It took the city of New York four years to get another National League team once the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers left after the 1957 season. The New York Mets would enter the National League in 1962, made up largely of former New York players like Duke Snider and Gil Hodges. Former Yankee manager Casey Stengel would run the team, a team expected to go nowhere but a team that would at least get National League baseball back in New York…where it belonged.

The original Mets were awful. They started the season stuck in an elevator in a St. Louis hotel. In the first game ever played, they lost 11-4 to the Cardinals with Al Jackson getting the loss, the first of a record 120 losses that season. The Mets finally won their first game of the season after losing nine in a row. At Forbes Field on April 23, 1962, the Mets defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates by a score of 9-1. Jay Hook has the distinction of being the first pitcher in Mets history to record a win. It was the first of only 40 that inaugural season.

The hapless Mets were a laughing stock. But to their fans they were the lovable Mets. On that 1962 team was a player who was a favorite New York son, Gil Hodges, who was one of the Brooklyn Boys of Summer. Gil was winding down as a player and soon would try his hand at managing. Also on that ’62 team was a 17 year old rookie who played in just three games for the Mets that season. His name was Ed Kranepool, a left handed first baseman the Mets hoped would someday be a star. Both Hodges and Kranepool would be the only Mets left from that 1962 club come October 1969.

October 16, 1969, World Series Game 5

Shea Stadium – Jerry Koosman pitched about as dominantly as anyone could against the mighty Orioles in game 2, just four days prior. He gave up just one run in eight and two thirds innings in the first Mets win of the series. On this day, he was faced with the opportunity of becoming the winning pitcher in the potential clinching game of the 1969 World Series.

Koosman would face Dave McNally as he did in game 2. That Sunday afternoon, McNally held the Mets in check most of the game with the Mets ultimately prevailing 2-1. Game 5, like game 2, was predicted to be another pitcher’s duel. For the Mets, their motivation was not to go back to Baltimore. But for the Orioles, it was a must win. Lose and their season would be over. It would be a bitter pill to swallow for Baltimore having won 109 regular season games.

The first two innings were quiet with only a mild threat by the Mets in the first when McNally issued two walks. But in the top of the third, Mark Belanger led off with a single. Koosman then surrendered a home run to Dave McNally, the pitcher of all players. The Orioles had jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Koosman got the next two outs but Frank Robinson followed with a solo shot giving the O’s a 3-0 lead. After the inning, Koosman was quoted in the dugout as saying "Hold them there boys, they are not getting anything else the rest of the game”.

Koosman led off the third and almost hit one out as he doubled off the left field wall. But the regular Mets hitters were unable to get anything going offensively against McNally in the third or any of the middle innings. Meanwhile, Koosman settled in and was true to his word. The Orioles were unable to mount any rally since the third.

Cleon Jones led off the sixth inning. During his at bat, McNally threw a ball low and in that appeared to hit Jones in the foot. As Cleon started for first, Lou DiMuro, the home plate umpire called him back claiming he was not hit by the pitch. As Jones settled back in the box, Mets manager Gil Hodges came out to home plate carrying the ball that bounced into the dugout allegedly off of Jones’ show. For a minute, DiMuro and Hodges talked while looking at the ball. Hodges was apparently pointing at what appeared to be shoe polish. Convinced, DiMuro sent Jones to first. Hodges walked back to the dugout as Weaver came out to argue. The discussion did not last long. Jones was on first and Donn Clendenon came up to bat.

Whether the shoe polish came from Cleon’s shoe or Koosman’s while sitting in the dugout is debatable. But the move paid off as Clendenon launched a bomb into the left field loge section for a two run home run to make it a one run game. The homer was the third for Clendenon, the most ever in a five game series up to that point. After six, the Orioles led 3-2.

Koosman continued to dominate in the seventh retiring the Birds in order. In the bottom half of the inning, light hitting journeyman, Al Weis hit a home run to lead off the inning and tie the game. Al Weis was proving to be one pesky player in the World Series. It was his hit in game 2 that drove in the game winning run. Here was a guy who hit two regular season home runs and now he just hit the biggest of his career. The crowd was going wild. You could feel the momentum building for the Mets who had tied the game at three. 

Koosman retired the Orioles in order again in the eighth. 

