1970 International League season

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The 1970 International League season was the 85th in the league's history, and ended with the Syracuse Chiefs winning their second straight Governors' Cup. The Chiefs would go on to win the Junior World Series for the first time.

Not only would the Columbus Jets suffer a fourth straight loss in the Governors' Cup finals, the Columbus Youth Foundation board of trustees, which ran the club, voted to shut down operations after the season ended. Oddly, the decision was made before the end of the regular season. As a result, playoff attendance was low. Game 2 of the semifinal series against Rochester drew just 784 fans.

Attendance was also the reason for the departure of the Buffalo Bisons. Averaging just 700 fans at War Memorial Stadium, and having been turned down in its attempt to use a high school facility, the league shut down the Bisons franchise on June 4. Ownership of a provisional franchise was awarded to the Montreal Expos, who placed the team in Winnipeg.

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Syracuse Chiefs	84	56	.600	-	Frank Verdi	New York Yankees
Columbus Jets	81	59	.579	3	Joe Morgan	Pittsburgh Pirates
Rochester Red Wings	76	64	.543	8	Cal Ripken	Baltimore Orioles
Tidewater Tides	74	66	.529	10	Chuck Hiller	New York Mets
Richmond Braves	73	67	.528	11	Mickey Vernon	Atlanta Braves
Louisville Colonels	69	71	.493	15	Billy Gardner	Boston Red Sox
Buffalo Bisons/Winnipeg Whips	52	88	.371	32	Clyde McCullough	Montreal Expos
Toledo Mud Hens	51	89	.364	33	Frank Carswell	Detroit Tigers

Playoffs

	First Round					Governors' Cup Finals
	1	Syracuse Chiefs	3
	4	Tidewater Tides	0
						1	Syracuse Chiefs	3
						2	Columbus Jets	1
	2	Columbus Jets	3
	3	Rochester Red Wings	2

First Round

Syracuse vs. Tidewater Date Away Home September 4 Tidewater 2 Syracuse 4 September 5 Tidewater 2 Syracuse 4 September 6 Syracuse 10 Tidewater 0 Syracuse wins series 3-0

Columbus vs. Rochester Date Away Home September 4 Rochester 6 Columbus 3 September 5 Rochester 3 Columbus 9 September 6 Columbus 10 Rochester 1 September 7 Columbus 6 Rochester 10 September 8 Columbus 5 Rochester 4 Columbus wins series 3-2

Governor's Cup Finals

Syracuse vs. Columbus Date Away Home September 9 Columbus 2 Syracuse 4 September 10 Columbus 5 Syracuse 9 September 11 Syracuse 11 Columbus 13 September 12 Syracuse 8 Columbus 3 Syracuse wins series 3-1 and advances to Junior World Series

League Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average Ralph Garr, Richmond, .386
• Runs Scored Don Baylor, Rochester, 127
• Hits Roger Freed, Rochester, 168
• Doubles Baylor, 34
• Triples Baylor, 15
• Home Runs Hal Breeden, Richmond, 37
• Runs Batted In Freed, 130
• Stolen Bases Garr, 39

Pitching

• Wins Rob Gardner, Syracuse, 16
• Earned Run Average Gardner, 2.53
• Complete Games Ernie McAnally, Winnipeg, 14
• Shutouts Gardner, 4
• Strikeouts McAnally, 178
• Saves Al Severinsen, Rochester, 22

All-Star Team

• First Base George Kopacz, Columbus
• Second Base Len Boehmer, Syracuse
• Shortstop Frank Baker, Syracuse
• Third Base Mike Ferraro, Rochester
• Outfield Roger Freed, Rochester; Don Baylor, Rochester; Ralph Garr, Richmond
• Catcher Bob Montgomery, Louisville; Milt May, Columbus
• Pitcher Hal Reniff, Syracuse; Ernie McAnally, Winnipeg; Rob Gardner, Syracuse
• Manager Frank Verdi, Syracuse

References

The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, editors. Baseball America, 1993.

Jim Mandelaro and Scott Pitoniak. Silver Seasons. Syracuse University Press, 1995.

Brian Bennett, On A Silver Diamond: The Story Of Rochester Community Baseball from 1956-1996. Triphammer Publishing, 1997.

1971 Baseball Guide

External Links

1970 Rochester Red Wings review – On A Silver Diamond