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1969 World Series

The 1969 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1969 season. The 66th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Baltimore Orioles and the National League (NL) champion New York Mets. The Mets won the series, four games to one, to accomplish one of the greatest upsets in Series history,[1] as that particular Orioles team was considered to be one of the finest ever. The World Series win earned the team the sobriquet "The Miracle Mets". This was the first World Series of MLB's divisional era.

1969 World Series
Team (Wins) Manager(s) Season
New York Mets (4) Gil Hodges 100–62, .617, GA: 8
Baltimore Orioles (1) Earl Weaver 109–53, .673, GA: 19
DatesOctober 11–16
VenueMemorial Stadium (Baltimore)
Shea Stadium (New York)
MVPDonn Clendenon (New York)
UmpiresHank Soar (AL), Frank Secory (NL), Larry Napp (AL), Shag Crawford (NL), Lou DiMuro (AL), Lee Weyer (NL)
Hall of FamersMets:
Gil Hodges (manager)
Yogi Berra (coach)
Whitey Herzog (Director of Player Development)
Tom Seaver
Nolan Ryan
Orioles:
Earl Weaver (manager)
Jim Palmer
Brooks Robinson
Frank Robinson
Broadcast
TelevisionNBC
TV announcersCurt Gowdy
Bill O'Donnell (in Baltimore)
Lindsey Nelson (in New York)
RadioNBC
Radio announcersJim Simpson
Ralph Kiner (in Baltimore)
Bill O'Donnell (in New York)
ALCSBaltimore Orioles over Minnesota Twins (3–0)
NLCSNew York Mets over Atlanta Braves (3–0)
← 1968 World Series 1970 →

The Mets became the first expansion team to win a division title, a pennant, and the World Series, winning in their eighth year of existence, becoming the fastest expansion team to win a World Series up to that point.[2] Two teams eventually surpassed the latter record, as the Florida Marlins won the 1997 World Series in their fifth year (also becoming the first wild card team to win a World Series) and the Arizona Diamondbacks won the 2001 World Series in their fourth year of play. The 1969 World Series was the first World Series since 1954 to have games played in New York that did not involve the New York Yankees. It was also the first World Series in which neither the New York Giants nor Brooklyn Dodgers (as both teams had moved to California in 1958) represented New York from the NL; all subsequent World Series with a New York-area NL team participating have involved the Mets, who have been the only NL baseball team located in New York City since that era.

Route to the World Series edit

New York Mets edit

The New York Mets, who had never finished higher than ninth place (next-to-last) nor won more than 73 games in a season since joining the National League in 1962, were not highly regarded before the 1969 season started. In fact, the best that could be said for them was that because the National League was being split into two divisions that year (as was the American League), the Mets were guaranteed to finish no lower than sixth place. The fact that the Mets began the season by losing 11–10 to the then-expansion Montreal Expos seemed to confirm this. With three weeks to go in the season, the underdog Mets stormed past the Chicago Cubs, who had led the Eastern Division for most of the season, winning 38 of their final 49 games for a total of 100 wins and becoming the first National League Eastern Division champions. Third-year pitcher Tom Seaver won a major-league-leading 25 games en route to his first Cy Young Award; the other two top Mets starting pitchers, Jerry Koosman and rookie Gary Gentry, combined to win 30 more games. Outfielder Cleon Jones hit a (then) club-record .340 and finished third in the National League batting race, while his lifelong friend and outfield mate Tommie Agee hit 26 home runs and drove in 76 runs to lead the club; they were the only players on the team who garnered more than 400 at bats. Manager Gil Hodges also employed a platoon system like the Yankees of the Casey Stengel era, in which Ron Swoboda and Art Shamsky became a switch-hitting right fielder who hit 23 home runs and drove in 100 runs, and Ed Kranepool and Donn Clendenon added up to a switch-hitting first baseman who hit 23 more homers and knocked in another 95 runs. In the first League Championship Series, the normally light-hitting Mets, once again considered underdogs despite having a better regular-season record than their opponent, put on a power display by scoring 27 runs in sweeping the favored Atlanta Braves in three games.

Baltimore Orioles edit

The Baltimore Orioles, by contrast, were practically flawless and featured stars at almost every position. They breezed through the 1969 season, winning 109 games (the most games won since the 1961 Yankees) and became the first American League Eastern Division champions by 19 games, then brushing aside the Minnesota Twins three games to none in the ALCS to win their second pennant in four years. The Orioles were led by star sluggers Frank Robinson and Boog Powell, who each hit over 30 home runs and drove in over 100 runs; third baseman Brooks Robinson, perhaps the best-fielding hot-corner player in baseball history; and pitchers Mike Cuellar, Dave McNally, and Jim Palmer, who combined for 63 victories.

Summary edit

NL New York Mets (4) vs. AL Baltimore Orioles (1)

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 11 New York Mets – 1, Baltimore Orioles – 4 Memorial Stadium 2:13 50,429[3] 
2 October 12 New York Mets – 2, Baltimore Orioles – 1 Memorial Stadium 2:20 50,850[4] 
3 October 14 Baltimore Orioles – 0, New York Mets – 5 Shea Stadium 2:23 56,335[5] 
4 October 15 Baltimore Orioles – 1, New York Mets – 2 (10) Shea Stadium 2:33 57,367[6] 
5 October 16 Baltimore Orioles – 3, New York Mets – 5 Shea Stadium 2:14 57,397[7]

Matchups edit

Game 1 edit

 
Don Buford
Saturday, October 11, 1969 1:00 pm (ET) at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
New York 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 6 1
Baltimore 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 X 4 6 0
WP: Mike Cuellar (1–0)   LP: Tom Seaver (0–1)
Home runs:
NYM: None
BAL: Don Buford (1)

With this win, the Orioles looked to be proving all the prognosticators right, as it was a dominant performance. Don Buford hit Tom Seaver's second pitch of the game for a home run, which just evaded Ron Swoboda's leaping attempt at catching it. The O's then added three more runs in the fourth when, with two outs, Elrod Hendricks singled and Davey Johnson walked. Mark Belanger then singled in a run, followed by an RBI single by pitcher Mike Cuellar. Buford capped the inning off by doubling in Belanger.

