1969 Washington Senators season

1969 Washington Senators
LeagueAmerican League
DivisionEast
BallparkRFK Stadium
CityWashington, D.C.
OwnersBob Short
ManagersTed Williams
TelevisionWTOP
RadioWWDC (FM)
(Ron Menchine, Shelby Whitfield, Warner Wolf)
← 1968 Seasons 1970 →

The 1969 Washington Senators season involved the Senators finishing fourth in the newly established American League East with a record of 86 wins and 76 losses.

Offseason

Regular season

The year 1969 was a turning point in Washington sports history. The Senators named Ted Williams as manager. The Washington Redskins hired Vince Lombardi as Head Coach and he had brought a winning attitude to the nation's capital. In the same year, the nearby University of Maryland had hired Lefty Driesell to coach basketball. It marked a renaissance in sports interest in America's most transient of cities.

The hiring of Ted Williams sparked at least increased curiosity in the team. Williams' fanatical approach to hitting helped improve the Senators offense considerably, and inspired the team to its one and only winning season during its 11-year stay in Washington. The Senators won 86 games, 21 more than in 1968, and improved from last place in the ten-team 1968 American League to one game out of third in the new AL East division. For this remarkable turnaround, Williams was voted American League Manager of the Year. As a result, attendance at RFK Stadium improved to over 900,000, the highest attendance for the "new" Senators and, at the time, the highest in Washington's baseball history.

Season standings

AL East 		W L Pct. GB Home Road
Baltimore Orioles 109 53 0.673 — 60–21 49–32
Detroit Tigers 90 72 0.556 19 46–35 44–37
Boston Red Sox 87 75 0.537 22 46–35 41–40
Washington Senators 86 76 0.531 23 47–34 39–42
New York Yankees 80 81 0.497 28½ 48–32 32–49
Cleveland Indians 62 99 0.385 46½ 33–48 29–51

Record vs. opponents

1969 American League records

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team BAL BOS CAL CWS CLE DET KC MIN NYY OAK SEP WSH
Baltimore — 10–8 6–6 9–3 13–5 11–7 11–1 8–4 11–7 8–4 9–3 13–5
Boston 8–10 — 8–4 5–7 12–6 10–8 10–2 7–5 11–7 4–8 6–6 6–12
California 6–6 4–8 — 9–9 8–4 5–7 9–9 7–11 3–9 6–12 9–9–1 5–7
Chicago 3–9 7–5 9–9 — 8–4 3–9 8–10 5–13 3–9 8–10 10–8 4–8
Cleveland 5–13 6–12 4–8 4–8 — 7–11 7–5 5–7 9–8 5–7 7–5 3–15
Detroit 7–11 8–10 7–5 9–3 11–7 — 8–4 6–6 10–8 7–5 10–2 7–11
Kansas City 1–11 2–10 9–9 10–8 5–7 4–8 — 8–10 5–7–1 8–10 10–8 7–5
Minnesota 4–8 5–7 11–7 13–5 7–5 6–6 10–8 — 10–2 13–5 12–6 6–6
New York 7–11 7–11 9–3 9–3 8–9 8–10 7–5–1 2–10 — 6–6 7–5 10–8
Oakland 4–8 8–4 12–6 10–8 7–5 5–7 10–8 5–13 6–6 — 13–5 8–4
Seattle 3–9 6–6 9–9–1 8–10 5–7 2–10 8–10 6–12 5–7 5–13 — 7–5
Washington 5–13 12–6 7–5 8–4 15–3 11–7 5–7 6–6 8–10 4–8 5–7 —


Opening Day starters

President Richard Nixon throwing out the first pitch of the Senators' season in April 1969; manager Ted Williams is at left; owner Bob Short at right.

