# 1969 Los Angeles Dodgers season

The 1969 Los Angeles Dodgers finished in fourth place in the new National League West, eight games behind the Atlanta Braves. The Dodgers' record for 1969 was 85–77, which was nine wins better than 1968.

## Offseason

* October 21, 1968: Bob Bailey was purchased from the Dodgers by the Montreal Expos.
* October 21, 1968: Jim Ellis was traded by the Dodgers to St. Louis Cardinals for Pete Mikkelsen.
* December 4, 1968: Mike Kekich was traded by the Dodgers to the New York Yankees for Andy Kosco.
* December 5, 1968: Jim Campanis was acquired from the Dodgers by the Kansas City Royals.
* March 30, 1969: Ted Savage was traded by the Dodgers to the Cincinnati Reds for Jimmie Schaffer.

## Regular season

After finishing 8th in 1967 and 7th in 1968, the Dodgers looked to improve in 1969 with the addition of youngsters Ted Sizemore, Bill Sudakis, and by obtaining Tom Haller in a trade. The Dodgers started fast and on June 10, they were in 2nd place at 31–22, 1 game back in a wild 5 team N.L. West race. On June 11, they reacquired Maury Wills in a trade, and obtained Manny Mota in the same deal for Ron Fairly and Paul Popovich. By July 16, they were in 1st place, and after beating the Mets on September 3, they were in second place, 1 game back. Centerfielder Willie Davis had just extended his club record 31 game hitting streak. They headed to San Diego to face the expansion Padres in a 4-game series and disaster struck. They scored 4 runs in 4 games, lost 4 in a row, and Davis had his hitting streak stopped in the first game. They left San Diego in 4th place, still only 2+1⁄2 games out. They rebounded somewhat, and when they beat the Atlanta Braves on September 18, they were one-half game behind co-leaders Atlanta and the San Francisco Giants as they headed to San Francisco. The pressure of the season long five team pennant race got to this young team, as they lost 10 of their next 11 games, ultimately finishing 85–77, 8 games behind division winning Atlanta.

### Impact

While they did not win the division, the 1969 Dodgers marked the start of a turnaround for the franchise. After finishing 8th and 7th in 1967 and 1968 respectively, they would not finish in the bottom half of the standings again until 1984. Ted Sizemore won the rookie of the year award, and other youngsters like Steve Garvey, Bill Russell, Von Joshua, Bobby Valentine, and Bill Buckner contributed in back up roles. Waiting in the wings in the minors were Ron Cey, Davey Lopes, Tom Paciorek, and manager Tommy Lasorda.

### Season standings

vteNL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Atlanta Braves | 93 | 69 | .574 | — | 50‍–‍31 | 43‍–‍38 |
| San Francisco Giants | 90 | 72 | .556 | 3 | 52‍–‍29 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 89 | 73 | .549 | 4 | 50‍–‍31 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 85 | 77 | .525 | 8 | 50‍–‍31 | 35‍–‍46 |
| Houston Astros | 81 | 81 | .500 | 12 | 52‍–‍29 | 29‍–‍52 |
| San Diego Padres | 52 | 110 | .321 | 41 | 28‍–‍53 | 24‍–‍57 |

### Record vs. opponents

1969 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 3–9 | 12–6 | 15–3 | 9–9 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 6–6 |
| Chicago | 9–3 | — | 6–6–1 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 12–6 | 7–11 | 11–1 | 6–6 | 9–9 |
| Cincinnati | 6–12 | 6–6–1 | — | 9–9 | 10–8 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 10–2 | 5–7 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 8–4 |
| Houston | 3–15 | 4–8 | 9–9 | — | 6–12 | 11–1 | 10–2 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 7–5 |
| Los Angeles | 9–9 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 12–6 | — | 10–2 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 12–6 | 5–13 | 3–9 |
| Montreal | 4–8 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 1–11 | 2–10 | — | 5–13 | 11–7 | 5–13 | 4–8 | 1–11 | 7–11 |
| New York | 8–4 | 10–8 | 6–6 | 2–10 | 8–4 | 13–5 | — | 12–6 | 10–8 | 11–1 | 8–4 | 12–6 |
| Philadelphia | 6-6 | 6–12 | 2–10 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 7–11 | 6–12 | — | 10–8 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 7–11 |
| Pittsburgh | 4–8 | 11–7 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 4–8 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 8–10 | — | 10–2 | 5–7 | 9–9 |
| San Diego | 5–13 | 1–11 | 7–11 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 8–4 | 1–11 | 4–8 | 2–10 | — | 6–12 | 4–8 |
| San Francisco | 9–9 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 13–5 | 11–1 | 4–8 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 12–6 | — | 3–9 |
| St. Louis | 6–6 | 9–9 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 9–3 | 11–7 | 6–12 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 8–4 | 9–3 | — |

