Nolan Ryan strikes out 15 batters and pitches a one-hitter as the New York Mets defeat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7 – 0, at Shea Stadium. It is the first shutout of Ryan’s career.
1969 – The New York Mets win their fourth straight game from the Baltimore Orioles with a 5 – 3 triumph behind pitcher Jerry Koosman, who throws a five-hitter, to take the World Series in five games. In the 3rd inning, Baltimore takes a 3 – 0 advantage after home runs by pitcher Dave McNally and outfielder Frank Robinson. After a strong argument by Mets manager Gil Hodges in the bottom of the 6th inning, Cleon Jones is awarded first base when shoe polish on the ball proves he was hit by a pitch, and Jones scores on a home run by Donn Clendenon. An inning later, Al Weis ties the game, 3 – 3, with a solo home run, and in the 8th, Ron Swoboda’s double and two Baltimore errors give New York two more runs and the World Championship. Clendenon is named Series MVP.
Al Weis’s timely ninth-inning hit, combined with the two-hitter tossed by Jerry Koosman and Ron Taylor, enable the Mets to even the Fall Classic with the Orioles at one game apiece. New York will win the next three games, all played at Shea Stadium, to finish their amazing season with a World Championship.
October 5, 1969 The Mets scored early and often in this one, pounding six Braves pitchers for thirteen hits and eleven runs. Ed Kranepool brought in the first run in the top of the first with a bases-loaded single. Tommie Agee’s two-run home run after a walk next inning extended the Mets’ lead to 3–0….
Willie Davis‚ who cracks a single and double‚ ties the franchise record of hitting in 29 straight games. The mark was set by Zack Wheat in 1916‚ and Davis will double one day later to break it. Andy Kosco adds 4 straight hits as the Dodgers beat the visiting Mets‚ 10 – 6. Jerry Koosman is k.o.’ed after a third of an inning and takes the loss against Jim Bunning.
On May 28, 1969 Jerry Koosman set a then-team record with 15 strikeouts in 10 scoreless innings, but failed to get a decision as the New York Mets defeated the expansion San Diego Padres 1-0 in 11 innings at Shea Stadium. This has been recognized as one of the pivotal games in the Mets miracle…
Johnny Bench, who kept his freshman status by missing the final three games of the 1967 season due to a hand injury, is named the National League’s Rookie of the Year by the narrowest of margins. The 20 year-old Reds’ catcher edges Mets’ southpaw Jerry Koosman for the award when Chicago American veteran scribe Jim Enright splits his choice because he “couldn’t vote for one and ignore the other.”
Jerry Koosman ties the National League rookie record when he hurls his seventh shutout of the season, blanking Pittsburgh on just three singles. The left-hander’s 2-0 victory, the Mets’ 67th win of the season – a franchise high, equals the mark shared by Irving Young (Braves, 1905) and Grover Cleveland Alexander (Phillies, 1911).
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