The Baltimore Orioles boasted some of the biggest guns in the American League and entered the '69 Series with a renewed confidence after dominating Sandy Koufax and his mighty Dodgers three years earlier. Among the American League champs "lumber company" was Boog Powell (thirty-seven home runs, one-hundred twenty-one runs batted in), Frank Robinson (thirty-two homers, one-hundred RBIs), Brooks Robinson (twenty-three homers, eighty-four RBIs) and Paul Blair (twenty-six homers, seventy-six RBIs). Their opponents, the New York Mets were still a young franchise and were making their first post-season appearance after topping the National League in only their eighth season.
Tom Seaver (a twenty-five game winner) was given the opening start for New York at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium and made it to his second pitch before surrendering the first "home team - home run". By the afternoon's end, Orioles' lefthander Mike Cuellar had given up only six hits and struck out eight. Baltimore was an easy winner (4-1) despite their standout line-up managing only four runs in thirty at-bats.
The Mets' Jerry Koosman continued to silence the home team's big guns in Game 2 while holding their line-up to six hitless innings. Donn Clendenon backed up the twenty-six year-old lefty with a fourth inning homer off Dave McNally. Baltimore managed to tie it up in the seventh when Paul Blair led off with his team's first hit, then stole second and finally scored on Brooks Robinson's two out single. Not to be discouraged, the Mets rose to the occasion in the ninth and as Ed Charles, Jerry Grote and Al Weis all came through with two out singles. Koosman then got last-out relief help from Ron Taylor and emerged the 2-1 victor.
Game 3 debuted the first postseason outing at Shea Stadium and featured one of the greatest individual performances in the sixty-six year history of the Series, courtesy of the Mets' Tommie Agee. Agee started the contest off with a first inning home run off of Jim Palmer and continued to produce in the outfield for the remaining innings. With two out in the fourth and Oriole runners on first and third, the centerfielder raced to the 396-foot sign in left-center and made a phenomenal backhanded, catch of Elrod Hendricks' smash. Later in the seventh, the Orioles had loaded the bases with two out, but Agee came up clutch again making a headfirst diving grab of Blair's liner that sailed to right-center. Ed Kranepool added a home run as the Mets came out on top, 5-0. On the mound, Gary Gentry and a young reliever named Nolan Ryan combined on a four hitter.
A determined Seaver returned for redemption in Game 4 and took a 1-0 edge going into the ninth. Clendenon had given the junior pitcher the lead after launching a rocket in the second off of Mike Cuellar, but Frank Robinson and Powell both responded with late-game singles with Brooks Robinson on deck. The Oriole slugger nailed a perfect line drive to center, but right-fielder Ron Swoboda mimicked Agee's performance in Game 3 and made a spectacular diving, one-handed catch. While Frank Robinson tagged up and scored from third, Swoboda had shortened a potential big inning. The deadlocked remained 1-1 through the bottom of the tenth when the Mets sealed the deal on Jerry Grote's double and Oriole reliever Pete Richert's errant throw on pinch-hitter J.C. Martin's bunt. Seizing the opportunity, Rod Gaspar (pinch running for Grote) sped home for the 2-1 win.
Now down three games to one, the stunned Orioles came out swinging in Game 5 as pitcher McNally, (thanks to his own two run home run and another by Frank Robinson) held a 3-0 lead after five tense innings. Earl Weaver's team seemed to finally be on the road to recovery, but the Mets struck again after Cleon Jones led-off with a hit by pitch in the famous "shoe polish play", where manager Gil Hodges came out to argue the original call that Jones had not been struck. Hodges retrieved the ball, showed it to the umpire who saw the polish mark, and awarded Jones first base. Clendenon followed him home with a two run blast edging closer with only a 3-2 disadvantage. An unlikely hero named Al Weis (who had seven home runs in ten years) stepped up to the plate and tied the game with a leadoff home run in the sixth. Eddie Watt came in as relief for Baltimore in the eighth, but eventually lost 5-3 after surrendering a clutch double to Cleon Jones as well as Ron Swoboda who drove in the winning run.
In the end, New York had not only gone on to win their first World Championship (in their first appearance), they had also shut down the biggest line-up in all of baseball by holding the "Bird's Big Four" to a three for fifteen outing in Game 4 and a miserable two for fifteen showing in Game 5.
"God is living in New York City and he's a Mets fan." - Hall of Famer Tom Seaver in Winning in Both Leagues: Reflections from Baseball's Front Office (Frank Cashen, University of Nebraska Press, September 1, 2014.)
