| 1969 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Games | 162 |
| Teams | 24 (12 per league) |
| TV partner | NBC |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Jeff Burroughs |
| Picked by | Washington Senators |
| Regular season | |
| SeasonMVP | AL:Harmon Killebrew (MIN) NL:Willie McCovey (SF) |
| Postseason | |
| AL champions | Baltimore Orioles |
| AL runners-up | Minnesota Twins |
| NL champions | New York Mets |
| NL runners-up | Atlanta Braves |
| World Series | |
| Champions | New York Mets |
| Runners-up | Baltimore Orioles |
| World SeriesMVP | Donn Clendenon (NYM) |
| MLB seasons | |
The1969 major league baseball season began on April 7, 1969, while the regular season ended on October 2. Thepostseason began on October 4. The66th World Series began with Game 1 on October 11 and ended with Game 5 on October 16, with theNew York Mets of theNational League defeating theBaltimore Orioles of theAmerican League, four games to one, capturing the franchise's first championship in what is considered one of the greatest upsets in World Series history.[1] The season was celebrated as the 100th anniversary of professional baseball, honoring the first professional touring baseball team, theCincinnati Red Stockings of 1869. The season also brought rule changes to counteract pitchers' dominance in recent seasons, such as lowering the pitcher's mound and shrinking the height of the strike zone.
The40th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 23 at theRobert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium inWashington, D.C., home of theWashington Senators. TheNational League won, 9–3.
The season saw the third round ofexpansion of the decade (and second for each league), with the enfranchisement of theKansas City Royals andSeattle Pilots in theAmerican League and theMontreal Expos andSan Diego Padres in theNational League. Both leagues increased to 12 teams; the National League had last been so large in1899.
This would be the only season for the Pilots, as stadium problems andbankruptcy would lead them to move toMilwaukee,Wisconsin, to become theMilwaukee Brewers thefollowing season.
The expansion launched the "Divisional Era", as each league split its teams into two six-team divisions and scheduled more games between division rivals and fewer between interdivision teams. Each league implemented their ownLeague Championship Series, which saw division champions face off in abest-of-five series (increased toseven in1985) to determine pennant winners and World Series contenders.
TheBaltimore Orioles won theAL East with a major-league-best 109–53 record, and then defeated theAL West championMinnesota Twins in three games in the firstAmerican League Championship Series. TheNew York Mets won theNL East with an NL-best 100–62 record, and then defeated theNL West championAtlanta Braves in three games in the firstNational League Championship Series. The "Miracle Mets", having joined the league in 1962, were the first expansion team to win a pennant.
Bowie Kuhn was named the 5th commissioner of baseball at the start of the season replacing previous commissionerWilliam Eckert. Eckert was forced out by the owners in December 1968 mainly because of his refusal to cancel games in the wake of the assassinations ofRobert Kennedy andMartin Luther King Jr. and for his refusal to help the owners during a player strike they anticipated was around the corner. Kuhn was named interim commissioner during that time and became the official commissioner by the start of the season. Kuhn remains the youngest ever commissioner of baseball, being only 42 when he took office.
MLB called for a four-team expansion to take place in 1971 at the 1967 Winter Meetings, the first expansion since 1962. However, there was a complication: influentialU.S. SenatorStuart Symington ofMissouri was irate over the American League's approval ofKansas City Athletics ownerCharles O. Finley's arrangement to move his team toOakland, California, for the 1968 season. This happened even though Finley had just signed a deal to play atMunicipal Stadium at AL presidentJoe Cronin's behest, andJackson County, Missouri, had just issued public bonds to build a stadium, the future Royals Stadium (nowKauffman Stadium), which would be completed in 1973.
Symington drew up legislation to remove baseball's anti-trust exemption and threatened to pursue its passage if Kansas City did not get a new team. The leagues agreed and moved expansion up to 1969, with the AL putting one of its new franchises inKansas City,Missouri.Ewing Kauffman won the bidding for that franchise, naming it theKansas City Royals, after the localAmerican Royal livestock show. The other AL team was awarded toSeattle,Washington. A consortium led by Dewey Soriano and William Daley won the bidding for the Seattle franchise and named it theSeattle Pilots, a salute to the harbor pilots of the Puget Sound maritime industry and to the city's place in the aviation industry.
In the NL, one franchise was awarded toSan Diego,California; the other toMontreal,Quebec, resulting in the first MLB franchise outside the United States. C. Arnholdt Smith, former owner of the AAAPacific Coast League'sSan Diego Padres, won the bidding for the San Diego franchise, and the new San Diego MLB team inherited thePadres moniker.Charles Bronfman, owner ofSeagram, won the bidding for the Montreal franchise, naming them theExpos, in honor of theWorld's Fair that year. This was the last NL expansion until the1993 season, and the last expansion for the major leagues overall until1977.
