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 Replay Date - October 18, 1969. |
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MIRACLE METS ARE CHAMPS! Comeback kids stun Goliath O's with dramatic rally BALTIMORE, October 18 – Two seasons ago, the Boston Red Sox rode the "Impossible Dream" to an American League championship. Well, don’t pinch Gil Hodges and his New York Mets as they are now living the "preposterous dream". The Mets captured their first world’s championship with a dramatic come-from-behind 6-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in Game 6 of the 1969 World Series. Tommie Agee hit a two-run and eventual game-winning homer in the top of the eighth.
Oriole starter Jim Palmer was coasting toward a deciding Game 7 by allowing only one hit to New York through six innings. But with one out in the seventh, Cleon Jones belted a long drive over CF Paul Blair for a stand-up double. Art Shamsky followed with a drive over the right field wall to cut the Baltimore lead to one run. Shamsky circled the bases in an eerie stillness as Memorial Stadium was quieted by the clout. Manager Earl Weaver relieved a stunned Palmer with bullpen ace Pete Richert who retired the side. However with one out in the eighth, Bud Harrelson drew an innocent walk from Richert. Pinch-hitter Ron Swoboda was retired on strikes, and Agee stepped up to bat. Agee swung at a letter high fastball. Don Buford stepped in, then drifted back to the warning track and watched the ball disappear. Those swings by Shamsky and Agee put Baltimore in a position that this 112 win team had never been all season – total desperation. In a simple matter of moments, Baltimore plunged from Palmer working on a one-hitter with a three run lead to abruptly being six outs from season’s brink. Eddie Watt replaced Richert in the ninth. But, he provided no relief with a pair of passes to Jones and Ken Boswell. Donn Clendenon brought the pair home with a drive past Boog Powell at first. Frank Robinson corralled the ball in the right field corner. Clendenon raced around second base, and beat the relay throw with a sliding triple. As the crowd scattered from the exits, Clendenon’s triple brought the 1969 World Series to a close. Baltimore had that crowd at a feverish roar by taking an early three run lead. Don Buford singled home Elrod Hendricks and Jim Palmer, who doubled over third base, in the second inning off rookie Gary Gentry. Boog Powell added another run in the fourth with a RBI single beyond the range of Ken Boswell at second base. As Shamsky chased the ball down in right, Powell chugged toward second drawing a cut off throw from Ed Kranepool. Powell beat the throw, and Buford scored the O's third run. Gil Hodges then turned to his bullpen which held the Oriole attack to a single hit in the final five innings. Youngster Nolan Ryan set the Orioles down with a perfect two innings to earn the win. Coincidentally, it was New York who was limited to one hit in the initial stages of the game. But in the final analysis, it was the end that matter. Tug McGraw entered the bottom of the ninth to close. Don Buford flew out to Jones in left. Paul Blair hit a ground ball that Harrelson ranged behind second to snare. Harrelson throw on the run was low, but scooped by Clendenon in time to retire Buford. Then, Frank Robinson was unable to check his swing on a McGraw screwball for the final out. The emotional McGraw threw his glove into the air and leapt into Jerry Grote’s bearhug as the rest of the team swarmed the pair. Miraculously, the team expected by the experts to finish behind the expansion Expos defied its past and others' expectations by slaying Goliath. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 - R H E
