1970 Los Angeles Dodgers season

March 2026 November 2013 Los Angeles Dodgers 1970 National League West Dodger Stadium Los Angeles 87 74 y 2nd Walter O'Malley, James Mulvey Peter O'Malley Al Campanis Walter Alston KTTV (11) KFIVin Scully, Jerry DoggettKWKWJose Garcia, Jaime Jarrín The 1970 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the 81st for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their 13th season in Los Angeles, California. Walter O'Malley stepped down as team president, turning the reins over to his son Peter, while remaining as the team's chairman. The Dodgers remained competitive, finishing the season in second place, 14 1 2 games behind the NL Champion Cincinnati Reds in the National League West. The away jerseys removed the city name and instead had the team nickname which would stay until 1999 when the city name returned to the road uniforms, where it has remained ever since. Regular season Season standings Record vs. opponents LAD Opening Day lineup +Opening Day startersName Position Maury Wills ShortstopBill Buckner Left fielderWillie Davis Center fielderWillie Crawford Right fielderWes Parker First basemanSteve Garvey Third basemanTom Haller CatcherTed Sizemore Second basemanClaude Osteen Starting pitcher Notable transactions August 21, 1970: Jerry Royster was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers.Jerry Royster https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/roystje01.shtml 2024-09-08 Baseball-Reference.com en August 24, 1970: Sergio Ferrer was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers.Sergio Ferrer https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/ferrese01.shtml 2024-09-08 Baseball-Reference.com en September 28, 1970: Fred Norman was purchased from the Dodgers by the St. Louis Cardinals.Fred Norman https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/normafr01.shtml 2024-09-08 Baseball-Reference.com en Roster 1970 Los Angeles Dodgers Roster Pitchers 21 Jim Brewer 44 Alan Foster 49 Charlie Hough 34 Ray Lamb 31 Al McBean 46 Pete Mikkelsen 25 Joe Moeller 35 Fred Norman 23 Claude Osteen 17 Camilo Pascual 49 José Peña 40 Bill Singer 45 Jerry Stephenson 37 Mike Strahler 20 Don Sutton 38 Sandy Vance Catchers 45 Joe Ferguson 15 Tom Haller  8 Bob Stinson 16 Bill Sudakis 10 Jeff Torborg Infielders  6 Steve Garvey  1 Billy Grabarkewitz  5 Jim Lefebvre 28 Wes Parker 41 Ted Sizemore 30 Maury Wills Outfielders 22 Bill Buckner 27 Willie Crawford  3 Willie Davis 14 Len Gabrielson 12 Von Joshua  9 Andy Kosco 31 Gary Moore 11 Manny Mota 53 Tom Paciorek 18 Bill Russell Manager 24 Walter Alston Coaches 26 Red Adams 52 Carroll Beringer 19 Jim Gilliam  7 Roy Hartsfield 33 Danny Ozark 51 Dixie Walker First major league foul ball injury death On May 16, the Dodgers were playing a home game against the Giants when, during the third inning, Mota fouled off a Gaylord Perry pitch into the stands near first base. It struck Alan Fish, 14, attending the game with other boys from his nearby recreational baseball team and their coach. Fish was unconscious for a minute, and spoke incoherently when he reawakened and, while his speech had recovered, needed assistance walking to the Dodger Stadium's first-aid center.Weeks David Gorman Robert Death at the Ballpark: More Than 2,000 Game-Related Fatalities of Players, Other Personnel and Spectators in Amateur and Professional Baseball, 1862–2014 2015 McFarland 9780786479320 153 2nd https://www.google.com/books/edition/Death_at_the_Ballpark/GQ_NCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA151 March 15, 2019 15: Fans There, he seemed to have recovered completely. The stadium doctor did not ask whether he had lost consciousness or check his blood pressure, and released him after giving him two aspirin for the lingering pain. He returned to his seat and watched the rest of the game normally, even trying to get autographs from the Dodgers afterwards. However, on his return home he began experiencing dizziness, shaking and crying, and his parents decided to take him to a hospital. Two hospitals were unable to take the boy immediately, even as his condition deteriorated, and he was not admitted until early the next morning. His condition at first improved, but then became even worse, and a neurosurgeon discovered a large mass at the site of the injury. Before he could operate, however, Fish suffered a convulsion that left him brain dead, and three days later he died after being taken off life support. The autopsy found that Fish had died due to an intracerebral hemorrhage after the hairline fracture caused by the foul ball had pushed a piece of his skull into his brain. Had he been required to rest and hospitalized immediately afterward, the neurosurgeon believed he could have recovered completely. The Fishes sued the Dodgers, the stadium physician and the two hospitals that had not been able to treat their son for negligence and medical malpractice; at trial, after dropping the other hospitals, the jury found for the team and doctor. However, an appeals court reversed that verdict three years later due to a jury instruction that should have been given but was not.Fish v. Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Club 56 Cal.App.3d 620 640 https://casetext.com/case/fish-v-los-angeles-dodgers-baseball-club https://web.archive.org/web/20190325054558/https://casetext.com/case/fish-v-los-angeles-dodgers-baseball-club dead March 25, 2019 Cal.App. 1976 Game log Regular season Legend Dodgers win Dodgers loss Postponement Eliminated from playoff raceBoldDodgers team member Los Angeles Dodgers 1958thru1971 1970 regular season game log: 87–74 (Home: 39–42; Away: 48–32)https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/LAN/1970-schedule-scores.shtml 1970 Los Angeles Dodgers schedule and results Baseball Reference August 9, 2025 y Los Angeles Dodgers 1958thru1971 April: 10–10 (Home: 5–8; Away: 5–2) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak |- y Los Angeles Dodgers 1958thru1971 May: 18–10 (Home: 7–6; Away: 11–4) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak |- y Los Angeles Dodgers 1958thru1971 June: 15–12 (Home: 8–6; Away: 9–6) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak |- y Los Angeles Dodgers 1958thru1971 July: 16–10 (Home: 5–4; Away: 11–6) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak |- y Los Angeles Dodgers 1958thru1971 August: 13–16 (Home: 6–11; Away: 7–5) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak |- y Los Angeles Dodgers 1958thru1971 September: 14–16 (Home: 8–7; Away: 6–9) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak |- y Los Angeles Dodgers 1958thru1971 October: 1–0 (Home: 0–0; Away: 1–0) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak |- 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 Tom Haller 112 325 93 .286 10 47 1B Wes Parker 161 614 196 .319 10 111 2B Ted Sizemore 96 340 104 .306 1 34 SS Maury Wills 132 522 141 .270 0 34 3B Billy Grabarkewitz 156 529 153 .289 17 84 LF Manny Mota 124 417 127 .305 3 37 CF Willie Davis Willie Davis (baseball) 146 593 181 .305 8 93 RF Willie Crawford 109 299 70 .234 8 40 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 Jim Lefebvre 109 314 79 .252 4 44 Bill Russell Bill Russell (shortstop) 81 278 72 .259 0 28 Bill Sudakis 94 269 71 .264 14 44 Andy Kosco 74 224 51 .228 8 27 Jeff Torborg 64 134 31 .231 1 17 Von Joshua 72 109 29 .266 1 8 Steve Garvey 34 93 25 .269 1 6 Bill Buckner 28 68 13 .191 0 4 Len Gabrielson 43 42 8 .190 0 6 Gary Moore Gary Moore (baseball) 7 16 3 .188 0 0 Tom Paciorek 8 9 2 .222 0 0 Joe Ferguson Joe Ferguson (baseball) 5 4 1 .250 0 1 Bob Stinson Bob Stinson (baseball) 4 3 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 Don Sutton 38 260.1 15 13 4.08 201 Claude Osteen 37 258.2 16 14 3.83 114 Alan Foster Alan Foster (baseball) 33 198.2 10 13 4.26 83 Sandy Vance 20 115.0 7 7 3.13 45 Bill Singer 16 106.1 8 5 3.13 93 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 Joe Moeller 31 135.1 7 9 3.92 63 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 Jim Brewer baseball 58 7 6 24 3.13 91 Ray Lamb 35 6 1 0 3.79 32 Pete Mikkelsen 33 4 2 6 2.76 47 Fred Norman Fred Norman (baseball) 30 2 0 1 5.23 27 José Peña José Peña (pitcher) 29 4 3 4 4.42 31 Camilo Pascual 10 0 0 0 2.57 8 Charlie Hough 8 0 0 2 5.29 8 Mike Strahler 6 1 1 1 1.45 11 Jerry Stephenson 3 0 0 0 9.45 6 Al McBean 1 0 0 0 0.00 0 Awards and honors Gold Glove Award Wes Parker NL Player of the Month Bill Singer (July 1970) All-Stars 1970 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Billy Grabarkewitz reserve Claude Osteen reserve Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Spokane Indians Pacific Coast League Tommy Lasorda AA Albuquerque Dodgers Texas League Del Crandall A Bakersfield Dodgers California League Don LeJohn A Daytona Beach Dodgers Florida State League Stan Wasiak A Medford Dodgers Northwest League Bill Berrier Rookie Ogden Dodgers Pioneer League Buddy HollowellLEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Albuquerque, Bakersfield 