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Now that we’ve completed our day-by-day recreation of the 1969 World Championship season, we can take some time to analyze how the Mets pulled off their miraculous upset of the Orioles in five games.

First, if someone had said that New York’s top two hitters from their everyday lineup, leadoff man Tommie Agee and third-spot slugger Cleon Jones, would hit a combined .162 (6 for 37) in the series – and that Art Shamsky, the only other Met (aside from Jones) to post a .300 average in the regular season, would be hitless in 6 at-bats in the World Series after hitting .538 against the Braves in the NLCS - one might have thought Baltimore had swept the series. 

So how did the Mets win?  Simple: pitching.  True, New York had a less than amazin’ .220 team average in the series, but their pitching staff held the O’s to an anemic .146 team mark in the five games. After scoring 4 runs off Tom Seaver in Game One, the AL champs scored just 5 runs over the final 4 games.  Jerry Koosman, the team’s second best hurler in the regular season, was its best in the series with a 2-0 record and a 2.04 ERA in 17 2/3 innings. With Koosman’s two wins bookending Gary Gentry’s 6 2/3 scoreless innings in Game Three and Seaver’s 10-inning masterpiece in Game Four, New York subdued the Birds by holding them to just 4 extra-base hits across the 5 games. Out of the bullpen, Ron Taylor, Nolan Ryan, and Don Cardwell threw 5 2/3 innings without allowing a run.

The top two men in the Baltimore lineup, Paul Blair and Don Buford, had just 4 hits in 40 at-bats. Boog Powell led the Orioles with a .263 average but had no home runs or RBI.

Meanwhile, the Mets got enough offense from two members of their right-handed platoon lineup - one expected and one unexpected. Seeing the majority of the action at their positions with southpaws Mike Cuellar and Dave McNally starting 2 games aipiece for the O’s, cleanup hitter Donn Clendenon hit .357 with 3 home runs, and eighth-place hitter Al Weis opened eyes with 5 hits in 11 at-bats (.455) including the game-winning RBI in Game Two and a game-tying home run in Game Five. As they had throughout their 100-win campaign, the 1969 Amazin; Mets used timely hitting and dominant pitching to bring a happy end to a miracle season.

Tuesday, October 14, 1969

Superman came to Shea Stadium for the World Series, and his name is Tommie Agee.

The Mets centerfielder led off the bottom of the first in Game 3 with a home run off Baltimore’s Jim Palmer. More importantly, Agee made not one but two sparkling plays in the field to prevent at least five potential runs in New York’s 5-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. 

The underdog Mets now lead the Orioles 2-1 in the series.

Mets no. 3 starter Gary Gentry cruised through the first three innings and New York led 3-0 after Gentry struck a two-run double in the second to score Jerry Grote and Bud Harrelson.

But with two outs in the fourth inning, Baltimore’s Frank Robinson singled for his team’s first hit of the game, and Boog Powell followed with a single of his own. After Gentry got Brooks Robinson on strikes for the second out, Elrod Hendricks drove a ball deep into the left-centerfield gap in Shea. (After the game, he would describe it as the hardest ball he’d ever hit.)  But Agee raced into the gap and nabbed the sinking drive with an amazing backhanded “ice cream cone” catch just in front of the wall. 

Jerry Grote’s sixth-inning double scored Ken Boswell to make it 4-0. Then, Agee came to the rescue once again. Gentry again fell into two-out trouble in the seventh when he walked the bases loaded. Gil Hodges called to the bullpen for Nolan Ryan, and the Orioles’s Paul Blair greeted him with a line drive into right-center. Agee got on his horse, pounded his glove just before diving, and gathered it in for the third out. The home crowd erupted as he jogged in from centerfield, realizing that Agee, the former A.L. Rookie of the Year, was responsible for stranding a total of five Baltimore runners on base.

From there, Ryan closed things out and Ed Kranepool’s solo shot in the eighth ended the day’s scoring.

WORLD SERIES GAME THREE: Mets 5, Orioles 0.  W: Gentry (1-0)  L: Palmer (0-1)  SV: Ryan (1)

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, September 28, 1969

Mets pitchers extended their scoreless streak to 42 consecutive innings as Gary Gentry, Nolan Ryan, and Ron Taylor combined to shutout the Phillies and complete a three-game sweep in Philadelphia.

The only runs of the game came in the top of the second inning. Ed Kranepool’s walk followed by Wayne Garrett’s single placed men on first and second with none out. Jim Gosger, who came over in July as the player-to-be-named-later in the Mets’ preseason trade with the Seattle Pilots, doubled to score Kranepool. Gentry’s sac fly plated Garrett for the second and final run of the game. Garrett’s leadoff double in the seventh was the only other Mets hit of the day.

Gentry went five innings to pick up the victory and finish the season with a winning record. Ryan pitched the sixth, seventh and eighth, and Taylor threw a scoreless ninth for the save.