As part of the 1969 expansion, each league was to be split into two divisions of six teams each, with each league holding a best-of-fiveLeague Championship Series to decide the pennant. The AL was divided purely along geographic lines, but when it came to assign divisions in the NL, the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals insisted on being placed in the same division with the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, on the basis that a schedule with more games with eastern teams would create a more lucrative schedule. Thus, Atlanta and Cincinnati were placed in theNL West. This alignment also addressed concerns that putting the league's three strongest clubs at the time—St. Louis, San Francisco, and the Cubs—in the west would result in divisional inequity.
The Padres and Expos each finished with 110 losses and at the bottom of their respective divisions. The Royals did better, finishing 69–93 and in fourth in the AL West, ahead of theChicago White Sox. Even though the Pilots managed to avoid losing 100 games (they finished 64–98, last in the AL West), financial trouble would lead to a battle for team control, ending with bankruptcy and the sale of the team toBud Selig and its move toMilwaukee,Wisconsin, as theMilwaukee Brewers for the 1970 season. The legal fallout of the battle would lead eventually to another round of expansion for the AL in the1977 season, with Seattle getting a new team called theMariners.
A specialsilhouetted batter logo, still in use by the league today, was created byJerry Dior[2] to commemorate the 100th anniversary of professional baseball. Every player and official in Major League Baseball wore a jersey patch that featured the logo and the phrase "100th anniversary" in red letters. It has served as inspiration for logos for other sports leagues in the United States—most notably theNational Basketball Association, which used the silhouette ofJerry West to create their current logo, unveiled after the1968–69 season.
The 1969 schedule consisted of 162 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had twelve teams. Each league was split into two six-teamdivisions. Each team was scheduled to play 18 games against their five division rivals, totaling 90 games, and 12 games against six interdivision opponents, totaling 72 games. This format was implemented due to expansion of each league from ten to twelve teams, and the subsequent split of each league into two divisions. This format would be used until1977 in the American League and1993 in the National League.
Opening Day took place on April 7, featuring six teams. The final day of the regular season was on October 2, featuring 18 teams. EachLeague Championship Series took place between October 4 and October 6. TheWorld Series took place between October 11 and October 16.
The 1969 season saw the following rule changes:
An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at
After the 1968 season, theMajor League Baseball Players' Association and the owners had concluded the firstcollective bargaining agreement in major league history. However, one point remained unresolved: the owners refused to increase their contribution to the players'pension plan commensurately with revenues from television broadcasts, which were increasing as more and more fans watched games that way. With the two sides at an impasse, at the beginning of the year the union called on players to refuse to sign contracts until the issue was resolved. Many did, including stars likeBrooks Robinson.[9]
The owners did not change their position, so the players' union called for members toboycottspring training the following month if the issue had not been resolved by then. After the union rejected the owners' offer of a higher yet stillfixed contribution on February 17, the day before spring training was to begin, 400 players refused to report. The owners expected the situation to resolve itself soon in their favor, since they usually lost money on training camps while the players were foregoing their pay in the meantime.[9]
The players remained united, and few changed their minds about the boycott as it progressed. After the first week only 11 of those who initially boycotted had reported; at the time many had off-season jobs which they continued to work at, and those who did report were in many cases not certain of their futures with their teams. Meanwhile, the owners were being pressured by the television broadcasters, who would also lose money without games to broadcast, or if teams played games with largely unknown rookies—oneNBC executive said his company "would not pay major league prices for minor league games".[9]
After that first week, new commissionerBowie Kuhn leaned on the owners to reach an agreement as well, and they soon sat down with the players again. By February 25 they had acceded to most of the players' demands: a higher contribution of approximately $5.45 million annually, an earlier age at which players could begin drawing pensions, a wider range of benefits and less playing time required for eligibility. By the end of the month, all players had reported to spring training.[9]
