RobKirkpatrick.com

Here are the rules:

1. Assign a team/franchise to the position where it’s placed stars (HOFers, MVPs, All-Stars & Cy Youngs) throughout its history.

2. Use each team/franchise just once.

3. Arrange the franchise positions into a batting order based on each’s composite offensive skills.

1. SS Pittsburgh Pirates (Vaughn, Wagner, Groat)

2. 2B St. Louis Cardinals (Hornsby, Schoendienst, Herr)

3. LF Boston Red Sox (Williams, Yaz, Rice, Ramirez)

4. CF New York Yankees (Combs, DiMaggio, Mantle)

5. 1B NY/San Francisco Giants (Terry, Mize, McCovey, Clark)

6. 3B Boston/Milw./Atl. Braves (Matthews, Pendleton, Jones)

7. RF Detroit Tigers (Heilmann, Kaline, Gibson)

8. C Cincinnati Reds (Lombardi, Bench)

9. SP Brooklyn/LA Dodgers (Roe, Drysdale, Koufax, Sutton, Valenzuela, Hershiser)

RP Phila./Oakland A’s (Fingers, Eckersley, Street)

Have a better lineup?  Send it to me!

Monday, October 6, 1969

The New York Mets, winners of 100 games in the regular season, are going to the World Series.

For the third time, the Mets offense outslugged the might Atlanta Braves, and Nolan Ryan turned in a seven-inning relief performance as New York won 7-4 in the first ever postseason baseball game at Shea Stadium.

The Braves took an early lead on Hank Aaron’s two-run homer in the first off Gary Gentry. Aaron had a roundtripper in each of the three NLCS games. Two innings later, Aaron doubled to put runners on second and third with no outs.  Manager Gil Hodges acted quickly and summoned to the bullpen for Ryan. The fireballing rookie struck out Rico Carty and Orlando Cepeda and then got Bob Didier on a flyout to end the Atlanta threat.

Tommie Agee got the Mets on the board with a solo home run in the third off Pat Jarvis, and then Ken Boswell struck a two-run homer to put New York up 3-2. Cepeda went deep off Ryan with one on to grab the lead back for the Braves. But again, the Amazin’s bounced back. Ryan surprised everyone with a single to lead off the home fifth, and two batters later, Wayne Garrett’s blast gave the Mets the lead again. Cleon Jones followed with a double and scored an insurance run on Boswell’s single. An inning later, Jerry Grote doubled and scored on a single from Agee to bring the score to 7-4.

By then, Ryan had settled into a groove and did not allow a run over the final four innings of the NLCS. The sometimes starter struck out seven while yielding just three hits. When Garrett fielded Tony Gonzalez’s grounder and threw to Ed Kranepool for the last out, the Mets had won the National League pennant.

For the ‘69 Mets, who’d won the East on the strength of a dominant pitching staff, the story of the NLCS was the team’s offensive outburst. While neither Seaver, Koosman, nor Gentry recorded strong starts in the series, the Mets lineup hit .327 and scored 27 runs in the three games against the Braves. Art Shamsky paced the team by hitting .538, while the first five men in the lineup - Agee, Garrett, Jones, Shamsky, and Boswell - combined to hit .409 with 6 home runs and 17 RBI.

The National League champion Mets will face the American League champion Baltimore Orioles in the World Series. The 1969 edition of the fall classic will begin on Saturday, October 11, in Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium.

NLCS GAME 3: Mets 7, Braves 4.  W: Ryan (1-0)  L: Jarvis (0-1)

***

After two dramatic, extra-innings wins in Minnesota, the Baltimore Orioles decided to do it the easy way, pounding out 11 runs on 18 hits against Twins pitchers. Minnesota’s Bob Miller lasted just 1 2/3 innings, as Don Buford and Paul Blair led the O’s with a combined 9 hits – Buford scoring four times and Blair recording 5 RBI. Elrod Hendricks went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI. Jim Palmer continued the excellent pitching by Baltimore starters in the ALCS by going nine full innings while working around ten hits. The Twins managed just five runs in the three-game series.

ALCS GAME 3: Orioles 11, Twins 2.  W: Palmer (1-0)  L: Miller (0-1)

Sunday, October 5, 1969

For the second straight game, the New York Mets beat up Atlanta Braves pitchers and now have a two games to none lead in the National League pennant series.