The Mets got their run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Al Weis. Orioles starter Mike Cuellar was the winner, allowing just that run in a complete-game effort.

Despite the opening-game loss, nobody on the Mets was discouraged. Tom Seaver – the game's losing pitcher – said years later "I swear, we came into the clubhouse more confident than when we had left it. Somebody – I think it was Clendenon – yelled out, 'Dammit, we can beat these guys!' And we believed it. A team knows if they've been badly beaten or outplayed. And we felt we hadn't been. The feeling wasn't that we had lost, but Hey, we nearly won that game! We hadn't been more than a hit or two from turning it around. It hit us like a ton of bricks."[8]

Game 2 edit

 
Jerry Koosman
Sunday, October 12, 1969 2:00 pm (ET) at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
New York 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 6 0
Baltimore 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 0
WP: Jerry Koosman (1–0)   LP: Dave McNally (0–1)   Sv: Ron Taylor (1)
Home runs:
NYM: Donn Clendenon (1)
BAL: None

Mets pitcher Jerry Koosman pitched six innings of no-hit ball, trying to match Don Larsen's World Series no-hit feat. Donn Clendenon provided him a slim lead with a home run in the fourth inning.

However, Koosman lost the no-hitter and the lead in the seventh inning as Paul Blair singled, stole second, and scored on a single by Brooks Robinson. But that was it for the Orioles' offense. The Mets pushed across a run in the top of the ninth on back-to-back-to-back singles by Ed Charles, Jerry Grote, and Al Weis, the latter scoring Charles. This proved to be the decisive run, and Orioles starter Dave McNally took the loss.

Koosman had trouble finishing the game, as he issued two-out walks in the bottom of the ninth to Frank Robinson and Boog Powell. Ron Taylor came on to retire Brooks Robinson for the final out and earn the save.

Game 3 edit

 
Ed Kranepool
Tuesday, October 14, 1969 1:00 pm (ET) at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Baltimore 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1
New York 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 X 5 6 0
WP: Gary Gentry (1–0)   LP: Jim Palmer (0–1)   Sv: Nolan Ryan (1)
Home runs:
BAL: None
NYM: Tommie Agee (1), Ed Kranepool

Agee led off the game for the Mets with a home run off Jim Palmer, then saved at least five runs with his defense. With two out in the fourth and Oriole runners on first and third, Agee raced to the 396-foot (121 m) sign in left-center and made a backhanded running catch of a drive hit by Elrod Hendricks. In the seventh, the Orioles had the bases loaded with two out, but Agee made a diving grab of a line drive hit by Paul Blair in right-center.

Ed Kranepool added a home run and Jerry Grote an RBI double for the Mets, while Gary Gentry pitched 6+23 shutout innings and helped his own cause with a second inning two-run double. Nolan Ryan, making his only World Series appearance of his 27-year career, pitched the final 2+13 innings (benefiting from Agee's second catch) and earned a save.

Game 4 edit

 
Tom Seaver
Wednesday, October 15, 1969 1:00 pm (ET) at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Baltimore 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 6 1
New York 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 10 1
WP: Tom Seaver (1–1)   LP: Dick Hall (0–1)
Home runs:
BAL: None
NYM: Donn Clendenon (2)

Game 4 was mired in controversy. Tom Seaver's photograph was used on some anti-war Moratorium Day literature being distributed outside Shea Stadium before the game, although the pitcher stated that his picture was used without his knowledge or approval. A further controversy that day involved the flying of the American flag at Shea Stadium. New York City Mayor John Lindsay had ordered flags flown at half staff to observe the Moratorium Day and honor those who had died in Vietnam. Many were concerned, including 225 wounded servicemen who were attending the game, and Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn announced that the American flag would be flown at full staff at Shea for Game 4.[9]

Tom Seaver atoned for his Game 1 ineffectiveness by shutting out the Orioles through eight innings. Once again, Donn Clendenon provided the lead with a homer in the second off Game 1 winner Mike Cuellar, who allowed just that run over seven solid innings. In the third inning, after arguing ball-strike calls too strenuously with plate umpire Shag Crawford, Earl Weaver of the Orioles became the first manager since 1935 to be ejected from a World Series game.

In the top of the ninth, Seaver ran into trouble. Frank Robinson and Boog Powell hit back-to-back one-out singles to put runners on first and third. Brooks Robinson then hit a sinking line drive towards right that Mets right fielder Ron Swoboda dove for and caught just inches off the ground. Frank Robinson tagged and scored, but Swoboda's heroics kept the Orioles from possibly taking the lead. Elrod Hendricks then flied out to Swoboda to end the inning.

In the bottom of the tenth, Jerry Grote led off by blooping a double to left. Al Weis was intentionally walked to set up a force play and get to the pitcher's spot in the lineup. Mets manager Gil Hodges sent J. C. Martin up to hit for Seaver. Martin laid down a sacrifice bunt, but Orioles reliever Pete Richert hit Martin in the wrist with his throw to first, and the ball went down the right field line. Rod Gaspar, running for Grote, came around to score the winning run.

Replays showed Martin running inside the first-base line, which appeared to hinder Richert's ability to make a good throw and Orioles second baseman Davey Johnson from catching it. Subsequent controversy focused on MLB rule 6.05 (k),[10] which says that a batter shall be out—with the ball dead and the runners returned to their original bases—if "...In running the last half of the distance from home base to first base, while the ball is being fielded to first base, he runs outside (to the right of) the three-foot line, or inside (to the left of) the foul line, and in the umpire's judgment in so doing interferes with the fielder taking the throw at first base."

The umpires' judgment was that Martin did not interfere.