Batting leadoff again, Cleon Jones went 0 for 3 with a walk and saw his average drop to .340, now third in the league behind Pete Rose (.347) and Roberto Clemente (.341).

Mets 2, Phillies 0.  W: Gentry (13-12)  L: J. Johnson (6-13)

Saturday, September 20, 1969

The Mets may be in first place, but the Pirates are looking like the top team in the East right now.

Bob Moose threw a no-hitter at Shea, giving Pirates their third win in two days against New York. Moose walked 3 and struck out 6. After walking Rod Gaspar to lead off the ninth, Moose got Tommie Agee to pop up, retired Wayne Garrett on a ground out to third, and then secured the no-hitter when Art Shamsky grounded out to second.

Pirates 4, Mets 0. W: Moose (12-3)  L: Gentry (11-12) 

Errors by All-Stars Ron Santo and Glenn Beckert opened the door for four Cardinals runs as St. Louis emerged with a victory in Wrigley, despite a triple and home run from Jim Hickman.

Cardinals 4, Cubs 1.  W: Carlton (17-10)  L: Hands (18-14)  SV: Grant (7)

Friday, September 19, 1969

Looking for something to build off next year, the improving Pittsburgh Pirates jumped on the streaking New York Mets to sweep a doubleheader at Shea. Matty Alou led the charge in game one by going 4 for 4 with 3 RBI, and Willie Stargell was 3 for 5 with a home run and 2 RBI in the second game. New York’s Al Weis went a combined 4 for 7 on the day and Jerry Grote a combined 3 for 6.

Pirates 8, Mets 2 (1).  W: Veale (13-12)  L: Ryan (6-3)

Pirates 8, Mets 0 (2). W: Walker (3-6)  L: McAndrew (6-7)

Both Ken Holtzman and Bob Gibson recorded extra-inning complete games in the front end of a doubleheader at Wrigley, and Jim Hickman touched Gibson for a double with two outs bottom of tenth to drive in Billy Williams with the winning run.  The Cardinals struck back with 5 runs, 3 unearned, off the Chicago bullpen to pull away in game two.

Cubs 2, Cardinals 1 (1, 10 inn.).  W: Holtzman (17-11)  L: Gibson (18-12)

Cardinals 7, Cubs 2.  W: Torrez (9-4)  L: Selma (12-9)

***

STANDINGS AT CLOSE OF PLAY ON 9/20/69

NL EAST                              W    L    T   PCT    GB 
New York Mets                   91   61    0  .599     - 
Chicago Cubs                    88   66    1  .571   4.0
Pittsburgh Pirates              82   70    0  .539   9.0 
St. Louis Cardinals             82   70    0  .539   9.0
Philadelphia Phillies           61   91    0  .401  30.0 
Montreal Expos                  50  104    0  .325  42.0

Sunday, September 14, 1969

Steve Blass pitched his way around 11 hits and broke the Mets’ 10-game winning streak.

New York battled back to tie the game after trailing 3-0, but Blass himself singled in the go-ahead run for Pittsburgh and then made the lead hold up.  Starter Nolan Ryan took just his second loss of the season.

Bud Harrelson tallied three hits in the leadoff spot for the Mets, while Ed Charles and Jerry Grote had two hits apiece and all three men scored once.

Pirates 5, Mets 3.  W: Blass (15-9)  L: Ryan (6-2)

Chicago’s Ken Holtzman and St. Louis’s Bob Gibson both carried a pitcher’s duel into the 10th inning, when Lou Brock won it for the home team with a walk-off home run. Gibson held the Cubs to just seven hits, two by Holtzman and two by recently acquired centerfielder Jimmie Hall.

Despite pitching well, Holtzman fell to 0-3 in the month of September.

Cardinals 2, Cubs 1 (10 inn.).  W: Gibson (18-11)  L: Holtzman (16-11)

***

NL EAST                               W    L    T   PCT    GB 
New York Mets                   88   58    0  .603     -  
Chicago Cubs                     85   62    1  .578   3.5 

Wednesday, September 10, 1969.

The unthinkable has happened.  The New York Mets are in first place.

The Mets began play a half-game behind Chicago, which had been in first place in the National League East since the very first day of the season, and had as recently as August 13 led New York by 9 1/2 games in the standings.

The Shea Stadium crowd cheered the Amazins Wednesday evening as the home took the field for the first game of a doubleheader against the last-place Montreal Expos. New York’s Jim McAndrew worked through a rocky first and second innings, giving up a single run in each, before settling into a groove and turning in a heroic, 11-inning gem – allowing just one hit over his last nine frames. At the same time, Expos starter Mike Wegener was just as good, lasting 11 innings himself and allowing just two runs himself – one on a first-inning Art Shamsky single that scored Tommie Agee, and another when Wegener balked in Agee from third in the fifth inning.

From there, it was a nail-biting test of endurance, with neither team crossing the plate in the next six innings. Ron Taylor relieved McAndrew in the top of the 12th, and Agee threw out Remy Hermoso at the plate for the last out of the inning. In the bottom half of the 12th, the Expos’ Bill Stoneman came on for a rare relief appearance. Cleon Jones singled with two outs and moved to second on Rod Gaspar’s walk, and Ken Boswell proved the hero with a game-winning RBI single.