Tommie Agee, Ken Boswell, and Cleon Jones all homered and combined for seven RBI. Agee got the scoring started after he led off the game with a single off Atlanta’s Ron Reed. Wayne Garrett walked, Agee and Garrett pulled off a double steal, and Ed Kranepool singled in Agee.

Agee’s two-run homer and Art Shamsky’s RBI single stretched the Mets’ lead to 4-0 in the second. In the third inning, Bud Harrelson’s double and Garrett’s single both plated a run, and Boswell’s two-run shot in the fourth made it 8-0.

The Braves broke through in the bottom of the inning when Orlando Cepeda singled off New York starter Jerry Koosman to drive in Rico Carty. The Mets answered back in the fifth when Garrett doubled and Jones singled.

But for the second straight game, a New York starter had a surprisingly poor outing. A winner of 17 games and possessor of a 2.28 ERA in the regular season, Koosman imploded in the bottom of the fifth. A three-run shot by Hank Aaron highlighted a five-run rally, and Ron Taylor, usually the Mets closer, came on with two outs and two men on to get Bob Didier to line out to second. Taylor and Tug McGraw combined for 4 1/3 shutout frames to right the ship, and Jones’s two-run home run in the seventh put the game away.

Both teams now head north for Game Three, to be played tomorrow at Shea Stadium. 

NLCS GAME 3: Mets 11, Braves 6.  W: Taylor (1-0)  L: Reed (0-1)

***

The Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles squared off in an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel in Game Two of the American League series.  Dave Boswell and Dave McNally both blanked the opposition through regulation and carried a shutout into the 11th inning. After McNally retired the side in the top of the 11th, Boswell walked leadoff batter Boog Powell. Brooks Robinson sacrificed him to second and Dave Johnson was walked intentionally. After Mark Belanger popped, Ron Perranoski came on to relieve Boswell. Pinch-hitter Curt Motton stepped up and singled to rightfield to give the Orioles their second straight extra-innings and a two-game lead in the series.

McNally, a twenty-game winner in the regular season, recorded one of the best performances in postseason history. He allowed just three hits – none after the 4th inning – and struck out 11 batters.

ALCS GAME 2: Orioles 1, Twins 0 (11 inn.).  W: McNally (1-0)  L: Boswell (0-1)

Saturday, October 4, 1969

In Atlanta, the New York Mets outslugged the Braves to win the first game of the National League pennant series.

The Mets scored first when Jerry Grote singled off starter Phil Miekro to drive in Art Shamsky for the franchise’s first ever run. Ken Boswell scored moments later on a passed ball by Atlanta’s Bob Didier.

But Tom Seaver, winner of 25 games in the regular season, squandered his team’s early lead. Rico Carty doubled to lead off the second and scored on Clete Boyer’s sac fly. In the third, three straight doubles from Felix Millan, Tony Gonzalez and Hank Aaron gave the Braves a 3-2 lead.

Bud Harrelson, who had just 24 RBI in the regular season, knocked in two runs with his fourth-inning triple to put the Mets back on top. But again, Seaver couldn’t hold the lead, as he surrendered solo home runs to Gonzalez in the fifth and Aaron in the seventh.

But then New York broke through in the eighth. Wayne Garrett led off with a double and scored on Cleon Jones’s single. Art Shamsky followed with a single, and Jones scored when Ken Boswell reached on an error by first baseman Orlando Cepeda. Later in the inning, the bases were loaded with two outs when Seaver’s spot in the lineup came up. Pinch-hitter J. C. Martin stepped into the box and struck a single into right-centerfield. All three runners scored, the final one on an error by Gonzalez.

From there, Ron Taylor came on to pitch two scoreless innings to preserve a 9-5 victory. Seaver was credited with the win despite his uncharacteristic rocky outing. Art Shamsky starred with three hits in four at-bats for the NL East champs, and Wayne Garrett was two for four.

NLCS GAME ONE: Mets 9, Braves 5.  W: Seaver (1-0)  L: Niekro (0-1)  SV: Taylor (1)

***

Baltimore’s Mike Cuellar went eight innings and then handed it over to the Orioles bullpen, which tossed four scoreless frames as the home team won Game One of the American League pennant series over Minnesota.

The Twins’s Gaylord Perry carried a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but he surrendered a game-tying home run to Boog Powell. The game stayed tied until the bottom of the twelfth. Mark Belanger lead off with a single and moved to third after Andy Etchebarren’s sacrifice bunt and Don Buford’s groundout. Paul Blair then surprised the Twins with a bunt single to score Belanger with the winning run.

