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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)

Wednesday, July 23, 1969

The top players from the National and American Leagues squared off in the All-Star Game at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC.

Centerfielder Matty Alou got the National Leaguers started by leading off the game with a single and later scored on an error by leftfielder Frank Howard.

In the top of the second, the Senior Circuit increased its lead when Mets leftfielder Cleon Jones singled and Johnny Bench followed with a 2-run homer off AL starter Mel Stottlemyre.

Howard, the hometown hero, got the American League on the board with a solo shot in the bottom of the inning, but the NL answered back with a 5-run outburst against A’s pitcher “Blue Moon” Odom. Hank Aaron singled with no outs and Willie McCovey sent one over the fence. Felix Millan doubled in 2 runs and then scored when starting pitcher Steve Carlton surprised everybody by smacking a double, chasing Odom from the game.

Bill Freehan smacked a home run for the American League in the home third, and Willie McCovey responded with his second home run in the two innings.

Freehan notched an RBI single in the 4th. The pitching staffs from both teams took over at that point, and the National League cruised to a 9-3 victory.

Cleon Jones had a 2-for-4 night, and Mets teammate Jerry Koosman pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Cubs third baseman Ron Santo went 0 for 3.

NL 9, AL 3.  W: Carlton  L: Stottlemyre  SV: P. Niekro

STARTING LINEUP

NL

CF Alou (PIT)

SS Kessinger (CHI)

RF Aaron (ATL)

1B McCovey (SF)

3B Santo (CHI)

LF Jones (NYM)

C  Bench (CIN)

2B Millan (ATL)

P  Carlton (STL)

AL

2B Carew (MIN)

CF Jackson (OAK)

RF F. Robinson (BAL)

1B Powell (BAL)

LF Howard (WAS)

3B Bando (OAK)

SS Petrocelli (BOS)

C  Freehan (DET)

P  Stottlemyre (NYY)

Sunday, June 1, 1969

Ken Holtzman had another rocky outing but again the Cubs still came away with the win.

Chicago scored 6 runs in the 3rd inning off Atlanta starter Pat Jarvis, the big blow coming on Randy Hundley’s 3-run shot. But Holtzman gave up two 2-run homers, one to a unusual suspect (catcher Bob Tillman) and one to a very usual one (Hank Aaron) and failed to make it out of the 5th inning.

Dick Selma came on to pitch 4 2/3 scoreless innings in relief, though, to earn the win as the Cubs pulled away from the Braves and completed a three-game sweep. Ron Santo had a monster day with 3 hits and 4 RBI.  Billy Williams (who also homered), Ernie Banks, and Willie Smith had 2 basehits apiece for the home town, and Jim Hickman added a home run of his own. The Braves’s Orlando Cepeda had 3 hits.

Cubs 13, Braves 4  W: Selma (5-3)  L: Jarvis (5-3)

***

Willie McCovey homered for the third consecutive game against the Mets but New York emerged with the win and the series sweep at Shea.

With the score tied 4-4 going into the bottom of the 9th, Giants reliever Joe Gibbon walked the bases loaded and then walked Ron Swoboda to force in Bud Harrelson with the winning run.

Neither starter had fared well. Bobby Bolin was fortunate to give up only 4 runs in surrendering 8 hits and 3 walks in just 4 1/3 innings. Meanwhile, the Mets’s Jim McAndrew was similarly lucky after giving up 3 hits and 4 walks that led to 2 runs (1 unearned) in 1 2/3 innings.  Manager Gil Hodges brought in Don Cardwell, who pitched a strong 6 1/3 innings while giving up 2 runs. Ron Taylor pitched the 9th and got the win in relief.

Both Harrelson and Swoboda went 2 for 4, and Jerry Grote was 2 for 3 with a triple. Ed Kranepool had an RBI single.

Mets 5, Giants 4  W: Taylor (1-0)  L: Gibbon (1-3)

NL EAST STANDINGS

Team Name                        W    L   PCT    GB
Chicago Cubs                    33   16  .673     -
Pittsburgh Pirates              25   23  .521   7.5
New York Mets                   22   23  .489   9.0
St. Louis Cardinals             22   25  .468  10.0
Philadelphia Phillies           18   25  .419  12.0
Montreal Expos                  11   33  .250  19.5