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1) Baltimore Orioles | 109 | 53 | .673 | — | 60–21 | 49–32 |
| Detroit Tigers | 90 | 72 | .556 | 19 | 46–35 | 44–37 |
| Boston Red Sox | 87 | 75 | .537 | 22 | 46–35 | 41–40 |
| Washington Senators | 86 | 76 | .531 | 23 | 47–34 | 39–42 |
| New York Yankees | 80 | 81 | .497 | 28½ | 48–32 | 32–49 |
| Cleveland Indians | 62 | 99 | .385 | 46½ | 33–48 | 29–51 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (2) Minnesota Twins | 97 | 65 | .599 | — | 57–24 | 40–41 |
| Oakland Athletics | 88 | 74 | .543 | 9 | 49–32 | 39–42 |
| California Angels | 71 | 91 | .438 | 26 | 43–38 | 28–53 |
| Kansas City Royals | 69 | 93 | .426 | 28 | 36–45 | 33–48 |
| Chicago White Sox | 68 | 94 | .420 | 29 | 41–40 | 27–54 |
| Seattle Pilots | 64 | 98 | .395 | 33 | 34–47 | 30–51 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1) New York Mets | 100 | 62 | .617 | — | 52–30 | 48–32 |
| Chicago Cubs | 92 | 70 | .568 | 8 | 49–32 | 43–38 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 88 | 74 | .543 | 12 | 47–34 | 41–40 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 87 | 75 | .537 | 13 | 42–38 | 45–37 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 63 | 99 | .389 | 37 | 30–51 | 33–48 |
| Montreal Expos | 52 | 110 | .321 | 48 | 24–57 | 28–53 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (2) Atlanta Braves | 93 | 69 | .574 | — | 50–31 | 43–38 |
| San Francisco Giants | 90 | 72 | .556 | 3 | 52–29 | 38–43 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 89 | 73 | .549 | 4 | 50–31 | 39–42 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 85 | 77 | .525 | 8 | 50–31 | 35–46 |
| Houston Astros | 81 | 81 | .500 | 12 | 52–29 | 29–52 |
| San Diego Padres | 52 | 110 | .321 | 41 | 28–53 | 24–57 |
The postseason began on October 4 and ended on October 16 with theNew York Mets defeating theBaltimore Orioles in the1969 World Series in five games.
| League Championship Series (ALCS,NLCS) | World Series | |||||||
| East | Baltimore | 3 | ||||||
| West | Minnesota | 0 | ||||||
| AL | Baltimore | 1 | ||||||
| NL | NY Mets | 4 | ||||||
| East | NY Mets | 3 | ||||||
| West | Atlanta | 0 | ||||||
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Rod Carew (MIN) | .332 |
| OPS | Reggie Jackson (OAK) | 1.018 |
| HR | Harmon Killebrew (MIN) | 49 |
| RBI | Harmon Killebrew (MIN) | 140 |
| R | Reggie Jackson (OAK) | 123 |
| H | Tony Oliva (MIN) | 197 |
| SB | Tommy Harper (SEP) | 73 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Denny McLain (DET) | 24 |
| L | Luis Tiant (CLE) | 20 |
| ERA | Dick Bosman (WAS) | 2.19 |
| K | Sam McDowell (CLE) | 279 |
| IP | Denny McLain (DET) | 325.0 |
| SV | Ron Perranoski (MIN) | 31 |
| WHIP | Fritz Peterson (NYY) | 0.996 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Pete Rose (CIN) | .348 |
| OPS | Willie McCovey (SF) | 1.108 |
| HR | Willie McCovey (SF) | 45 |
| RBI | Willie McCovey (SF) | 126 |
| R | Bobby Bonds (SF) Pete Rose (CIN) | 120 |
| H | Matty Alou (PIT) | 231 |
| SB | Lou Brock (STL) | 53 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Tom Seaver (NYM) | 25 |
| L | Clay Kirby (SD) | 20 |
| ERA | Juan Marichal (SF) | 2.10 |
| K | Ferguson Jenkins (CHC) | 273 |
| IP | Gaylord Perry (SF) | 325.1 |
| SV | Fred Gladding (HOU) | 29 |
| WHIP | Juan Marichal (SF) | 0.994 |
The pennant races in the American League lacked drama. In the east, the Baltimore Orioles won 109 games and won the division by a whopping 19 games over the defending world champion Detroit Tigers. The surprise team was the "new" Washington Senators. Under new managerTed Williams, they went 86–76; it was their first winning season since joining the league in 1961. The Western Division race was a little closer, but the Minnesota Twins led most of the season and were never really threatened in winning the division by 9 games over the Oakland Athletics (who were the only other west team to finish over .500).The National League, on the other hand, was very dramatic. The Chicago Cubs won 35 of their first 50 games, and on August 16, they led the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals by 9 games. But the Mets proceeded to win 37 of their last 48 games while the Cubs went 20–28 in the same time period and the Mets won the division by 8 games.In the West, with 3 weeks to play in the season, 5 teams were all within 2 games of each other. The Houston Astros were the first to drop out of the race, losing 8 of 10. With two weeks to play, the San Francisco Giants led the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves by ½ game while the Cincinnati Reds were 2 games back. The Dodgers then lost 8 in a row and 10 of 11 to fall to 4th place. The Braves then went on a 10-game winning streak, ultimately clinching the division over the Giants on the next to last day of the season with a 3–2 win over the Reds. For the Giants, it was the 5th year in a row they would finish in 2nd place.
| Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Rookie of the Year | Ted Sizemore (LAD) | Lou Piniella (KC) |
| Cy Young Award | Tom Seaver (NYM) | Mike Cuellar (BAL) Denny McLain (DET) |
| Most Valuable Player | Willie McCovey (SF) | Harmon Killebrew (MIN) |
| Babe Ruth Award (World Series MVP) | Al Weis (NYM) | — |
| Gold Glove Awards | ||
| Position | National League | American League |
| Pitcher | Bob Gibson (STL) | Jim Kaat (MIN) |
| Catcher | Johnny Bench (CIN) | Bill Freehan (DET) |
| 1st Base | Wes Parker (LAD) | Joe Pepitone (NYY) |
| 2nd Base | Félix Millán (ATL) | Davey Johnson (BAL) |
| 3rd Base | Clete Boyer (ATL) | Brooks Robinson (BAL) |
| Shortstop | Don Kessinger (CHC) | Mark Belanger (BAL) |
| Outfield | Roberto Clemente (PIT) | Paul Blair (BAL) |
| Curt Flood (STL) | Mickey Stanley (DET) | |
| Pete Rose (CIN) | Carl Yastrzemski (BOS) | |
| Month | National League |
|---|---|
| April | Willie McCovey (SF) |
| May | Ken Holtzman (CHC) |
| June | Ron Santo (CHC) |
| July | Roberto Clemente (PIT) |
| August | Willie Davis (LAD) |
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Mets[22] | 100 | 37.0% | 2,175,373 | 22.1% | 26,529 |
| Boston Red Sox[23] | 87 | 1.2% | 1,833,246 | −5.5% | 22,633 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers[24] | 85 | 11.8% | 1,784,527 | 12.9% | 22,031 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[25] | 87 | −10.3% | 1,682,783 | −16.3% | 21,035 |
| Chicago Cubs[26] | 92 | 9.5% | 1,674,993 | 60.5% | 20,427 |
| Detroit Tigers[27] | 90 | −12.6% | 1,577,481 | −22.4% | 19,475 |
| Atlanta Braves[28] | 93 | 14.8% | 1,458,320 | 29.5% | 18,004 |
| Houston Astros[29] | 81 | 12.5% | 1,442,995 | 9.9% | 17,815 |
| Minnesota Twins[30] | 97 | 22.8% | 1,349,328 | 18.0% | 16,658 |
| Montreal Expos[31] | 52 | 1,212,608 | 14,970 | ||
| New York Yankees[32] | 80 | −3.6% | 1,067,996 | −9.9% | 13,350 |
| Baltimore Orioles[33] | 109 | 19.8% | 1,062,069 | 12.5% | 13,112 |
| Cincinnati Reds[34] | 89 | 7.2% | 987,991 | 34.7% | 12,197 |
| Washington Senators[35] | 86 | 32.3% | 918,106 | 67.9% | 11,335 |
| Kansas City Royals[36] | 69 | 902,414 | 11,005 | ||
| San Francisco Giants[37] | 90 | 2.3% | 873,603 | 4.3% | 10,785 |
| Oakland Athletics[38] | 88 | 7.3% | 778,232 | −7.1% | 9,608 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[39] | 88 | 10.0% | 769,369 | 10.9% | 9,498 |
| California Angels[40] | 71 | 6.0% | 758,388 | −26.1% | 9,363 |
| Seattle Pilots[41] | 64 | 677,944 | 8,268 | ||
| Cleveland Indians[42] | 62 | −27.9% | 619,970 | −27.7% | 7,654 |
| Chicago White Sox[43] | 68 | 1.5% | 589,546 | −26.7% | 7,278 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[44] | 63 | −17.1% | 519,414 | −21.8% | 6,413 |
| San Diego Padres[45] | 52 | 512,970 | 6,333 |
The 1969 season saw four new teams across the major leagues, and with it, four new venues:
TheWashington Senators' District of Columbia Stadium was announced to be renamed toRobert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium on January 18, in the last days of theJohnson Administration,Secretary of the InteriorStewart Udall announced that the stadium would be renamedRobert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, in Kennedy's honor following hisassassination in 1968.[46] The dedication ceremony at the stadium was held several months later on June 7.[46][47] The official renaming ceremony was heldon June 7,[46][47] but by then many had already been referring to it as "RFK Stadium" or simply "RFK".[48]
In addition to their primary home atWhite Sox Park, theChicago White Sox would continue to play at the former home of theMilwaukee Braves inMilwaukee,Wisconsin, atMilwaukee County Stadium, playing 11 of 81 home games (one against every other American League team). Though accounting for only 14% of home games, these 11 games accounted for 34% of the all home games for the White Sox.
NBC was the exclusive national TV broadcaster of MLB, airing the weekendGame of the Week, theAll-Star Game, both League Championship Series, and theWorld Series.
