1969 in baseball

The following are the baseball events of the year 1969 throughout the world.

Major League Baseball

 * World Series: New York Mets over Baltimore Orioles (4-1); Donn Clendenon, MVP
 * American League Championship Series: Baltimore Orioles (East) over Minnesota Twins (West) (3-0)
 * National League Championship Series: New York Mets (East) over Atlanta Braves (West) (3-0)
 * All-Star Game, July 23 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium: National League, 9-3; Willie McCovey, MVP

Other champions

 * College World Series: Arizona State
 * Japan Series: Yomiuri Giants over Hankyu Braves (4-2)
 * Little League World Series: Taipei, Taiwan

Awards and honors

 * Most Valuable Player
 * Harmon Killebrew (AL)
 * Willie McCovey (NL)
 * Cy Young Award
 * Mike Cuellar and Denny McLain (AL)
 * Tom Seaver (NL)
 * Rookie of the Year
 * Lou Piniella (AL)
 * Ted Sizemore (NL)

MLB Statistical Leaders
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Events

 * January 21 - Stan Musial and Roy Campanella are voted into the Hall of Fame by BBWAA members.


 * February 2 - Pitchers Stan Coveleski and Waite Hoyt are voted into the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee.


 * March 16 - A plane crash in Maracaibo, Venezuela kills 155 passengers including Carlos Santeliz, the Venezuelan League Rookie of the Year, on his way to the Braves' spring training camp. Another fatality is Néstor Chávez, en route to the Giants' camp. Chávez (1-0) was 12–5 with Double-A Waterbury in the Eastern League (1967), including seven shutouts. Pablo Torrealba was also scheduled to take the flight, but missed it and took a later one.


 * April 12 - At Detroit, the Yankees' Mel Stottlemyre allows just one hit, a 4th-inning double to Bill Northrup, and beats Denny McLain and the Detroit Tigers 4–0. For the 3rd time in two years, Northrup saves the Tigers from being the victims of a no-hitter.


 * May 11 - The Houston Astros, no-hit the day before by the Cincinnati Reds, answer back as Don Wilson pitches a 4-0 no-hitter, with 13 strikeouts over the Reds. Houston ties a National League record with just one assist. In Wilson's previous start against Cincinnati, on April 22, he gave up six runs in five innings in a 14-0 loss.


 * July 8 - With three runs in the 9th inning, the New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3, cutting Chicago's lead in the National League East to four games. Chicago's Ron Santo rips into center fielder Don Young for two misplays in the outfield; Santo apologizes the next day for criticizing Young, who had left early and didn't take the team bus. Santo is later booed in his first game back at Wrigley Field.


 * July 13 - In the 3rd meeting between the two brothers, the San Diego Padres' Joe Niekro defeats his brother Phil Niekro of the Atlanta Braves 1-0; Joe is 2-1 over Phil.


 * July 23 - At R.F.K. Memorial Stadium, Willie McCovey hits two home runs as the National League beats the American League 9–3, for its seventh straight All-Star Game win. McCovey is named MVP, with his two homers tying an All-Star Game record set earlier by Arky Vaughan (1941), Ted Williams (1946) and Al Rosen (1954).


 * August 13 - Montreal reliever Roy Face gives up the last of his record 21 extra-inning gopher balls, an 11th-inning grand slam to the Cincinnati Reds' Johnny Bench. Cincinnati wins 8–3 in Montreal.


 * August 14 - In the National League Eastern Division, the Chicago Cubs lead the St. Louis Cardinals by 8.5 games and the New York Mets by 9.5 games. The Mets win 38 out of their next 49 games, and the Cubs finish the season 8 games behind the Mets.


 * October 16 - In Game Five of the World Series at Shea Stadium, Donn Clendenon hit his third home run of the Series and pitcher Jerry Koosman completes the New York Mets' dominance over the Baltimore Orioles with a five-hit 5–3 victory. Clendenon is named World Series MVP.

Births

 * March 25 - Travis Fryman
 * April 6 - Bret Boone
 * August 4 - Troy O'Leary
 * August 9 - Troy Percival
 * September 23 - Jeff Cirillo
 * September 25 - Tony Womack
 * October 20 - Juan González
 * November 21 - Ken Griffey, Jr.
 * November 28 - Robb Nen
 * November 29 - Mariano Rivera
 * December 18 - Joe Randa

Deaths

 * January 23 - Al Bridwell, 85, shortstop whose apparent game-winning single for the New York Giants in a 1908 contest led to the controversial play in which baserunner Fred Merkle was eventually called out for not touching second base
 * February 19 - Doc White, 89, Chicago White Sox pitcher whose record of five consecutive shutouts was finally broken by Don Drysdale in 1968
 * March 14 - Heinie Zimmerman, 82, third baseman who won the NL triple crown in 1912 but was barred from baseball in 1919 for his role in fixing games
 * March 16 - William Bell, 71, All-Star pitcher of the Negro Leagues who posted the highest career winning percentage in black baseball
 * March 21 - Pinky Higgins, 59, third baseman who held the AL record for career games at that position from 1944 to 1959, a 3-time All-Star and later manager of the Red Sox
 * May 5 - Eddie Cicotte, 84, pitcher who won 208 games for the Tigers, Red Sox and White Sox, but was thrown out of baseball as one of the eight "Black Sox" involved in fixing the 1919 World Series; he was the first of the eight to come forward, confessing his involvement and testifying before the grand jury
 * May 17 - Pants Rowland, 90, manager of the 1917 World Series champion Chicago White Sox, later president of the Pacific Coast League from 1944 to 1954
 * May 20 - Lee Allen, 54, historian at the Baseball Hall of Fame since 1959, former sportswriter
 * July 8 - Bill Carrigan, 85, manager and backup catcher for the Boston Red Sox' world champions in 1915 and 1916
 * September 29 - Tommy Leach, 91, third baseman and center fielder, primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who led the NL in runs twice and home runs once
 * October 2 - Gordon Cobbledick, 70, sportswriter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer from 1928 to 1964
 * October 9 - Don Hoak, 41, third baseman who played on 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers and 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates World Series championship teams. (Earlier that same day, the Pirates had re-hired Danny Murtaugh as their manager—a position for which Hoak had been a prime contender.)
 * November 15 - Billy Southworth, 76, manager who won World Series titles in 1942 and 1944 with the St. Louis Cardinals and the 1948 NL pennant with the Boston Braves, posting a .597 career winning percentage
 * December 7 - Lefty O'Doul, 72, left fielder who batted .349 in his career and won two batting titles after being converted from a pitcher; became the winningest manager in Pacific Coast League history, and earned additional fame as the "father" of professional baseball in Japan