1970 Kansas City Royals season

Major League Baseball team season

1970 Kansas City Royals

League| American League
Division| West
Ballpark| Municipal Stadium
City| Kansas City, Missouri
Owners| Ewing Kauffman
General managers| Cedric Tallis
Managers| Charlie Metro and Bob Lemon
Television| KMBC-TV
Radio| KMBZ
(Buddy Blattner, Denny Matthews)
| <- 1969 | Seasons | 1971 ->

|
|

The 1970 Kansas City Royals season was their second in Major League Baseball. The Royals finished tied for fourth place with the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League West with a record of 65–97, 33 games behind the division champion Minnesota Twins. Charlie Metro took over as manager when Joe Gordon resigned after the Royals' initial season, but was replaced by Bob Lemon following a 19–33 start. Bob Oliver hit a team-high 27 home runs, becoming the first Royals player to hit 20 or more home runs in a season.

## Offseason[edit]

* December 3, 1969: Joe Foy was traded by the Royals to the New York Mets for Amos Otis and Bob Johnson.[1]
* January 17, 1970: Greg Minton was drafted by the Royals in the third round of the 1970 Major League Baseball draft.[2]

## Regular season[edit]

### Season standings[edit]

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* t
* e

AL West | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road

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Minnesota Twins | 98 | 64  | 0.605  | —  | 51–30  | 47–34
Oakland Athletics | 89 | 73  | 0.549  | 9  | 49–32  | 40–41
California Angels | 86 | 76  | 0.531  | 12  | 43–38  | 43–38
Kansas City Royals | 65 | 97  | 0.401  | 33  | 35–44  | 30–53
Milwaukee Brewers | 65 | 97  | 0.401  | 33  | 38–42  | 27–55
Chicago White Sox | 56 | 106  | 0.346  | 42  | 31–53  | 25–53

### Record vs. opponents[edit]

1970 American League record

* v
* t
* e

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

Team  | BAL  | BOS  | CAL  | CWS  | CLE  | DET  | KC  | MIL  | MIN  | NYY  | OAK  | WSH
Baltimore | — | 13–5 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 14–4 | 11–7 | 12–0 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 11–7 | 7–5 | 12–6
Boston | 5–13 | — | 5–7 | 8–4 | 12–6 | 9–9 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 10–8 | 7–5 | 12–6
California | 5–7 | 7–5 | — | 12–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 12–6 | 8–10 | 5–7 | 8–10 | 7–5
Chicago | 3–9 | 4–8 | 6–12 | — | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 6–12 | 5–7 | 2–16 | 4–8
Cleveland | 4–14 | 6–12 | 6–6 | 6–6 | — | 7–11 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 7–5 | 11–7
Detroit | 7–11 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 11–7 | — | 6–6 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 7–11 | 6–6 | 9–9
Kansas City | 0–12 | 5–7 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 4–8 | 6–6 | — | 12–6 | 5–13 | 1–11 | 7–11 | 6–6
Milwaukee | 5–7 | 7–5 | 6–12 | 11–7 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 6–12 | — | 5–13 | 3–9–1 | 8–10 | 5–7
Minnesota | 7–5 | 5–7 | 10–8 | 12–6 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 13–5 | 13–5 | — | 5–7 | 13–5 | 6–6
New York | 7–11 | 8–10 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 10–8 | 11–7 | 11–1 | 9–3–1 | 7–5 | — | 6–6 | 10–8
Oakland | 5–7 | 5–7 | 10–8 | 16–2 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 5–13 | 6–6 | — | 10–2
Washington | 6–12 | 6–12 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 2–10 | —

### Notable transactions[edit]

* May 28, 1970: Mike Fiore was traded by the Royals to the Boston Red Sox for Tom Matchick.[3]

### Roster[edit]

1970 Kansas City Royals

Roster
Pitchers

* 36 Ted Abernathy
* 27 Wally Bunker
* 22 Tom Burgmeier
* 29 Bill Butler
* 25 Moe Drabowsky
* 41 Dick Drago
* 23 Al Fitzmorris
* 32 Mike Hedlund
* 30 Bob Johnson
* 21 Aurelio Monteagudo
* 17 Dave Morehead
* 35 Roger Nelson
* 32 Don O'Riley
* 13 Jim Rooker
* 43 Paul Splittorff
* 28,48 Ken Wright
* 40 Jim York

|  | Catchers

* 20,25 Jim Campanis
* 8 Ed Kirkpatrick
* 6 Buck Martinez
* 11 Ellie Rodríguez
* 31 Hawk Taylor

