The last pennant to have been won in New York was by the Yankees of 1964. The last National League Pennant was won by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956, 13 years prior to ‘69. That was one season removed from the Dodgers moving to Los Angeles. Not to be forgotten, the New York Giants last won the National League pennant in 1954, the last time the Giants now of San Francisco won the World Series. On this day, the New York Mets had a chance to become the fourth Major League Baseball team of the modern era to win a league championship in New York.
October 6, 1969, NLCS Game 3
Shea Stadium – Left handed hitter Pat Jarvis was set to face the Mets and Gary Gentry on this early fall Monday afternoon. The Braves had their backs to the wall having lost their only two home games in the series. The Mets on the other hand had to be feeling good about their chances of winning one of the next three games scheduled at Shea Stadium. But the Mets did not want to drag things out. They wanted to win the series as soon as possible. After 100 regular season wins, none of it would matter if the Mets could not get to the World Series.
In the top of the first, the Braves got out to an early two nothing lead off of Gentry. If anything, Atlanta got the Shea faithful to quiet down. Hank Aaron did the damage by blasting a two run homerun to give the Braves the early lead.
In the third, Tony Gonzales singled and Aaron doubled putting runners on second and third with nobody out. Gil Hodges wasted no time in pulling Gentry and replacing him with hard throwing right hander Nolan Ryan. Ryan struck out Rico Carty then Orlando Cepeda was walked intentionally. Clete Boyer looked at a third strike before catcher Bob Didier flew out to left. Ryan gave the Mets a huge lift by not allowing a run after Atlanta threatened with none out. The Braves still led 2-0.
The Mets finally got on the board in their half of the third when Tommie Agee homered. Trailing by one (2-1) in the fourth inning, Art Shamsky led off with a single. Ken Boswell followed with a home run giving the Mets a 3-2 lead. The next batter, Ed Kranepool, got thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple otherwise the Mets might have scored more.
But as Mets fans finally settled back in their seats after all the excitement, the Braves struck back in a hurry. In the fifth, Ryan got Gonzales and Aaron to make out. But then he walked Rico Carty. The next hitter, Orlando Cepeda, hit a home run to put Atlanta back on top at 4-3. The big crowd at Shea got very quiet but that would not last long.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Nolan Ryan still in the game, singled to start things off. Wayne Garrett then joined in the home run act and hit one out putting the Mets back on top 5-4. Cleon Jones followed Garrett with a double before Braves manager Lum Harris replaced Jarvis with right hander George Stone (the same Stone who would pitch for the ’73 Mets). After Stone got Shamsky to ground out, Boswell, who had homered earlier, drove in Jones from second with a single to right. When the dust settled after the inning, the Mets held a 6-4 lead and were just twelve outs away from a pennant.
Ryan stayed in the game and got the side out in order in the sixth striking out two. In the bottom of the inning, Grote doubled. Harrelson sacrificed the Mets catcher to third. Harris then replaced Stone with submarine style pitcher Cecil Upshaw. Hodges, liking what he was seeing from his pitcher, left Ryan in to hit but he grounded to third for the second out of the inning. But leadoff batter Tommie Agee came through with a run scoring single. The Mets led 7-4 after six.
Both clubs went quietly in the seventh. In the eighth Hodges put in Rod Gaspar in right and Al Weis at second for defensive purposes. Rico Carty led off with a single against Ryan but Nolan then struck out Orlando Cepeda and Clete Boyer, both caught looking. Pinch hitter Mike Lum singled moving Carty to second. But then pinch hitter Filipe Alou lined out to short to end the inning.
Nolan Ryan remained in the game in the ninth for his seventh inning of relief. The Mets were three outs away from their first pennant. Pinch hitter Bob Aspromonte flied out to Agee. Felix Millan hit a ground ball to short that Bud Harrelson picked and threw to first for out number two. With the Shea crowd on its feet, poised to storm the field for the second time in two weeks, Tony Gonzales hit a ground ball to third baseman Wayne Garrett. Garrett threw across the diamond to Ed Kranepool for the final out. The Mets were the National League Champions of 1969. The fans stormed the field as the Mets struggled to reach the dugout. The second champagne celebration was under way.
Record - Mets 3, Braves 0, in best of five series
The 1969 National League Champion Mets would soon prepare to go to the World Series. For the first time in history, the Mets would play a meaningful game against an American League club. Prior to this, the Mets played the Yankees in the Mayor’s Trophy Game and other American League teams in spring training. While the Mets celebrated, they awaited the winner of the American League Championship Series between the Baltimore Orioles and the Minnesota Twins. Baltimore was leading the AL series two games to nothing.