New York 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 - 6 5 1
Baltimore 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 - 3 7 0
New York AB R H BI Avg Baltimore AB R H BI Avg
T Agee CF 4 1 1 2 .174 D Buford LF 4 1 1 2 .273
W Garrett 3B 3 0 0 0 .000 P Blair CF 4 0 1 0 .136
A Weis ph 3B 1 0 0 0 .143 F Robinson RF 4 0 0 0 .278
C Jones LF 3 2 2 0 .389 B Powell 1B 4 0 1 1 .250
A Shamsky RF 4 1 1 2 .333 B Robinson 3B 3 0 1 0 .143
T McGraw P 0 0 0 0 .000 E Hendricks C 3 1 1 0 .143
K Boswell 2B 3 1 0 0 .000 D Johnson 2B 4 0 1 0 .136
E Kranepool 1B 2 0 0 0 .200 M Belanger SS 3 0 0 0 .056
D Clendenon ph 1B 2 0 1 2 .211 C Motton ph 1 0 0 0 .333
J Grote C 4 0 0 0 .100 E Watt P 0 0 0 0 .000
B Harrelson SS 2 1 0 0 .056 J Palmer P 3 1 1 0 .200
G Gentry P 1 0 0 0 .000 P Richert P 0 0 0 0 .000
J McAndrew P 0 0 0 0 .000 C Salmon ph SS 1 0 0 0 .250
J Martin ph 1 0 0 0 .000
N Ryan P 0 0 0 0 .000
R Swoboda ph 1 0 0 0 .077
R Taylor P 0 0 0 0 .000
R Gaspar ph RF 1 0 0 0 .000
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Totals 32 6 5 6 Totals 34 3 7 3
New York IP H R ER BB SO BFP HB D T HR ERA
G Gentry 3.2 6 3 3 3 3 21 1 2 0 0 3.17
J McAndrew 1.1 1 0 0 1 1 6 0 0 0 0 0.00
N Ryan (W 1-0) 2.0 0 0 0 0 2 6 0 0 0 0 4.50
R Taylor 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0.00
T McGraw (Sv 1) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0.00
Totals 9.0 7 3 3 4 8 39 1 2 0 0
Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO BFP HB D T HR ERA
J Palmer 6.1 3 2 2 0 5 22 0 1 0 1 2.91
P Richert (L 0-1) 1.2 1 2 2 1 3 7 0 0 0 1 4.90
E Watt 1.0 1 2 2 3 1 7 0 0 1 0 4.15
Totals 9.0 5 6 6 4 9 36 0 1 1 2
Left On Base: New York 3, Baltimore 9
Double Plays: none
Doubles: P Blair (2); C Jones (2); J Palmer (1)
Triples: D Clendenon (1)
Home Runs: T Agee (1); A Shamsky (2)
RBIs: T Agee 2(3); D Buford 2(4); B Powell (4); A Shamsky 2(4);
D Clendenon 2(4)
Stolen Bases: none
Caught Stealing: none
Hit by Pitch: F Robinson (1)
Ground into Double Play: none
Powell, McCovey named MVP; Cuellar, Koosman win Cy Young Slugging firstbaseman Boog Powell and Willie McCovey captured the Most Valuable Player awards for 1969. Powell led the AL champion Baltimore Orioles with a .330 average, 35 HR, and 120 RBI. It may have been his clubs' final charge to win the pennant that gave Powell the nod over Frank Howard of the surprising Washington Senators. Howard tied Oakland's Reggie Jackson for the AL lead in home runs with 47. Giant firstbaseman Willie McCovey led all of baseball with 48 circuit clouts to go with a .324 average and a major league leading 130 RBI. Mike Cuellar, obtained by Baltimore during the off-season from Houston, dominated the American League. Cuellar led the AL with a 25-5 record. His ERA of 1.96 was second in the league, and he also led the junior circuit with 20 complete games. In the NL, Jerry Koosman, the runner-up for Rookie of the Year last season, won the Cy Young in a surprise vote with an apparent New York bias. Juan Marichal and Larry Dierker each posted magnificent seasons, but perhaps it was Koosman's role in the Mets improbable pennant chase that captured the voters' imagination. Koosman, 22-7, posted a 1.93 ERA, second behind Marichal in the NL. Al Oliver of the Pittsburgh Pirates was named NL Rookie of the Year. Oliver contributed to the Pirate cause that fell just short in 1969. The 22 year old first baseman led a Buc rookie crop with a .301 average, 17 HR and 87 RBI. Lou Piniella of the Kansas City Royals was named AL Rookie of the Year. Piniella, obtained from Seattle during the spring, batted .278 with 15 HR and 85 RBI. Piniella edged Carlos May of the White Sox whose season was cut short by a thumb injury received in military reserve duty in August.
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