1969 Baltimore Orioles: Almost There

1969 Baltimore Orioles: Almost There

1969 Baltimore Orioles: Almost There

Ever since the move from St. Louis to Baltimore before the start of the 1954 season, the franchise that was previously known as annual losers had developed great baseball talent in their early years as the Baltimore Orioles. By the end of the 1960’s, and 1969 in particular, the Orioles had found the right mix of players and coaches that they felt could carry them all the way to the World Series.

In 1969 the Baltimore Orioles went 103-53 to win the American League East division in its first year of existence, winning the division by 19 games over the Detroit Tigers. The Orioles went 11-7 against the Tigers in head-to-head play. The Orioles went 60-21 at home and 49-32 on the road. The Orioles maintained their solid performances throughout each month of the regular season as they went 16-7 in April, 18-8 in May, 21-6 in June, 17-10 in July, 19-12 in August and 17-10 in September. The most impressive feat accomplished by the Orioles was that they went 30-8 in blowout games that ended in margins of 5 or more runs.

Right fielder Frank Robinson batted .308 with 32 home runs and 100 RBI’s off 166 hits, 19 doubles, 5 triples and 9 stolen bases. First baseman Boog Powell batted .304 with 37 home runs and 121 RBI’s off 162 hits and 25 doubles. Left fielder Don Buford batted .291 with 11 home runs and 64 RBI’s off 161 hits, 31 doubles and 19 stolen bases. Shortstop Mark Belanger batted .287 with 152 hits, 17 doubles, 4 triples and 14 stolen bases. Center fielder Paul Blair batted .285 with 26 home runs and 76 RBI’s off 178 hits, 32 doubles, 5 triples and 20 stolen bases.

Second baseman Davey Johnson batted .280 with 143 hits and 34 doubles. Third baseman Brooks Robinson had 23 home runs and 84 RBI’s off 140 hits and 21 doubles. Catcher Elrod Hendricks had 12 home runs and 72 hits in 105 games. Catcher Andy Etchebarren had 54 hits and 9 doubles in 73 games. Outfielder Merv Rettenmund had 47 hits and 10 doubles in 95 games.

Starting pitcher Mike Cuellar went 23-11 with 182 strikeouts and a 2.38 ERA, recording 18 complete games and 5 shutouts. Dave McNally went 20-7 with 166 strikeouts and a 3.22 ERA, recording 11 complete games and 4 shutouts. Jim Palmer went 16-4 with 123 strikeouts and a 2.34 ERA, recording 11 complete games and 6 shutouts. Tom Phoebus went 14-7 with 117 strikeouts and a 3.52 ERA, recording 6 complete games and 2 shutouts. Despite going 6-7 Jim Hardin did have a 3.60 ERA, 3 complete games, 1 shutout and 1 save.

Closer Eddie Watt went 5-2 with 16 saves and a 1.65 ERA. Relief pitcher Pete Richert went 7-4 with 12 saves and a 2.20 ERA. Dave Leonard went 7-4 with 1 save and a 2.49 while also recording 1 complete game and 1 shutout in 3 starts. Dick Hall went 5-2 with 6 saves and a 1.92 ERA. Marcelino Lopez went 5-3 from the bullpen.

The American League Championship Series was a breeze for the Orioles as they swept the Minnesota Twins 3 games to none to claim the American League pennant. In Game 1 on October 4 at Memorial Stadium the Orioles beat the Twins 4-3. In the bottom of the 4th inning Frank Robinson hit a solo home run. In the top of the 5th Twins left fielder Bob Allison had a sacrifice fly to score right fielder Tony Oliva. In the bottom of the 5th Mark Belanger hit a solo home run. In the top of the 7th Oliva blasted a 2-run home run to give Minnesota a 3-2 lead. However, Baltimore battled back in the top of the 9th with Boog Powell tying the game with a heroic solo home run. Then in the 12th Paul Blair made a gutsy move by laying down a bunt. Blair’s gamble would pay off as he reached with a single, scoring the game-winning run in Belanger.

Game 2 on October 5 had just the same kind of drama though less runs were scored. Dave McNally of the Orioles and Dave Boswell of the Twins squared off in a pitching duel. McNally pitched 11 innings and gave up 3 hits and 5 walks while recording 11 strikeouts. Boswell pitched 10.2 innings and gave up 7 hits, 7 walks and 1 run while recording 4 strikeouts. The game came down the sudden heroics of pinch hitting left fielder Curt Motton to get the walk-off RBI single for the Orioles in the bottom of the 11th inning.

Game 3 on October 6 at Metropolitan Stadium wasn’t a contest as the Orioles ran away with the AL pennant by crushing the Twins 11-2. In the bottom of the 1st inning Minnesota got on the board first with an RBI single by first baseman Rich Reese, but Baltimore took control after that and never gave it up. In the top of the 2nd Elrod Hendricks had a 2-run double, and then Don Buford followed with an RBI single. In the top of the 4th Blair had a 2-run double. In the bottom of the 5th Minnesota got their 2nd and last run of the game off another Reese RBI single. In the top of the 6th Frank Robinson had an infield RBI single. In the top of the 8th Blair smacked a 2-run home run. In the top of the 9th Hendricks had an RBI double that would result in another run being scored off an error, and then Blair had an RBI double.

The 1969 World Series started off very well for the Baltimore Orioles as they faced the surprising National League Champion New York Mets, but after Game 1 on October 11, the Orioles weren’t able to contain the special run the Mets had gone on as the “Miracle Mets” defeated the Orioles 4 games to 1 to win the World Series.

Orioles fans at Memorial Stadium got to see their team win Game 1 by the score of 4-1. Mike Cuellar pitched a complete game, giving up 6 hits, 4 walks and 1 run while recording 8 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 1st Buford hit a solo home run. In the bottom of the 4th Belanger and Cuellar both had RBI singles, and then Buford followed with an RBI double. In the top of the 7th the Mets got on the board with a sacrifice fly hit by second baseman Al Weis, which scored first baseman Don Clendenon.

Fortunately for the Baltimore Orioles they would only have to wait until the following year in 1970 to realize their dreams of becoming the World Series Champions. The 1969 Orioles were a team that was almost there, only one step away from experiencing a satisfying run the next season.