The 1970 Oakland Athletics season was the 70th season for the Oakland Athletics franchise, all as members of the American League, and their 3rd season in Oakland. The Athletics finished the season with a record of 89 wins and 73 losses. In 1970, owner Charlie Finley 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 sought an increase in salary, and A's owner Charlie Finley threatened to send Jackson to the minors. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn 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,Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.134, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, but Jackson's numbers in 1970 dropped sharply, as he hit just 23 home runs while batting .237.

Notable transactions December 1, 1969: Manny Trillo was drafted by the Athletics from the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1969 rule 5 draft.Manny Trillo page at Baseball Reference December 5, 1969: Danny Cater and Ossie Chavarria were traded by the Athletics to the New York Yankees for Al Downing and Frank Fernández.Danny Cater page at Baseball Reference December 7, 1969: George Lauzerique and Ted Kubiak were traded by the Athletics to the Milwaukee Brewers for Diego Seguí and Ray Oyler.Diego Seguí page at Baseball Reference January 15, 1970: Phil Roof, Mike Hershberger, Lew Krausse Jr., and Ken Sanders were traded by the Athletics to the Milwaukee Brewers for Don Mincher and Ron Clark.Phil Roof page at Baseball Reference January 17, 1970: 1970 Major League Baseball draft (January draft) notable picks:1970 Oakland Athletics Picks in the MLB January Amateur Draft Round 4: Mitchell Page (did not sign) Secondary Phase1970 Oakland Athletics Picks in the MLB January Amateur Draft (secondary phase) Round 1: Vic HarrisVic Harris page at Baseball Reference

Regular season During the 1970 season, there were rumours of the Athletics attempting to relocate to Toronto.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.120, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, At the end of May, the Athletics were 25–23, and 8 games back of the first place Minnesota Twins.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.134, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, September 21: Vida Blue threw a no-hitter versus the Minnesota Twins, winning 6-0. A walk by Harmon Killebrew prevented Blue from pitching a perfect game.Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.140, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, The club hired Harry Caray 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.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,

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions May 18, 1970: Roberto Peña was traded by the Athletics to the Milwaukee Brewers for John Donaldson.John Donaldson page at Baseball Reference June 4, 1970: 1970 Major League Baseball draft (June Draft) notable picks:1970 Oakland Athletics Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft Round 1: Dan Ford (18th pick)Dan Ford page at Baseball Reference June 11, 1970: Al Downing and Tito Francona were traded by the Athletics to the Milwaukee Brewers for Steve Hovley.Steve Hovley page at Baseball Reference

Roster 1970 Oakland Athletics Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Manager

Coaches (Hitting) (Third base) (First base) (Bullpen) (Pitching)

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 Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C 94 252 54 .214 15 44 1B 140 463 114 .246 27 74 2B 135 384 73 .190 4 29 SS 147 603 168 .279 22 64 3B 155 502 132 .263 20 75 LF 154 575 156 .271 8 55 CF 112 376 109 .290 10 37 RF 149 426 101 .237 23 66

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 106 350 108 .309 11 42 86 232 60 .259 10 29 66 200 58 .290 1 27 52 106 21 .198 0 6 38 105 32 .305 7 20 72 100 19 .190 0 1 41 89 22 .247 1 11 19 58 15 .259 0 3 21 52 10 .192 1 2 30 46 8 .174 1 2 32 33 8 .242 1 6 7 18 6 .333 2 5 24 13 3 .231 0 2 9 8 2 .250 1 1 2 2 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 41 267.0 16 15 3.74 149 40 262.1 18 14 3.81 178 29 156.1 9 8 3.80 88 6 38.2 2 0 2.09 35

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 47 162.0 10 10 2.56 95 45 148.0 7 9 3.65 79 10 41.0 3 3 3.95 26 3 5.2 1 0 6.35 3

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 72 6 2 24 1.82 54 62 8 2 3 2.70 42 41 3 3 3 2.78 39 38 3 3 4 2.88 33 28 3 3 2 2.70 26 6 0 0 0 2.92 8 2 0 0 0 15.00 3 1 0 1 0 10.80 0

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 Reference 1970 Oakland Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com