From the Hapless Mets to the Miracle Mets
A mid-season trade helps clinch the 1969 World Series
In the 1977 comedy film "Oh, God", actor George Burns quipped: "The last miracle I did was the 1969 Mets".
That year, the hapless New York Mets who had never finished higher than 9th place in the 10-team National League, turned in one of the most unlikely championship runs in baseball history.
The clincher was a talented pitching staff that led the league in shutouts, in addition to a mid-season trade that brought in 34-year old Donn Clendenon.
BUY- Autographed Don Clendenon 1969 World Series baseball
1969 was the first year of divisional play in Major League Baseball and the Mets fell into the National League East camp. The club's opening weeks started looking like a repeat of the previous 7 seasons, which had never seen more victories than losses.
April closed out with no surprises as the New York squad came in with a win-loss record of 9-11. They were still fighting the demons of their inaugural year in 1962 when the newly-created franchise went 40-120, dropping more games than any other MLB team in the 20th century.
Gil Hodges, one of the original 1962 Mets, was brought in as manager. Hired from the Washington Senators on a 3-year, $150,000 contract, the Mets were hoping for a touch of magic to their beleaguered ball club after he led the Senators from 10th place to 6th.
Hodges was a fan favorite during his playing days with the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1950s. He still had ties to the borough with his ownership of bowling alleys and he seemed like a natural fit for the job.
When Hodges stepped into the new role, his predecessor, Wes Westrum, left him with a productive defense but a hollowed offense. By the end of the summer, Hodges would exceed all expecations and achieve the unachievable.
Pitchers Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Gary Gentry and rising hurler Nolan Ryan formed the defensive core of the Mets. Though, at bat, Cleon Jones and Tommy Agee were the only power hitters on the roster with the possible exception of Art Shamsky.
Hodges skillfully platooned his players and utilized all his assets in the dugout. But the team as a whole lacked prowess at the plate and two months into the season, he went shopping for a slugger.
For the month of May, the Mets were even at 12-12, helped by a club-record of 11 straight wins that went into June and included 3 walk-offs and a dominant pitching that averaged just 2 runs per game.
In between their losing stretches, Tom Seaver and his throwing peers showed the occasional brilliance on the mound, shutting out opponents and keeping the team on its ultimate trajectory.
By season-end, that pitching staff would lead both leagues with 28 shutout wins, double the number of shutout losses. Seaver ended up delivering 208 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.21, earning the first of his 3 Cy Young Awards.
June was the turning point in Mets history. The perennial losers who were the laughingstock of professional baseball closed out the month with twice as many games secured as were lost.
At 19-9, the franchise saw multiple home runs and leading RBI’s from the outfield duo, Agee and Jones. It would be the peak home run year in Agee’s career (26) and the best RBI season ever for Jones (75).
On June 15th, Don Clendenon became the last player to join the 1969 squad. Clendenon and Hodges had crossed paths during Spring training in 1964 when Hodges was starting out with the Senators. Clendenon, at the time with the Pittsburgh Pirates, had sought him out for tips on defending first base .
A former first baseman with oversized hands, the elder was renowned for his mastery of the position. Pee Wee Rees, a shortstop for the Dodgers and old teammate of Hodges, remarked once that “he could have played first base barehanded but wore a mitt because it was fashionable”.
Almost 34 years old, Clendenon was past his prime but Hodges wanted him for his experience and leadership, as much as for his offensive potential.
In future years, the Morehouse College graduate who was later accepted to Harvard Law School (did not finish) would show his leadership skills as a personnel consultant for large companies such as General Electric and Mead Corporation.
Clendenon played only 72 games in the remaining Mets season, but he produced the best slugging percentage (.455) since his peak in 1966.
Little did anyone at the Mets organization anticipate that the last person to put on the uniform would earn the series MVP just 4 months later.
Absent in the playoffs, Clendenon's unlikely moment came at the World Series when he knocked 3 home runs and led his teammates with 4 RBI's.
The Mets wrapped up the first half of 1969 with a 56.7% winning ratio. The press began taking notice, but a level-headed Hodges had no illusions, nor expressed any predictions.
Late in the summer, when a reporter asked him if he would call the Mets a team of destiny, he replied “No, I wouldn’t”. On the field, he continued to exercise his quiet but disciplined approach to the game.
When Cleon Jones failed to hustle for a ball in a match against the Astros, Hodges stepped to the outfield and deliberately walked the star player back to the dugout as a clear warning to the rest of the club. Later on, Hodges would be named bySporting News,''Manager of The Year'.
August and September closed out with unprecedented win-loss postings of 21-10 and 23-7, respectively. Throughout the dog days of summer, the Mets were consistently in 2nd place trailing the Chicago Cubs, though the gap grew to 9 games behind.
The breakout point began on September 6th and continued through the end of the month as the pitching crew manufactured 10 shutouts in a span of 25 games, forcing their opponents to 1.84 runs per game.
BUY- Autographed Tom Seaver Mets baseball
New York catapulted to 1st place on September 10th and flipped to an 8-game lead by the time they reached the pennant.
The Cinderella ball club finished the season 100-62 and went on to sweep the Atlanta Braves 3-0 for the National League title before upsetting the highly favored Baltimore Orioles 4-1 at the World Series.
In one unforgettable season, the luckless Mets had transformed into the turn-around Mets, who became the amazing Mets, and then the miracle Mets'!
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