As I’m observing my 40th birthday this week, I thought I’d have a look see at the 1969 Dodgers season. This was the 7th year in Dodger Stadium and 11th in California.
100th anniversary celebrations for MLB saw the addition of four expansion teams in 1969: the KC Royals and Seattle Pilots in the AL, and the Padres and Montreal Expos in the NL.
Not a great finish for the Dodgers in 1969: 4th place in the newly formed National League West division. The teams in the NL West from 1969-1992:
- Atlanta Braves
- Cincinnati Reds
- Houston Astros
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- San Diego Padres
- San Francisco Giants
(Colorado was added in 1993, while the Braves, Reds, and Astros moved away in 1994. Arizona came in 1998.)
The Dodgers finished 85-77, eight games back from the division-winning Braves. The opening day Dodger starters:
- CF Willie Crawford
- RF Len Gabrielson
- 3B Bill Sudakis
- 1B Ron Fairly
- LF Andy Kosco
- C Tom Haller
- 2B Jim Lefebvre
- SS Ted Sizemore
- P Don Drysdale
That was April 7, 1969, at Cincy. LA won, 3-2. Don Drysdale won, with Bill Singer getting the save — the first official save in baseball history.
While the 4th-place finish wasn’t great, it was a bit of an improvement over their awful 76-86 and 73-89 performances the previous two years. One step closer to the glory years of the mid-to-late 1970s.
Two highlights from 1969:
- On January 21st, Roy Campanella was elected to the Hall of Fame.
- On August 11th, Don Drysdale retired. He was the last active Dodger who had also played in Brooklyn.
Transactions that year (from Wikipedia):
- March 30: Acquired Jimmie Schaffer from the Cincinnati Reds for Ted Savage
- April 17: Acquired Al McBean from the San Diego Padres for Tommy Dean and Leon Everitt
- June 5: Bob Randall was drafted by the Dodgers in the 2nd round of the 1969 Major League Baseball Draft (Secondary Phase).
- June 11: Acquired Maury Wills and Manny Mota from the Montreal Expos for Ron Fairly and Paul Popovich
- August 15: Acquired Jim Bunning from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Ron Mitchell, Chuck Coggin and cash
- September 1: Acquired Jack Jenkins from the Washington Senators for cash
More info: