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Thursday, October 16, 1969

The New York Mets are World Series champions.

The Amazin’s overcame an early three-run deficit to beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-3 in Game Five and close out the series at home. Jerry Koosman pitched a complete game to earn his second series win, series MVP Donn Clendenon homered in his third straight appearance, and Al Weis hit a key game-tying home run, his first ever homer at Shea Stadium.

After hitting .215 in the regular season, Weis finished with a .455 series average.

The Mets fell behind in the third when Orioles pitcher Dave McNally smacked a two-run shot over the leftfield wall. Three batters later, Frank Robinson drove a towering home run over the centerfield fence for a 3-0 Orioles lead.

But it was the last time Baltimore would score in ‘69.

Koosman settled into a groove, and the Mets got on the board in the sixth when Cleon Jones was hit by a pitch and Clendenon followed with a drive that ricocheted off the upper deck in leftfield. At first, umpire Lou DiMuro ruled that McNally’s pitch had missed Jones’s feet before it hit the ground and bounced into the Mets dugout. But manager Gil Hodges emerged with a ball that bore the mark of shoe polish, and after inspecting it, DiMuro awarded Jones first. This enraged Baltimore manager Earl Weaver, as in the top of the inning, Frank Robinson had struck out after claiming to have been hit by a Koosman pitch.

With the Mets trailing by one, Al Weis sent the fans to their feet with his game-tying home run off McNally in the seventh. In the eighth against reliever Eddie Watt, Jones led off with a double high off the centerfield fence, and he scored the go-ahead run one batter latter on Ron Swoboda’s bloop single to left, which landed just in front of a lunging Don Buford to the delight of the enraptured Shea faithful. After Ed Charles flew out, Jerry Grote lined a hard grounder to Boog Powell at first, and when Watt mishandled Powell’s toss to first, Swoboda came around to score a key insurance run.

Protecting a two-run lead, Koosman made a mistake in walking Frank Robinson to begin the ninth. But Koosman got Powell to ground into a force play and retired Brooks Robinson on a fly to right.

Davey Johnson stepped to the plate next. I recount what happened next in 1969: The Year Everything Changed:

Second baseman Davey Johnson hit a deep fly ball to left that might have made many a fan hold their breath, but when Jones stopped moving backward and calmly settled under the ball just shy of the warning track, it was all over.

He collected the ball and brought his hands down as he practically knelt to the Shea grass in a solemn gesture. Veteran baseball writer George Vecsey wrote, “Shea Stadium was caught quivering as Jones sighted the ball, and the whole city erupted as he caught it, and the fans poured onto the field, and the New York Mets were the champions of baseball. There were a million exciting things happening and it was hard to focus on any one incident. But out in left field, if you had been looking there, you would have seen Cleon Jones, with fans racing over to pummel him, stop for a moment, drop quickly to one knee. Later, he explained his brief genuflection. ‘Someone was good to us.’ ”

The Mets, the laughingstock of baseball in their first seven years of existence, were now the best team in all of the land. All jubilant hell broke loose. Fans ran onto the field in celebration. Some collected dirt from the infield; others dug out home plate as a souvenir. It was just before 3:30 on that Thursday afternoon, October 16, and throughout the city, New Yorkers began their celebration. White-collar confetti danced downward upon spontaneous revelers. Strangers danced in the streets, young with old, black with white—one of the few moments of harmony during a year that had seen the nation divided by age and race.

Wednesday, October 15, 1969

Tom Seaver pitched his best game of the postseason, Ron Swoboda made the catch of his life, and now the Mets find themselves one game away from a world championship.

After allowing 9 runs over 12 innings in two starts, Cy Young candidate Tom Seaver crafted a masterpiece in Game 4 of the World Series. The Franchise threw 10 strong frames, allowing just one run on six hits and two walks, as the Orioles and Mets went into extra innings at Shea Stadium.

Donn Clendenon’s solo home run in the second inning off Baltimore’s Mike Cuellar gave New York an early lead. The score remained 1-0 until the top of the ninth, when Seaver appeared to tire. He surrendered back-to-back hits to Frank Robinson and Boog Powell to put men on first and third with one out. Brooks Robinson sent a sinking liner into rightfielder. Swoboda, who was dubbed “Rocky” because of his defensive struggles earlier in his career, made a split-second decision and dove to his right with his body parallel to the ground and his arm reaching out as far as he could. Quoting from 1969: The Year Everything Changed:

If not for perfect timing, the ball would have skipped past Swoboda’s glove and likely gone all the way to the wall. Perhaps in some parallel universe, it did just that: Both runners scored as Robinson pulled into third with a triple, and Baltimore scored a come-from-behind win in Game Four to regain momentum in the Series. Perhaps in this alternate reality, the Orioles went on to win the Series, while the ’69 Mets had to settle for being an intriguing footnote in baseball’s long, storied history.

