1969 Pittsburgh Pirates Season
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1969 Pittsburgh Pirates Season
The 1969 Pittsburgh Pirates season was a season in American baseball. It consisted of the Pirates finishing in third place in the newly established National League East, twelve games behind the eventual World Series champion New York Mets. The Pirates were managed by Larry Shepard, and played their home games at Forbes Field, which was in its final full season of operation, before moving into their new facility in the middle of the following season. Offseason * October 14, 1968: Manny Mota was drafted from the Pirates by the Montreal Expos as the 2nd pick in the 1968 MLB expansion draft. * October 14, 1968: Donn Clendenon was drafted from the Pirates by the Montreal Expos as the 11th pick in the 1968 MLB expansion draft. * October 14, 1968: Maury Wills was drafted from the Pirates by the Montreal Expos as the 21st pick in the 1968 MLB expansion draft. * October 14, 1968: Dave Roberts was drafted from the Pirates by the San Diego Padres as the 39th pick in the 1968 MLB expansio ...
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National League East
The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title. The division was created when the National League (along with the American League) added two expansion teams and divided into two divisions, East and West effective for the 1969 season. The National League's geographical alignment was rather peculiar as its partitioning was really more north and south instead of east and west. Two teams in the Eastern Time Zone, the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds, were in the same division as teams on the Pacific coast. This was due to the demands of the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, who refused to support expansion unless they were promised they would be kept together in the newly created East division. During the two-division era, from 1969 to 1993, the Phillies–Pirates rivalry, Philadelphia Phillies and the Pittsburgh Pirates toget ...
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Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Association in 1881 under the name Pittsburgh Allegheny, the club joined the National League in 1887 and was a member of the National League East from 1969 through 1993. The Pirates have won five World Series championships, nine National League pennants, nine National League East division titles and made three appearances in the Wild Card Game. Despite struggling in the 1880s and 1890s, the Pirates were among the best teams in baseball shortly after the turn of the 20th century. They won three consecutive NL titles from 1901 to 1903, played in the inaugural World Series in 1903 and won their first World Series in 1909 behind Honus Wagner. The Pirates took part in arguably the most famous World Series ending, winning the 1960 World Series agains ...
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George Spriggs (baseball)
George Herman Spriggs (May 22, 1937 – December 22, 2020) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Kansas City Royals in parts of four seasons spanning 1965–1970. Spriggs was signed as an amateur free agent prior to the season by the Pittsburgh Pirates after attending Wiley H. Bates High School in Annapolis, MD. Previously, Spriggs played for various Negro league clubs, most prominently with the Detroit-New Orleans Stars in 1960. In 1966, during his minor league career, Spriggs led the International League with 34 stolen bases and hit .300 for the Columbus Jets. Overall, in seasons years with the Jets he stole 170 bases. In 1967, he was selected by the Boston Red Sox during the Rule 5 draft, but was returned to the Pirates in April 1968 when he did not make the Red Sox major league roster. His contract then was purchased by the Kansas City Royals in the month of October from the Pirates. Afterwards, the New York Mets purc ...
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Ron Slocum
Ronald Reece Slocum (July 2, 1945 — August 25, 1988) was an American professional baseball player. Slocum appeared in 80 games for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball during that team's first three seasons of existence, including the entire season. A catcher and third baseman when he entered professional baseball, he was a utility infielder and backup catcher for San Diego, playing a near-equal number of games at third base, catcher, shortstop and second base. He threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . Slocum attended Helix High School. He was initially signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates and spent five seasons (1964–1968) in their minor league system before his newly created hometown team, the MLB Padres, chose him as the 55th overall selection in the National League's portion of the 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft. Slocum spent the minor league season with the Double-A Elmira Pioneers before his recall by the Padres in September. Major L ...
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Al McBean
Alvin O'Neal McBean (born May 15, 1938) is a former professional baseball player from the United States Virgin Islands. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher, most notably for the Pittsburgh Pirates with whom he played the majority of his career. St. Thomas tryouts McBean grew up playing baseball in his native Virgin Islands. He was discovered when the Pittsburgh Pirates held a tryout in St. Thomas in . Originally only there to take pictures for a local paper, McBean was convinced by friends to try out, and ended up receiving an invite to Spring training . Breaking in with the Pirates After three seasons in the Pirates' farm system, in which he went 28-21 with a 3.57 earned run average, McBean made his major league debut on July 2, in the first game of a doubleheader against the San Francisco Giants at Forbes Field. Entered a tied game, the first batter he faced, Ed Bailey, reached on an error by second baseman Bill Mazeroski. A double, wild pitch & single later, th ...
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San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL pennants—in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both years. As of 2022, they have had 16 winning seasons in franchise history. The Padres are one of two Major League Baseball teams (the other being the Los Angeles Angels) in California to originate from the state; the Athletics were originally from Philadelphia (and moved to the state from Kansas City), and the Dodgers and Giants are originally from two New York City boroughs—Brooklyn and Manhattan, respectively. As of 2022, the Padres are the only team in California not to have won a World Series. Following the relocation of the Chargers to Los Angeles in 2017, the Padres became the only franchise in the four major American professional sports leagues in the San Diego sports m ...
