History
October 16, 1969: The Miracle Mets Finish Their First World Series Title
Jerry Koosman goes the distance as New York overturns a three-run deficit to beat Baltimore 5-3 in Game 5 at Shea Stadium.
On October 16, 1969, the New York Mets beat Baltimore 5-3 at Shea Stadium to win their first World Series, completing a four-games-to-one victory. A franchise that began play in 1962 had become the first expansion team to win the championship.
Jerry Koosman pitched a complete game, recovering after Dave McNally and Frank Robinson homered during Baltimore’s three-run third inning. The Orioles held that lead until the sixth, when Donn Clendenon’s two-run home run brought the Mets back into the game.
Al Weis tied it with a seventh-inning homer. Ron Swoboda’s double put New York ahead in the eighth, and errors on Jerry Grote’s ground ball helped produce an insurance run. The SABR Games Project account reconstructs the decisive innings and the disputed hit-by-pitch that preceded Clendenon’s homer.
Cleon Jones caught Davey Johnson’s fly ball for the final out before a crowd of 57,397. The victory followed New York’s 73-89 season in 1968, turning the club’s rapid improvement under manager Gil Hodges into a championship.
