1970 Chicago White Sox

BR Team Page

Record: 56-106, Finished 6th in AL Western Division (1970 AL)

Managed by Don Gutteridge (49-87), Bill Adair (4-6), and Chuck Tanner (3-13)

Coaches: Bill Adair, Luke Appling, Les Moss Hugh Mulcahy and Johnny Sain

Ballpark: Comiskey Park

History, Comments, Contributions

Despite fine individual performances by slugging third baseman/outfielder Bill Melton and pitchers Tommy John and Wilbur Wood, the 1970 Chicago White Sox set a club record with 106 losses. That record would hold for over fifty years, until eclipsed by the historically bad 2024 edition of the team.

Melton set a franchise record by hitting 33 home runs in the season, the sixth-highest total in the American League, and also drove in 96 runs. John went 12-17 in 37 starts, logging 269 1/3 innings with an ERA of 3.27 and led the team in most significant pitching categories. Wood led the AL in games pitched for the third straight year, with 77 appearances, and also saved 21 games in what was his last season as a reliever. However, beyond these three, there was little to cheer about: the next best ERA after John and Wood was Floyd Weaver at 4.38, while only two other hitters managed even double figures in homers, and only rookie OF Carlos May had a decent season with the bat besides Melton, finishing at .285 with 12 homers an 68 RBIs. The Sox did have a good catching tandem, with Ed Herrmann hitting 19 homers for an OPS+ of 135, and his main back-up, Duane Josephson, putting up an OPS+ of 114.

Manager Don Gutteridge was fired in August and replaced on an interim basis by coach Bill Adair. In early September, Chuck Tanner took over as Sox skipper and would remain in the position until the end of the 1975 season.

Awards and Honors

• All-Star: Luis Aparicio
• AL Gold Glove: Luis Aparicio (SS) and Ken Berry (OF)

1970 Opening Day Lineup

Walt Williams, rf

Luis Aparicio, ss

Carlos May, lf

Bill Melton, 3b

John Matias, 1b

Buddy Bradford, cf

Syd O'Brien, 2b

Duane Josephson, c

Tommy John, p

Related Sites

• Sam Pathy: "The Chicago White Sox, 1968–70: Three Years In Hell", in Stuart Shea, ed.: North Side, South Side, All Around Town, The National Pastime, SABR, 2015. ISBN 978-1-93359987-8