This was the final season the majority of MLB teams wore
wool flannel uniforms. The
Pirates and
Cardinals wore double knit uniforms of
nylon and
rayon throughout 1971, and the
Orioles gradually phased out flannels, going all-double knit in time for the ALCS. By 1973, flannel uniforms completely disappeared from the MLB scene.
Three of the four division races were anticlimactic; the only race was in the N.L. West between old rivals Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. The Giants led by 8.5 games on September 1 but the Dodgers chipped away. In mid September, the Dodgers won 8 in a row, including 5 over the Giants to narrow the gap to one game. But they could get no closer; ultimately both teams won on the final day of the season and the Giants won the division by 1 game.
February 9 – Former
Negro leagues pitcher
Satchel Paige is nominated for the Hall of Fame. On June 10, the Hall's new Veterans Committee formally selected Paige for induction.
March 7 - The
Milwaukee Brewers and
Oakland Athletics play a spring training game where only three balls are needed for a walk. The Athletics won 13–9, with the game featuring 19 walks. The experiment is not tried again.[26]
April 6 –
Bill White, a former NL first baseman, became the first African-American to do play-by-play as part of a regular broadcast crew of a team, when the
New York Yankees opened the season with a game in Boston.
June 23 – In a singular performance, pitcher
Rick Wise of the
Philadelphia Phillies no-hits the Reds, 4–0, and bangs two home runs in the game. Wise joins
Earl Wilson and
Wes Ferrell as the only pitchers to pitch a no-hitter and hit a home run in the same game. It is the second no-hitter against Cincinnati this month, both in
Riverfront Stadium.
July–December
July 7 – Commissioner Kuhn announces that players from the Negro leagues elected to the Hall of Fame will be given full membership in the museum. It had been previously announced that they would be honored in a separate wing.
July 9 – The
Oakland Athletics beat the
California Angels 1–0 in 20 innings – the longest shutout in
American League history.
Vida Blue strikes out 17 batters in 11 innings for Oakland, while the Angels'
Billy Cowan ties a major league record by fanning six times. Both teams combine for 43 strikeouts, a new major league record.
August 14 – Ten days after his 200th victory,
St. Louis Cardinal pitcher
Bob Gibsonno-hits the
Pittsburgh Pirates 11–0, the first no-hitter ever pitched at
Three Rivers Stadium. He strikes out 10 batters along the way; three of those are to
Willie Stargell, including the final out. The no-hitter is the first to be pitched in
Pittsburgh in 64 years; none had been pitched in the 62-year (mid-1909 to mid-1970) history of Three Rivers Stadium's predecessor,
Forbes Field.
August 28 – Phillies pitcher
Rick Wise hits two home runs, including a
grand slam off
Don McMahon, in the second game of a doubleheader, duplicating his feat in his June no-hitter. Wise beats the Giants 7–3.
September 30 – The Washington Senators' lead 7–5 in their last home game, but forfeit the game to the
New York Yankees, when, with two outs in the top of the ninth, fans storm the field. The Senators moved to
Dallas, Texas, and became the
Texas Rangers for the 1972 season, leaving the Nation's Capital without an MLB team until 2005.
October 17 – Pitcher
Steve Blass throws a four-hitter and
Roberto Clemente homers as the
Pittsburgh Pirates win Game Seven of the
World Series over the
Baltimore Orioles, 2–1, becoming World Champions for the first time since 1960. Clemente is named the Series MVP. Game Four of this World Series was the first night game played in Series history.
November 2 – The Orioles'
Pat Dobson pitches a
no-hitter against the
Yomiuri Giants, winning 2–0. It is the first no-hitter in
Japanese-American baseball exhibition history. The Orioles compile a record of 12–2–4 on the tour.
This was the final season the majority of MLB teams wore
wool flannel uniforms. The
Pirates and
Cardinals wore double knit uniforms of
nylon and
rayon throughout 1971, and the
Orioles gradually phased out flannels, going all-double knit in time for the ALCS. By 1973, flannel uniforms completely disappeared from the MLB scene.
Three of the four division races were anticlimactic; the only race was in the N.L. West between old rivals Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. The Giants led by 8.5 games on September 1 but the Dodgers chipped away. In mid September, the Dodgers won 8 in a row, including 5 over the Giants to narrow the gap to one game. But they could get no closer; ultimately both teams won on the final day of the season and the Giants won the division by 1 game.
February 9 – Former
Negro leagues pitcher
Satchel Paige is nominated for the Hall of Fame. On June 10, the Hall's new Veterans Committee formally selected Paige for induction.
March 7 - The
Milwaukee Brewers and
Oakland Athletics play a spring training game where only three balls are needed for a walk. The Athletics won 13–9, with the game featuring 19 walks. The experiment is not tried again.[26]
April 6 –
Bill White, a former NL first baseman, became the first African-American to do play-by-play as part of a regular broadcast crew of a team, when the
New York Yankees opened the season with a game in Boston.
June 23 – In a singular performance, pitcher
Rick Wise of the
Philadelphia Phillies no-hits the Reds, 4–0, and bangs two home runs in the game. Wise joins
Earl Wilson and
Wes Ferrell as the only pitchers to pitch a no-hitter and hit a home run in the same game. It is the second no-hitter against Cincinnati this month, both in
Riverfront Stadium.
July–December
July 7 – Commissioner Kuhn announces that players from the Negro leagues elected to the Hall of Fame will be given full membership in the museum. It had been previously announced that they would be honored in a separate wing.
July 9 – The
Oakland Athletics beat the
California Angels 1–0 in 20 innings – the longest shutout in
American League history.
Vida Blue strikes out 17 batters in 11 innings for Oakland, while the Angels'
Billy Cowan ties a major league record by fanning six times. Both teams combine for 43 strikeouts, a new major league record.
August 14 – Ten days after his 200th victory,
St. Louis Cardinal pitcher
Bob Gibsonno-hits the
Pittsburgh Pirates 11–0, the first no-hitter ever pitched at
Three Rivers Stadium. He strikes out 10 batters along the way; three of those are to
Willie Stargell, including the final out. The no-hitter is the first to be pitched in
Pittsburgh in 64 years; none had been pitched in the 62-year (mid-1909 to mid-1970) history of Three Rivers Stadium's predecessor,
Forbes Field.
August 28 – Phillies pitcher
Rick Wise hits two home runs, including a
grand slam off
Don McMahon, in the second game of a doubleheader, duplicating his feat in his June no-hitter. Wise beats the Giants 7–3.
September 30 – The Washington Senators' lead 7–5 in their last home game, but forfeit the game to the
New York Yankees, when, with two outs in the top of the ninth, fans storm the field. The Senators moved to
Dallas, Texas, and became the
Texas Rangers for the 1972 season, leaving the Nation's Capital without an MLB team until 2005.
October 17 – Pitcher
Steve Blass throws a four-hitter and
Roberto Clemente homers as the
Pittsburgh Pirates win Game Seven of the
World Series over the
Baltimore Orioles, 2–1, becoming World Champions for the first time since 1960. Clemente is named the Series MVP. Game Four of this World Series was the first night game played in Series history.
November 2 – The Orioles'
Pat Dobson pitches a
no-hitter against the
Yomiuri Giants, winning 2–0. It is the first no-hitter in
Japanese-American baseball exhibition history. The Orioles compile a record of 12–2–4 on the tour.