Fifty years ago, the Yankees had a year that many have forgotten.
After their dynasty ended in 1964, Yankees’ teams from 1965 through 1973 were often lumped together as a collection of mediocrity.
This year was different.
It was 1970 and two years removed from Mickey Mantle’s final season. The Yankees took their first step to find their new identity the previous season and struggled to an overall 80-81 record and a fifth-place finish in the American League East. Joe Pepitone hit 27 homers and many considered him to fill Mantle’s shoes.
But Pepitone was traded to Houston in the offseason and budding catcher and eventual Rookie of the Year Thurman Munson, and first baseman John Ellis and veteran third baseman Danny Cater were viewed as a new nucleus.
Left fielder Roy White, second baseman Horace Clarke, and shortstop Gene Michael were the returning steady veterans. Bobby Murcer was the emerging superstar.
Mel Stottlemyre, Fritz Peterson, and Stan Bahnsen spearheaded the pitching staff. Lindy McDaniel was in the twilight of his career, yet he still was an effective closer.
On paper, it looked like a team still in transition. On the field, though, they managed to piece together the most wins in a season (93) since 1964 and their highest finish (first) since that season.
It took four years for the team to achieve its next second-place finish in 1974 when they won 89 games, and the Yanks then won the AL East in 1976.
Under Ralph Houk, the Yankees couldn’t get on track in April and most of May. They managed to post a five-game winning streak in May, but consistency was an issue.
June brought a change with the trimmed down version of the Bronx Bombers winning 17 of 24 games. They began to distance themselves from the rest of the pack behind them. Winning the AL East appeared to be a monumental task with the juggernaut Orioles keeping them in their rearview mirror en route to an 108-win season and a World Championship.
The Yankees lost seven of their first eight in July. They dropped nine of their first 12 before the All-Star break. Stottlemyre, Peterson, and White were reserves on the AL squad.
A six-game win streak in late July proved to be their longest streak until it was matched by one in late September.
In the end, the Yankees finished with a 93-69 mark that included a 53-28 mark in Yankee Stadium.
They had a stellar 47-25 mark against the AL West that feature the 98-win and stacked Minnesota Twins.
White was the team’s offensive stalwart as he led the team in RBIs (94), hits (180), and stolen bases (24). Murcer hit a team-high 23 homers and White added 23. White played in all 162 games. Munson had the highest batting average among the regulars (.302) and rapped 25 doubles in 132 games.
Peterson, Stottlemyre, and Bahnsen (1968 AL Rookie of the Year) lived up to their billing. The triple-threat won 20, 15, and 14 games respectively. McDaniel won nine games and saved 29.
Peterson and young lefty Mike Kekich would rise to fame in 1973 for their wife-swapping incident. It swiftly ended their Yankees’ careers. Kekich was traded in June of that season, and Peterson in 1974, both of them ironically to Cleveland.
Munson and White would be the lone survivors to join the club’s rise to their elitism in the mid- and late 70’s.
Houk, who would manage three more seasons in pinstripes, won the AL Manager of the Year award.
The 1970 team didn’t have anything to show for their effort, but their 93-win season is one often lost in Yankees’ lore.