Eddie Watt relieved McNally in the bottom half. Cleon Jones led off with a double. Now Mets fans were on their feet. But Clendenon grounded out with Brooks Robinson holding Jones at second. With one out Ron Swoboda came up. Just the day before, Swoboda made the most unlikely of plays in the history of the World Series when his incredible diving catch saved the game for the Mets. Ron came through again, this time with his bat as he doubled down the left field line. Jones scored from second. The Mets had the lead. The stands at Shea were vibrating as fans jumped up and down. Everyone at that ballpark and watching on TV knew the Mets were three outs away from the impossible.

Maybe the wheels were falling off for Baltimore. With two outs, Grote hit a ground ball that was booted by Powell. Grote reached first. But as Watt picked up the ball he fired wildly to home as Swoboda scored. Two errors on the play and the Mets had an insurance run. Heading to the top of the ninth, the Mets held a 5-3 lead.

Mets fans were still standing when the ninth inning began. Koosman had dominated since the third inning when he gave up the two home runs. Frank Robinson led off with a walk. Boog Powell came up as the tying run. But Koosman got Powell to hit a ground ball to Weis who got the force at short with Harrelson covering. Brooks Robinson then hit a fly ball to right field. Swoboda settled under it and now there were two down.

Powell was still on first. 57,397 crazed Mets fans were standing and cheering. The sound at Shea was deafening without a plane in site. Davey Johnson came up to the plate, the Orioles last chance.  When Johnson hit the ball, there was silence for a moment. It looked, at least on TV, that Johnson hit it hard. Koosman did not like the sound it made coming off the bat. But the ball held up perhaps from the October wind blowing in from left.  Jones moved back to the warning track. He turned and held his glove out with his bare hand assisting, caught the ball and knelt down to the ground punctuating one of the greatest seasons in baseball history. The Mets were World Champions.

Record - Mets 4, Orioles 1, in best of seven series.

Epilogue – The New York Mets became the first expansion team to win the World Series. And it only took eight years from their inception.  It was done by building a wealth of talent in their farm system and making keen trades by Johnny Murphy, the Mets GM who took over in 1968. It also took great guidance by their manager Gil Hodges who should be in the Hall of Fame. He was a great teacher and a tremendous leader who instilled confidence in his team that they could achieve, that they had the talent to win.

1969 was perhaps the most amazing season in New York baseball history. Unlike the many mighty Yankee teams, the 1986 Mets, the dominating Giant teams of the early twenties or the Dodgers of Brooklyn in the late forties and fifties who were all expected to win, the ’69 Mets were not. And although I hate when the ’69 Mets are referred to as the Miracle Mets, the miracle was in their unexpected rise to greatness, not what they achieved on the field.

Winning 107 games was not accomplished by miracles. It was done through great pitching, hitting, and defense. Sure, there were moments when you scratched your head. Moments like when the black cat stared into the Cubs dugout, or when both pitchers knocked in the only run of a doubleheader to win both games in Pittsburgh, or when Ron Swoboda hit two home runs to win the game in St. Louis when Steve Carlton set the record for striking out nineteen, or even the shoe polish play in game five.  But those moments would have gone unnoticed if it was not for the spectacular play day in and day out by this group of twenty-five individuals.

For me, the 1969 season will always be the summer of my life. I was thirteen and the Mets taught me a valuable lesson. No matter how the odds are stacked against you, there are always possibilities. Never give up, always strive to get better, and never let anyone convince you that you cannot succeed. And who said baseball is just a game?

Unfortunately, the Mets did not repeat in 1970. They were competitive for most of the season but ended just a few games above .500 in third place six games behind the Pirates. Cincinnati won the National League pennant but lost to the Orioles in the World Series who made amends to their fans for losing to the Mets a year earlier. The Mets returned to the World Series in 1973 to lose in seven games to the Oakland A’s. They would not return again until 1986.

1969 did not start the era of dominance Mets fans had hoped. In fact, sustained success has always been something that has eluded this franchise. The Mets became a powerhouse in the mid to late 80’s but again only appeared in and won just one World Series. Now as we watch the Mets struggle after such a promising season in 2006, we ask when will the Mets climb back to the top again.

A season like 1969 comes perhaps once in a lifetime. But if there is one franchise that seems to have a knack for the unexpected, it’s the Mets. A team that did what it did in ’69, almost won it all in ’73 when they were in last place in mid August, came back to win game six down to their last strike several times in ’86, is due for something special. 