Infielders

* 14 Jerry Adair
* 1 Luis Alcaraz
* 19 Mike Fiore
* 15 Bobby Floyd
* 24 Jackie Hernández
* 19 Tom Matchick
* 33 Bob Oliver
* 1 Cookie Rojas
* 10 Paul Schaal
* 15 Rich Severson
* 7 Billy Sorrell

|  | Outfielders

* 18 Pat Kelly
* 16 Joe Keough
* 26 Amos Otis
* 9 Lou Piniella
* 6,12 George Spriggs

|  | Manager

* 2 Bob Lemon
* 36 Charlie Metro

Coaches

* 5 Dan Carnevale (Bench)
* 4 Harry Dunlop (First base)
* 2 Bob Lemon (Pitching)
* 3 Joe Schultz (Third base)
* 14 George Strickland

## Player stats[edit]

### Batting[edit]

#### Starters by position[edit]

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

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C | Ed Kirkpatrick | 134 | 424 | 97 | .229 | 18 | 62
1B | Bob Oliver | 160 | 612 | 159 | .260 | 27 | 99
2B | Cookie Rojas | 98 | 384 | 100 | .260 | 2 | 28
SS | Jackie Hernández | 83 | 238 | 55 | .231 | 2 | 10
3B | Paul Schaal | 124 | 380 | 102 | .268 | 5 | 35
LF | Lou Piniella | 144 | 542 | 163 | .301 | 11 | 88
CF | Amos Otis | 159 | 620 | 176 | .284 | 11 | 58
RF | Pat Kelly | 136 | 452 | 106 | .235 | 6 | 38

#### Other batters[edit]

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

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Rich Severson | 77 | 240 | 60 | .250 | 1 | 22
Ellie Rodríguez | 80 | 231 | 52 | .225 | 1 | 15
Joe Keough | 57 | 183 | 59 | .322 | 4 | 21
Tom Matchick | 55 | 158 | 31 | .196 | 0 | 11
Billy Sorrell | 57 | 135 | 36 | .267 | 4 | 14
George Spriggs | 51 | 130 | 27 | .208 | 1 | 7
Luis Alcaraz | 35 | 120 | 20 | .167 | 1 | 14
Mike Fiore | 25 | 72 | 13 | .181 | 0 | 4
Hawk Taylor | 57 | 55 | 9 | .164 | 0 | 6
Jim Campanis | 31 | 54 | 7 | .130 | 2 | 2
Bobby Floyd | 14 | 43 | 14 | .326 | 0 | 9
Jerry Adair | 7 | 27 | 4 | .148 | 0 | 1
Buck Martinez | 6 | 9 | 1 | .111 | 0 | 0

### Pitching[edit]

#### Starting pitchers[edit]

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

Player  | G  | IP  | W  | L  | ERA  | SO

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Dick Drago | 35 | 240.0 | 9 | 15 | 3.75 | 127
Jim Rooker | 38 | 203.2 | 10 | 15 | 3.54 | 117
Bill Butler | 25 | 140.2 | 4 | 12 | 3.77 | 75

#### Other pitchers[edit]

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

Player  | G  | IP  | W  | L  | ERA  | SO

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Bob Johnson | 40 | 214.0 | 8 | 13 | 3.07 | 206
Wally Bunker | 24 | 121.2 | 2 | 11 | 4.22 | 59
Dave Morehead | 28 | 121.2 | 3 | 5 | 3.62 | 69
Al Fitzmorris | 43 | 117.2 | 8 | 5 | 4.44 | 47
Don O'Riley | 9 | 23.1 | 0 | 0 | 5.40 | 13
Roger Nelson | 4 | 9.0 | 0 | 2 | 10.00 | 3
Paul Splittorff | 2 | 8.2 | 0 | 1 | 7.27 | 10