Mets 3, Expos 2 (1, 12 inn.).  W: Taylor (8-4)  L: Stoneman (9-17)

Meanwhile, the slumping Chicago Cubs were on their way to another loss. Starter Ken Holtzman left after seven innings with his team trailing 3-2, and reliever Phil Regan poured gasoline on the fire by allowing three more runs without recording a single out. After winning 10 of his first 11 decisions, Holtzman has now lost nine of his last 15.  Rick Wise tossed a complete game for the Phils, allowing just one unearned run.

Phillies 6, Cubs 2.  W: Wise (13-11)  L: Holtzman (16-10)

With the second game of the Mets-Expos doubleheader underway, the home fans took to watching the out-of-town scoreboard. When the electronic “F” flashed to signal the end of the Cubs game, the Mets fans began to dance in the aisles.  Regardless of the outcome of the nightcap, the Mets were now assured of waking up the next morning in first place. The scoreboard operator ran a celebratory message that seemed aimed just as much to the rest of the league as it was to the Shea faithful: LOOK WHO’S NO. 1.

In the third inning of game two, Jerry Grote’s leadoff double sparked a 6-run rally, and Nolan Ryan made the lead hold up en route to a 7-1 blowout. Ken Boswell recorded three hits, with Art Shamsky and Bud Harrelson each tallying two. When John Bateman flied out to Rod Gaspar for the final out, the Mets had moved into a full-game lead in the National League East.

Mets 7, Expos 1 (2).  W: Ryan (6-1)  L: Reed (6-6)

NL EAST STANDINGS

                                                 W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
New York Mets                   84   57    0  .596     -   565  494
Chicago Cubs                     84   59    1  .587   1.0   656  532

Tuesday, August 5, 1969

Tom Seaver lasted just three innings as the Reds took a second straight game from the Mets in Cincy. Art Shamsky had three hits, including a two-run homer, and Cleon Jones also had three hits for New York.

Reds 8, Mets 5 (1).  W: Gary Nolan (2-3)  L: Seaver (15-7)  SV: Carroll (5)

In the second game, the Mets erupted for eight runs in the third inning, and Nolan Ryan pitched a complete game while striking out 7. Don Clendenon had the big hit with a three-run home run, and Tommie Agee added a solo shot.  Agee, Clendenon, Ron Swoboda and Jerry Grote had 2 hits apiece.

Mets 10, Reds 1 (2).  W: Ryan (4-1)  L: Arrigo (2-3)

***

In Houston, Bill Hands pitched 6 2/3 of solid ball as the Cubs cruised by the Astros with 16 hits, including 3 from Ron Santo.

Cubs 5, Astros 2.  W: Hands (13-8)  L: Lemaster (8-11)  SV: Regan (13)

NL EAST STANDINGS

Team Name                        W    L    T   PCT    GB  
Chicago Cubs                    69   41    1  .627     -  
New York Mets                   59   46    0  .562   7.5

Sunday, July 13, 1969

Ken Holtzman shut out the Phillies in the first game of a doubleheader, and Jim Colburn, making his Major League debut, picked up a victory while going 5 1/3 innings and allowing 3 runs. Don Kessinger was 2 for 5 with 2 RBI in the first and scored twice in the second.  Glenn Beckert was 3 for 4 and Ron Santo struck a 2-run shot in the first game.  Ernie Banks was the hitting star of the second game, going 2 for 3 with 4 RBI. Billy Williams scored twice in the nightcap, as well.

Cubs 6, Phillies 0 (1). W: Holtzman (11-5)  L: Fryman (8-6)

Cubs 6, Phillies 4 (2).  W: J. Colburn (1-0)  L: L. Palmer (0-1)  SV: Nye (2)

***

At Shea, Jerry Koosman recorded a complete-game win in the opening end of a doubleheader with the Expos. Cleon Jones, Art Shamsky and Ed Kranepool each went 2 for 3.

The second game was a wild affair, with starters Nolan Ryan and Howie Reed both getting touched for 6 runs in 3 1/3 inning and neither figuring in the decision. Tommie Agee hit a leadoff home run and then followed with a 3-run blast to cap a 5-run rally in the 4th inning. Agee also scored the go-ahead run in the 7th on Ron Swoboda’s single and the insurance run on Wayne Garrett’s single in the 8th. The Mets centerfielder finished the game with 3 hits, 4 runs scored, and 4 RBI in 4 at-bats.

Mets 4, Expos 3 (1).  W: Koosman (7-5) L: J. Robertson (2-7)

Mets 9, Expos 7 (2). W: Koonce (3-3)  L: McGinn (4-9)  SV: Taylor (7)

***

Team Name                        W    L    T    GB   
Chicago Cubs                    56   34    1    -  
New York Mets                   49   36    0   4.5

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