1969 National League Championship Series

vs. 1969 National League Championship Series (3-0) New York Mets (100-62) over Atlanta Braves (93-69) BR 1969 National League Championship Series Summary

Introduction

The 1969 National League Championship Series pitted the New York Mets against the Atlanta Braves, the very first champions of the new NL East and NL West.

Umpires

• Al Barlick, Augie Donatelli, Ed Sudol, Ed Vargo, Chris Pelekoudas, Mel Steiner

Results

Game 1

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Mets	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	5	0	9	10	1
Braves	0	1	2	0	1	0	1	0	0	5	10	2
WP: Tom Seaver (1-0), LP: Phil Niekro (0-1), SV: Ron Taylor (1)
Home Runs: ATL - Hank Aaron (1), Tony Gonzalez (1)

• Attendance: 50,122

Game 1, at Atlanta Stadium, featured Phil Niekro going up against Tom Seaver. It was a see-saw battle at first. In the top of the 2nd, Art Shamsky singled and Ken Boswell walked. Jerry Grote singled home Shamsky and Bob Didier then allowed a passed ball, scoring Boswell. In the bottom of the 2nd, Rico Carty led off with a double and Orlando Cepeda reached on an error by the second baseman Boswell. Clete Boyer then hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Carty. That was all the Braves would get.

In the bottom of the 3rd, the Braves went ahead on back-to-back-to-back doubles by Felix Millan, Tony Gonzalez, and Hank Aaron, all with one out. Again, that was all they would get, the light-hitting Didier leaving the bases loaded.

In the top of the 4th, with two out, Ed Kranepool singled to right, Grote walked and Bud Harrelson tripled them both in, making the score 4-3 Mets. The Braves tied the game in the bottom of the 5th when Gonzalez homered to lead off the inning.

The bottom of the 7th saw the Braves take the lead again, when Aaron hit a home run to put the Braves up by one run. The Mets then struck.

In the top of the 8th, Wayne Garrett led off with a double and Cleon Jones singled him home, tying the game at five. Shamsky then singled, and he was replaced by pinch-runner Al Weis. Jones stole third, and scored on a fielder's choice hit into by Boswell, which was caused by an error by Braves first baseman Orlando Cepeda. Grote grounded out and Harrelson was walked intentionally. J.C. Martin pinch-hit for Seaver and singled to right. Braves center fielder Gonzalez made such a catastrophic error that it let all three Mets originally on base score. Martin was thrown out as Gonzalez got the ball to Millan, who tried to get a runner out at home and Didier threw to Gil Garrido.

The Braves tried to mount a rally in the bottom of the 9th, when Millan led off with a single and new left fielder Mike Lum doubled with two out. But Cepeda popped up to Boswell to end the game.

Game 2

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Mets	1	3	2	2	1	0	2	0	0	11	13	1
Braves	0	0	0	1	5	0	0	0	0	6	9	3
WP: Ron Taylor (1-0), LP: Ron Reed (0-1), SV: Tug McGraw (1)
Home Runs: NYM - Tommie Agee (1), Ken Boswell (1), Cleon Jones (1); ATL - Hank Aaron (2)

• Attendance: 50,270

In Game 2, 17-9 Jerry Koosman faced 11-10 Ron Reed. Both starters struggled, but Atlanta could not recover from Reed's poor start, as he gave up 4 runs in less than two innings. Milt Pappas was little better, giving up 3 runs in 2 and one-third innings. However, the Braves did close within 9-6 in the 5th with 5 runs off Koosman (including a three-run shot by Hank Aaron). The Mets finished the scoring with 2 in the 7th as Tug McGraw pitched 3 shutout innings to close the 11-6 win.

Game 3

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Braves	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	4	8	1
Mets	0	0	1	2	3	1	0	0	X	7	14	0
WP: Nolan Ryan (1-0), LP: Pat Jarvis (0-1)
Home Runs: ATL - Hank Aaron (3), Orlando Cepeda (1); NYM - Tommie Agee (2), Ken Boswell (2), Wayne Garrett (1)

• Attendance: 54,195

In the first-ever postseason game at Shea Stadium, Mets starting pitcher Gary Gentry and catcher Jerry Grote celebrated birthdays. However, Hank Aaron stayed hot, hitting a two-run homer in the 1st and doubling to knock out Gentry. Nolan Ryan came in and got the win in 7 relief innings, marred only by a Cepeda home run. Tommie Agee and Boswell each homered for the second consecutive game, but it was Wayne Garrett's shot that gave the Mets the lead for good. The Mets swept the series with a 7-4 victory.

Further Reading

• Stanley Cohen: A Magic Summer: The Amazin' Story of the 1969 New York Mets, Skyhorse Publishing, New York, NY, 2009 (originally published in 1989).
• Tom Seaver and Richard Schaap: The Perfect Game: Tom Seaver and the Mets, Dutton Books, New York, NY, 1970.
• Matthew Silverman and Ken Samelson, ed.: The Miracle Has Landed: The Amazin' Story of How the 1969 Mets Shocked the World, Maple Street Press, Hanover, MA, 2009.

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