On October 20, 1969, the Mets were ushered down the Canyon of Heros with a ticker tape parade. A couple of weeks later it was announced that in the National League Tom Seaver won the Cy Young award, Gil Hodges was the manager of the year, and Tommie Agee was the comeback player of the year. Mets GM Johnny Murphy was given the Executive of the Year award also.

I hope you enjoyed reading “40 Years Ago Today” this season as much as I have enjoyed writing it. It brought back great memories for me. I hope it did for you too. And if you are too young to have experienced that magical season, I hope it provided you with a sense of what it was like to be a Mets fan back then.

Thanks to retrosheet.org, ultimatemets.com, and to the many authors of books and newspaper articles I have kept over the years. They all helped jar my memory of each day of the 1969 season.

He won twenty-five games during the regular season against seven losses. He struck out 208 batters, pitched eighteen complete games, five of which were shutouts. He won his last eight decisions but yet Tom Seaver had struggled in the post season.

It’s not as if he was bad but he wasn’t as dominating as he had been during the 162 game campaign. Seaver was 1-1 in the post season. He won the first game of the NLCS but gave up five runs in the process. Luckily for Tom, the Mets bats scored nine runs that first game to bail him out. In game one of the World Series, Seaver gave up four runs and was outpitched by Mike Cuellar as the Mets could only score a single run.

Seaver was getting another chance in game four to show the country on National Television just what kind of pitcher he was. Tom admitted to trying to do too much and perhaps even being a bit nervous in the Series opener. The Mets and their fans were counting on Seaver to put them in position to win the series at home. If the Mets won game four, they would take a three games to one lead in the Series. Even the powerful Baltimore Orioles would have the odds stacked against them to win the series if that were to happen.

October 15, 1969, World Series Game 4

Shea Stadium – In game one, Orioles left fielder Don Buford rudely greeted Seaver with a leadoff homerun on the first pitch of the game. But on this date, Seaver struck out Buford. Center fielder Paul Blair singled for the first hit of the game but was left stranded when Tom got Frank Robinson to fly out then struck out Boog Powell.

Mike Cuellar started for Baltimore. He too looked sharp again as he faced Seaver for the second time. In the first, he retired Agee, gave up a single to Harrelson and then got Cleon Jones to hit into a double play.  

In the second, Seaver walked Elrod Hendricks with one down but Jerry Grote threw him out trying to steal second. In the bottom of the inning, Donn Clendnenon led off with his second homerun of the World Series to give the Mets the early lead.

Seaver got into trouble in the third, giving up back to back singles to open the inning. Once again, Seaver was not looking as sharp as he had prior to the post season. But the big right handed pitcher got the next three batters preserving the slim Mets lead. The Mets also put two runners on with singles in the bottom half of the third but were not able to score against Cuellar. A third the way through, the Mets held a slim 1-0 lead.

After the two hits given up in the third, Seaver hit his stride, not giving up another hit until the ninth inning. The Orioles could not muster anything against Seaver accept a walk in the sixth inning. Unfortunately however, the Mets could not get anything going against Cuellar either. The Mets got a few hits but were unable to rally for any runs and continued to hold a 1-0 lead through eight innings.

But in the top of the ninth with one out and Seaver still in the game, Frank Robinson and Boog Powell hit back to back singles putting runners on first and third. Hodges left Seaver in hoping to get a double play ground ball. But instead Brooks Robinson lined a ball into right field that looked for sure as if it would touch down and go to the wall. Ron Swoboda dove to his right. With his body parallel to the ground and glove outstretched, Swoboda miraculously caught the ball. He got up quickly and fired home as Frank Robinson tagged and scored the tying run. Quite possibly, Ron Swoboda made the greatest catch in World Series history, even better than the two Agee made the previous day. More importantly, had Swoboda missed catching that ball, the tying and go-ahead runs would have scored.  Seaver got out of the inning without any further damage. The score was tied at one.

After two singles in the ninth got the winning run to second, Gil Hodges sent up Art Shamsky to pinch hit for Ed Charles. Shamsky grounded out to first ending the inning. It was on to extra innings for the first time in the Series.

Tom Seaver stayed in the ballgame. Through nine innings, he had given up just one run on five hits. Wayne Garrett entered the game to play third for Charles who was pinched hit for. The Orioles’ Dave Johnson reached on an error to lead off the tenth when Garrett bobbled a ground ball. Seaver got Mark Belanger to pop up in foul territory. Grote made the catch for the first out. Clay Dalrymple was sent up to pinch hit by Earl Weaver. Dalrymble singled pushing Johnson into scoring position.  Lead off hitter Buford flied out to right. The putout was deep enough to allow Johnson to tag and reach third. Now a miscue could give the Orioles the lead. But Seaver was true to form as he struck out Paul Blair to end the inning.