[2]

Notable transactions

Roster

1969 Washington Senators
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Game log

Regular season

1969 regular season game log: 86–76 (Home: 47–34; Away: 39–42)
April: 12–11 (Home: 5–5; Away: 7–6)
# Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
1 April 7 1:30 p.m. EST Yankees L 4–8 Stottlemyre (1–0) Pascual (0–1) – 2:47 45,113 0–1 L1
2 April 9 8:05 p.m. EST Yankees W 6–4 Coleman (1–0) Bahnsen (0–1) – 2:00 15,162 1–1 W1
3 April 10 1:30 p.m. EST Yankees W 9–6 Hannan (1–0) Peterson (0–1) Higgins (1) 2:33 3,971 2–1 W2
4 April 11 8:00 p.m. EST @ Orioles W 4–0 Moore (1–0) Hardin (0–1) Higgins (2) 2:15 8,415 3–1 W3
5 April 12 2:15 p.m. EST @ Orioles L 0–9 McNally (1–0) Pascual (0–2) – 2:16 6,379 3–2 L1
6 April 13 2:00 p.m. EST @ Orioles L 0–2 Palmer (1–0) Coleman (1–1) – 2:03 – 3–3 L2
7 April 13 4:38 p.m. EST @ Orioles L 0–9 Phoebus (1–0) Bosman (0–1) – 2:07 20,483 3–4 L3
8 April 15 2:00 p.m. EST @ Yankees L 2–8 Peterson (1–1) Bertaina (0–1) – 2:32 13,889 3–5 L4
– April 16 @ Yankees Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: April 17)
9 April 17 1:00 p.m. EST @ Yankees L 3–7 (10) Stottlemyre (3–0) Higgins (0–1) – 2:28 – 3–6 L5
10 April 17 4:03 p.m. EST @ Yankees W 5–2 Moore (2–0) Bahnsen (0–3) Higgins (3) 2:17 6,883 4–6 W1
11 April 18 8:05 p.m. EST Orioles L 0–6 Phoebus (2–0) Coleman (1–2) – 2:27 4,457 4–7 L1
12 April 19 2:15 p.m. EST Orioles W 7–5 Bosman (1–1) Cuellar (0–2) Higgins (4) 2:20 5,495 5–7 W1
13 April 20 1:00 p.m. EST Orioles L 1–2 McNally (2–0) Hannan (1–1) Watt (2) 2:52 – 5–8 L1
14 April 20 4:27 p.m. EST Orioles W 5–2 Bertaina (1–1) Hardin (0–2) Humphreys (1) 2:19 18,055 6–8 W1
15 April 21 8:05 p.m. EST Tigers L 0–2 Sparma (2–0) Moore (2–1) – 2:15 3,813 6–9 L1
16 April 22 8:05 p.m. EST Tigers L 2–4 Hiller (1–0) Pascual (0–3) McMahon (3) 2:48 4,922 6–10 L2
– April 24 @ Red Sox Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: July 5)
21 April 28 8:00 p.m. EDT @ Tigers W 6–1 Pascual (1–3) Wilson (1–3) Bosman (1) 2:39 7,353 11–10 W5
22 April 29 8:00 p.m. EDT @ Tigers L 4–5 Radatz (1–0) Bertaina (1–2) – 2:24 6,986 11–11 L1
May: 12–16 (Home: 9–7; Away: 3–9)
# Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
June: 14–12 (Home: 6–7; Away: 8–5)
# Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
– June 15 Angels Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: September 2)
64 June 17 8:05 p.m. EDT Orioles L 1–5 Cuellar (0–2) Shellenback (1–2) – 2:26 22,134 31–33 L2
65 June 18 8:05 p.m. EDT Orioles L 1–3 Hardin (3–3) Moore (5–2) Hall (2) 2:11 10,420 31–34 L3
66 June 19 8:05 p.m. EDT Orioles L 0–2 McNally (10–0) Higgins (4–7) – 2:04 13,376 31–35 L4
67 June 20 8:00 p.m. EDT @ Tigers W 7–2 (10) Knowles (3–0) McMahon (1–4) – 3:07 27,725 32–35 W1
68 June 21 1:15 p.m. EDT @ Tigers L 5–9 Lolich (8–1) Humphreys (1–2) – 2:31 25,340 32–36 L1
69 June 22 1:30 p.m. EDT @ Tigers W 9–4 Higgins (5–7) Dobson (2–5) – 2:51 – 33–36 W1
70 June 22 4:56 p.m. EDT @ Tigers W 9–5 (6) Moore (6–2) Sparma (4–3) – 1:51 52,721 34–36 W2
71 June 23 8:00 p.m. EDT @ Orioles L 3–5 Palmer (9–2) Knowles (3–1) Richert (6) 1:57 7,830 34–37 L1