ALCS GAME ONE: Orioles 4, Twins 3 (12 inn.)  W: Hall (1-0)  L: Perranoski (0-1)

Monday, September 22, 1969

Is there any better pitcher on the planet right now than Tom Seaver?

Working on three days’ rest, the man they call The Franchise notched his seventh victory in seven starts - all complete games – and his ninth in his last nine decisions.  Seaver allowed just one run on four hits to the visiting St. Louis Cardinals, and he also drove in a run with his seventh-inning single.  Art Shamsky had an RBI single and Jerry Grote went 2 for 3 for New York.

With the Cubs idle on Monday, the Mets’ magic number for clinching the division is down to 2. 

Mets 3, Cardinals 1.  W: Seaver (24-7)  L: Briles (15-13)

NL EAST                               W    L    T   PCT    GB    M#
New York Mets                   94   61    0  .606     -     3
Chicago Cubs                     89   66    1  .574   5.0    -

BONUS GAME

The Minnesota Twins claimed the crown in the American League West with a 4-3 victory over the Royals in Kansas City. Leadoff man Cesar Tovar went 3 for 5 and drove in two runs. Veteran hurler Bob Miller carried a three-run lead into the ninth, but an Ed Kirkpatrick single and a double from Lou Piniella brought the tying run to bat with no outs. On came reliever Al Worthington, who got Joe Foy on a fly to center for out number one. Jerry Adair and Buck Martinez punched one safely into rightfield, but a quick-thinking Tony Olivia fired to second to nab pinch-runner Scott Northey. Worthington then got Paul Schaal to ground to first base for the final out.

Twins 4, Royals 3.  W: Miller (5-4)  L: Rooker (4-15)

Elsewhere in the majors, the Baltimore Orioles have clinched the American League East and the San Francisco Giants hold a slim half-game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the National League West.

AL WEST                          W    L    T   PCT    GB
Minnesota Twins                 92   61    0  .601     -
Oakland Athletics               81   71    0  .533  10.5
California Angels               68   85    1  .444  24.0
Chicago White Sox               64   88    0  .421  27.5
Kansas City Royals              64   89    1  .418  28.0
Seattle Pilots                  60   93    1  .392  32.0

Saturday, September 13, 1969

Ron Swoboda struck a grand slam in the eighth inning off reliever Chuck Hartenstein to power the Mets to a comeback win, their tenth straight victory. Tom Seaver went the distance to win his seventh consecutive decision.

Mets 5, Pirates 2.  W: Seaver (22-7)  L: Walker (2-6)

Meanwhile, Fergie Jenkins fell apart in the eighth in St. Louis as the Cardinals mounted their own four-run rally, with Joe Torre and Tim McCarver knocking in two runs apiece on singles. 

Jim Hickman and Randy Hundley had each homered for Chicago, while Billy Williams went 2 for 5 with an RBI.

Cardinals 7, Cubs 4.  W: Grant (8-11)  L: Jenkins (19-11)  SV: Hoerner (15)

BONUS GAME

With four teams all within 3.5 games of each other atop the National League West coming into Saturday, the Astros and Braves locked in an epic matchup. Houston’s Larry Dierker hurled an amazing 12 scoreless innings, nearly matched by Phil Niekro’s11 shutout frames. The Astros looked to have won it when Jimmy Wynn singled in two runs off Cecil Upshaw in the top of the 13th, but then closer Fred Gladding was touched for a single, double, walk, and single and was eventually charged with the loss when Wade Blassingame walked Bob Aspromonte to force in the winning run. The extra-innings win kept Atlanta in first place by one game over Cincinnati in the West.

Braves 3, Astros 2 (13 inn.).  W: Doyle (2-0)  L: Gladding (3-7)

***

NL STANDINGS

EAST                             G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
New York Mets                  145   88   57    0  .607     -   576  496
Chicago Cubs                   147   85   61    1  .582   3.5   668  544
St. Louis Cardinals            145   78   67    0  .538  10.0   534  490
Pittsburgh Pirates             143   76   67    0  .531  11.0   635  591
Philadelphia Phillies          143   57   86    0  .399  30.0   576  652
Montreal Expos                 146   46  100    0  .315  42.5   521  718

WEST                             G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Atlanta Braves                 146   81   65    0  .555     -   615  582
Cincinnati Reds                143   78   64    1  .549   1.0   724  709
Los Angeles Dodgers            143   78   65    0  .545   1.5   593  488
San Francisco Giants           145   79   66    0  .545   1.5   645  592
Houston Astros                 143   75   68    0  .524   4.5   625  589
San Diego Padres               145   45  100    0  .310  35.5   404  665

Sunday, August 31, 1969

The Cubs completed a series sweep of the Braves as both teams combined for 22 hits on Sunday. Glenn Beckert went 4 for 5, Billy Williams had a 3-run homer, and winning pitcher Ken Holtzman rapped a 2-run homer and an RBI single to lead Chicago’s charge.