### Opening Day lineup

Opening Day starters :
| Name | Position |
| Willie Crawford | Center fielder |
| Len Gabrielson | Right fielder |
| Bill Sudakis | Third baseman |
| Ron Fairly | First baseman |
| Andy Kosco | Left fielder |
| Tom Haller | Catcher |
| Jim Lefebvre | Second baseman |
| Ted Sizemore | Shortstop |
| Don Drysdale | Starting pitcher |

### Notable transactions

* April 17, 1969: Tommy Dean and Leon Everitt were traded by the Dodgers to the San Diego Padres for Al McBean.
* June 11, 1969: Ron Fairly and Paul Popovich were traded by the Dodgers to the Montreal Expos for Maury Wills and Manny Mota.
* August 15, 1969: Chuck Goggin, Ron Mitchell (minors) and cash were traded by the Dodgers to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jim Bunning.
* September 1, 1969: Jack Jenkins was purchased by the Dodgers from the Washington Senators.

### Roster
## Player stats
### 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 | Tom Haller | 134 | 445 | 117 | .263 | 6 | 39 |
| 1B | Wes Parker | 132 | 471 | 131 | .278 | 13 | 68 |
| 2B | Ted Sizemore | 159 | 590 | 160 | .271 | 4 | 46 |
| 3B | Bill Sudakis | 132 | 462 | 108 | .234 | 14 | 53 |
| SS | Maury Wills | 104 | 434 | 129 | .297 | 4 | 39 |
| LF | Manny Mota | 85 | 294 | 95 | .323 | 3 | 30 |
| CF | Willie Davis | 129 | 498 | 155 | .311 | 11 | 59 |
| RF | Andy Kosco | 120 | 424 | 105 | .248 | 19 | 74 |

#### 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 |
| Willie Crawford | 129 | 389 | 96 | .247 | 11 | 41 |
| Jim Lefebvre | 95 | 275 | 65 | .236 | 4 | 44 |
| Bill Russell | 98 | 212 | 48 | .226 | 5 | 15 |
| Len Gabrielson | 83 | 178 | 48 | .270 | 1 | 18 |
| Jeff Torborg | 51 | 124 | 23 | .185 | 0 | 7 |
| Billy Grabarkewitz | 34 | 65 | 6 | .092 | 0 | 5 |
| Ron Fairly | 30 | 64 | 14 | .219 | 0 | 8 |
| Paul Popovich | 28 | 50 | 10 | .200 | 0 | 4 |
| Tommy Hutton | 16 | 48 | 13 | .271 | 0 | 4 |
| John Miller | 26 | 38 | 8 | .211 | 1 | 1 |
| Ken Boyer | 25 | 34 | 7 | .206 | 0 | 4 |
| Bob Stinson | 4 | 8 | 3 | .375 | 0 | 2 |
| Von Joshua | 14 | 8 | 2 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Garvey | 3 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Buckner | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Valentine | 5 | 0 | 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 |
| Claude Osteen | 41 | 321.0 | 20 | 15 | 2.66 | 183 |
| Bill Singer | 41 | 315.2 | 20 | 12 | 2.34 | 247 |
| Don Sutton | 41 | 293.1 | 17 | 18 | 3.47 | 217 |
| Don Drysdale | 12 | 62.2 | 5 | 4 | 4.45 | 24 |
| Jim Bunning | 9 | 56.1 | 3 | 1 | 3.36 | 33 |

#### 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 |
| Alan Foster | 24 | 102.2 | 3 | 9 | 4.38 | 59 |
| Joe Moeller | 23 | 51.1 | 1 | 0 | 3.33 | 25 |

#### 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 |
| Jim Brewer | 59 | 7 | 6 | 20 | 2.55 | 92 |
| Pete Mikkelsen | 48 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 2.77 | 51 |
| Al McBean | 31 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 3.91 | 26 |
| Ray Lamb | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1.80 | 11 |
| John Purdin | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.06 | 6 |
| Bobby Darwin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.82 | 0 |
| Jack Jenkins | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |

## Awards and honors

* National League Rookie of the Year
** Ted Sizemore
* Gold Glove Award
** Wes Parker
* NL Player of the Month
** Willie Davis (August 1969)

### All-Stars

* 1969 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
** Bill Singer, reserve

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Spokane Indians | Pacific Coast League | Tommy Lasorda |
| AA | Albuquerque Dodgers | Texas League | Del Crandall |
| A | Bakersfield Dodgers | California League | Don LeJohn |
| A | Daytona Beach Dodgers | Florida State League | Bob Shaw |
| A | Rogue Valley Dodgers | Northwest League | Bill Berrier |
| Rookie | Ogden Dodgers | Pioneer League | Ray Malgradi |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rogue Valley, Ogden