1970 Major League Baseball draft 1970 Major League Baseball draft This was the sixth year of a Major League Baseball draft. The Dodgers drafted 45 players in the June draft and nine in the January draft, six of them would eventually play in MLB. The most notable pick in this years draft was pitcher Doug Rau, who was selected with the 1st pick in the June Secondary draft out of Texas A&M University. Rau would play for the Dodgers from 1972 to 1979 and made 184 starts for the team, with an 80–58 record and 3.30 ERA before spending his final season with the California Angels in 1981. The first pick in the regular June draft was pitcher Jim Haller from Creighton Prep High School. Haller was 18–18 in 123 minor league games over six seasons, with a 3.65 ERA. 1970 draft picksJanuary draft 1970 Los Angeles Dodgers Picks in the MLB January Draft-Regular Phase RoundNamePositionSchoolSignedCareer spanHighest level 1Jim BurnesRHPGlendale Community CollegeNo 2Edward WomboldtC Indian Hills Community CollegeNo 3David HolmesC Glendale Community CollegeNoCubs – 1972 FA 1972 Rookie4Ralph DavisRHPAlice High School Yes 1970–1971 A-5Ken Harris1B Pasadena City CollegeNoAngels – June 1970 1970–1971 A January secondary phase 1970 Los Angeles Dodgers Picks in the MLB January Draft-Secondary Phase RoundNamePositionSchoolSignedCareer spanHighest level 1John LaRoseLHP Cumberland High SchoolNoRed Sox – June 19701970–1980 MLB2Kevin KooymanCGrossmont College NoReds – 1970 FA1970–1973 A3Bruce RaibleRHP Western Hills High SchoolYes 1970–1972 AA4Mike BarlowRHP Syracuse UniversityNoAthletics – 1970 FA 1970–1982 MLB June draft 1970 Los Angeles Dodgers Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft RoundNamePositionSchoolSignedCareer spanHighest level 1Jim HallerRHPCreighton Prep High SchoolYes1970–1975AAA2Randy FairbanksLHPSatellite Beach High SchoolYes1970–1975AA3Lance RautzhanLHPBlue Mountain High SchoolYes1970–1980MLB4Rick NitzRHPHoover High SchoolYes1970–1978AAA5Dewey ForryOFTerra Linda High SchoolYes 1972–1977 AAA6Janes VaethRHPSeaford High SchoolNo 7Thomas JenkinsOFUniversity of TulsaYes1970–1972 AA8Rex Peters1BMidland Park High SchoolNo 9John Snider3BFairfield Union High SchoolYes 1970–1975 AA10Wayne Ristig2BChapman UniversityYes 1970–1973 A11Creighton TevlinOFCanoga Park High SchoolNoOrioles – 1974 1974–1982AAA12Patrick PaulsonLHPEast Haven High SchoolNoDodgers – 1971 1971 Rookie13Norman BrownOFUniversity of California, BerkeleyYes 1970–1971 A14Thomas CorderSS San Jose State UniversityYes1970–1972 A15John Cosmos1BSacred Heart UniversityNo 16Michael PlunkettRHPEmporia State UniversityYes 1970–1971 A17Mike VailSSArchbishop Mitty High SchoolNoCardinals -19711971–1984 MLB18Larry TolbertRHPEast Central High SchoolNo 19Paul BarnesOFMiddle Georgia CollegeYes1970–1971 A20Philip KellerRHPStanford UniversityYes 1970–1974AAA21Albert TaylorRHPKearny High SchoolYes1970–1974 A22Wayne Burney1BUniversity of Louisiana at MonroeYes 1970–1975 AAA23Leslie Rogers3BUniversity of TulsaYes1970–1971 A24Francisco SuarezSSHialeah High SchoolNoTwins – 1971 1971 A-25Dennis AbelOFSan Francisco State UniversityNo 26Thomas GleasonLHPGrover Cleveland High SchoolYes 1970–1972 A27John WadeCPasadena High SchoolNo 28Ronald HallLHPUniversity of OklahomaYes 1970–1972 A29Steven WilsonRHPSouth Georgia College Yes 1970–1972 A30James IveyLHP NoBraves – 1971 FA 1971 A31Bruce CollinsRHPSouth San Francisco High SchoolNo 32Thaddeus RoweINFBrookland-Cayce High SchoolNo 33Greg ShanahanRHPHumboldt State UniversityYes 1970–1977 MLB34Chris KinselCSt. Augustine High SchoolNo 35Mike GarrettOF No 36Mark AndersonOFGarden Grove High SchoolNoCardinals -1971 1971 Rookie37Michael Sanders3BD. W. Daniel High SchoolNo 38Maury DamkrogerCNortheast High SchoolNo 39Vandon MattisonLHPJohn F. Kennedy High SchoolYes 1970–1975 A40Scott WaltermateRHPSteeleville High SchoolNo June secondary phase 1970 Los Angeles Dodgers Picks in the MLB June Draft-Secondary Phase RoundNamePositionSchoolSignedCareer spanHighest level 1Doug RauLHP Texas A&M UniversityYes 1970–1981MLB2George PughLHPMesa State College No 3Red DanielsOF University of New MexicoYes 1970–1973 AA4Kenneth O'BrienRHP Villanova UniversityYes 1970–1972 AA5Paul Womble3B University of KansasNoMets -1971 1971–1973 AA Notes 2 References Baseball-Reference season page Baseball Almanac season page External links 1970 Los Angeles Dodgers uniform Los Angeles Dodgers official web site Category:Los Angeles Dodgers seasons Los Angeles Dodgers season Category:1970 in sports in California