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Dave Roberts (pitcher)
David Arthur Roberts (September 11, 1944 – January 9, 2009) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1969 to 1981 for eight teams. He was second in the National League (NL) with a 2.10 earned run average (ERA) in for the San Diego Padres, after which he was traded to the Houston Astros, where he spent the four most productive years of his career. Roberts was also a member of the 1979 World Series winning Pittsburgh Pirates team. Over his major league career he won 103 games. Roberts was one of the best Jewish pitchers all-time in major league history through 2010, ranking fourth in career games (445; behind only Scott Schoeneweis, Ken Holtzman, and John Grabow), fourth in wins (103) and strikeouts (957) behind Sandy Koufax, Holtzman, and Steve Stone, and seventh in ERA (3.78). Early and personal life Roberts was born in Gallipolis, Ohio, and was Jewish. He attended George Washington elementary school, an ...
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Maury Wills
Maurice Morning Wills (October 2, 1932 – September 19, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) primarily for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1959 through 1966 and the latter part of 1969 through 1972 as a shortstop and switch-hitter; he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1967 and 1968, and the Montreal Expos the first part of 1969. Wills was an essential component of the Dodgers' championship teams in the mid-1960s, and is credited with reviving the stolen base as part of baseball strategy. Wills was the National League Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award, Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1962, stealing a record 104 bases to break the old modern era mark of 96, set by Ty Cobb in 1915. He was an Major League Baseball All-Star Game, All-Star for five seasons and seven All-Star Games, and was the first Major League Baseball All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award, MLB All-Star Game Most Valuable Player in 1 ...
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Donn Clendenon
Donn Alvin Clendenon (July 15, 1935 – September 17, 2005) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from to . He is most notable for his performance during the 1969 World Series when he won the World Series Most Valuable Player Award by hitting three home runs to help lead the team known as the Miracle Mets to an upset victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Early life Six months after Clendenon was born in Neosho, Missouri, his father, Claude, died from leukemia. Claude Clendenon was a mathematics and psychology professor and chairman of the mathematics department at Langston University, an all-black school in Langston, Oklahoma. Clendenon's mother, Helen, demanded high academic achievement from her son. When he was six years old, Clendenon's mother married former Negro league baseball player Nish Williams. In addition to academic excellence, Clendenon's new stepfather decided he was going to make his stepson into a baseba ...
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1968 MLB Expansion Draft
The 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft was conducted to stock up the rosters of four expansion teams in Major League Baseball created via the 1969 Major League Baseball expansion and which would begin play in the 1969 season. The expansion draft for the Montreal Expos and the San Diego Padres was held on October 14, 1968. The expansion draft for the Kansas City Royals and the Seattle Pilots was held on October 15, 1968. Background Montreal Expos On December 2, 1967, Gerry Snyder presented a bid for a Montreal franchise to Major League Baseball's team owners at their winter meetings in Mexico City. One potential wild card in Montreal's favor was that the chair of the National League's expansion committee was influential Los Angeles Dodgers president Walter O'Malley, under whom the minor league Montreal Royals had become affiliated with the Dodgers. On May 27, 1968, O'Malley announced that franchises were being awarded to Montreal and San Diego, beginning play the fol ...
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Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (NL) East division from 1969 until 2004. Following the 2004 season, the franchise relocated to Washington, D.C., and became the Washington Nationals. Immediately after the minor league Triple-A Montreal Royals folded in 1960, political leaders in Montreal sought an MLB franchise, and when the National League evaluated expansion candidates for the 1969 season, it awarded a team to Montreal. Named after the Expo 67 World's Fair, the Expos originally played at Jarry Park Stadium before moving to Olympic Stadium in 1977. The Expos failed to post a winning record in any of their first ten seasons. The team won its only division title in the strike-shortened season, but lost the 1981 National League Championship Seri ...
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Manny Mota
Manuel Rafael Mota Geronimo, more commonly known as Manny Mota (born February 18, 1938), is a Dominican former Major League Baseball outfielder who played 20 seasons for the San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates and Montreal Expos, as well as being a pinch hitting specialist with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He retired as a player at the age of 44. He was a coach for the Dodgers from 1980 through 2013. His 34 consecutive seasons as a Dodger coach is the longest in team history and the second-longest such streak in MLB history behind Nick Altrock, who spent 42 straight seasons listed as a coach for the old Washington Senators. Mota is currently a minor league hitting instructor and Spanish language television broadcaster for the Dodgers. Playing career San Francisco Giants Minor leagues At the age of 19, Mota signed as an amateur free agent with the New York Giants on February 21, 1957. He began his minor league career that season with the Class-D Michigan City White Caps of ...
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