1970 Milwaukee Brewers season


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 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 million to $13 million. 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 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 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 was to start.

Notable transactions

Opening Day starters

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

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
PosPlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
C11032173.2271337
1B148476116.2441152
2B158540136.252441
3B154604179.2963182
SS12141699.238342
LF117397102.2571766
CF10034282.240731
RF7822255.248420

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
PlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
11129672.243622
11427677.2791250
12427664.232431
4013538.281016
6411922.185112
6211521.183312
499823.23516
447621.27616
526515.23104
286114.23004
255514.25526
214712.25513
15418.19513
14255.20005
13171.05901
890.00000
782.25011
600.---00

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGIPWLERASO
37233.114123.39161
3721613184.75130
27173.25124.3093
29128.26156.0276
1794.12103.3453
220231.501

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGIPWLERASO
321325114.9181
2073.1433.9340
1135126.9424

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGWLSVERASO
534344.1948
5052131.7564
282112.5526
280133.4119
252005.0113
232433.1532
140011.729
100106.3820
200010.805
10009.000

Farm system

Jacksonville affiliation shared with Montreal Expos