Game 5 edit

 
Donn Clendenon
Thursday, October 16, 1969 1:00 pm (ET) at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Baltimore 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 2
New York 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 X 5 7 0
WP: Jerry Koosman (2–0)   LP: Eddie Watt (0–1)
Home runs:
BAL: Dave McNally (1), Frank Robinson (1)
NYM: Donn Clendenon (3), Al Weis (1)

Dave McNally shut out the Mets through five innings and helped himself with a two-run homer in the third inning. Frank Robinson homered in the inning as well, and the Orioles looked to be cruising with a 3–0 lead.

The Mets, however, benefited from two questionable umpire's calls. In the top of the sixth inning, Mets starting pitcher Jerry Koosman appeared to have hit Frank Robinson with a pitch, but plate umpire Lou DiMuro ruled that the pitch hit his bat before hitting him and denied him first base. Replays showed, however, that Robinson was indeed hit first — the ball struck him on the hip, then bounced up and hit his bat.

In the bottom of the sixth, McNally bounced a pitch that appeared to have hit Mets left fielder Cleon Jones on the foot, then bounced into the Mets' dugout. McNally and the Orioles claimed the ball hit the dirt and not Jones, but Mets manager Gil Hodges showed the ball to DiMuro, who found a spot of shoe polish on the ball and awarded Jones first base. McNally then gave up Series MVP Donn Clendenon's third homer of the series (a record for a five-game World Series that was tied by the Phillies' Ryan Howard in the 2008 Classic and by Boston’s Steve Pearce in the 2018 Series) to cut the lead to 3–2.

However, the renowned "shoe polish" incident may not be such a simple, straightforward matter. On August 22, 2009, at the 40th-anniversary celebration of the Mets' 1969 Championship, held at their new stadium, Citi Field, Jerry Koosman stated in several media interviews[11] that, in actuality, Hodges had instructed him to rub the ball on his shoe, which he did, and after that Hodges showed the ball to the umpire. Koosman's claim does not necessarily mean that the ball did not strike Jones on the foot, nor does it even mean that the polish on the ball seen by the umpire was put there by Koosman – it is certainly conceivable that there was already a genuine spot of polish on the ball, which easily could have escaped Koosman's notice as he hastily created the fraudulent one. In any case, Koosman's allegation at the very least adds an intriguing layer of uncertainty and possible chicanery to an already legendary event. Koosman was known for his sense of humor, and his love of practical jokes when he was an active player. Therefore, his claim of having scuffed the ball against his own shoe could be a ruse. Besides, there are other stories which have been told about that incident, by other players who were in the Mets dugout that day. One of those stories comes from Ron Swoboda, who said during an interview on the Mets 1986 25th Anniversary video, that when the ball came bounding into the Mets dugout, it hit an open ball bag under the bench, and several batting / infield practice balls came spilling out on the dugout floor. According to Swoboda, one could not distinguish the actual game ball from any of the ones that spilled out of the bag. Hodges quickly looked down, grabbed a ball that had a black streak on it, and walked it out to the home plate umpire, who then awarded first base to Jones. In any case, this incident provided baseball with yet another entertaining legend, about which the absolute truth will probably never be known.

The Mets then tied the score in the seventh on a home run by the unheralded and light-hitting Al Weis. Weis hit only seven home runs in his big league career; this was the only home run he hit at Shea Stadium and, in fact, was the only home run he hit playing for the home team in any major league park. Weis led all batters in the series with a .455 average.

The winning runs scored in the eighth as Game 4 defensive hero Ron Swoboda doubled in Jones with the go-ahead run. Swoboda then scored when Jerry Grote's grounder was mishandled by first baseman Boog Powell, whose throw to first was then dropped by pitcher Eddie Watt in an unusual double error. Jerry Koosman got the win, his second of the series. With two outs in the top of the ninth inning, Koosman faced Orioles second baseman Davey Johnson (who, coincidentally, later managed the Mets to their second World Series championship in 1986). After taking a pitch of two balls and one strike, Johnson hit a fly-ball out to left field which was caught by Cleon Jones.[12] After a shaky third inning, Koosman settled down to retire 19 of the next 21 batters he faced, giving up a single and a walk.

Karl Ehrhardt, a Mets fan known as "the sign man" at Shea Stadium, held up a sign that read There Are No Words soon after the final out was made. The sign made an appearance in the Series highlight film. Immediately following the victory, thousands of fans rushed onto the field and the Mets were forced to retreat to their locker room.[12] Bill Gleason, a sports columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, alleged that this feat would not repeated again until Disco Demolition Night,[13] an event which saw many people rush onto the playing field in Comiskey Park just before the second game of a doubleheader between the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers was scheduled to begin on July 12, 1979.[13]

In all four Mets victories, their starting first baseman hit a home run: Donn Clendenon in Games 2, 4 and 5, and Ed Kranepool in Game 3. The expression, "Good pitching defeats good hitting", was never more evident than in this World Series; Baltimore collected only 23 hits for a .146 batting average, both team lows for a 5-game series. After winning Game 1 in which the Orioles had only six hits, Baltimore only managed a .134 batting average (17-for-127) over the next four games. Boog Powell led the Orioles with five hits and a .263 average—but all were non-scoring singles (although one advanced Frank Robinson to third base to set up Swoboda's defensive heroics). Don Buford collected two hits in four at-bats in the opening game, including a lead-off home run against Tom Seaver, but went 0-for-16 over the next four games. Paul Blair went 2-for-20, Davey Johnson 1-for-16, Frank Robinson 3-for-16, Brooks Robinson 1-for-19, and Mark Belanger 3-for-15. The Orioles offense only managed four extra-base hits off Mets pitching in the five-game series, all in the first and last games. The Mets won despite below-average performances from Jerry Grote, who went 4-for-19, Tommie Agee, who went 3-for-18, Cleon Jones, who went 3-for-19, Bud Harrelson, who went 3-for-17 and Ed Charles, who went 2-for-15.