1969 World Series1969 World Series Official Program ← 1968 | New York Mets (4) vs Baltimore Orioles (1) | 1970 → |
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1969 World Series Fast Facts | |||
Game 1 | Date / Box Score | 10-11-1969 | |
Location | Memorial Stadium | ||
1st Pitch | From | To | |
Bowie Kuhn (Commissioner of Baseball) | Ellie Hendricks | ||
Bowie Kuhn (Commissioner of Baseball) | Jerry Grote | ||
Attendance | 50,429 | ||
National Anthem | Joseph Eubanks | ||
Game 2 | Date / Box Score | 10-12-1969 | |
Location | Memorial Stadium | ||
1st Pitch | From | To | |
Clara M. Merritt-Ruth (2nd Wife of Babe Ruth) | Andy Etchebarren | ||
Attendance | 50,850 | ||
National Anthem | York Suburban High School Band (No Vocalist) | ||
Game 3 | Date / Box Score | 10-14-1969 | |
Location | Shea Stadium | ||
1st Pitch | From | To | |
Roy Campanella | Jerry Grote | ||
Attendance | 56,335 | ||
National Anthem | Steve Lawrence (Actor/Singer) | ||
Game 4 | Date / Box Score | 10-15-1969 | |
Location | Shea Stadium | ||
1st Pitch | From | To | |
Casey Stengel | Jerry Grote | ||
Attendance | 57,367 | ||
National Anthem | Gordon MacRae (Actor/Singer) | ||
Game 5 | Date / Box Score | 10-16-1969 | |
Location | Shea Stadium | ||
Attendance | 57,397 | ||
1st Pitch | From | To | |
Joe DiMaggio | Jerry Grote | ||
National Anthem | Pearl Bailey (Singer/Actress) | ||
1969 World Series Fast Facts |
1969 World Series
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1969 World Series Game 1 Capsule | ||||||||||||
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 |
New York Pitcher(s) | Baltimore Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Tom Seaver (L) Don Cardwell (6th) Ron Taylor (7th) |
Mike Cuellar (W) - - |
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New York Home Runs | Baltimore Home Runs | |||||||||||
None | Don Buford (1st) |
1969 World Series
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1969 World Series Game 2 Capsule | ||||||||||||
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 |
New York Pitcher(s) | Baltimore Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Jerry Koosman (W) Ron Taylor (S, 9th) |
Dave McNally (L) - |
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New York Home Runs | Baltimore Home Runs | |||||||||||
Donn Clendenon (4th) | None |
1969 World Series
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1969 World Series Game 3 Capsule | ||||||||||||
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 |
Baltimore Pitcher(s) | New York Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Jim Palmer (L) Dave Leonhard (7th) |
Gary Gentry (W) Nolan Ryan (S, 7th) |
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Baltimore Home Runs | New York Home Runs | |||||||||||
None - |
Tommie Agee (1st) Ed Kranepool (8th) |
1969 World Series
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1969 World Series Game 4 Capsule | |||||||||||||
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 |
Baltimore Pitcher(s) | New York Pitcher(s) | ||||||||||||
Mike Cuellar Eddie Watt (8th) Dick Hall (L, 10th) |
Tom Seaver (W) - - |
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Baltimore Home Runs | New York Home Runs | ||||||||||||
None | Donn Clendenon (2nd) |
1969 World Series
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1969 World Series Game 5 Capsule | ||||||||||||
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 |
Baltimore Pitcher(s) | New York Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Dave McNally Eddie Watt (L, 8th) |
Jerry Koosman (W) - |
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Baltimore Home Runs | New York Home Runs | |||||||||||
Frank Robinson (3rd) Dave McNally (3rd) |
Donn Clendenon (6th) Al Weis (7th) |
1969 World SeriesNew York Mets 1969 World Series Composite Hitting Statistics |
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25-Man Roster | Positions | G | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | Avg | BB | SO | SB | |
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. |
Tommie Agee Ken Boswell Don Cardwell Ed Charles Donn Clendenon Jack DiLauro Duffy Dyer Wayne Garrett Rod Gaspar Gary Gentry Jerry Grote Bud Harrelson Cleon Jones Cal Koonce Jerry Koosman Ed Kranepool J.C. Martin Jim McAndrew Tug McGraw Nolan Ryan Tom Seaver Art Shamsky Ron Swoboda Ron Taylor Al Weis |
of 2b p 3b 1b Did Not Play ph 3b of-1 p c ss of Did Not Play p 1b ph Did Not Play Did Not Play p p of-1 of p 2b |
5 1 1 4 4 - 1 2 3 1 5 5 5 - 2 1 1 - - 1 2 3 4 2 5 |
18 3 0 15 14 - 1 1 2 3 19 17 19 - 7 4 0 - - 0 4 6 15 0 11 |