72 June 24 8:00 p.m. EDT @ Orioles L 3–6 (11) Hall (4–2) Shellenback (1–3) – 3:06 14,763 34–38 L2
73 June 25 8:00 p.m. EDT @ Orioles W 11–8 Humphreys (2–2) Hardin (3–4) Knowles (2) 2:41 11,130 35–38 W1
– June 30 @ Indians Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: July 1)
July: 16–15 (Home: 4–3; Away: 12–12)
# Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
90 July 11 8:05 p.m. EDT Yankees L 3–4 Stottlemyre (13–6) Moore (7–4) – 2:13 22,254 46–44 L1
91 July 12 2:15 p.m. EDT Yankees L 1–3 Burbach (6–7) Bosman (6–3) Aker (7) 2:39 17,818 46–45 L2
92 July 13 1:00 p.m. EDT Yankees W 5–4 Cox (7–1) Peterson (9–11) – 2:19 – 47–45 W1
93 July 13 3:54 p.m. EDT Yankees W 10–1 Shellenback (2–4) Downing (1–3) – 2:22 31,700 48–45 W2
94 July 14 8:05 p.m. EDT Tigers W 3–0 Coleman (6–7) Sparma (5–7) – 2:50 23,831 49–45 W3
95 July 15 8:05 p.m. EDT Tigers W 7–3 Moore (8–4) Hiller (2–3) Baldwin (3) 2:28 16,122 50–45 W4
96 July 16 8:05 p.m. EDT Tigers L 0–3 Lolich (8–1) Bosman (6–4) – 2:27 21,568 50–46 L1
97 July 17 8:05 p.m. EDT Tigers L 3–4 Wilson (8–7) Cox (7–2) McMahon (8) 2:31 24,701 50–47 L2
98 July 18 8:00 p.m. EDT @ Yankees L 0–5 Peterson (10–11) Shellenback (2–5) – 2:13 11,002 50–48 L3
99 July 19 5:00 p.m. EDT @ Yankees L 0–9 Stottlemyre (14–7) Moore (8–5) – 2:12 – 50–49 L4
100 July 19 7:47 p.m. EDT @ Yankees W 4–0 Coleman (7–7) Bahnsen (5–11) – 2:37 16,547 51–49 W1
101 July 20 2:00 p.m. EDT @ Yankees L 2–3 (11) Aker (5–2) Cox (7–3) – 3:17 32,933 51–50 L1
40th All-Star Game in Washington, DC
August: 14–11 (Home: 8–6; Away: 6–5)
# Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
September: 17–11 (Home: 12–4; Away: 5–7)
# Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
– September 8 @ Orioles Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: September 9)
141 September 9 8:00 p.m. EDT @ Orioles L 1–6 Cuellar (21–10) Carlos (5–4) – 2:25 – 72–69 L1
142 September 9 8:00 p.m. EDT @ Orioles L 2–3 Phoebus (13–6) Coleman (10–13) Watt (14) 2:39 10,747 72–70 L2
143 September 10 8:05 p.m. EDT Yankees W 6–1 Bosman (12–5) Stottlemyre (18–13) – 2:10 6,016 73–70 W1
144 September 11 8:05 p.m. EDT Yankees W 7–3 Hannan (6–5) Bahnsen (9–14) Knowles (12) 2:10 5,389 74–70 W2
145 September 12 8:05 p.m. EDT Tigers W 4–3 Cox (12–5) Wilson (12–10) – 2:17 9,398 75–70 W3
146 September 13 2:15 p.m. EDT Tigers W 11–6 Knowles (1–2) Timmermann (3–3) – 2:56 9,921 76–70 W4
147 September 14 1:30 p.m. EDT Tigers L 4–7 (12) Dobson (5–10) Dukes (0–1) Hiller (4) 3:58 12,114 76–71 L1
148 September 15 8:05 p.m. EDT Orioles W 3–2 Humphreys (3–3) Palmer (14–3) – 1:51 5,376 77–71 W1
149 September 16 8:05 p.m. EDT Orioles L 0–1 McNally (19–6) Hannan (6–6) Watt (16) 2:41 8,165 77–72 L1
150 September 17 8:00 p.m. EDT @ Yankees L 1–2 (5) Peterson (16–15) Cox (12–6) – 1:17 5,025 77–73 L2
151 September 18 8:00 p.m. EDT @ Yankees L 3–4 Stottlemyre (19–13) Moore (8–8) – 2:13 6,020 77–74 L3
– September 23 @ Tigers Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: September 24)
154 September 24 5:30 p.m. EDT @ Tigers W 8–4 Hannan (7–6) McLain (23–9) Shellenback (1) 2:38 – 79–75 W1
155 September 24 8:43 p.m. EDT @ Tigers W 7–4 Higgins (10–9) Lolich (18–10) Knowles (13) 2:44 14,032 80–75