Aftermath and legacy edit

 
The 1969 Commissioner's Trophy on display at Citi Field in 2010
 
A New Yorker taking part in the World Series parade

The 1969 series was the second major upset by a New York team over a Baltimore team in a sport's championship event in 1969. Earlier in January, the Jets, led by Joe Namath, upset the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in the Super Bowl, which also aired on NBC. Both the Jets and Mets called Shea Stadium home at the time. In addition, the New York Knicks eliminated the Baltimore Bullets from the 1969 NBA Playoffs; they also defeated the Bullets in 1970 en route to their first championship. As a result, New York became the first city to hoist a World Series and NBA championship within a year's span.

There are several direct connections between the two Mets World Championship teams of 1969 and 1986. Orioles second baseman Davey Johnson flied out to Cleon Jones for the last out of the 1969 World Series; Johnson later managed the 1986 Mets to their World Series title. The pitcher on the mound for the last out of the 1986 Series, Jesse Orosco, had been traded to the Mets for Jerry Koosman (the pitcher on the mound for the last out of the 1969 Series) after the 1978 season. 1969 Mets shortstop Bud Harrelson earned a second World Series ring as the club's third-base coach in 1986. However, Mets pitcher Tom Seaver was on the losing end in 1986, as a member of the Boston Red Sox (he did not appear in the 1986 World Series due to a knee injury). Also in 1986, the Mets' World Series championship was in conjunction with a Super Bowl win, this time by the New York Giants, who defeated the Denver Broncos, 39–20, to win Super Bowl XXI.

The Orioles repeated as AL East champs the next season, when they won 108 games, one fewer than the previous year. In the ALCS, they swept the Minnesota Twins for the second straight year to return to the World Series, this time, they were victorious in five games over the Cincinnati Reds.

Four years later, the Mets returned to the World Series despite an 82–79 record, but lost to the Oakland Athletics in seven games.

In a 1999 episode of Everybody Loves Raymond, Ray and his brother Robert travel to the National Baseball Hall of Fame to see a ceremony honoring the 1969 Mets. The episode ends with the brothers singing "Meet the Mets."

This series is a major plot point in the 2000 film Frequency. It is also a plot point in the 2012 movie Men in Black 3, which depicts the last out of Game 5. The clairvoyant alien character Griffin (played by Michael Stuhlbarg) asserts, among other things, that the baseball pitched by Jerry Koosman was "aerodynamically flawed" because the horsehide tanner's wife had left him, that Davey Johnson only became a baseball player because his father "couldn't find a football to give him for his eighth birthday," and that Cleon Jones would have been born a woman had his parents not had "an extra glass of wine before going to bed."

In a Batman '66 story that crosses over with the Legion of Super-Heroes, Egghead goes to the future and refuses to trust the future museums because they say the Mets win the 1969 World Series.

Composite box edit

1969 World Series (4–1): New York Mets (N.L.) over Baltimore Orioles (A.L.)

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
New York Mets 1 3 0 1 0 3 2 3 1 1 15 35 2
Baltimore Orioles 1 0 3 3 0 0 1 0 1 0 9 23 4
Total attendance: 272,378   Average attendance: 54,476
Winning player's share: $18,338   Losing player's share: $14,904[14]

Broadcast coverage edit

NBC televised the Series, with Curt Gowdy sharing play-by-play commentary with Orioles announcer Bill O'Donnell (for the games in Baltimore) and Mets announcer Lindsey Nelson (for the games in New York). Tony Kubek served as field reporter and in-stands interviewer. Jim Simpson hosted pre-game coverage along with Sandy Koufax and Mickey Mantle. NBC Radio also broadcast the games, with Simpson splitting play-by-play with Mets announcer Ralph Kiner (for the games in Baltimore) and O'Donnell (for the games in New York).

NBC's telecasts of Games 1 and 2 have since been preserved on kinescope by the CBC. Meanwhile, Games 3–5 exist in their original color videotape quality from "truck feeds", including the pre-game coverage with Simpson, Koufax and Mantle.

Quotes edit

There's a drive into deep left-center, racing hard is Agee... WHAT A GRAB!!! Tom Agee!

— Curt Gowdy calling Tommie Agee's catch off Elrod Hendricks in the 4th inning of game 3

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ . Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
  2. ^ October 16, 1969: Miracle Mets become first expansion team to win a World Series, Sabr
  3. ^ "1969 World Series Game 1 – New York Mets vs. Baltimore Orioles". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  4. ^ "1969 World Series Game 2 – New York Mets vs. Baltimore Orioles". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  5. ^ "1969 World Series Game 3 – Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Mets". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  6. ^ "1969 World Series Game 4 – Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Mets". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  7. ^ "1969 World Series Game 5 – Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Mets". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  8. ^ Honig, Donald (1986). The New York Mets – The First Quarter Century. p. 61. ISBN 0-517-56218-9.
  9. ^ Tuite, James (October 16, 1969). "War Casualties Demand Full-Staff Flag at Shea". New York Times. p. 20.
  10. ^ "Official Rules: 6.00 The Batter". MLB.com. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  11. ^ Golenbock, Peter. Amazin': The Miraculous History of New York's Most Beloved Baseball Team. p. 258.
  12. ^ a b New York Mets Win 1969 – YouTube
  13. ^ a b Disco Demolition – Thirty Years Ago! – YouTube
  14. ^ "World Series Gate Receipts and Player Shares". Baseball Almanac. from the original on May 2, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2009.

References edit

  • Cohen, Richard M.; Neft, David S. (1990). The World Series: Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903–1989. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 326–329. ISBN 0-312-03960-3.
  • Reichler, Joseph (1982). The Baseball Encyclopedia (5th ed.). Macmillan Publishing. p. 2179. ISBN 0-02-579010-2.
  • Forman, Sean L. "1969 World Series". Baseball-Reference.com – Major League Statistics and Information. from the original on December 17, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2007.

