1969 Major League Baseball postseason

{{CSS crop {{Location map+ | USA {{Location map~ | USA {{Location map~ | USA The American and National leagues were split into two divisions per league. With the exception of 1981, until the addition of the wild card in 1995 only the two division winners in each league could qualify for the postseason. The following teams qualified for the postseason: American League • Baltimore Orioles – 109–53, AL East champions • Minnesota Twins – 97–65, AL West champions National League • New York Mets – 100–62, NL East champions • Atlanta Braves – 93–69, NL West champions ==Playoff bracket==

==American League Championship Series==

Minnesota Twins vs. Baltimore Orioles This was the first postseason meeting between the Twins and Orioles, and the first of thirteen straight ALCS series to feature either the Orioles, Oakland Athletics or Kansas City Royals. The Orioles swept the Twins to advance to the World Series for the second time in four years. The Orioles took Game 1 after twelve innings thanks to a sacrifice bunt from Paul Blair which drove in Mark Belanger. In Game 2, Dave McNally set a postseason record for the longest complete game shutout by pitching eleven shutout innings as the Orioles won 1–0 to take a 2–0 series lead headed to Bloomington. In Game 3, Jim Palmer pitched another complete game as the Orioles blew out the Twins to secure the pennant. This was the first of three consecutive AL pennants won by the Orioles. The next year, the Orioles swept the Twins again to capture the pennant and then a World Series title, and in 1971 the Orioles swept the Oakland Athletics for their third straight pennant before falling in the World Series. ==National League Championship Series==

New York Mets vs. Atlanta Braves This was the first postseason meeting in the history of the Braves-Mets rivalry, and the first postseason series ever played in the Deep South. The Mets swept the Braves to advance to their first World Series in franchise history. In Atlanta for Game 1, the Braves held a 5–4 lead after seven innings. However, the Mets rallied with five unanswered runs in the top of the eighth to steal the first ever NLCS game on the road. Game 2 was an offensive slugfest that was won by the Mets as Ken Boswell, Tommie Agee, and Cleon Jones helped pad the Mets’ lead with a trio of two-run home runs despite the Braves best attempts to rally. When the series shifted to Queens, Nolan Ryan helped lead the Mets' to the pennant in Game 3 with a solid seven-inning performance, winning his first postseason game. Game 3 would ultimately be Hank Aaron’s final postseason game. The Mets would win their next pennant in 1973 in one of the biggest upsets in postseason history, as the 82-win Mets upset a 99-win Cincinnati Reds team in five games before coming up short in the World Series. The Braves would return to the NLCS in 1982, but were swept by the eventual World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals. Both teams would meet again three decades later in the NLCS in 1999, which the Braves would win in six games before falling in the World Series. ==1969 World Series==

Baltimore Orioles (AL) vs. New York Mets (NL) This was the fourth meeting between teams from Baltimore and New York City for a major professional sports championship, which previously occurred in the 1958 and 1959 NFL Championship Games, and Super Bowl III earlier in the year (in which the New York Jets famously upset the Baltimore Colts). Considered by many to be one of the biggest upsets in World Series history, the Mets shocked the 109-win Orioles in five games to win their first championship in franchise history, becoming the first expansion team to win a World Series. Mike Cuellar pitched a complete game as the Orioles took Game 1 by three runs. In Game 2, the Mets jumped out to an early lead thanks to a home run by Donn Clendenon, but the Orioles tied the game in the bottom of the seventh off an RBI single from Brooks Robinson. However, the Mets prevailed as an RBI single from Al Weis in the top of the ninth to put them in the lead for good. When the series moved to Queens for Game 3, the Mets shutout the Orioles, capped off by Nolan Ryan pitching the final innings, earning Ryan a save in his only World Series appearance. In Game 4, Tom Seaver pitched a complete game through ten innings in a 2-1 Mets victory as an error by Orioles’ reliever Pete Richert allowed Rod Gaspar to score. In Game 5, the Orioles jumped out to an early 3–0 lead, however the Mets scored five unanswered runs across the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to take the lead for good, capped off by an RBI from Jerry Grote, which resulted in a rare double error by Baltimore’s Boog Powell and Eddie Watt. Jerry Koosman then silenced the Oriole bats in the top of the ninth to secure the title. Along with the New York Jets winning Super Bowl III earlier in the year against the Baltimore Colts, the New York metropolitan area had both World Series and Super Bowl champions in the same season or calendar year. The Mets would return to the World Series in 1973 as even greater underdogs than in 1969, but they would fall to the Oakland Athletics in seven games, becoming the second victim of an Athletics three-peat from 1972 to 1974. They would eventually win the World Series again in 1986 against the Boston Red Sox in seven games after being a strike away from elimination twice in Game 6. This was the first of three straight World Series appearances for the Orioles - the Orioles would redeem themselves the following year by defeating the Cincinnati Reds in five games to win their second title. They also made the World Series in 1971, but would fall to the Pittsburgh Pirates in seven games. ==Broadcasting==

NBC televised all postseason games nationally in the United States. Each team's local broadcaster also televised coverage of LCS games. ==References==