But Swoboda’s timing was perfect, and he caught the ball just inches above the outfield grass. Frank Robinson tagged up and scored from third to tie the game, but the Shea crowd didn’t seem to care. The fans of this miracle team had witnessed yet another miraculous catch, and one batter later, Swoboda made another fine (though not nearly as difficult) catch on a line drive to halt the Orioles rally.

After the game, commentators would compare the play to the greatest catches in World Series history. 

Swoboda made a jogging catch on Elrod Hendricks’s liner to end the inning. Swoboda’s single in the bottom of the ninth, his third of the game, pushed Cleon Jones to third with two outs, but reliever Eddie Watt got pinch-hitter Art Shamsky to ground out to second, and the game proceeded into extra innings.

Still on the mound, Seaver worked around a jam in the tenth. Davey Johnson reached on an error by Wayne Garrett, and Clay Dalrymple’s pinch hit put two on with one out. But Don Buford flew out to right, and then Seaver struck out Paul Blair.

In the bottom of the tenth, Jerry Grote led off with a flyball double that fell just out of reach of shortstop Mark Belanger in shallow leftfield. After an intentional walk to Al Weis, Pete Richert came on to face pinch-hitter J. C. Martin. Martin laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, and when Richert fielded it and wheeled to first, his throw hit Martin and bounced away. Rod Gaspar, running for Grote, came around to score the winning run.

The Orioles would argue that Martin should have been called out and the play called dead because he had been running outside the basepath when the ball struck him. But the play stood, and now this miraculous Mets team will look to close out the series on Thursday at Shea.

WORLD SERIES GAME FOUR: Mets 2, Orioles 1 (10 inn.).  W: Seaver (1-1)  L: Hall (0-1)

Saturday, October 11, 1969

The New York Mets ran into the Baltimore Orioles buzzsaw in Game One of the World Series.

Don Buford homered on the second pitch thrown by Tom Seaver to set the tone for the game. Buford and Mets shortstop Bud Harrelson seemed to jaw at each other as Buford circled the bases to the delight of the Memorial Stadium crowd. Three innings later, the home fans had more to celebrate. Elrod Hendricks singled to spark a two-out rally. Orioles pitcher Mike Cuellar provided the big hit of the inning with a single to score two runs, and Buford followed with a double for his second RBI of the game and a 4-0 Baltimore lead.

The Mets attempted a rally in the seventh. Singles from Don Clendenon and Jerry Grote sandwiched around a walk to Ron Swoboda brought the tying run to bat with one out. But all Al Weis could manage was a sacrifice fly for one run, and Rod Gaspar grounded out to end the threat.

Cuellar then closed out the game to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead in the series.  He struck out 8 New Yorkers while allowing 6 hits and 4 walks.

After compiling a 2.21 ERA in the regular season, Seaver now has a 6.75 ERA in two postseason starts. Clendenon, who sat out the NLCS in favor of Ed Kranepool against the Atlanta Braves’s right-handed staff, had a double and single in four at-bats against Cuellar. Cleon Jones recorded the first Mets World Series hit with his first-inning single.

WORLD SERIES GAME ONE: Orioles 4, Mets 1.  W: Cuellar (1-0)  L: Seaver (0-1)

Saturday, September 27, 1969

Making his final start of the season, Tom Seaver won his league-leading 25th game as the Mets edged the host Phillies 1-0.  Not to be outdone by his staffmate, Seaver followed Jerry Koosman’s complete-game shutout on Friday with one of his own. The Franchise gave up just three hits, two to rookie catcher Dave Watkins, in yet another dominating performance. With the shutout, Seaver lowered his season ERA to 2.20, third best in the National League and just ahead of Koosman’s mark of 2.23. He finishes out the regular season on an amazing run, going 8-0 with an ERA of 0.63 in his final eight starts, all complete games.

Philadelphia’s Grant Jackson matched Seaver’s scoreless effort inning for inning until the eighth, when the Mets managed the lone run of the game.  Don Clendenon walked with two outs, advanced to second on Ron Swoboda’s walk, and came around to score when Bobby Pfeil knocked a single into center.  Seaver then retired the last six men he faced to close out the game.

Mets manager Gil Hodges batted Cleon Jones leadoff, giving his leftfielder the maximum number of plate appearances in his pursuit of Cincinnati’s Pete Rose in the National League batting title race. Jones collected two singles in four at-bats to raise his season average to .343, while Rose also went 2 for 4 and now stands at .348. The Pirates’s Roberto Clemente is currently third in the league at .340 after going 2 for 3.

Mets 1, Phillies 0.  W: Seaver (25-7)  L: Jackson (14-17)

Tuesday, September 23, 1969

The Mets trailed the Cardinals 2-1 going into the bottom of the eighth, but Art Shamsky singled in Tommie Agee to tie the game.  Four innings of scoreless relief from Tug McGraw carried the game into the bottom of the eleventh. Ron Swoboda singled off starter Bob Gibson with one out, Jerry Grote’s hit moved him to second, and Bud Harrelson punched a single into leftfield to score Swoboda with the winning run. New York’s Jim McAndrew started and gave up just two unearned runs in seven innings before leaving in favor of a pinch-hitter.