External links edit

  • 1969 World Series at WorldSeries.com via MLB.com
  • 1969 World Series at Baseball Almanac
  • 1969 World Series at Baseball-Reference.com
  • The 1969 Post-Season Games (box scores and play-by-play) at Retrosheet
  • at The Sporting News. Archived from the original in May 2006.

1969, world, series, championship, series, major, league, baseball, 1969, season, 66th, edition, world, series, best, seven, playoff, between, american, league, champion, baltimore, orioles, national, league, champion, york, mets, mets, series, four, games, ac. The 1969 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball s MLB 1969 season The 66th edition of the World Series it was a best of seven playoff between the American League AL champion Baltimore Orioles and the National League NL champion New York Mets The Mets won the series four games to one to accomplish one of the greatest upsets in Series history 1 as that particular Orioles team was considered to be one of the finest ever The World Series win earned the team the sobriquet The Miracle Mets This was the first World Series of MLB s divisional era 1969 World SeriesTeam Wins Manager s SeasonNew York Mets 4 Gil Hodges100 62 617 GA 8Baltimore Orioles 1 Earl Weaver109 53 673 GA 19DatesOctober 11 16VenueMemorial Stadium Baltimore Shea Stadium New York MVPDonn Clendenon New York UmpiresHank Soar AL Frank Secory NL Larry Napp AL Shag Crawford NL Lou DiMuro AL Lee Weyer NL Hall of FamersMets Gil Hodges manager Yogi Berra coach Whitey Herzog Director of Player Development Tom Seaver Nolan RyanOrioles Earl Weaver manager Jim Palmer Brooks Robinson Frank RobinsonBroadcastTelevisionNBCTV announcersCurt GowdyBill O Donnell in Baltimore Lindsey Nelson in New York RadioNBCRadio announcersJim SimpsonRalph Kiner in Baltimore Bill O Donnell in New York ALCSBaltimore Orioles over Minnesota Twins 3 0 NLCSNew York Mets over Atlanta Braves 3 0 1968 World Series 1970 The Mets became the first expansion team to win a division title a pennant and the World Series winning in their eighth year of existence becoming the fastest expansion team to win a World Series up to that point 2 Two teams eventually surpassed the latter record as the Florida Marlins won the 1997 World Series in their fifth year also becoming the first wild card team to win a World Series and the Arizona Diamondbacks won the 2001 World Series in their fourth year of play The 1969 World Series was the first World Series since 1954 to have games played in New York that did not involve the New York Yankees It was also the first World Series in which neither the New York Giants nor Brooklyn Dodgers as both teams had moved to California in 1958 represented New York from the NL all subsequent World Series with a New York area NL team participating have involved the Mets who have been the only NL baseball team located in New York City since that era Contents 1 Route to the World Series 1 1 New York Mets 1 2 Baltimore Orioles 2 Summary 3 Matchups 3 1 Game 1 3 2 Game 2 3 3 Game 3 3 4 Game 4 3 5 Game 5 4 Aftermath and legacy 5 Composite box 6 Broadcast coverage 7 Quotes 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 External linksRoute to the World Series editSee also 1969 Major League Baseball postseason New York Mets edit Main article 1969 New York Mets season The New York Mets who had never finished higher than ninth place next to last nor won more than 73 games in a season since joining the National League in 1962 were not highly regarded before the 1969 season started In fact the best that could be said for them was that because the National League was being split into two divisions that year as was the American League the Mets were guaranteed to finish no lower than sixth place The fact that the Mets began the season by losing 11 10 to the then expansion Montreal Expos seemed to confirm this With three weeks to go in the season the underdog Mets stormed past the Chicago Cubs who had led the Eastern Division for most of the season winning 38 of their final 49 games for a total of 100 wins and becoming the first National League Eastern Division champions Third year pitcher Tom Seaver won a major league leading 25 games en route to his first Cy Young Award the other two top Mets starting pitchers Jerry Koosman and rookie Gary Gentry combined to win 30 more games Outfielder Cleon Jones hit a then club record 340 and finished third in the National League batting race while his lifelong friend and outfield mate Tommie Agee hit 26 home runs and drove in 76 runs to lead the club they were the only players on the team who garnered more than 400 at bats Manager Gil Hodges also employed a platoon system like the Yankees of the Casey Stengel era in which Ron Swoboda and Art Shamsky became a switch hitting right fielder who hit 23 home runs and drove in 100 runs and Ed Kranepool and Donn Clendenon added up to a switch hitting first baseman who hit 23 more homers and knocked in another 95 runs In the first League Championship Series the normally light hitting Mets once again considered underdogs despite having a better regular season record than their opponent put on a power display by scoring 27 runs in sweeping the favored Atlanta Braves in three games Baltimore Orioles edit Main article 1969 Baltimore Orioles season The Baltimore Orioles by contrast were practically flawless and featured stars at almost every position They breezed through the 1969 season winning 109 games the most games won since the 1961 Yankees and became the first American League Eastern Division champions by 19 games then brushing aside the Minnesota Twins three games to none in the ALCS to win their second pennant in four years The Orioles were led by star sluggers Frank Robinson and Boog Powell who each hit over 30 home runs and drove in over 100 runs third baseman Brooks Robinson perhaps the best fielding hot corner player in baseball history and pitchers Mike Cuellar Dave McNally and Jim Palmer who combined for 63 victories Summary editNL New York Mets 4 vs AL Baltimore Orioles 1 Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 1 October 11 New York Mets 1 Baltimore Orioles 4 Memorial Stadium 2 13 50 429 3 2 October 12 New York Mets 2 Baltimore Orioles 1 Memorial Stadium 2 20 50 850 4 3 October 14 Baltimore Orioles 0 New York Mets 5 Shea Stadium 2 23 56 335 5 4 October 15 Baltimore Orioles 1 New York Mets 2 10 Shea Stadium 2 33 57 367 6 5 October 16 Baltimore Orioles 3 New York Mets 5 Shea Stadium 2 14 57 397 7 Matchups editGame 1 edit nbsp Don Buford Saturday October 11 1969 1 00 pm ET at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore Maryland Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E New York 