The 1970 Boston Red Sox season was the 70th season in the franchise's

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

history. The

Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

finished third in the

American League East The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...

with a record of 87 wins and 75 losses, 21

games behind In most North American sports, the phrase games behind or games back (often abbreviated GB) is a common way to reflect the gap between a leading team and another team in a sports league, conference, or division. Example In the below standings fr ...

the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, who went on to win the AL championship and the

1970 World Series The 1970 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1970 season. The 67th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League champion Baltimore Orioles (108–54 in the regula ...

Offseason

* December 13, 1969:

Dalton Jones James Dalton Jones (born December 10, 1943) is a former Major League Baseball player who played nine seasons in the big leagues for the Boston Red Sox (–), Detroit Tigers (–), and Texas Rangers (1972). Biography Born in McComb, Mississippi ...

was traded by the Red Sox to the Detroit Tigers for

Tom Matchick John Thomas Matchick (September 7, 1943January 4, 2022) was an American professional baseball infielder who played six seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Br ...

.Tom Matchick page at Baseball Reference
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Regular season

The 1970s began with a new manager for the Red Sox. After the firing of Dick Williams near the end of the 1969 season, general manager

Dick O'Connell Richard Henry O'Connell (September 19, 1914 – August 18, 2002) was an American front office executive in Major League Baseball. He was executive vice president of the Boston Red Sox from 1961 through 1977 and served as general manager of the ...

reached down into the farm system again for a replacement and came up with

Eddie Kasko Edward Michael Kasko (June 27, 1931 – June 24, 2020) was an American infielder, manager, scout and front office executive in Major League Baseball (MLB). Kasko was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and raised in nearby Linden. He graduated ...

, who had managed the Red Sox Triple-A farm team, the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

, to a second-place finish in 1969. Kasko had been a major league infielder from 1957 to 1966, with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros, and the Red Sox. : Several other teams finished their season on October 1. Kasko took over a team in transition in 1970. Its leading pitcher was

Ray Culp Raymond Leonard Culp (born August 6, 1941) is an Americans, American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (–), Chicago Cubs (), and Boston Red Sox (–). MLB career Ray was ...

, with 17 wins.

Jim Lonborg James Reynold Lonborg (born April 16, 1942) is an American former professional baseball right-handed starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and Philadelphia Phillies. Though nickname ...

, the superstar of

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

, still was not back in form and went 4–1. Carl Yastrzemski led the American League with a .329

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, and

Tony Conigliaro Anthony Richard Conigliaro (January 7, 1945 – February 24, 1990), nicknamed "Tony C" and "Conig", was a Major League Baseball outfielder and right-handed batter who played for the Boston Red Sox (1964–1967, 1969–1970, 1975) and California ...

appeared to have recovered from the horrible beaning of 1967, hitting .266, with 36

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 and 116 RBIs.

Reggie Smith Carl Reginald Smith (born April 2, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and afterwards served as a coach and front office executive. He also played in the Nippon Profe ...

hit .303, and George Scott had a banner year at .296, with 16 homers and 63 RBIs. Unfortunately, the Red Sox finished 21

the rampaging

, who won 108 games and then went on to defeat the Cincinnati Reds in the

. There were no scheduled doubleheaders this season at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* May 28, 1970: Tom Matchick was traded by the Red Sox to the Kansas City Royals for Mike Fiore. * July 14, 1970:

Chuck Hartenstein Charles Oscar Hartenstein (May 26, 1942 – October 2, 2021) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for five different teams between the 1966 and 1977 seasons. Listed at , , Hartenstein bat ...

was acquired by the Red Sox from the

as part of a conditional deal.

Opening Day lineup

Source:

Roster

Statistical leaders

Source:

Batting

Source:

Pitching

Source:

Awards and honors

Hutch Award The Hutch Award is given annually to an active Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire" of Fred Hutchinson, by persevering through adversity. The award was created in 1965 in honor of Hu ...

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Winston-Salem, Greenville
Source:

References

External links

1970 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference1970 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com
{{Boston Red Sox Boston Red Sox seasons

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...