## 1969 Major League Baseball Draft

This was the fifth year of a Major League Baseball Draft. The Dodgers drafted 47 players in the June draft and 11 in the January draft.
The Dodgers first round selection in the June draft, High School Catcher Terry McDermott did make it to the Majors, in 1972, but played only 9 games.
The only player from this draft class who made any impact in the Majors was Lee Lacy, who was drafted twice this year... as a third baseman in the January draft and as a pitcher in the June draft. He was primarily an outfielder in the Majors, and played through 1987 with the Dodgers, Braves, Pirates and Orioles.
1969 Draft Picks :
January draft
Round
Name
Position
School
Signed
Career span
Highest level
1
Michael Kimbrell
2B
Yes
1969–1970
A
2
Lee Lacy
3B
Laney College
No Dodgers – June 1969
1969–1987
MLB
3
Carl Salyers
RHP
Southwestern Christian Junior College
No
4
Bob O'Brien
LHP
Fresno City College
No Dodgers – June 1969
1969–1974
MLB
5
Dean Voegerl
LHP
Trinidad State Junior College
No
6
Dave Maas
2B
Fullerton College
No
January Secondary phase
Round
Name
Position
School
Signed
Career span
Highest level
1
Pat Harrison
INF
University of Southern California
No
2
William Camp
RHP
Oklahoma State University
No Cubs – 1970
1970
AA
3
George Pugh
LHP
Mesa Community College
No
4
William Ferguson
1B
Texas Christian University
No Reds – 1969 June
1969–1972
AAA
5
George Putz
1B
Springfield College
No Cardinals – 1969 June
1969–1973
AAA
June draft
Round
Name
Position
School
Signed
Career span
Highest level
1
Terry McDermott
C
St. Agnes High School
Yes
1969–1976
MLB
2
Lee Lacy
LHP
Putnam City High School
Yes
1969–1987
MLB
3
Al Dawson
OF
Lyndhurst High School
Yes
1968–1972
AAA
4
Bob O'Brien
OF
Texas A&M University
Yes
1969–1974
MLB
5
Mark Mechuk
RHP
St. Bernard High School
No
6
Stan Wall
LHP
Raytown South High School
Yes
1969–1978
MLB
7
James Cardasis
OF
New York University
Yes
1969–1971
A
8
Kenneth Bruno
SS
Cliffside Park High School
Yes
1969
A-
9
Larry President
LHP
Temple High School
Yes
1969–1975
AAA
10
Ronald Mitchell
OF
Aqua Fria High School
Yes
1969–1980
AAA
11
John Hughes
1B
Parkwood High School
Yes
1969–1973
AA
12
Stanley Russell
RHP
Villa Park High School
Yes
1969–1972
A
13
Ronald Dolan
2B
Seton Hall University
No
14
Arthur Pauls
RHP
Lewis University
Yes
1969–1971
A
15
Roy Staiger
SS
Bacone College
No Mets – 1970
1970–1980
MLB
16
Jimmy Page
RHP
Hardesty High School
No
17
Edgar Bellamy
SS
Fort Cobb High School
No
18
Mark Pastrovich
LHP
Mascoutah High School
No Twins – 1970
1970
A
19
Anthony Blakley
SS
Sullivan West High School
No Pirates – 1971
1971
Rookie
20
Donald Sweetland
C
Saddleback College
No
21
Joseph Szewczyk
1B
New York University
Yes
1969
Rookie
22
Royle Stillman
OF
North Torrance High School
Yes
1969–1981
MLB
23
Manuel Washington
OF
Mississippi State University
Yes
1969–1972
AA
24
David Allen
LHP
California Western University
Yes
1970–1974
AAA
25
William Owen
3B
Willington High School
No
26
Jim Fuller
OF
San Diego City College
No Orioles – 1970
1970–1978
MLB
27
Johnny Hatcher
RHP
Andrews High School
No
28
Harry Chapman
RHP
Sarasota High School
No
29
George Horman
C
Crawford High School
No
30
Nick Devirgilis
OF
Sarasota High School
No
31
Jeffrey Hogan
SS
Florida State University
No Tigers – 1970
1970–1973
AA
32
Raymond Ippolito
SS
New York University
No
33
Robert Cox
RHP
Southeast High School
No
34
Vincent D'amico
1B
University of Albuquerque
Yes
1969
A-
35
Jerry Arnold
LHP
Woodward High School
No
36
William Wyles
LHP
New Mexico Military Institute
No
37
Gary Granville
OF
El Camino College
No Angels – 1970
1970–1973
A
38
Johnny Rodgers
INF
Tech High School
No
39
Gary Erskine
OF
Anderson High School
No
40
Dennis Haren
OF
Bishop Montgomery High School
Yes
1969–1974
AA
41
Rod Boone
C
Crawford High School
No Royals – 1972
1972–1975
AAA
42
Robert Sicilia
OF
John R. Rogers High School
Yes
1969
A-
43
Robert Payne
OF
University of California, Riverside
Yes
1969
A-
June secondary phase
Round
Name
Position
School
Signed
Career span
Highest level
1
Bill Seinsoth
1B
University of Southern California
Yes
1969
A
2
Bob Randall
SS
Kansas State University
Yes
1969–1980
MLB
3
Steven Wilmet
LHP
St. Norbert College
Yes
1969
A-
4
Randall Bayer
OF
Mesa Community College
Yes
1969–1972
A :