1969 World Series

The 1969 World Series was played between the New York Mets and the Baltimore Orioles, with the Mets prevailing in five games to accomplish one of the greatest upsets in Series history, as that particular Orioles squad was (and still is by some baseball pundits) considered to be one of the finest ever. The World Series win earned the team the sobriquet "Miracle Mets," as they had risen from the depths of mediocrity (the 1969 team had the first winning record in Mets history).
Karl Ehrhardt, known as "the sign man" at Shea Stadium, held up a sign that read There Are No Words, which was seen in the Series highlight film soon after the final out was made.
The Mets became the first expansion team to win a division title, a pennant, and the World Series, winning in their eighth year of existence. Two teams would later surpass that, as the Florida Marlins won the 1997 World Series in their fifth year (also becoming the first wild card team to win a World Series) and the Arizona Diamondbacks won the 2001 World Series in their fourth year of play.

The Baltimore Orioles boasted some of the biggest guns in the American League and entered the '69 Series with a renewed confidence after dominating Sandy Koufax and his mighty Dodgers three years earlier. Among the American League champs "lumber company" was Boog Powell (thirty-seven home runs, one-hundred twenty-one runs batted in), Frank Robinson (thirty-two homers, one-hundred RBIs), Brooks Robinson (twenty-three homers, eighty-four RBIs) and Paul Blair (twenty-six homers, seventy-six RBIs). Their opponents, the New York Mets were still a young franchise and were making their first post-season appearance after topping the National League in only their eighth season.

Tom Seaver (a twenty-five game winner) was given the opening start for New York at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium and made it to his second pitch before surrendering the first "home team - home run". By the afternoon's end, Orioles' lefthander Mike Cuellar had given up only six hits and struck out eight. Baltimore was an easy winner (4-1) despite their standout line-up managing only four runs in thirty at-bats. The Mets' Jerry Koosman continued to silence the home team's big guns in Game 2 while holding their line-up to six hitless innings. Donn Clendenon backed up the twenty-six year-old lefty with a fourth inning homer off Dave McNally. Baltimore managed to tie it up in the seventh when Paul Blair led off with his team's first hit, then stole second and finally scored on Brooks Robinson's two out single. Not to be discouraged, the Mets rose to the occasion in the ninth and as Ed Charles, Jerry Grote and Al Weis all came through with two out singles. Koosman then got last-out relief help from Ron Taylor and emerged the 2-1 victor.

Game 3 debuted the first postseason outing at Shea Stadium and featured one of the greatest individual performances in the sixty-six year history of the Series, courtesy of the Mets' Tommie Agee. Agee started the contest off with a first inning home run off of Jim Pa...

What a mismatch. Representing the American League were the Baltimore Orioles, who won 109 games during the regular season. Meanwhile, bearing the National League standard were the New York Mets. True, the Mets did win 100 games, but they were best known for their previous seven seasons of futility, and in the previous year, they had finished ninth.
The World Series opened in Baltimore, and Game 1 went according to form with Orioles ace Mike Cuellar topping the Mets, 4-1, with a complete-game six-hitter. Left fielder Don Buford led the hitting attack with a solo homer in the first inning and an RBI double in the fourth.

Mets starter Jerry Koosman was brilliant in Game 2, permitting just two hits and one run through eight innings. However, Baltimore's Dave McNally was solid, too, and entering the ninth the clubs were tied at one run apiece. With two outs in the top of the ninth, the Mets produced a run on consecutive singles from Ed Charles, Jerry Grote and Al Weis to take a 2-1 lead. Koosman retired the first two Orioles hitters in the bottom of the ninth, but then walked Frank Robinson and Boog Powell. Mets manager Gil Hodges called on reliever Ron Taylor, who retired Brooks Robinson on a grounder to end the game.

In New York for Game 3, Met hurlers Gary Gentry and Nolan Ryan combined on a four-hitter. Tommie Agee and Ed Kranepool both hit solo homers, Gentry himself drove in a pair of runs, and Agee contributed two outstanding defensive plays in center field to rob the Orioles. Game 4 was a rematch of Game 1, Cuellar against Mets ace Tom Seaver. The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Donn Clendenon's home run, and that's where it stayed until the ninth, when the Orioles scratched out a single run. It would have been more, but right fielder Ron Swoboda made a spectacular diving catch on Brooks Robinson's drive to right-center. And in the bottom of the 10th, a misplayed ball in left field and pitcher Pete Richert's error on an attempted sacrifice ...