The 1970 Milwaukee Brewers season was the second season for the franchise. The team finished fourth in the American League West with a record of 65 wins and 97 losses, 33 games behind the Minnesota Twins. This was the team's inaugural season in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, after spending its first year of existence in Seattle, Washington, as the Pilots.

Offseason

Relocation to Milwaukee During the offseason, Dewey Soriano, president of the financially strapped Seattle Pilots, crossed paths with Bud Selig, a Milwaukee car dealer who had been working to bring baseball back to Milwaukee since the Braves (of which he'd been a minority owner) left for Atlanta after the 1965 season. They met in secret for over a month after the end of the season, and during Game 1 of the World Series, Soriano agreed to sell the Pilots to Selig for $10 to $13 million (depending on the source). Selig would then move the team to Milwaukee and rename it the Brewers. However, the owners turned it down in the face of pressure from Washington's two senators, Warren Magnuson and Henry (Scoop) Jackson, as well as state attorney general Slade Gorton. MLB asked Soriano and chairman William Daley to find a local buyer.

Local theater chain owner Fred Danz came forward in October 1969 with a $10 million deal, but it fizzled when the Bank of California called in a $4 million loan it had made to Soriano and Daley for startup costs. In January 1970, Westin Hotels owner Eddie Carlson put together a nonprofit group to buy the team. However, the owners rejected the idea almost out of hand since it would have devalued the other clubs' worth. A more traditional deal came one vote short of approval.

After a winter and spring full of court action, the Pilots reported for spring training under new manager Dave Bristol unsure of where they would play. The owners had given tentative approval to the Milwaukee group, but the state of Washington got an injunction on March 17 to stop the deal. Soriano immediately filed for bankruptcy — a move intended to forestall any post-sale legal action. At the bankruptcy hearing a week later, general manager Marvin Milkes testified there was not enough money to pay the coaches, players and office staff. Had Milkes been more than 10 days late in paying the players, they would have all become free agents and left Seattle without a team for the 1970 season. With this in mind, Federal Bankruptcy Referee Sidney C. Volinn declared the Pilots bankrupt on March 31—seven days before Opening Day—clearing the way for them to move to Milwaukee. The team's equipment had been sitting in Provo, Utah, with the drivers awaiting word on whether to drive toward Seattle or Milwaukee. MLB returned to Seattle in 1977, when the Mariners began play at the Kingdome.

Coincidentally, Milwaukee had gained its previous team under circumstances similar to some of those surrounding this move. The Braves had moved from Boston to Milwaukee only a few weeks before the 1953 season.

Notable transactions November 21, 1969: Mike Marshall was purchased from the Seattle Pilots by the Houston Astros.Mike Marshall at Baseball Reference December 7, 1969: Diego Seguí and Ray Oyler were traded by the Seattle Pilots to the Oakland Athletics for George Lauzerique and Ted Kubiak.Diego Seguí at Baseball Reference January 15, 1970: Don Mincher and Ron Clark were traded by the Seattle Pilots to the Oakland Athletics for Phil Roof, Mike Hershberger, Lew Krausse Jr., and Ken Sanders.Phil Roof at Baseball Reference

Regular season

Opening Day starters Max Alvis Tommy Harper Mike Hegan Steve Hovley Lew Krausse Jr. Ted Kubiak Jerry McNertney Russ Snyder Danny Walton1970 Milwaukee Brewers Roster by Baseball Almanac

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions April 1, 1970: Steve Barber was released by the Brewers.Steve Barber at Baseball Reference May 11, 1970: Wayne Comer was traded by the Brewers to the Washington Senators for Hank Allen and Ron Theobald.Hank Allen at Baseball Reference May 18, 1970: John Donaldson was traded by the Brewers to the Oakland Athletics for Roberto Peña.John Donaldson at Baseball Reference June 4, 1970: John Tamargo was drafted by the Brewers in the 4th round of the secondary phase of the 1970 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign.John Tamargo at Baseball Reference June 11, 1970: Steve Hovley was traded by the Brewers to the Oakland Athletics for Al Downing and Tito Francona.Steve Hovley at Baseball Reference June 15, 1970: John O'Donoghue was traded by the Brewers to the Montreal Expos for José Herrera.José Herrera at Baseball Reference August 20, 1970: Floyd Wicker was purchased by the Brewers from the Montreal Expos.Floyd Wicker at Baseball Reference

Roster 1970 Milwaukee Brewers Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Manager

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

Player stats

= Indicates team 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 Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C 110 321 73 .227 13 37 1B 148 476 116 .244 11 52 2B 158 540 136 .252 4 41 3B 154 604 179 .296 31 82 SS 121 416 99 .238 3 42 LF 117 397 102 .257 17 66 CF 100 342 82 .240 7 31 RF 78 222 55 .248 4 201970 Milwaukee Brewers Statistics and Roster Baseball-Reference.com

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 111 296 72 .243 6 22 114 276 77 .279 12 50 124 276 64 .232 4 31 40 135 38 .281 0 16 64 119 22 .185 1 12 62 115 21 .183 3 12 49 98 23 .235 1 6 44 76 21 .276 1 6 52 65 15 .231 0 4 28 61 14 .230 0 4 25 55 14 .255 2 6 21 47 12 .255 1 3 15 41 8 .195 1 3 14 25 5 .200 0 5 13 17 1 .059 0 1 8 9 0 .000 0 0 7 8 2 .250 1 1 6 0 0 ---- 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 37 233.1 14 12 3.39 161 37 216.1 13 18 4.75 130 27 173.2 5 12 4.30 93 29 128.2 6 15 6.02 76 17 94.1 2 10 3.34 53 2 2.0 0 2 31.50 1

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 32 132.0 5 11 4.91 81 20 73.1 4 3 3.93 40 11 35.0 1 2 6.94 24

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 50 5 2 13 1.75 64 53 4 3 4 4.19 48 28 2 1 1 2.55 26 28 0 1 3 3.41 19 25 2 0 0 5.01 13 23 2 4 3 3.15 32 14 0 0 1 1.72 9 10 0 1 0 6.38 20 2 0 0 0 10.80 5 1 0 0 0 9.00 0

Farm system

The Brewers' farm system consisted of four minor league affiliates in 1970. The Double-A Jacksonville Suns were shared with the Montreal Expos.

Notes

References 1970 Milwaukee Brewers at Baseball Reference 1970 Milwaukee Brewers at Baseball Almanac