Miracle: A Look at the 1969 New York Mets

The 1960s saw a huge expansion boom in professional sports, and Major League Baseball was definitely no exception. MLB teams were relocating in the 1950s, but the 1960s saw teams placed all over the continent. By the end of the 1968 season, there were 20 teams in MLB, 10 in each league. They were not done, though, as 1969 saw four more teams added; the American League saw the debuts of the Kansas City Royals (one year after the Athletics left Kansas City and moved to Oakland) and the Seattle Pilots (who moved to Milwaukee a year later and became the Brewers), while the National League's newest teams were the San Diego Padres and the Montréal Expos.

With a dozen teams in each league, MLB decided to divide each league into two divisions, East and West, thus marking the official birth of Divisional Play in baseball. In addition, each league now had two first place teams, leading to a change in the postseason format. From 1903-1968, a team won their pennant by finishing in first place in the league standings, but beginning with the 1969 season, the winners of the East and West Divisions in each league would face each other in the League Championship Series, marking the official birth of the MLB Playoffs, as the World Series originally served as the only postseason round for 66 seasons. The League Championship Series (LCS for short) was played under a best-of-five format (until 1985, when it became best-of-seven), with the winners taking their respective pennants and advancing to the World Series.

I mentioned expansion earlier. One of the many teams who debuted in the expansion-filled 1960s was the New York Mets, who filled a void with their debuts. With the Dodgers and Giants relocating from New York City to California, the New York Yankees played three seasons as The Big Apple's lone baseball franchise. That would change in 1962, when the Mets debuted and served as the National League's New York franchise, playing in Queens. It was not a good debut for the Mets, as their first season in 1962 saw them lose 120 games, which still stands as the MLB record, though the 2003 Detroit Tigers came very close to that number. Out of their first seven seasons, five of them saw the Mets lose 100+ games, with their best season during that stretch being the 1968 campaign, which saw them go 73-89.

1969 saw the Mets placed in the newly formed National League East, along with the expansion Expos, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Chicago Cubs, and the St. Louis Cardinals. Even so, it looked like it would be another disaster for the Mets, who were in third place in the NL East on August 14--ten games behind the Chicago Cubs. How did the Mets respond? Oh, nothing much. All they did was win 38 of their final 49 games, and capitalize on the Cubs' big time collapse, resulting in the Mets taking the NL East by eight games. That's all.

The Mets had a motley crew of hitters, but when it came to the pitching, one man led the charge: George Thomas Seaver. Nicknamed "Tom Terrfic," Seaver had a hell of a 1969 season, going 25-7 with a 2.11 ERA and 208 strikeouts. He lead the National League in wins that year, and he ended up winning his first of three NL Cy Young Awards that same season. The Mets finished at 100-62 that season, meaning that an even one quarter of the team's wins belonged to Seaver. In 20 seasons, Seaver won 311 games, which is 18th on the all-time wins list.

The Mets faced off against the NL West Champion Atlanta Braves (yes, the Braves and the Cincinnati Reds were actually in the National League West back then) in the inaugural National League Championship Series, and had home field advantage due to having the better record. Despite this, the best-of-five LCS was played under the 2-3 format, with the team with the better record hosting the last three games, meaning that Games One and Two took place in Atlanta. This was no problem for the Mets, as they took both road games in the series, giving them the chance to take the pennant on their home field. Game Three saw the iconic Nolan Ryan pitch seven innings of relief, and end up as the winning pitcher in a 7-4 win that gave the Mets their first pennant in their brief franchise history.

The Mets faced off against the Baltimore Orioles, who swept the Oakland Athletics in the inaugural American League Championship Series for their second pennant since moving to Baltimore from St. Louis. The Orioles had home field advantage, and they managed to defeat "Tom Terrific" in Game One, only to be dominated by Jerry Koosman in Game Two. The Series was 1-1 heading to Queens, and Game Three saw Gary Gentry pitch 6 2/3 of shutout ball (as well as drive in two runs), en route to a 5-0 victory. Game Four went to extra innings, and it saw Seaver pitch another gem, while J.C. Martin drove in the winning run on a sacrifice bunt, sealing a 2-1 victory. The Mets moved one win away from their first World Series crown, but they were down 3-0 entering the sixth inning, which saw the Mets plate a pair, and then tie it in the seventh, before Ron Swoboda drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth, and later scored afterwards to make it 5-3. The score held up, and the "Miracle Mets" took the Fall Classic.

The Mets clinched their first World Championship on October 16, 1969, doing so in their eighth season of play, which was the fastest to a championship until the Florida Marlins won in their fifth season. Donn Clendenon was named as the World Series MVP, as he hit three home runs in the short Series. Clendenon played his first eight MLB seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, with 1969 seeing him on the Expos via the expansion draft. Before the 1969 season began, Clendenon was traded to the Houston Astros, but refused to play on the team due to Harry Walker being the manager, as Walker was a known racist. He ended up remaining on the Expos until he was dealt to the Mets in June of that year, leading to his championship and Series MVP honors. Clendenon played two more seasons with the Mets before ending his career with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1972.

This was the only time in the legendary career of Nolan Ryan that he ever appeared in a World Series--playing for the Angels, Rangers, and Astros will do that. The Mets would reach the World Series four more times in their franchise history, with 1973's pennant being known for Tug McGraw's "Ya Gotta Believe!" rallying cry. Their only other World Championship came in the very memorable 1986 Classic, and they would return to the World Series in 2000 (the most recent Subway Series) and 2015.

Of all teams, the New York Mets became champions in a newly transformed MLB, which saw the introduction of divisions and a new opening postseason round. Their big comeback still gets talked about even to this day, going from 10 games out with a month and a half to go, to ending the season as champions of baseball. Without question, the story of the "Miracle Mets" is definitely one of the greatest tales in the sports lengthy history.