Dick Hall came in to start the tenth for the Orioles. Jerry Grote led off the inning by doubling down the left field line. The Mets had the winning run on second with nobody out as the Shea faithful went wild. Hodges sent in Rod Gaspar to run for Grote. Weaver countered by intentionally walking Al Weis. After pitching ten innings, Seaver was taken out as Hodges sent up left handed hitter J.C. Martin to pinch hit. It was likely that Martin was up to bunt the runner to third. But before Martin could hit, Weaver brought in left handed pitcher Pete Richert.  Hodges let the lefty Martin hit. Martin dropped down a bunt on the first base side. Catcher Hendricks ran up the line to pick up the ball and fired it to first. But the ball hit J.C. Martin and ricocheted toward second base. Gaspar running all the way scored from second giving the Mets the 2-1 victory.

Record Mets 3, Orioles 1, in best of seven series.

The ending was controversial. It appeared on the replay that Martin was outside of the runner’s lane while running to first when the ball hit him. According to the rules, he could have been called out for interference. However, it is a judgment call made by the first base umpire and in this case, no one came out to argue the play, not even the feisty Earl Weaver.

The Mets were now in the commanding position of having to win just one game of the potentially remaining three. The Mets had one more game at Shea Stadium the next day. Mets fans were hoping the Mets could do it at home. I’m sure the players were hoping the same thing.

56,335 people crammed into Shea Stadium for the ballpark’s first World Series game in history. The Mets and Orioles were tied at one game each in this best of seven series. The Mets had a simple goal. Try to win two of three at home giving them the opportunity to win one game in Baltimore and capture their first World Series. But the Mets also knew there was an opportunity to not go back to Baltimore. The Mets could win the next three but so could the Orioles. The Mets would send 23 year old Gary Gentry to the mound to try and hold down the Orioles powerful offense.

The Orioles countered with right handed pitcher Jim Palmer who won 16 games in the regular season. The Orioles and Mets, in traditional fashion before the game, lined up on the baselines as they were announced by Shea's public address announcer Jack Lightcap.

October 14, 1969, World Series Game 3

Shea Stadium – Gentry struck out Don Buford to start game three. In fact, Gentry had no problem in the first inning retiring the Orioles, only giving up a walk to Frank Robinson who was left stranded at first.

In the bottom of the first, Tommie Agee homered to lead off the game for the fifth time during 1969. Agee hit a bomb over the camera platform in center field off a 2-1 pitch. The Mets took a one nothing lead early. Palmer settled in and retired the next three batters to end the inning but both Cleon Jones and Art Shamsky hit long drives for the final two outs.

Gentry retired the Orioles in order in the second. Early on, it was looking as if Gentry had his good stuff. In the Mets half of the second, they rallied again. Boswell grounded out to Powell then Ed Kranepool popped up to short. But with two out, Jerry Grote walked. Bud Harrelson lined a single up the middle moving Grote to second. Then, as it happened so often during the season, a Mets pitcher helped himself. Gentry lined a double into the right field gap driving in both Grote and Harrelson. The Mets led 3-0. Agee grounded out to end the inning after pitching coach George Bamberger came out to settle down Palmer.

In the third, Gentry retired Baltimore in order again. After three, Gentry had only allowed a walk. Wayne Garrett walked to start the Mets third but Palmer retired the next three hitters.

With one out in the fourth, the Orioles finally got a hit, two in fact from Frank Robinson and Boog Powell to put runners on first and second. Gentry then struck out Brooks Robinson for the second out. Left handed hitting catcher Elrod Hendricks hit a fly ball to deep left center on an 0-2 pitch. The Orioles were sure to score two if the ball fell in. Tommie Agee in hot pursuit reached out with his glove hand and miraculously snared the ball back handed in the webbing of his glove as he ran into the fence. Agee saved two runs from scoring as the Mets continued to hold a 3-0 lead. Agee's catch was one of the greatest in World Series history, ranking right up there with the one Willie Mays made in 1954 at the Polo Grounds.

