In 1971, the Baltimore Orioles finished first in the American League East, with a record of 101 wins and 57 losses. As of 2023, the 1971 Orioles are one of only two Major League Baseball clubs (the 1920 Chicago White Sox being the other) to have four 20-game winners in a season: Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar, and Pat Dobson.

Offseason

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day starters

Notable transactions

Draft picks

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Postseason

ALCS

Baltimore Orioles defeat the Oakland Athletics, 3–0

World Series

NL Pittsburgh Pirates (4) vs. AL Baltimore Orioles (3)

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rochester, Miami, Bluefield

Japan tour

Three days after the conclusion of the World Series, the Orioles embarked on a tour of Japan to play 18 games against Nippon Professional Baseball competition beginning on October 23. The team had accepted the invitation to participate in the Yomiuri Shimbun-sponsored event at the start of the calendar year on January 1. Included in the 12–2–4 overall record was the Orioles going undefeated at 8–0–3 in head-to-head competition against the Yomiuri Giants which was owned by the tour's sponsor and had recently captured its seventh consecutive Japan Series championship. The Japanese point of view of high hopes entering the exhibitions and the disappointment with the unfavorably lopsided results is chronicled in Robert Whiting's 1977 book The Chrysanthemum and the Bat. Source: Baltimore Orioles 1972 Media Guide (scroll down to pages 25 and 26).