Cubs 8, Braves 4.  W: Holtzman (16-8)  L: Niekro (18-12)

The Mets split a doubleheader at Candlestick. Tom Seaver cruised in game one, shutting out the Giants. Ron Swoboda and Jerry Grote each drove in two runs in a five-run 4th. Bud Harrelson and Rod Gaspar both had two hits, and Al Weis drove in a pair.

In game two, the Mets tied it with two runs in the 7th but then lost when Ron Taylor walked Dave Marshall with the bases loaded in the 11th. Jim McAndrew started and gave up just two runs in nine innings pitched.

Mets 8, Giants 0 (1). W: Seaver (19-7)  L: McCormick (9-8)

Giants 3, Mets 2 (2, 11 inn.). W: Linzy (13-6)  L: McGraw (7-3)

NL EAST                          W    L    T   PCT    GB  
Chicago Cubs                   82   52    1  .612     -  
New York Mets                  76   54    0  .585   4.0

Saturday, August 30, 1969

The Cubs held on to take a second game of a weekend series in Atlanta. Handed a 3-0 lead, Chicago starter Dick Selma got just two outs and gave up two runs before Leo Durocher pulled him in favor of Ken Johnson. The veteran Johnson earned his first win of the season by going 5 1/3 before handing things over to Phil Regan. Don Kessinger and Billy Williams had two hits, one run, and one RBI apiece, and Ernie Banks struck a two-run homer, his 21st of the season.

Cubs 5, Braves 4.  W: Johnson (1-2)  L: Reed (13-9)  SV: Regan (15)

Don Clendenon hit a 10th-inning home run off Gaylord Perry and Tug McGraw finished off the game with two scoreless frames to put the Mets over the Giants.  Ken Boswell had three hits and scored twice for New York, who got 7 1/3 strong innings from starter Don Cardwell.

Mets 3, Giants 2.  W: McGraw (7-2)  L: Perry (16-11)

NL EAST                          W    L    T   PCT    GB   
Chicago Cubs                    81   52    1  .609     -  
New York Mets                   75   53    0  .586   3.5

Friday, August 29, 1969

Bill Hands outdueled Pat Jarvis in Atlanta to give the Cubs their second consecutive win. Don Kessinger went 3 for 4 and scored once, Ron Santo went 2 for 4, and Jim Hickman hit his 17th home run of the year.

Cubs 2, Braves 1.  W: Hands (16-11) L: Jarvis (10-9)

Gary Gentry got off to a rough start in San Francisco and gave up four runs in the first inning, including three on a home run by Bobby Bonds. His counterpart, Juan Marichal, dominated the Mets in yielding just four hits while striking out seven. Bobby Pfeil was 2 for 4 for New York.

Giants 5, Mets 0.  W: Marichal (16-9)  L: Gentry (9-11)

NL EAST                          W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Chicago Cubs                    80   52    1  .606     -   614  471
New York Mets                   74   53    0  .583   3.5   498  456

Thursday, August 21, 1969

Ken Henderson’s RBI triple plated the game-winning run in the 11th after the Mets had comeback from a 4-run deficit with 3 in the 7th and 1 in the 9th to send the game into extra innings. Tommie Agee had a home run and 3 RBI, Ron Swoboda knocked in two, and Cleon Jones has 3 hits for New York.

Giants 7, Mets 6.  W: McMahon (1-1)  L: Taylor (6-4)

Jim Britton allowed just one unearned run across nine innings and Hank Aaron hit his 33rd home run of the year as the Braves topped the Cubs. Glenn Beckert went 2 for 4 for Chicago. 

Braves 3, Cubs 1.  W:Britton (7-4)  L: Hands (15-10)

Team                             W    L    T   PCT    GB   
Chicago Cubs                    76   47    1  .618     -  
New York Mets                   68   52    0  .567   6.5