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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
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