1971 in baseball

Champions

Major League Baseball

National League: Pittsburgh Pirates

American League: Baltimore Orioles

1971 World Series: Pittsburgh (NL) def. Baltimore (AL), 4 games to 3.

Inter-league playoff: Pittsburgh (NL) declined challenge by Tokyo Yomiuri Giants.

Other champions

Winter Leagues

Awards and honors

Statistical leaders
  American League National League
TypeNameStatNameStat
AVGTony Oliva.337Joe Torre.363
HRBill Melton33Willie Stargell48
RBIHarmon Killebrew119Joe Torre137
WinsMickey Lolich25Ferguson Jenkins24
ERAVida Blue1.82Tom Seaver1.76

Major league baseball final standings

Events

January–February
  • January 7 - The ruptured Achilles tendon of Reds centerfielder Bobby Tolan brings an end to two sports seasons. Tolan suffers the injury while playing basketball for the Reds offseason squad. He misses the baseball season because of the injury and the Cincinnati front office orders the basketball team to disbanded as a result.
  • January 11 - Tigers pitcher John Hiller suffers a heart attack at age 27. he'll miss this season but will make a remarkable comeback.
  • January 31 – The new Special Veterans Committee selects seven men for enshrinement to the Hall of Fame: former players Dave Bancroft, Jake Beckley, Chick Hafey, Harry Hooper, Joe Kelley, and Rube Marquard, and executive George Weiss.
  • February 9 – Former Negro Leagues pitcher Satchel Paige is nominated for the Hall of Fame. On June 10, the Hall's new Veterans Committee will formally select Paige for induction.
  • February 10- The Los Angeles Dodgers acquire pitcher Al Downing from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for outfielder Andy Kosco. Downing would later be a part of history as the pitcher who surrendered Hank Aaron's 714th career home run, which broke the all-time record set by Babe Ruth.

March–April

May–June
  • May 6 – Commissioner Bowie Kuhn signs Major League Baseball to a $72 million television contract with NBC.
  • May 15 – Billy Williams hits the 300th home run of his career during a 6–4 win over the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field. The milestone homer was hit off Tom Phoebus.
    • Luis Tiant, signed by the Braves just one month earlier, is released by Atlanta. Two days later, he signs with the Boston Red Sox, for whom he'd have multiple 20 win seasons for.
  • May 17:
    • Johnny Bench hits his 100th career home run.
    • The Cleveland Indians are involved in a bizarre play against the Washington Senators at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. The Senators' Tommy McCraw leads off the bottom of the fourth inning with a 140-foot pop fly (some sources say it was 250 feet) into short left-center for what should be an out. Instead, Indians shortstop Jack Heidemann, left fielder John Lowenstein and center fielder Vada Pinson collide into each other going for the ball, which falls amongst the three players. Before the ball can be recovered, McCraw circles the bases for an inside-the-park home run; meanwhile, Heidemann, Lowenstein and Pinson are all injured and have to be replaced. Despite their embarrassing moment, the Indians defeat the Senators 6–3.
  • June 3 – Pitcher Ken Holtzman of the Chicago Cubs throws the second no-hitter of his career, victimizing the hosts Cincinnati Reds 1–0. Holtzman scores the only run, unearned, in the third inning, to beat Reds pitcher Gary Nolan.
  • June 6 – Willie Mays hits his major league-leading 22nd and last career extra-inning home run against Phillies reliever Joe Hoerner.
  • June 23 – In a singular performance, pitcher Rick Wise of the Philadelphia Phillies no-hits the Cincinnati Reds, 4–0, and bangs two home runs in the game. Wise joins Wes Ferrell (1931), Jim Tobin (1944) and Earl Wilson (1962) as the only pitchers to pitch a no-hitter and hit a home run in the same game. It is the second no-hitter against Cincinnati this month, both in Riverfront Stadium.
  • June 25 – Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits what will be the longest home run ever hit at Veterans Stadium. In the second inning of the Pirates' 14–4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, his shot off Jim Bunning strikes above an exit in the 600 level in the upper deck. The spot where the ball struck will eventually be marked with a yellow star with a black "S" inside a white circle until Stargell's 2001 death, after which the white circle will then be painted black. The star will remain until the stadium's 2004 demolition.
  • June 29 - The Atlanta Braves release 48 year old pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm. he would later sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers and finish his hall of fame career.

July–August

September–October

November –December

Births

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Deaths
  • January 1 – Luis Aparicio Sr., 58, legendary Venezuelan shortstop and father of Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio
  • January 1 – Harry Rice, 69, outfielder noted for his defense who also hit .300 five times
  • January 7 – Dud Lee, 71, infielder for the St. Louis Browns and Boston Red Sox in the 1920s
  • January 7 – Hal Rhyne, 71, shortstop who played from 1926 to 1933 for the Pirates, Red Sox and White Sox
  • January 9 – Elmer Flick, 94, Hall of Fame right fielder and lifetime .313 hitter who led AL in triples three times, steals twice, and batting and runs once each
  • February 16 – Cedric Durst, 74, outfielder for the St. Louis Browns, New York Yankees, and Boston Red Sox between 1922 and 1930, who also was a member of the 1927 and 1928 World Champions Yankees
  • February 20 – Vidal López, 52, three-time Triple Crown Pitching winner and slugging outfielder who played in the professional leagues of Cuba, México, Puerto Rico and Venezuela, throughout a career that lasted 21 years between the 1930s and 1950s
  • March 18 – Tony Welzer, 71, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox from 1926 to 1927, who was the first player born in Germany to appear in an American League game
  • April 4 – Carl Mays, 79, underhand pitcher who won 20 games five times with three teams, but was best remembered for his pitch which struck Ray Chapman in the head for the only field fatality in major league history
  • April 9 – Elmer Eggert, 69, pitcher for the 1927 Boston Red Sox
  • April 9 – Will Harridge, 87, president of the American League from 1931 to 1958
  • April 15 – Mickey Harris, 54, All-Star pitcher who won 17 games for the 1946 Red Sox, led AL in saves with 1950 Senators
  • April 16 – William Eckert, 62, commissioner of baseball from 1965 to 1968
  • April 16 – Ron Northey, 50, outfielder with a powerful arm who hit a record three pinch-hit grand slams in his career
  • April 19 – Russ Hodges, 60, broadcaster for the Giants since 1949, previously with the Reds, Cubs, Senators and Yankees, best known for his call of Bobby Thomson's pennant-winning home run in 1951
  • May 12 – Heinie Manush, 69, Hall of Fame left fielder and career .330 hitter who won 1926 batting title with Detroit, led AL in hits and doubles twice each
  • May 15 – Goose Goslin, 70, Hall of Fame left fielder who starred for five pennant winners in Washington and Detroit, batting .316 lifetime with eleven 100-RBI seasons; one of the first ten players to hit 200 home runs, he retired with the 7th-most RBIs in history
  • May 20 – Martín Dihigo, 65, Cuban star in the Negro Leagues who excelled at all positions, particularly as a pitcher and second baseman
  • May 26 – Judge Nagle, 91, pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox during the 1911 season
  • July 12 – Wally Judnich, 54, center fielder who twice batted .300 for the St. Louis Browns
  • July 25 - Chief Meyers, 90, long time New York Giants catcher who led the NL in put outs for a catcher for five straight seasons
  • July 28 – Myril Hoag, 63, outfielder who recovered from a brutal 1936 collision to become an All-Star three years later
  • October 8 – Murray Wall, 45, relief pitcher for the Boston Braves, Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators between 1950 and 1959
  • November 5 – Toothpick Sam Jones, 45, All-Star pitcher who led NL in strikeouts three times and threw a no-hitter after beginning in the Negro Leagues
  • November 17 – Smead Jolley, 89, outfielder who played for the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox in the 1930s
  • December 13 – Mike Ryba, 68, pitcher and catcher who once caught both games of a doubleheader in 1942
  • December 16 – Ferdie Schupp, 80, pitcher who won 21 games for the 1917 New York Giants but whose career faltered after service in World War I

References
  1. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.146, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
  2. John Perrotto (August 14, 2006). "Baseball Plog". Beaver County Times.
  3. "Honoring First All-Minority Lineup". New York Times. September 17, 2006. p. Sports p. 2.
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