Brooks Robinson, who hit .429 in the Series with two homers and two doubles and made several spectacular fielding plays like this one, was named Most Valuable Player (Illus. 1). The Hall of Fame third baseman won his 11th straight Gold Glove Award. During the Series, Robinson’s glove was always at its magical best. In Game 3, Bench drove a hard liner into the hole. Diving headlong, Brooks caught the ball, skidded to a halt, and raise his glove to let the umpire know that “seeing was believing.” In the following game, Robinson dove and wound up in foul territory, the ball nestling in his glove.

Contributing to Baltimore’s offensive production were Boog Powell, the power hitting first baseman (Illus. 2), outfielders Frank Robinson and Paul Blair, and catcher Elrod Hendricks. Robinson hit 25 home runs while hitting .306. Blair, despite missing three weeks with an injury, batted a blistering .474 in the five games. Hendricks batted .364, and Frank Robinson and Parker hit two home runs each. Following the Series, Parker was voted the AL MVP. Brooks Robinson, however, did it all. He used his glove to repeatedly rob the opposition of base hits, and he used his bat to collect nine hits and drive in six runs.

Weaver was among the most successful skippers of his era. In 17 seasons with Baltimore, the Hall of Fame manager won the American League East title six times, the AL pennant four times, and the World Series once. Weaver, pictured here just prior to a game in Oakland (Illus. 3), assembled a team that had outstanding pitching, sharp fielding, and good hitting. Weaver didn’t like the sacrifice bunt. “If you play for one run, that’s all you’ll get,” he said. “Don’t play for one run unless you know that run will win a ballgame.” On January 19 of this year, Weaver, 82, died of an apparent heart attack.

The Orioles started the ’70 Series with an opening game victory, 4-3, behind right-hander Jim Palmer’s five hitter and home runs by Hendricks, Powell and Brooks Robinson. Baltimore won the second game, 6-5, with a five-run fifth inning and the relief work of Tom Phoebus and Moe Drabowsky. The Oriole’s awesome fielding display continued in Game 3. Following a two-bagger by Brooks, Cincinnati’s Wayne Granger loaded the bases, and Oriole’s pitcher Steve McNally hit Granger’s pitch into the left-field bleachers giving Baltimore a commanding lead.

Baltimore took the edge in Game 4 on Brooks Robinson’s two RBIs and 4 for 4 day. However, Cincinnati came back on a three-run homer by Lee May in the eighth to stay alive for another day. In Game 5, southpaw Mike Cuellar pitched the Orioles to a 9-3 win. After allowing three runs on four hits in the first, Cuellar shut the Reds out the rest of the way, clinching the World Series Championship for Baltimore. Pictured here during an Orioles’ pre-game infield practice, Robinson prepares to throw to first base (Illus. 4).

The 1970 pennant race was never close in the American League East. Baltimore was in first place when May began, and on July 19, the Yankees closed to within three games. From then on, however, the Orioles were 52-18 and finished with a 108-54 record, 15 games in front.

Batting The Baltimore Orioles were led offensively by Boog Powell, the powerful hitting first baseman. During the 1970 World Series, Brooks Robinson showed he could be just as dangerous at the plate as on the field. (Illus. 5) Both he and outfielder Frank Robinson, shown here, were later inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame (Illus. 6).

Powell followed up on an outstanding year in 1969 with another standout season in ’70, winning the AL MVP. The 28-year old slugger hit 35 home runs and had 114 RBIs, while hitting .297 and drawing 104 walks. Both he and Frank Robinson hit two home runs each in the Series. Boog was voted the American League MVP.

Fundamentally perfect, Powell’s batting swing is a picture of great power as he gets around on an inside pitch (Series A). Everything – shoulders and arms, hips, wrists and hands – are put together in perfect unison to send the ball soaring for the fences. Popping his wrists with explosive quickness, Boog whips the big end of the bat with maximum drive.

Bunting The bunting technique used by many major league players today involves pivoting on the balls of their feet and remaining in their tracks. They merely square their hips without lifting their feet off the ground. In the series below, however, Orioles shortstop Mark Belanger squares around with the feet, rather than just squaring the hips and shoulders. Mark felt he had better coverage of the entire part of the plate (Series B).

Pitching The Orioles’ 1970 pitching staff easily led the American League in ERA with a 3.15 mark. It was led by two 24-game winners, Dave McNally, pictured left (Illus. 7), and Mike Cuellar. Jim Palmer, a first-time 20 game winner, is shown on the right demonstrating his fast ball grip (Illus. 8). McNally, showing his curve ball grip, won Game 3 of the ’70 Series, with a complete game and 5 strikeouts. Palmer was 1-0 in two games in 15 1/3 innings of work, with 9 strikeouts.