With the win and Chicago’s loss, the Mets’s magic number is down to 1.

Mets 3, Cardinals 2 (11 inn.).  W: McGraw (9-3)  L: Gibson (18-13)

Ken Holtzman’s second-half struggles continued, as he lasted just three innings and gave up five runs to visiting Montreal. Bob Bailey drove in three runs, and both Rusty Staub and Ron Fairly went deep for the Expos.

Expos 7, Cubs 3.  W: Stoneman (11-18)  L: Holtzman (17-12)

***

NL EAST                              W    L    T   PCT    GB    M#
New York Mets                  95   61    0  .609     -       1
Chicago Cubs                    89   67    1  .571   6.0     -

Monday, September 15, 1969

Dick Selma lost his fourth straight decision as the host Expos, who sit in the NL East cellar with 100 losses, pummeled the second-place Cubs. First baseman Ron Fairly went 3 for 3 with a home run and 4 RBI, and second baseman Gary Sutherland was 4 for 5.

Expos 8, Cubs 2.  W: Wegener (5-12)  L: Selma (12-8)

Two days after hitting a game-winning grand slam, Ron Swoboda clubbed a pair of two-run homers to lead the Mets over the Cardinals in St. Louis. His second blast came in the eighth inning off starter Steve Carlton to give New York the lead for good. Tug McGraw took over for Gary Gentry in the seventh and pitched three shutout innings for the win.

Mets 4, Cards 3.  W: McGraw (8-3)  L: Carlton (16-10)

***

NL EAST                          W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
New York Mets                   89   58    0  .605     -   583  504
Chicago Cubs                    85   63    1  .574   4.5   671  554
St. Louis Cardinals             79   68    0  .537  10.0   539  495
Pittsburgh Pirates              77   69    0  .527  11.5   644  600
Philadelphia Phillies           59   87    0  .404  29.5   584  663
Montreal Expos                  48  100    0  .324  41.5   536  722

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 24, 1969

The Cubs won a slugfest that featured 29 combined hits in Game One.  Chicago struck for 3 in the 7th and 4 in the 8th. Ernie Banks had 3 hits and 3 RBI, Billy Williams had a single, double, and triple, and Jim Hickman hit his third home run in two days. Ron Santo also had three hits and scored thrice.

The Cubs started strong with 2 runs in the first inning of the nightcap, but Houston starter Don Wilson hung on to get the win.

Cubs 10, Astros 9 (1).  W: Regan (12-5)  L: Gladding (2-5)  SV: Aguirre (1)

Astros 3, Cubs 2 (2).  W: Wilson (16-8)  L: Johnson (0-2)

***

Ron Swoboda’s three-run double lead the comeback charge for the Mets, as they scored 4 in the 7th and downed the Dodgers at Shea.

Mets 7, Dodgers 4.  W: Koonce (6-3)  L: Sutton (15-12)

NL EAST STANDINGS

Team                             W    L    T   PCT    GB 
Chicago Cubs                    78   49    1  .614     -  
New York Mets                   71   52    0  .577   5.0 

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

Sunday, July 5, 1969

Trailing 6-1 after just 2 innings, the New York Mets rallied back in Pittsburgh to win 8-7.  Don Clendenon’s 3-run homer capped a 4-run rally in the 6th inning.

After starter Jim McAndrew had lasted just 2/3 of an inning and Nolan Ryan went just as long, the combination of Danny Frisella, Ron Taylor, and Cal Koonce kept the Mets in the game. Jerry Grote had 2 hits and an RBI, as did Ron Swoboda off the bench.

With Chicago’s doubleheader loss, the Mets pulled back to within 5 games of the Cubs.

Mets 8, Pirates 7.  W: Taylor (4-2)  L: Hartenstein (2-4)  SV: Koonce (6)

***

The Cubs were scoreless in 16 of 18 innings of a doubleheader in St. Louis as they were swept by the Cardinals.

In the first game, Steve Carlton scattered 8 hits over 8-plus innings as the Cards carried a 4-0 lead into the 9th. Ernie Banks went 3-for-3, and Ron Santo and Randy Hundley had 2 hits apiece for the Cubs. Steve Huntz’s 2-run single in the 4th proved to be the difference.

In the second game, Rich Nye gave up 5 runs in just 3 innings. St. Louis starter Mike Torrez yielded 3 unearned runs in 2 2/3, but Chuck Taylor came out of the pen to throw 6 1/3 shutout innings. Mike Shannon’s 3-run homer and Joe Torre’s 2-run roundtripper powered the Cardinals’ attack in game 2. Jim Qualls was 2 for 4 with 2 ribbies for Chicago.

Cardinals 4, Cubs 2 (1).  W: Carlton (10-5)  L: Hands (9-7)  SV: Hoerner (9)

Cardinals 6, Cubs 5 (2). W: C. Taylor (1-0)  L: Nye (1-4)

Team Name                        W    L    T   PCT    GB
Chicago Cubs                    52   31    1  .627     -
New York Mets                   45   34    0  .570   5.0