1971 Baltimore Orioles season

the 1971 Baltimore Orioles season finished first in the American League East, with a record of 101 wins and 57 losses. They returned to the World Series for the third consecutive season, but were defeated by the Pittsburgh Pirates in seven games at home. As of 2025, the 1971 Orioles are one of only two Major League Baseball clubs (the 1920 Chicago White Sox being the other) to have four 20-game winners in a season: Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar, and Pat Dobson.

Offseason

December 16, 1970: Roger Freed was traded by the Orioles to the Philadelphia Phillies for Grant Jackson, Jim Hutto and Sam Parrilla

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day starters

Notable transactions

May 28, 1971: Jim Hardin was traded by the Orioles to the New York Yankees for Bill Burbach.
May 28, 1971: Dave Boswell was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.

Draft picks

June 8, 1971: 1971 Major League Baseball draft
Randy Stein was drafted by the Orioles in the 1st round (23rd pick).
Kiko Garcia was drafted by the Orioles in the 3rd round. Player signed June 27, 1971.

Roster

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

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Other pitchers

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

Relief pitchers

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

Postseason

ALCS

Baltimore Orioles defeat the Oakland Athletics, 3Ã¢ÂÂ0

World Series

NL Pittsburgh Pirates (4) vs. AL Baltimore Orioles (3)

Farm system

<small>LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rochester, Miami, Bluefield</small>

Japan tour

Three days after the conclusion of the World Series, the Orioles embarked on a tour of Japan to play 18 games against Nippon Professional Baseball competition beginning on October 23. The team had accepted the invitation to participate in the Yomiuri Shimbun-sponsored event at the start of the calendar year on January 1. Included in the 12–2–4 overall record was the Orioles going undefeated at 8–0–3 in head-to-head competition against the Yomiuri Giants which was owned by the tour's sponsor and had recently captured its seventh consecutive Japan Series championship.

The Japanese point of view of high hopes entering the exhibitions and the disappointment with the unfavorably lopsided results is chronicled in Robert Whiting's 1977 book The Chrysanthemum and the Bat.

Source: Baltimore Orioles 1972 Media Guide (scroll down to pages 25 and 26).