. Charlie Finley wanted Caray to change his broadcast chant of Holy Cow to Holy Mule. Caray refused and left after the season.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* May 18, 1970: Roberto Peña was traded by the Athletics to the

for John Donaldson. * June 4, 1970:

(June Draft) notable picks: ::Round 1:

Dan Ford Darnell Glenn Ford (born May 19, 1952) is a former professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Disco Dan", he played in the Major Leagues primarily as an outfielder from 1975 to 1985 for the Minnesota Twins, California Angels, and Baltimore Orioles. ...

(18th pick) * June 11, 1970: Al Downing and

Tito Francona John Patsy Francona (November 4, 1933 – February 13, 2018) was a Major League Baseball player. As a child, he was nicknamed "Tito" by his father. His son, Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona, is also sometimes referred to as "Tito." Bal ...

were traded by the Athletics to the

for Steve Hovley.

Roster

Player stats

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''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Awards and honors

*Bert Campaneris led the American League in Stolen Bases (42)''Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman'', p.141, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010,

Farm system

References

External links

1970 Oakland Athletics team page at Baseball Reference1970 Oakland Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
{{Oakland Athletics Oakland Athletics seasons Oakland Athletics season 1970 in sports in California