W2

156 September 25 1:30 p.m. EDT @ Tigers W 7–2 Bosman (13–5) Kilkenny (7–6) – 2:18 4,589 81–75

W3

October: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Away: 0–0)
# Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/
Streak
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement
Bold = Senators team member

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases

Pos Player G AB R H Avg. HR RBI SB
C Paul Casanova 124 379 26 82 .216 4 37 0
1B Mike Epstein 131 403 73 112 .278 30 85 2
2B Bernie Allen 122 365 33 90 .247 9 45 5
3B Ken McMullen 158 562 83 153 .272 19 87 4
SS Ed Brinkman 151 576 71 153 .266 2 43 2
LF Frank Howard 161 592 111 175 .296 48 111 1
CF Del Unser 153 581 69 166 .286 7 57 8
RF Lee Maye 71 238 41 69 .290 9 26 1

[6]

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases

Player G AB R H Avg. HR RBI SB
Hank Allen 109 271 42 75 .277 1 17 12
Tim Cullen 119 249 22 52 .209 1 15 1
Brant Alyea 104 237 29 59 .249 11 40 1
Ed Stroud 123 206 35 52 .252 4 29 12
Jim French 63 158 14 29 .184 2 13 1
Zoilo Versalles 31 75 9 20 .267 0 6 1
Sam Bowens 33 57 6 11 .193 0 4 1
Dick Billings 27 37 3 5 .135 0 0 0
Gary Holman 41 31 1 5 .161 0 2 0
Dick Smith 21 28 2 3 .107 0 0 0
Doug Camilli 1 3 0 1 .333 0 0 0
Toby Harrah 8 1 4 0 .000 0 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
Joe Coleman 40 247.2 12 13 3.27 182
Dick Bosman 31 193.0 14 5 2.19 99
Jim Hannan 35 158.1 7 6 3.64 72
Barry Moore 31 134.0 9 8 4.30 51
Camilo Pascual 14 55.1 2 5 6.83 34

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
Casey Cox 52 171.2 12 7 2.78 73
Jim Shellenback 30 84.2 4 7 4.04 50
Frank Bertaina 14 35.2 1 3 6.56 25
Cisco Carlos 6 17.2 1 1 4.58 5

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
Dennis Higgins 55 10 9 16 3.48 71
Darold Knowles 53 9 2 13 2.24 59
Bob Humphreys 47 3 3 5 3.05 43
Dave Baldwin 43 2 4 4 4.05 51
Jim Miles 10 0 1 0 6.20 15
Jan Dukes 8 0 2 0 2.45 3
Frank Kreutzer 4 0 0 0 4.50 2

Awards and honors

  • Del Unser, American League Leader, Triples (8)[7]
  • Del Unser, American League Record, Fewest Triples in One Season by an American League Leader (8)[7]
  • Ted Williams, Associated Press AL Manager of the Year

All-Star Game

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Buffalo Bisons International League Héctor López
AA Savannah Senators Southern League Hub Kittle
A Burlington Senators Carolina League Buddy Hicks and Bill Haywood
A Shelby Senators Western Carolinas League Joe Klein
Rookie Wytheville Senators Appalachian League Dick Gernert

Savannah affiliation shared with Houston Astros

Notes

  1. ^ John Orsino at Baseball-Reference
  2. ^ "New York Yankees at Washington Senators Box Score, April 7, 1969".
  3. ^ Dave Moates at Baseball Reference
  4. ^ Dave Criscione at Baseball Reference
  5. ^ Lee Maye at Baseball Reference
  6. ^ "1969 Washington Senators Statistics".
  7. ^ a b Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.96, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0

References

  • 1969 Washington Senators at Baseball Reference
  • 1969 Washington Senators at Baseball Almanac
  • Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-1-932391-17-6.
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