1969 – Denis Menke and Jim Wynn launch grand slams in the same inning as the Astros crush the Mets, 16-3 and 11-5 in a twinbill at Shea Stadium . The double slam was the first National League occurance in 79 years. So hot were Houston’s bats that Larry Dierker took Nolan Ryan deep in the nightcap and Fred Gladding broke an oh-for-the-decade slump with a bloop single for the only hit in his career.
Using five homers, the Braves thrash the Phils, 6 – 3, in the first game of a twinbill. Felipe Alou and Hank Aaron homer and Bob Tillman, hitting .187, hits three in a row. Aaron’s blast is the 537th of his career and moves him past Mickey Mantle on the all-time list. The Phils win the nitecap, 4 – 3. Dick Allen homers in the 2nd inning and follows a Johnny Callison homer in the 8th with his second shot of the game.
Major League Baseball proclaims Joe DiMaggio as its greatest living player, a title the Yankee Clipper will proudly embrace until his death in 1999. The determination was made by sportswriters in a poll conducted to coincide with the centennial of professional baseball.
Yankee reliever Jack Aker’s string of 33 scoreless innings comes to an end as the A’s rally for three runs to top the Yankees, 6 – 5. Vida Blue, the A’s starter, receives credit for his first major league victory.
On July 29, 1969, Giants slugger Willie McCovey hit his 300th career homer. The homer came in a 4-2 win at Wrigley Field against the Cubs. “Stretch” hit 521 homers in his Hall of Fame career.
On July 28, 1969, Roy Campanella and Stan Musial join the legends of the Hall of Fame when they are inducted during a ceremony in Cooperstown. Catcher Campanella starred for the Brooklyn Dodgers, winning three Most Valuable Player Awards. Musial colleted 3,630 hits in a stellar career that included seven batting titles. Pitchers Stan Coveleski…
In the team’s biggest shutout victory ever, Baltimore routs the White Sox, 17 – 0, as Jim Hardin wins over Billy Wynne. Hardin allows just two hits while the Birds bang out 20, good for 39 total bases. Frank Robinson drives in five runs and hits a pair of homers.
Seattle suffers another heartbreaker, losing 5 – 3 to Boston in 20 innings at Sicks Stadium. Joe Lahoud hits a two-run home run in the top of the 20th for Boston, and Tommy Harper matches him in the bottom of the inning for the losers. Jim Lonborg is the winner.
1969 – Tony Conigliaro of the Red Sox suffers a wrenched back while hitting a home run against the Seattle Pilots. The injury forces him to walk slowly around the bases before being replaced. The Red Sox win, 7 – 6.
1969 – At Wrigley Field, Ken Holtzman tops Don Sutton for the 4th straight time – three this year – as Chicago beats the Dodgers, 5 – 3. For a frustrated Sutton, it is a Cubs-record 13th straight loss to Chicago stretching back to his rookie year.
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