3 1 0 2 5 - 0 0 0 1 4 3 3 - 1 1 0 - - 0 0 0 6 0 5 |
0 0 0 1 1 - 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 - 1 0 0 - - 0 0 0 1 0 0 |
0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 - - 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
1 0 0 0 3 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 1 0 - - 0 0 0 0 0 1 |
1 1 0 1 4 - 0 0 1 0 1 1 2 - 0 1 0 - - 0 0 0 1 0 1 |
1 0 0 0 4 - 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 - 0 1 0 - - 0 0 0 1 0 3 |
.167 .333 .000 .133 .357 - .000 .000 .000 .333 .211 .176 .158 - .143 .250 .000 - - .000 .000 .000 .400 .000 .455 |
2 0 0 0 2 - 0 2 0 0 1 3 0 - 0 0 0 - - 0 0 0 1 0 4 |
5 0 0 2 6 - 0 1 0 2 3 4 1 - 4 0 0 - - 0 2 0 3 0 2 |
1 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 - - 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
Totals | 159 | 35 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 15 | 13 | .220 | 15 | 35 | 1 | |||
1969 World SeriesBaltimore Orioles 1969 World Series Composite Hitting Statistics |
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25-Man Roster | Positions | G | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | Avg | BB | SO | SB | |
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. |
Mark Belanger Paul Blair Don Buford Mike Cuellar Clay Dalrymple Andy Etchebarren Bobby Floyd Dick Hall Jim Hardin Ellie Hendricks Davey Johnson Dave Leonhard Marcolino Lopez Dave May Dave McNally Curt Motton Jim Palmer Tom Phoebus Boog Powell Merv Rettenmund Pete Richert Brooks Robinson Frank Robinson Chico Salmon Eddie Watt |
ss of of p ph c Did Not Play p Did Not Play c 2b p Did Not Play ph p ph p Did Not Play 1b pr p 3b of pr p |
5 5 5 2 2 2 - 1 - 3 5 1 - 2 2 1 1 - 5 1 1 5 5 2 2 |
15 20 20 5 2 6 - 0 - 10 16 0 - 1 5 1 2 - 19 0 0 19 16 0 0 |
3 2 2 2 2 0 - 0 - 1 1 0 - 0 1 0 0 - 5 0 0 1 3 0 0 |
0 0 1 0 0 0 - 0 - 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 - 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 0 1 0 0 0 - 0 - 0 0 0 - 0 1 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 |
2 1 1 0 0 0 - 0 - 1 1 0 - 0 1 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 |
1 0 2 1 0 0 - 0 - 0 0 0 - 0 2 0 0 - 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 |
.200 .100 .100 .400 1.000 .000 - .000 - .100 .063 .000 - .000 .200 .000 .000 - .263 .000 .000 .053 .188 .000 .000 |
2 2 2 0 0 0 - 0 - 1 2 0 - 1 0 0 0 - 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 |
1 5 4 3 0 1 - 0 - 0 1 0 - 1 2 0 0 - 4 0 0 3 3 0 0 |
0 1 0 0 0 0 - 0 - 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
Totals | 157 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 9 | .146 | 15 | 28 | 1 |
1969 World SeriesNew York Mets 1969 World Series Composite Pitching Statistics |
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Pitching Staff | W | L | G | GS | CG | S | Sh | IP | ERA | H | SO | ER | BB |
Don Cardwell Gary Gentry Jerry Koosman Nolan Ryan Tom Seaver Ron Taylor |
0 1 2 0 1 0 |
0 0 0 0 1 0 |
1 1 2 1 2 2 |
0 1 2 0 2 0 |
0 0 1 0 1 0 |
0 0 0 1 0 1 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 |
1.0 6.2 17.2 2.1 15.0 2.1 |
0.00 0.00 2.04 0.00 3.00 0.00 |
0 3 7 1 12 0 |
0 4 9 3 9 3 |
0 0 4 0 5 0 |
0 5 4 2 3 1 |
Totals | 4 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 45.0 | 1.80 | 23 | 28 | 9 | 15 |
1969 World SeriesBaltimore Orioles 1969 World Series Composite Pitching Statistics |
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Pitching Staff | W | L | G | GS | CG | S | Sh | IP | ERA | H | SO | ER | BB |
Mike Cuellar Dick Hall Dave Leonhard Dave McNally Jim Palmer Pete Richert Eddie Watt |
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 1 0 1 1 0 1 |
2 1 1 2 1 1 2 |
2 0 0 2 1 0 0 |
1 0 0 1 0 0 0 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
16.0 0.0 2.0 16.0 6.0 0.0 3.0 |
1.13 4.50 2.81 6.00 3.00 |
13 1 1 11 5 0 4 |
13 0 1 13 5 0 3 |
2 0 1 5 4 0 1 |
4 1 1 5 4 0 0 |
Totals | 1 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 43.0 | 2.72 | 35 | 35 | 13 | 15 |
The 1969 season was the first in Major League history where a League Championship was played. Do you believe this addition was beneficial or was 1968 the last "real" season? Share your opinion on our message board.
During Game 3, Gary Gentry & Nolan Ryan shutout the Baltimore Orioles, but partly owe their win to Tommie Agee who made two magnificent catches and prevented five runs from scoring.
Donn Clendenon, who set a World Series record when he went deep three times in four games, drove home the winning run with his Game 5 blast. Teammate Al Weis, who played second base, hit .455. Did you know that both players won the World Series Most Valuable Player Award?