#### Relief pitchers[edit]

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

Player  | G  | W  | L  | SV  | ERA  | SO

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Ted Abernathy | 36 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 2.59 | 49
Ken Wright | 47 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5.23 | 30
Tom Burgmeier | 41 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 3.16 | 43
Moe Drabowsky | 24 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3.28 | 38
Aurelio Monteagudo | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.96 | 18
Mike Hedlund | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7.20 | 5
Jim York | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.38 | 6

## Farm system[edit]

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level  | Team  | League  | Manager

|
|
|

AAA | Omaha Royals | American Association | Jack McKeon
AA | Elmira Pioneers | Eastern League | Harry Malmberg
A | San Jose Bees | California League | Buddy Peterson
A | Waterloo Hawks | Midwest League | Steve Boros
Rookie | Kingsport Royals | Appalachian League | Owen Friend
Rookie | Billings Mustangs | Pioneer League | Dave Pavlesic

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Omaha
Elmira affiliation shared with San Diego Padres

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ Amos Otis page at Baseball Reference
2. ^ Greg Minton page at Baseball Reference
3. ^ Tom Matchick page at Baseball Reference

## References[edit]

* Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
* 1970 Kansas City Royals team page at Baseball Reference
* 1970 Kansas City Royals team page at www.baseball-almanac.com

* v
* t
* e

1970 MLB season by team

| AL East|

* Baltimore
* Boston
* Cleveland
* Detroit
* New York
* Washington

|

AL West|

* California
* Chicago
* Kansas City
* Milwaukee
* Minnesota
* Oakland

| NL East|

* Chicago
* Montréal
* New York
* Philadelphia
* Pittsburgh
* St. Louis

|

NL West|

* Atlanta
* Cincinnati
* Houston
* Los Angeles
* San Diego
* San Francisco

* 1970 MLB draft
* 1970 All-Star Game
* 1970 World Series

* v
* t
* e

Kansas City Royals

* Established in 1969
* Based in Kansas City, Missouri

Franchise|

* History
* Expansion and draft
* Seasons
* Current roster
* Owners and executives
* Managers
* Opening Day starting pitchers
* All-time roster
* First-round draft picks
* Records
* No-hitters
* Awards and league leaders
* Broadcasters
* Kansas City Royals Baseball Academy
* Fox Sports Kansas City
* Royals Sports Television Network

Ballparks|

Municipal Stadium
Kauffman Stadium
New Royals Stadium (proposed)
Spring training
Terry Park
Baseball City Stadium
Surprise Stadium

Culture|

* Sluggerrr
* Denny Matthews
* Ryan Lefebvre
* George Toma
* American Royal
* "Royals (song)"

Lore|

* Pine Tar Incident
* The Call
* 2014 AL Wild Card Game
* MLB in Omaha

Team Hall of Fame|

* Steve Busby
* Amos Otis
* Dick Howser
* Cookie Rojas
* Paul Splittorff
* Dennis Leonard
* Hal McRae
* Joe Burke
* Larry Gura
* Freddie Patek
* Ewing Kauffman
* George Brett
* Frank White
* Muriel Kauffman
* John Mayberry
* Dan Quisenberry
* Whitey Herzog
* Willie Wilson
* Jeff Montgomery
* Denny Matthews
* Bret Saberhagen
* Mark Gubicza
* Art Stewart
* Kevin Appier
* Mike Sweeney
* Ned Yost

Minor league
affiliates|

Triple-A
Omaha Storm Chasers
Double-A
Northwest Arkansas Naturals
High-A
Quad Cities River Bandits
Single-A
Columbia Fireflies
Rookie
ACL Royals
DSL Royals Blue
DSL Royals Gold

Key personnel|

* Owner: John Sherman
* President & General Manager: J. J. Picollo
* Manager: Matt Quatraro

World Series
championships (2)|

* 1985
* 2015

American League
pennants (4)|

* 1980
* 1985
* 2014
* 2015

Division titles|

West
1976
1977
1978
1980
1981 (second half)
1984
1985
Central
2015
Wild Card
2014

Seasons (56)

1960s|

* 1960 · 1961 · 1962 · 1963 · 1964 · 1965 · 1966 · 1967 · 1968 ·  1969

1970s|

* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979

1980s|

* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989

1990s|

* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999

2000s|

* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009

2010s|

* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019

2020s|

* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

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