Skip to main content

Happy Anniversary, 1969 Mets

We'll return to the home run tracking next week. In the meantime, we've got an anniversary to celebrate...

On October 16, 1969, the Mets won the World Series...


* They won, despite being at a nine-win disadvantage to the Orioles in regular season play (100 to 109). After the 1969 Mets, no NL team won a World Series at that big a disadvantage until 1988, when the 94-win Dodgers beat the 104-win Athletics.

* They beat a team with 109 wins. Only two teams have won the World Series by beating a team with more wins: The 1954 Giants (54 Indians won 111) and the 1906 White Sox (06 Cubs won 116)

* They held the Orioles to a .146 batting average. That's the second-lowest batting average a team has ever had in the World Series. Only the 1966 Dodgers (.142) hit worse.

* They won despite hitting .242 in the regular season- Only 4 Mets teams have had a worse batting average since (1972, 1974, 1983, 1992)

* Jerry Koosman allowed 11 baserunners in 17 2/3 innings, for a WHIP of 5.6. Only one pitcher, who pitched at least 15 innings in a World Series, has had a better WHIP since- Steve Blass (1971 Pirates, 5.5).

* Koosman pitched a complete game to clinch the World Series, something only three NL pitchers have done since (Steve Blass, Orel Hershiser, and Josh Beckett). Koosman is the last NL pitcher to throw a complete game AT HOME to clinch the World Series.

*Al Weis hit .455 in the World Series, which stands as a Mets record to this date. Next-best was Rusty Staub, who hit .423 in 1973.

* In the clinching game, the Orioles did not have an at-bat with a runner in scoring position. I intend to check, but I don't believe this has happened in a World Series game since then.

* The Mets clinched by rallying from 3 runs down to win. Only three teams since then have clinched the World Series by rallying from 3 runs down to win the clincher- the 1970 Orioles, the 1975 Reds, and the 1986 Mets.

* The 1969 Mets won 4 straight games to close out the postseason. The longest Mets postseason win streak is 5 games, spanning the end of the 2000 NLDS and the start of the 2000 NLCS.


Comments

Unknown said…
You forgot that the '69 Mets were the first expansion team to win a world championship. The 1969 Mets are the signature team of this franchise, even for those of us who were babies or weren't born when it happened. There's good news yet to come in '09. Metswalkoffs along with numerous other sites and authors helped put together the book, The Miracle Has Landed: The Amazin' Story of How the 1969 Mets Shocked the World. At over 400 pages, with never before seen photos and and never before heard stories, it's available for order now at a bargain price and the perfect holiday gift for the Mets fan in your life...oh who are we kidding--for you! http://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Has-Landed-Amazin-Shocked/dp/1934186171/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255702980&sr=8-1
11:28 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Walk-Offs in Movies, TV, and Other Places

Note: I'm leaving this post up through the end of the week, a) because I don't have time to pump out something new and b)because I was hoping to build a really good list of entertainment industry walk-offs...so if you're looking for something new, check back on Monday or so... Of course, if there's a major trade or move, I'll adjust and try to post something... In the meantime, click on the "Table of Contents" link as well. It has been updated. SPOILER ALERT: Read at your own risk Caught the ending of "A League of Their Own" on one of the movie channels the other day and it got me to thinking that it would be fun to compile a list of walk-offs from movies, television, and other forms of entertainment. Here's the start, and only the start, as I spent about 30 minutes or so thinking it over Help me fill in the blanks by filling out the comments section. "A League of Their Own"-- Racine beats Rockford for the All-American Girls Profess...
10 comments
Read more

The 'Duca of Earl (and walk-offs)

If I told you that the Mets had just obtained a guy who is a career .316 hitter with runners in scoring position? How about if I told you that the Mets just traded for a hitter who has consistently ranked among the toughest in baseball to strike out? Or if I mentioned that the Mets just dealt for a player who was selected to the NL All-Star team the last three seasons, with the last honor coming via a vote by his peers? So, although he's on the down side age wise, his throwing arm isn't as good as it used to be, and he doesn't provide much power, there are a lot of good things that Paul Lo Duca brings to the New York Mets. For example: He'll sacrifice his body for the good of the team The Dodgers and Braves squared off on August 23, 2002 and Lo Duca made an impact both on the start and finish of this game. Three pitches after being dusted by Greg Maddux, Lo Duca made him pay with a first-inning home run. The Braves rallied to tie the game, 3-3 in the ninth, but their bu...
8 comments
Read more

The best Mets ejections I know

When you think of the Mets and famous ejections, I'm guessing you first think of the famous Bobby Valentine mustache game, when after Valentine got tossed, he returned to the dugout in disguise. You know it. You love it. I remember being amused when I asked Bobby V about it while we were working on Baseball Tonight, how he simply said "It worked. We won the game." (true) But the Bobby V mustache game of June 9, 1999 is one of many, many memorable Mets ejection stories. And now thanks to Retrosheet and the magic of Newspapers.com , we have a convenient means for being able to share them. Ever since Retrosheet's David Smith recently announced that the Retrosheet ejection database was posted online , I've been a kid in a candy store. I've organized the data and done some lookups of media coverage around the games that interested me post. Those newspaper accounts fill in a lot of blanks. Without further ado (and with more work to do), here are some of my findings ...
Post a Comment
Read more