With two outs, Harrelson reached on a walk in the Mets fourth. In an attemted pick off, the ball went past Orioles first baseman Boog Powell. Harrelson tried to go to second but was blocked by Powell. First base umpire Shag Crowford ruled obstruction and awarded Harrelson second base. However, the Mets did not capitalize as Gentry struck out.

Neither team did anything for the next inning and a half. Halfway through the sixth, the Mets were still protecting a 3-0 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth Ken Boswell led off with a ground single to right. He nearly was thrown out by Dave Johnson who got to the ball but Palmer covering pulled his foot off the bag. Kranepool grounded out to the right side allowing Boswell to move up into scoring position. Jerry Grote doubled to left scoring Boswell. Palmer got out of further trouble by striking out Harrelson and Gentry. After six, the Mets led 4-0.

Gentry got two outs to start the Orioles seventh but then Mark Belanger walked. Weaver sent up Dave May to pinch hit for Palmer. May walked. Gentry then walked leadoff batter Don Buford to load the bases. Gil Hodges called to the bullpen bringing in Nolan Ryan.

On a two strike pitch from Ryan, Orioles' center fielder Paul Blair lined one to right center. Agee took off after it. As the ball headed toward the wall, Agee tapped his glove and slid on the warning track catching Blair's liner with his glove face up. It was another spectacular catch by the Mets center fielder. Had that ball fallen in, the Orioles would have scored three runs. Agee, who made all three putouts in the inning, single handedly saved five runs from scoring in the game with his two remarkable catches.

Dave Leonhard replaced Palmer from the Baltimore bullpen. The Mets did not score in the seventh.

In the top of the eighth Hodges brought in Al Weis to play second and Rod Gaspar into right for defensive purposes. Ryan retired the Orioles in order striking out two.

Leading 4-0, the Mets came to bat in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Ed Kranepool, the only Met player remaining from 1962, hit a home run to right field. Heading to the ninth, the Mets led Baltimore 5-0.

Nolan Ryan, still in the game, retired the first two batters in the inning. The Mets were one out away from winning game three. But then Ryan walked Belanger. Pinch hitter Clay Dalrymple singled then Ryan walked Buford. The bases were loaded. Hodges left in Ryan to face Paul Blair. Ryan was throwing smoke but with two strikes he threw a devestating curve ball that froze Blair looking to end the game.

Record Mets 2, Orioles 1, in best of seven series.

The Orioles had to be shaking their heads. The powerhouse offense had only scored five runs in three games against Mets pitching which was outstanding during the World Series. Ironically the one pitcher that struggled in the playoffs so far was none other than twenty-five game winner Tom Seaver. But game three will always be thought of as Agee's game. He led off with a homer and made two of the greatest catches in World Series history.

The next day, Seaver would get another chance. Baltimore had to be a bit concerned facing Seaver in game four trailing in the series.

Interesting note: In the Mets sixth inning, a kite flew down from the upper levels of Shea Stadium. Attached to the kite was a banner that said Mets on it. Jokingly, Curt Gowdy said to Lindsey Nelson that he wouldn't be surprised if a fan flew down next. Little did Curt and Lindsey know that's exactly what would happen 17 years later in game 6 of the 1986 World Series. 

October 13, 1969

The Mets were off on this date as they and the Orioles worked out at Shea Stadium. Game 3 of the 1969 World Series would be held the next afternoon. Gary Gentry was slated to start against Jim Palmer.

The Mets did not want to head home down two games to none in the World Series. Even with the home field advantage for the middle three games, loosing game two would insure the Mets would have to win the World Series on the road if they were to win it at all.

Their best pitcher was less than the best in game one. Seaver gave up four runs and did not match the pitcher he was while winning his last eight decisions. The Mets batters had looked lifeless against the Orioles ace Mike Cuellar in game one. In game two, the Mets turned to their number two pitcher Jerry Koosman to hold the fort and give the likes of Agee, Clendenon, Jones, and Swoboda to get something going offensively.

October 12, 1969, World Series Game 2

Memorial Stadium – Jerry Koosman won 17 regular season games against nine losses. His ERA was an impressive 2.28 with a career high 180 strike outs. Koosman did not have the stature of Tom Seaver. But under pressure, as fans would soon learn, Koosman had ice running through his veins.

Dave McNally was just as formidable. The left handed McNally won twenty games in ’69 and had an era of 3.22. The game had the potential of being a great pitcher’s dual. This is one time when the predictions became a reality.