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 6 1 Baltimore 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 X 4 6 0 WP Mike Cuellar 1 0 LP Tom Seaver 0 1 Home runs NYM NoneBAL Don Buford 1 With this win the Orioles looked to be proving all the prognosticators right as it was a dominant performance Don Buford hit Tom Seaver s second pitch of the game for a home run which just evaded Ron Swoboda s leaping attempt at catching it The O s then added three more runs in the fourth when with two outs Elrod Hendricks singled and Davey Johnson walked Mark Belanger then singled in a run followed by an RBI single by pitcher Mike Cuellar Buford capped the inning off by doubling in Belanger The Mets got their run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Al Weis Orioles starter Mike Cuellar was the winner allowing just that run in a complete game effort Despite the opening game loss nobody on the Mets was discouraged Tom Seaver the game s losing pitcher said years later I swear we came into the clubhouse more confident than when we had left it Somebody I think it was Clendenon yelled out Dammit we can beat these guys And we believed it A team knows if they ve been badly beaten or outplayed And we felt we hadn t been The feeling wasn t that we had lost but Hey we nearly won that game We hadn t been more than a hit or two from turning it around It hit us like a ton of bricks 8 Game 2 edit nbsp Jerry Koosman Sunday October 12 1969 2 00 pm ET at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore Maryland Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E New York 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 6 0 Baltimore 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 WP Jerry Koosman 1 0 LP Dave McNally 0 1 Sv Ron Taylor 1 Home runs NYM Donn Clendenon 1 BAL None Mets pitcher Jerry Koosman pitched six innings of no hit ball trying to match Don Larsen s World Series no hit feat Donn Clendenon provided him a slim lead with a home run in the fourth inning However Koosman lost the no hitter and the lead in the seventh inning as Paul Blair singled stole second and scored on a single by Brooks Robinson But that was it for the Orioles offense The Mets pushed across a run in the top of the ninth on back to back to back singles by Ed Charles Jerry Grote and Al Weis the latter scoring Charles This proved to be the decisive run and Orioles starter Dave McNally took the loss Koosman had trouble finishing the game as he issued two out walks in the bottom of the ninth to Frank Robinson and Boog Powell Ron Taylor came on to retire Brooks Robinson for the final out and earn the save Game 3 edit nbsp Ed Kranepool Tuesday October 14 1969 1 00 pm ET at Shea Stadium in Queens New York Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Baltimore 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 New York 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 X 5 6 0 WP Gary Gentry 1 0 LP Jim Palmer 0 1 Sv Nolan Ryan 1 Home runs BAL NoneNYM Tommie Agee 1 Ed Kranepool Agee led off the game for the Mets with a home run off Jim Palmer then saved at least five runs with his defense With two out in the fourth and Oriole runners on first and third Agee raced to the 396 foot 121 m sign in left center and made a backhanded running catch of a drive hit by Elrod Hendricks In the seventh the Orioles had the bases loaded with two out but Agee made a diving grab of a line drive hit by Paul Blair in right center Ed Kranepool added a home run and Jerry Grote an RBI double for the Mets while Gary Gentry pitched 6 2 3 shutout innings and helped his own cause with a second inning two run double Nolan Ryan making his only World Series appearance of his 27 year career pitched the final 2 1 3 innings benefiting from Agee s second catch and earned a save Game 4 edit nbsp Tom Seaver Wednesday October 15 1969 1 00 pm ET at Shea Stadium in Queens New York Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E Baltimore 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 6 1 New York 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 10 1 WP Tom Seaver 1 1 LP Dick Hall 0 1 Home runs BAL NoneNYM Donn Clendenon 2 Game 4 was mired in controversy Tom Seaver s photograph was used on some anti war Moratorium Day literature being distributed outside Shea Stadium before the game although the pitcher stated that his picture was used without his knowledge or approval A further controversy that day involved the flying of the American flag at Shea Stadium New York City Mayor John Lindsay had ordered flags flown at half staff to observe the Moratorium Day and honor those who had died in Vietnam Many were concerned including 225 wounded servicemen who were attending the game and Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn announced that the American flag would be flown at full staff at Shea for Game 4 9 Tom Seaver atoned for his Game 1 ineffectiveness by shutting out the Orioles through eight innings Once again Donn Clendenon provided the lead with a homer in the second off Game 1 winner Mike Cuellar who allowed just that run over seven solid innings In the third inning after arguing ball strike calls too strenuously with plate umpire Shag Crawford Earl Weaver of the Orioles became the first manager since 1935 to be ejected from a World Series game In the top of the ninth Seaver ran into trouble Frank Robinson and Boog Powell hit back to back one out singles to put runners on first and third Brooks Robinson then hit a sinking line drive towards right that Mets right fielder Ron Swoboda dove for and caught just inches off the ground Frank Robinson tagged and scored but Swoboda s heroics kept the Orioles from possibly taking the lead Elrod Hendricks then flied out to Swoboda to end the inning In the bottom of the tenth Jerry Grote led off by blooping a double to left Al Weis was intentionally walked to set up a force play and get to the pitcher s spot in the lineup Mets manager Gil Hodges sent J C Martin up to hit for Seaver Martin laid down a sacrifice bunt but Orioles reliever Pete Richert hit Martin in the wrist with his throw to first and the ball went down the right field line Rod Gaspar running for Grote came around to score the winning run Replays showed Martin running inside the first base line which appeared to hinder Richert s ability to make a good throw and Orioles second baseman Davey Johnson from catching it Subsequent controversy focused on MLB rule 6 05 k 10 which says that a batter shall be out with the ball dead and the runners returned to their original bases if In running the last half of the distance from home base to first base while the ball is being fielded to first base he runs outside to the right of the three