The 1969 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 88th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 78th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 87–75 during the season and finished fourth in the newly established National League East, 13 games behind the eventual NL pennant and World Series champion New York Mets.
The resurgent Chicago Cubs, featuring players such as Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, and Billy Williams and helmed by fiery manager Leo Durocher, led the newly formed NL East for much of the summer before faltering. The Cardinals put on a mid-season surge, as their famous announcer Harry Caray (in what would prove to be his final season of 25 doing Cardinals broadcasts) began singing, "The Cardinals are coming, tra-la, tra-la". However, to the surprise of both Chicago and St. Louis, the Miracle Mets would ultimately win the division, as well as the league championship and the World Series.
Offseason October 14, 1968: Coco Laboy was drafted from the Cardinals by the Montreal Expos as the 54th pick in the 1968 MLB expansion draft.Coco Laboy page at Baseball Reference December 2, 1968: 1968 rule 5 draft Pedro Borbón was drafted from the Cardinals by the California Angels.Pedro Borbón page at Baseball Reference Bo Belinsky was drafted by the Cardinals from the Houston Astros.Bo Belinsky page at Baseball Reference February 12, 1969: Byron Browne was purchased by the Cardinals from the Houston Astros.Byron Browne page at Baseball Reference March 17, 1969: Orlando Cepeda was traded by the Cardinals to the Atlanta Braves for Joe Torre.Orlando Cepeda page at Baseball Reference March 29, 1969: Dennis Ribant was purchased by the Cardinals from the Kansas City Royals.Dennis Ribant page at Baseball Reference Prior to 1969 season: Tommy Cruz was signed by the Cardinals as an amateur free agent.Tommy Cruz page at Baseball-Reference
Regular season Pitcher Bob Gibson and outfielder Curt Flood won Gold Gloves this year.
1969 also marked the final season for the Busch Stadium grass before the installation of AstroTurf, which would be their home surface for the next 26 seasons.
After the season, long-time broadcaster Harry Caray's contract was not renewed. At a news conference shortly afterward, Caray pointedly and conspicuously drank from a can of Schlitz beer, at the time the main competitor to the brands of Anheuser-Busch (A–B), who owned the Cardinals. He said he did not know why he had been let go, but doubted the team's claim that the decision was made because he was hurting beer sales. Instead, he suspected that people believed rampant rumors that he had been having an affair with Susan Busch, daughter-in-law of team president and A–B CEO Gussie Busch.
Caray would be a broadcaster for the Oakland Athletics in 1970, before spending 27 seasons in Chicago with the White Sox (1971–1981) and the Cubs from 1982 until his death prior to the 1998 season.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Opening Day starters Lou Brock Curt Flood Bob Gibson Julián Javier Dal Maxvill Tim McCarver Vada Pinson Mike Shannon Joe Torre1969 St. Louis Cardinals Roster by Baseball Almanac
Notable transactions April 3, 1969: Bo Belinsky was purchased from the Cardinals by the California Angels. May 22, 1969: John Sipin and Sonny Ruberto were traded by the Cardinals to the San Diego Padres for Bill Davis and Jerry DaVanon.Sonny Ruberto page at Baseball Reference June 5, 1969: Bill Madlock was drafted by the Cardinals in the 11th round of the 1969 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign.Bill Madlock page at Baseball Reference June 14, 1969: Dennis Ribant was traded by the Cardinals to the Cincinnati Reds for Aurelio Monteagudo.
Roster 1969 St. Louis Cardinals Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
Coaches
Player stats = Indicates team leader
= Indicates league leader
Batting
Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C Tim McCarver 138 515 134 .260 7 51 1B Joe Torre 159 602 174 .289 18 101 2B Julián Javier 143 493 139 .282 10 42 SS Dal Maxvill 132 372 65 .175 2 32 3B Mike Shannon 150 551 140 .254 12 55 LF Lou Brock 157 655 195 .298 12 47 CF 153 606 173 .285 4 57 RF Vada Pinson 132 495 126 .255 10 70
Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI Steve Huntz 71 139 27 .194 3 13 Phil Gagliano 62 128 29 .227 1 10 Joe Hague 40 100 17 .170 2 8 63 98 26 .265 2 10 Bill White 49 57 12 .211 0 4 22 53 12 .226 1 7 Dave Ricketts 30 44 12 .273 0 5 Jim Hicks 19 44 8 .182 1 3 16 40 12 .300 1 7 Bob Johnson 19 29 6 .207 1 2 Leron Lee 7 23 5 .217 0 0 Chip Coulter 6 19 6 .316 0 4 Ted Simmons 5 14 3 .214 0 3 Boots Day 11 6 0 .000 0 0 Joe Nossek 9 5 1 .200 0 0
Pitching
Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 35 314.0 20 13 2.18 269 Steve Carlton 31 236.1 17 11 2.17 210 36 227.2 15 13 3.52 126 Santiago Guzmán 1 7.1 0 1 4.91 7 Jerry Reuss 1 7.0 1 0 0.00 3 Reggie Cleveland 1 4.0 0 0 9.00 3
Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Ray Washburn 28 132.1 3 8 3.06 80 Chuck Taylor 27 126.2 7 5 2.56 62 Mike Torrez 24 107.2 10 4 3.59 61 Dave Giusti 22 99.2 3 7 3.61 62 Jim Ellis 2 5.1 0 0 1.69 0
Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO Joe Hoerner 45 2 3 15 2.87 35 Mudcat Grant 30 7 5 7 4.12 35 Ron Willis 26 1 2 0 4.18 23 Gary Waslewski 12 0 2 1 3.92 16 Mel Nelson 8 0 1 0 11.81 3 7 1 0 0 0.93 7 Tom Hilgendorf 6 0 0 2 1.42 2 Dennis Ribant 1 0 0 0 13.50 0 1 0 0 0 inf 0
Awards and honors Lou Brock, League leader, Stolen Bases Bob Gibson, Pitcher, Gold Glove Award Curt Flood, Outfield, Gold Glove Award
All-Star Game Steve Carlton, P, Starter Bob Gibson, P, Reserve
Farm system
Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
Notes
References
External links 1969 St. Louis Cardinals at Baseball Reference 1969 St. Louis Cardinals team page at www.baseball-almanac.com