1970 Chicago Cubs season

The 1970 Chicago Cubs season was the 99th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 95th in the National League and the 55th at Wrigley Field. The Cubs finished second in the National League East with a record of 84–78.

1970 Chicago Cubs
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1876)
Eastern Division (since 1969)
Location
Wrigley Field (since 1916) Chicago (since 1870)
Other information
Owner(s)	Philip K. Wrigley
General manager(s)	John Holland
Manager(s)	Leo Durocher
Local television	WGN-TV (Jack Brickhouse, Lloyd Pettit)
Local radio	WGN (Vince Lloyd, Lou Boudreau)
Stats	ESPN.com BB-reference
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Offseason

• November 17, 1969: Oscar Gamble and Dick Selma were traded by the Cubs to the Philadelphia Phillies for Johnny Callison and a player to be named later. The Phillies completed the deal by sending Larry Colton to the Cubs in January 1970.[1]

Regular season

Cubs vs. Reds at Wrigley Field, May 1970

Season standings

NL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Pittsburgh Pirates	89	73	0.549	—	50–32	39–41
Chicago Cubs	84	78	0.519	5	46–34	38–44
New York Mets	83	79	0.512	6	44–38	39–41
St. Louis Cardinals	76	86	0.469	13	34–47	42–39
Philadelphia Phillies	73	88	0.453	15½	40–40	33–48
Montreal Expos	73	89	0.451	16	39–41	34–48

Record vs. opponents

1970 National League Records Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	8–4	5–13	9–9	6–12	6–6	6–6	7–5	6–6	9–9	7–11	7–5
Chicago	4–8	—	7–5	7–5	6–6	13–5	7–11	9–9	8–10	9–3	7–5	7–11
Cincinnati	13–5	5–7	—	15–3	13–5	7–5	8–4	7–5	8–4	8–10	9–9	9–3
Houston	9–9	5–7	3–15	—	8–10	8–4	6–6	4–8	6–6	14–4	10–8	6–6
Los Angeles	12–6	6–6	5–13	10–8	—	8–4	7–5	6–5	6–6	11–7	9–9	7–5
Montreal	6–6	5–13	5–7	4–8	4–8	—	10–8	11–7	9–9	6–6	6–6	7–11
New York	6–6	11–7	4–8	6–6	5–7	8–10	—	13–5	6–12	6–6	6–6	12–6
Philadelphia	5-7	9–9	5–7	8–4	5–6	7–11	5–13	—	4–14	9–3	8–4	8–10
Pittsburgh	6–6	10–8	4–8	6–6	6–6	9–9	12–6	14–4	—	6–6	4–8	12–6
San Diego	9–9	3–9	10–8	4–14	7–11	6–6	6–6	3–9	6–6	—	5–13	4–8
San Francisco	11–7	5–7	9–9	8–10	9–9	6–6	6–6	4–8	8–4	13–5	—	7–5
St. Louis	5–7	11–7	3–9	6–6	5–7	11–7	6–12	10–8	6–12	8–4	5–7	—

Notable transactions

• April 22, 1970: Jim Qualls was traded by the Cubs to the Montreal Expos for Garry Jestadt.[2]
• April 23, 1970: Steve Barber was signed as a free agent by the Cubs.[3]
• May 29, 1970: Ted Abernathy was traded by the Cubs to the St. Louis Cardinals for Phil Gagliano.[4]
• June 30, 1970: Steve Barber was released by the Cubs.[3]
• July 29, 1970: Joe Pepitone was purchased by the Cubs from the Houston Astros.[5]
• September 21, 1970: Hoyt Wilhelm was selected off waivers by the Cubs from the Atlanta Braves.[6]

Draft picks

• June 4, 1970: 1970 Major League Baseball draft
  • Rick Reuschel was drafted by the Cubs in the 3rd round.[7]
  • Jeff Schneider was drafted by the Cubs in the 18th round, but did not sign.[8]

Roster

1970 Chicago Cubs
Roster
Pitchers 37 Ted Abernathy 34 Hank Aguirre 46 Steve Barber 48 Jim Colborn 32 Jim Cosman 36 Joe Decker 32,34 Jim Dunegan 40 Larry Gura 49 Bill Hands 30 Ken Holtzman 31 Ferguson Jenkins 45 Bob Miller 32 Milt Pappas 46 Juan Pizarro 27 Phil Regan 39 Archie Reynolds 43 Roberto Rodríguez 39 Hoyt Wilhelm		Catchers 21 Jack Hiatt  9 Randy Hundley 12 J. C. Martin 8,15 Ken Rudolph Infielders 14 Ernie Banks 18 Glenn Beckert 19 Phil Gagliano 17 Terry Hughes 11 Don Kessinger 16 Roger Metzger 22 Paul Popovich 10 Ron Santo 25 Willie Smith		Outfielders  6 Johnny Callison 29 Brock Davis 29 Tommy Davis 20 Boots Day 23 Jimmie Hall 28 Jim Hickman 24 Cleo James  8 Joe Pepitone 20 Al Spangler 26 Billy Williams Other batters 23 Adrian Garrett 38 Roe Skidmore		Manager  2 Leo Durocher Coaches  5 Joey Amalfitano  3 Joe Becker 37 Herman Franks  7 Peanuts Lowrey  4 Verlon Walker

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	Randy Hundley	73	250	61	.244	7	36
1B	Jim Hickman	149	514	162	.315	32	115
2B	Glenn Beckert	143	591	170	.288	3	36
SS	Don Kessinger	154	631	168	.266	1	39
3B	Ron Santo	154	555	148	.267	26	114
LF	Billy Williams	161	636	205	.322	42	129
CF	Cleo James	100	176	37	.210	3	14
RF	Johnny Callison	147	477	126	.264	19	68

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
Phil Gagliano	26	40	6	.150	0	5

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
Ferguson Jenkins	40	313.0	22	16	3.39	274
Ken Holtzman	39	287.2	17	11	3.38	202
Bill Hands	39	265.0	18	15	3.70	170
Milt Pappas	21	144.2	10	8	2.68	80
Joe Decker	24	108.2	2	7	4.64	79

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

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
Hank Aguirre	17	3	0	1	4.50	11
Ted Abernathy	11	0	0	1	2.00	2
Steve Barber	5	0	1	0	9.53	3

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Tacoma Cubs	Pacific Coast League	Whitey Lockman
AA	San Antonio Missions	Texas League	Jim Marshall
A	Quincy Cubs	Midwest League	Walt Dixon
A-Short Season	Huron Cubs	Northern League	George Freese
Rookie	Caldwell Cubs	Pioneer League	Sparky Davis

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Quincy

Notes

1. Oscar Gamble at Baseball Reference
2. Jim Qualls at Baseball Reference
3. Steve Barber at Baseball Reference
4. Phil Gagliano at Baseball Reference
5. Joe Pepitone at Baseball Reference
6. Hoyt Wilhelm at Baseball Reference
7. Rick Reuschel at Baseball Reference
8. Jeff Schneider at Baseball Reference

References

• 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 Chicago Cubs season at Baseball Reference