1969 Major League Baseball season
| 1969 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Games | 162 |
| Teams | 24 (12 per league) |
| TV partner | NBC |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Jeff Burroughs |
| Picked by | Washington Senators |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | AL: Harmon Killebrew (MIN) NL: Willie McCovey (SF) |
| Postseason | |
| AL champions | Baltimore Orioles |
| AL runners-up | Minnesota Twins |
| NL champions | New York Mets |
| NL runners-up | Atlanta Braves |
| World Series | |
| Champions | New York Mets |
| Runners-up | Baltimore Orioles |
| World Series MVP | Donn Clendenon (NYM) |
The 1969 major league baseball season began on April 7, 1969, while the regular season ended on October 2. The postseason began on October 4. The 66th World Series began with Game 1 on October 11 and ended with Game 5 on October 16, with the New York Mets of the National League defeating the Baltimore Orioles of the American League, four games to one, capturing the franchise's first championship in what is considered one of the greatest upsets in World Series history. The season was celebrated as the 100th anniversary of professional baseball, honoring the first professional touring baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869. The season also brought rule changes to counteract pitchers' dominance in recent seasons, such as lowering the pitcher's mound and shrinking the height of the strike zone.
The 40th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 23 at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., home of the Washington Senators. The National League won, 9–3.
The season saw the third round of expansion of the decade (and second for each league), with the enfranchisement of the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Pilots in the American League and the Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres in the National League. Both leagues increased to 12 teams; the National League had last been so large in 1899.
This would be the only season for the Pilots, as stadium problems and bankruptcy would lead them to move to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to become the Milwaukee Brewers the following season.
The expansion launched the "Divisional Era", as each league split its teams into two six-team divisions and scheduled more games between division rivals and fewer between interdivision teams. Each league implemented their own League Championship Series, which saw division champions face off in a best-of-five series (increased to seven in 1985) to determine pennant winners and World Series contenders.
The Baltimore Orioles won the AL East with a major-league-best 109–53 record, and then defeated the AL West champion Minnesota Twins in three games in the first American League Championship Series. The New York Mets won the NL East with an NL-best 100–62 record, and then defeated the NL West champion Atlanta Braves in three games in the first National League Championship Series. The "Miracle Mets", having joined the league in 1962, were the first expansion team to win a pennant.