foot line or inside to the left of the foul line and in the umpire s judgment in so doing interferes with the fielder taking the throw at first base The umpires judgment was that Martin did not interfere Game 5 edit nbsp Donn Clendenon Thursday October 16 1969 1 00 pm ET at Shea Stadium in Queens New York Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Baltimore 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 2 New York 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 X 5 7 0 WP Jerry Koosman 2 0 LP Eddie Watt 0 1 Home runs BAL Dave McNally 1 Frank Robinson 1 NYM Donn Clendenon 3 Al Weis 1 Dave McNally shut out the Mets through five innings and helped himself with a two run homer in the third inning Frank Robinson homered in the inning as well and the Orioles looked to be cruising with a 3 0 lead The Mets however benefited from two questionable umpire s calls In the top of the sixth inning Mets starting pitcher Jerry Koosman appeared to have hit Frank Robinson with a pitch but plate umpire Lou DiMuro ruled that the pitch hit his bat before hitting him and denied him first base Replays showed however that Robinson was indeed hit first the ball struck him on the hip then bounced up and hit his bat In the bottom of the sixth McNally bounced a pitch that appeared to have hit Mets left fielder Cleon Jones on the foot then bounced into the Mets dugout McNally and the Orioles claimed the ball hit the dirt and not Jones but Mets manager Gil Hodges showed the ball to DiMuro who found a spot of shoe polish on the ball and awarded Jones first base McNally then gave up Series MVP Donn Clendenon s third homer of the series a record for a five game World Series that was tied by the Phillies Ryan Howard in the 2008 Classic and by Boston s Steve Pearce in the 2018 Series to cut the lead to 3 2 However the renowned shoe polish incident may not be such a simple straightforward matter On August 22 2009 at the 40th anniversary celebration of the Mets 1969 Championship held at their new stadium Citi Field Jerry Koosman stated in several media interviews 11 that in actuality Hodges had instructed him to rub the ball on his shoe which he did and after that Hodges showed the ball to the umpire Koosman s claim does not necessarily mean that the ball did not strike Jones on the foot nor does it even mean that the polish on the ball seen by the umpire was put there by Koosman it is certainly conceivable that there was already a genuine spot of polish on the ball which easily could have escaped Koosman s notice as he hastily created the fraudulent one In any case Koosman s allegation at the very least adds an intriguing layer of uncertainty and possible chicanery to an already legendary event Koosman was known for his sense of humor and his love of practical jokes when he was an active player Therefore his claim of having scuffed the ball against his own shoe could be a ruse Besides there are other stories which have been told about that incident by other players who were in the Mets dugout that day One of those stories comes from Ron Swoboda who said during an interview on the Mets 1986 25th Anniversary video that when the ball came bounding into the Mets dugout it hit an open ball bag under the bench and several batting infield practice balls came spilling out on the dugout floor According to Swoboda one could not distinguish the actual game ball from any of the ones that spilled out of the bag Hodges quickly looked down grabbed a ball that had a black streak on it and walked it out to the home plate umpire who then awarded first base to Jones In any case this incident provided baseball with yet another entertaining legend about which the absolute truth will probably never be known The Mets then tied the score in the seventh on a home run by the unheralded and light hitting Al Weis Weis hit only seven home runs in his big league career this was the only home run he hit at Shea Stadium and in fact was the only home run he hit playing for the home team in any major league park Weis led all batters in the series with a 455 average The winning runs scored in the eighth as Game 4 defensive hero Ron Swoboda doubled in Jones with the go ahead run Swoboda then scored when Jerry Grote s grounder was mishandled by first baseman Boog Powell whose throw to first was then dropped by pitcher Eddie Watt in an unusual double error Jerry Koosman got the win his second of the series With two outs in the top of the ninth inning Koosman faced Orioles second baseman Davey Johnson who coincidentally later managed the Mets to their second World Series championship in 1986 After taking a pitch of two balls and one strike Johnson hit a fly ball out to left field which was caught by Cleon Jones 12 After a shaky third inning Koosman settled down to retire 19 of the next 21 batters he faced giving up a single and a walk Karl Ehrhardt a Mets fan known as the sign man at Shea Stadium held up a sign that read There Are No Words soon after the final out was made The sign made an appearance in the Series highlight film Immediately following the victory thousands of fans rushed onto the field and the Mets were forced to retreat to their locker room 12 Bill Gleason a sports columnist for the Chicago Sun Times alleged that this feat would not repeated again until Disco Demolition Night 13 an event which saw many people rush onto the playing field in Comiskey Park just before the second game of a doubleheader between the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers was scheduled to begin on July 12 1979 13 In all four Mets victories their starting first baseman hit a home run Donn Clendenon in Games 2 4 and 5 and Ed Kranepool in Game 3 The expression Good pitching defeats good hitting was never more evident than in this World Series Baltimore collected only 23 hits for a 146 batting average both team lows for a 5 game series After winning Game 1 in which the Orioles had only six hits Baltimore only managed a 134 batting average 17 for 127 over the next four games Boog Powell led the Orioles with five hits and a 263 average but all were non scoring singles although one advanced Frank Robinson to third base to set up Swoboda s defensive heroics Don Buford collected two hits in four at bats in the opening game including a lead off home run against Tom Seaver but went 0 for 16 over the next four games Paul Blair went 2 for 20 Davey Johnson 1 for 16 Frank Robinson 3 for 16 Brooks Robinson 1 for 19 and Mark Belanger 3 for 15 The Orioles offense only managed four extra base hits off Mets pitching in the five game series all in the first and last games The Mets won despite below average performances from Jerry Grote who went 4 for 19 Tommie Agee who went 