McNally retired Tommie Agee, Bud Harrelson, and Cleon Jones in order in the first. Koosman countered by striking out Don Buford, then getting Paul Blair and Frank Robinson to fly out. The Mets got a runner as far as second base in the second inning but did not score. In the O’s second, Koosman retired Boog Powell and Brooks Robinson before walking Davey Johnson. But catcher Andy Etchebarren lined out ending the inning.

The first hit of the game came in the Mets third when second baseman Al Weis singled to center. Agee grounded out forcing Weis at second. Harrelson later walked putting runners on first and second but Cleon Jones lined out hard to Buford in left to end the inning. In the bottom of the third, Koosman once again retired the Orioles in order.  Through three innings there was no score with the Mets recording the only hit.

In the top of the fourth, Donn Clendenon hit a McNally fast ball over the right field fence to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. It was the first lead the Mets ever had in a World Series game. McNally retired the next three batters with the inning ending on a stellar play by Brooks Robinson. Koosman kept mowing down the Orioles however. In fact neither team did anything over the next two innings. Through six, the Mets led 1-0 and the Orioles had not one hit, just a walk back in the second inning. Since then, Koosman retired 13 batters in a row.

The Mets threatened in the seventh. With one out, Ed Charles doubled down the left field line. After Grote popped out, Orioles manager Earl Weaver elected to walk Al Weis and pitch to Koosman. Hodges left Koosman in but the pitcher grounded out to end the inning.

The Orioles broke up the no hit bid when Paul Blair singled to lead off the seventh. But Koosman got Frank Robinson to line out to Agee and Powell to pop up to Harrelson. But with two out, Blair was able to steal second just ahead of Grote’s throw. On the very next pitch, Brooks Robinson singled up the middle. Blair scored tying the game at one. Davey Johnson grounded out ending the rally.

In the eighth, Koosman and McNally took control again and retired the side in their respective half innings. It was on to the ninth and you could cut the tension with a knife.

In the Mets ninth, Clendenon struck out and Swoboda grounded out to first. With two out, Ed Charles singled to left. With the hit and run on, Grote singled to left as Charles made it all the way to third. Orioles pitching coach George Bamberger (who would one day manage the Mets) visited the mound to talk things over with McNally. The light hitting Al Weis came up with runners on first and third. Gil Hodges had great faith in his players and had no intentions of pinch hitting for Weis who he felt was his best option against the left handed McNally.

Weis did not disappoint as he lined the first pitch he saw into leftfield, the Mets third hit in a row. Charles scored and the Mets had a one run lead. Another manager might have pinched hit for Koosman but not Hodges. He knew that pitching was how his club reached this unprecedented point of the season. Koosman came up to bat and grounded out to end the inning. It wasn’t as if Hodges was hoping Koosman would somehow get a hit. He just liked his chances with Koosman on the mound to protect the 2-1 lead in the ninth.

As NBC broadcaster Curt Gowdy stated, Koosman appeared to be getting stronger than he was earlier in the game.  He retired the first two hitters without difficulty in the ninth. Then Hodges did something not in the standard play book. He moved Al Weis to leftfield along the line, moved Jones into left center, Agee into right center and Swoboda near the line in right. The Mets played with four outfielders and no second baseman. Hodges wanted to protect from a ball hit into the gaps or down the line. But the strategy went for naught as Robinson worked out a walk. On a three-two count Powell walked too. That final out became elusive enough that it prompted Hodges to remove Koosman and bring in right handed reliever Ron Taylor to face the right handed Brooks Robinson.

With the tying run on second and the winning run on first, Brooks grounded the ball hard down to third. But Hodges had correctly positioned Ed Charles and Clendenon in the no doubles defense along the lines. Charles scooped the ball and ran to third. I remember not breathing as Frank Robinson beat Charles to the bag. The Mets third baseman changed his mind realizing the futility of trying to force Robinson and fired to first where Clendenon stretched and got Brooks Robinson out by a couple of steps. The Mets held on to win as Mets fans everywhere took a collective breath. This was simply an outstanding ballgame.

Record  Mets  1, Orioles 1, in best of seven series.

The series was tied one to one. The New York Mets had won their first World Series game in history. The series would now move to New York where 55,000 people would be waiting to scream and yell in game three at Shea Stadium.

