1969 Major League Baseball postseason

The 1969 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 1969 season. It was the first edition of the new playoff system introduced by MLB, coinciding with the beginning of the "Divisional Era." Each league expanded from 10 teams to 12 teams and was divided into two 6-team divisions. The 162-game schedule stayed in place, but now each team played the other 5 teams in its own division 18 times each (90 games) and the 6 teams in its league's other division 12 times each (72 games). The winners of each division advanced to the postseason and faced each other in a League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that would face each other in the World Series.

In the inaugural edition of the MLB postseason, the American League teams included the Baltimore Orioles, who were making their second postseason appearance in the past four years, and the Minnesota Twins, who were making their second postseason appearance in the last five seasons. This was the first of two consecutive postseason appearances for both the Orioles and Twins.

In the National League, the New York Mets ended a streak of many losing seasons and made their first postseason appearance in franchise history, becoming the first expansion team to accomplish such a feat. The Atlanta Braves also made their first postseason appearance since 1958, when the team was based out of Milwaukee, marking the first playoff appearance by an Atlanta-based team in any of the four major leagues. This was Atlanta’s last postseason appearance until 1982.

This was the last time until 1979 where neither team from the previous year’s World Series appeared in the postseason.

The postseason began on October 4, 1969, two days after the end of the 1969 Major League Baseball season, and concluded on October 16, 1969, with the Mets upsetting the 109-win Orioles in five games in the 1969 World Series, to win their first ever World Series title.