3 for 18 Cleon Jones who went 3 for 19 Bud Harrelson who went 3 for 17 and Ed Charles who went 2 for 15 Aftermath and legacy edit nbsp The 1969 Commissioner s Trophy on display at Citi Field in 2010 nbsp A New Yorker taking part in the World Series parade The 1969 series was the second major upset by a New York team over a Baltimore team in a sport s championship event in 1969 Earlier in January the Jets led by Joe Namath upset the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in the Super Bowl which also aired on NBC Both the Jets and Mets called Shea Stadium home at the time In addition the New York Knicks eliminated the Baltimore Bullets from the 1969 NBA Playoffs they also defeated the Bullets in 1970 en route to their first championship As a result New York became the first city to hoist a World Series and NBA championship within a year s span There are several direct connections between the two Mets World Championship teams of 1969 and 1986 Orioles second baseman Davey Johnson flied out to Cleon Jones for the last out of the 1969 World Series Johnson later managed the 1986 Mets to their World Series title The pitcher on the mound for the last out of the 1986 Series Jesse Orosco had been traded to the Mets for Jerry Koosman the pitcher on the mound for the last out of the 1969 Series after the 1978 season 1969 Mets shortstop Bud Harrelson earned a second World Series ring as the club s third base coach in 1986 However Mets pitcher Tom Seaver was on the losing end in 1986 as a member of the Boston Red Sox he did not appear in the 1986 World Series due to a knee injury Also in 1986 the Mets World Series championship was in conjunction with a Super Bowl win this time by the New York Giants who defeated the Denver Broncos 39 20 to win Super Bowl XXI The Orioles repeated as AL East champs the next season when they won 108 games one fewer than the previous year In the ALCS they swept the Minnesota Twins for the second straight year to return to the World Series this time they were victorious in five games over the Cincinnati Reds Four years later the Mets returned to the World Series despite an 82 79 record but lost to the Oakland Athletics in seven games In a 1999 episode of Everybody Loves Raymond Ray and his brother Robert travel to the National Baseball Hall of Fame to see a ceremony honoring the 1969 Mets The episode ends with the brothers singing Meet the Mets This series is a major plot point in the 2000 film Frequency It is also a plot point in the 2012 movie Men in Black 3 which depicts the last out of Game 5 The clairvoyant alien character Griffin played by Michael Stuhlbarg asserts among other things that the baseball pitched by Jerry Koosman was aerodynamically flawed because the horsehide tanner s wife had left him that Davey Johnson only became a baseball player because his father couldn t find a football to give him for his eighth birthday and that Cleon Jones would have been born a woman had his parents not had an extra glass of wine before going to bed In a Batman 66 story that crosses over with the Legion of Super Heroes Egghead goes to the future and refuses to trust the future museums because they say the Mets win the 1969 World Series Composite box edit1969 World Series 4 1 New York Mets N L over Baltimore Orioles A L Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E New York Mets 1 3 0 1 0 3 2 3 1 1 15 35 2 Baltimore Orioles 1 0 3 3 0 0 1 0 1 0 9 23 4 Total attendance 272 378 Average attendance 54 476Winning player s share 18 338 Losing player s share 14 904 14 Broadcast coverage editNBC televised the Series with Curt Gowdy sharing play by play commentary with Orioles announcer Bill O Donnell for the games in Baltimore and Mets announcer Lindsey Nelson for the games in New York Tony Kubek served as field reporter and in stands interviewer Jim Simpson hosted pre game coverage along with Sandy Koufax and Mickey Mantle NBC Radio also broadcast the games with Simpson splitting play by play with Mets announcer Ralph Kiner for the games in Baltimore and O Donnell for the games in New York NBC s telecasts of Games 1 and 2 have since been preserved on kinescope by the CBC Meanwhile Games 3 5 exist in their original color videotape quality from truck feeds including the pre game coverage with Simpson Koufax and Mantle Quotes editThere s a drive into deep left center racing hard is Agee WHAT A GRAB Tom Agee Curt Gowdy calling Tommie Agee s catch off Elrod Hendricks in the 4th inning of game 3See also edit1969 Japan SeriesNotes edit Greatest Upsets In Sports History Sports Illustrated Archived from the original on November 3 2013 Retrieved January 28 2012 October 16 1969 Miracle Mets become first expansion team to win a World Series Sabr 1969 World Series Game 1 New York Mets vs Baltimore Orioles Retrosheet Retrieved September 13 2009 1969 World Series Game 2 New York Mets vs Baltimore Orioles Retrosheet Retrieved September 13 2009 1969 World Series Game 3 Baltimore Orioles vs New York Mets Retrosheet Retrieved September 13 2009 1969 World Series Game 4 Baltimore Orioles vs New York Mets Retrosheet Retrieved September 13 2009 1969 World Series Game 5 Baltimore Orioles vs New York Mets Retrosheet Retrieved September 13 2009 Honig Donald 1986 The New York Mets The First Quarter Century p 61 ISBN 0 517 56218 9 Tuite James October 16 1969 War Casualties Demand Full Staff Flag at Shea New York Times p 20 Official Rules 6 00 The Batter MLB com Retrieved September 11 2012 Golenbock Peter Amazin The Miraculous History of New York s Most Beloved Baseball Team p 258 a b New York Mets Win 1969 YouTube a b Disco Demolition Thirty Years Ago YouTube World Series Gate Receipts and Player Shares Baseball Almanac Archived from the original on May 2 2009 Retrieved June 14 2009 References editCohen Richard M Neft David S 1990 The World Series Complete Play By Play of Every Game 1903 1989 New York St Martin s Press pp 326 329 ISBN 0 312 03960 3 Reichler Joseph 1982 The Baseball Encyclopedia 5th ed Macmillan Publishing p 2179 ISBN 0 02 579010 2 Forman Sean L 1969 World Series Baseball Reference com Major League Statistics and Information Archived from the original on December 17 2007 Retrieved December 9 2007 External links edit1969 World Series at WorldSeries com via MLB com 1969 World Series at Baseball Almanac 1969 World Series at Baseball Reference com The 1969 Post Season Games box scores and play by play at Retrosheet History of the World Series 1969 at The Sporting News Archived from the original in May 2006 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1969 World Series amp oldid 1219720013, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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