The Baltimore Orioles of 1969 had the greatest season of any major league team that year, even better than the Mets. The Orioles had won 109 games while losing just 59, winning the American League East by a staggering 19 games. The big difference between Baltimore and the Amazin’ Mets was expectations. The Orioles were expected to dominate unlike the Mets who were simply predicted to improve. And dominate the Orioles did.

Baltimore had a lineup of Don Buford in left, Paul Blair in center, Frank Robinson in right, Boog Powell at first, the defensive wizard Brooks Robinson at third, Elrod Hendricks behind the plate, Davey Johnson at second, and shortstop Mark Belanger. The case could be made that the Orioles had better players at every position when compared to the Mets. And if you think the Mets had the edge on the mound, guess again. While the Mets pitched phenomenally during 1969, so did the Orioles.

The Mets had Seaver, Koosman, Gentry, McAndrew, and Ryan. But Baltimore could counter that with Mike Cuellar and Dave McNally, both twenty game winners with 23 and 20 respectively. Plus they had Jim Palmer, Tom Phoebus and Jim Harden. In the bullpen, Baltimore had Pete Richert, Eddie Watt, Dick Hall, Dave Leonhard, and Marcelino Lopez. The bench included catcher Andy Etchebarren, outfielders Merv Rettenmund, and Dave May.

The Orioles manager was none other than Earl Weaver. The short, stocky Weaver was as fiery as they came. He was a fierce competitor who was often quoted as saying his best friend was a three run homer. Weaver argued with umpires constantly and was thrown out of games often. He would go nose to nose with an ump with his hat on backwards as he kicked dirt on their shoes. One time he actually brought a rule book out and pointed to a particular page as he argued. Earl was quite a show. From the players to the manager, the Orioles were stacked.

Like the Mets, the Orioles swept their championship series three games to none. Baltimore defeated the AL Western Division champion Minnesota Twins. Not too many were predicting an easy time of it for the Mets. Most assumed the Orioles would win in five or six games, maybe even a four game sweep. But Mets fans had faith but that faith would be tested right off the bat.

October 11, 1969, World Series Game 1

Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium – With twenty five wins plus one in the NLCS, there was no question that Tom Seaver would start game one for the Mets. The Orioles had the home field advantage, not because of their better record or an All Star game victory which they did not do back then, but because it was the American League’s turn to host the series. The first two games would be in Baltimore followed by three games at Shea Stadium and if necessary, another two back in Baltimore. All games were played during the day then. Night World Series games were still a few years away.

Seaver’s mound opponent was Mike Cuellar. The left handed pitcher was a hard thrower who pitched 18 complete games including five shutouts and 182 strikeouts during the regular season.

In the first inning, Cleon Jones got the first World Series hit in Mets history with two out, a single to center. But he was left there after Cuellar stuck out Donn Clendenon.

In the bottom of the first, Seaver’s first pitch was met squarely off the bat of Don Buford who drove it over the right field wall. Ron Swoboda raced back to the wall and made a valiant effort to catch the fly ball but was unable to reach it. Swoboda recently claimed he got a bad jump on the ball and felt he should have caught it. As lore goes, Buford rounded the bases and smugly suggested to Mets shortstop Bud Harrelson that they hadn’t seen anything yet. Harrelson confidently replied that Buford hadn’t either.

The Mets could not get anything going against Cuellar. Through four innings, all the Mets could muster was a single, a walk, and a double but were unable to take advantage.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Orioles rallied for three runs with two outs. Elrod Hendricks singled, Davey Johnson walked, and then Belanger singled scoring Hendricks. To add insult to injury, Cuellar singled scoring Johnson then Buford doubled driving in the final run of the inning. After four, the Orioles led the Mets 4-0.

And that’s the way it stayed until the top of the seventh when the Mets loaded the bases with one out. But all the Mets could do was score one run on a sacrifice fly from Al Weis. Cuellar allowed the Mets nothing the rest of the afternoon. The Orioles won game one 4-1 and confidently walked off the field shaking hands.

The Mets, with heads down, went into their dugout. Seaver walked into the tunnel very upset with his outing. Donn Clendenon told Seaver not to worry, it was only one game and they would still win the series.

Record Orioles 1, Mets 0, in the best of seven series.

The loss was the first for the Mets since October 2nd, the last game of the regular season.

October 10, 1969

October 9, 1969

The Mets were off, holding a brief workout at Shea Stadium.

October 8, 1969

October 7, 1969