1971 Washington Senators season

MLB yearly infobox
name = Washington Senators
season = 1971
misc =

current league = American League
y1 = 1961
division = Eastern Division
y2 = 1969
Uniform logo =
ballpark = RFK Stadium
y4 = 1961
city = Washington D.C.
y5 = 1961
owners = Bob Short
managers = Ted Williams
television = WTOP
(Warner Wolf, Ray Scott, Tony Roberts)
radio =WWDC (FM)
(Ron Menchine, Tony Roberts)|

The Washington Senators 1971 season involved the Senators finishing fifth in the American League East with a record of 63 wins and 96 losses. This was the Senators' 11th and last season in Washington, as they moved to Arlington, Texas the following season, becoming the Texas Rangers. The move would leave Washington, DC without a Major League Baseball team until the Montreal Expos of the National League relocated there, and became the Washington Nationals in by|2005.

Offseason

*October 9, 1970: Ed Brinkman, Aurelio Rodríguez, Joe Coleman, and Jim Hannan was traded by the Senators to the Detroit Tigers for Denny McLain, Elliott Maddox, Norm McRae, and Don Wert. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/mclaide01.shtml Denny McLain page at Baseball Reference] ]
*November 3, 1970: Greg Goossen and Gene Martin were traded by the Senators to the Philadelphia Phillies for Curt Flood and a player to be named. The Phillies completed the deal by sending Jeff Terpko to the Senators on April 10, 1971. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/f/floodcu01.shtml Curt Flood page at Baseball Reference] ]

Regular Season

The acquisition of former Cy Young Award winner Denny McLain would not pay dividends for the franchise. Amid constant run-ins with no-nonsense Washington manager Ted Williams, Denny McLain lost 22 games in 1971. [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Denny_McLain_1944]

Opening Day starters

*Dick Bosman
*Paul Casanova
*Tim Cullen
*Mike Epstein
*Curt Flood
*Joe Foy
*Toby Harrah
*Frank Howard
*Elliott Maddox [http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1971&t=WS2]

eason standings

Transactions

*May 8, 1971: Darold Knowles and Mike Epstein were traded by the Senators to the Oakland Athletics for Frank Fernández, Don Mincher, Paul Lindblad and cash. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/k/knowlda01.shtml Darold Knowles page at Baseball Reference] ]
*June 8, 1971: Stan Thomas was drafted by the Senators in the 27th round of the 1971 Major League Baseball Draft. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/t/thomast01.shtml Stan Thomas page at Baseball Reference] ]

Roster

Player stats

Batting

"Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In"

Other pitchers

Relief pitchers

Relocation to Texas

By the end of the by|1970 season, Short had issued an ultimatum--unless someone was willing to buy the Senators for $12 million, he would not renew his lease at RFK Stadium and move elsewhere. Several parties offered to buy the team, but all fell short of Short's asking price.

Short was especially receptive to an offer from Arlington Mayor Tom Vandergriff, who had been trying to get a Major League team to play in the Metroplex for over a decade. Years earlier, Charles O. Finley, the owner of the Kansas City Athletics, sought to move his team to Dallas, but the idea was rebuffed by the other AL team owners.

Arlington's hole card was Turnpike Stadium, a 10,000-seat park which had been built in by|1965 to house the AA Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs of the Texas League. However, it had been built to Major League specifications. It was also located in a natural bowl; only minor excavations would be necessary to expand the park to major-league size.

After Vandergriff offered a multi-million dollar up-front payment, Short finally decided to pull up stakes and move. On September 20 1971; he got his wish, receiving approval from AL owners to move the franchise to Arlington for the by|1972 season.

Washington fans were outraged, leaving public relations director Ted Rodgers with the unenviable task of putting a positive spin on such events as fans unfurling a giant banner that contained Short's name, preceded by a popular four-letter invective. A photo of the banner appeared on the front page of a DC newspaper the following day.

Fan enmity came to a head in the team's last game in Washington, on September 30. Thousands of fans simply walked in without paying because the security guards left early in the game, swelling the paid attendance of 14,460 to around 25,000. The Senators led 7-5 with two outs in the top of the ninth. Just then, fans poured onto the field. An obese teenager scooped up first base and ran away. With no security guards in sight, the game was forfeited to the Yankees, 9-0.

References

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/WSA/1971.shtml 1971 Washington Senators team page at Baseball Reference]
* [http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1971&t=WS2 1971 Washington Senators team page at www.baseball-almanac.com]