# 1969 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

The 1969 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 40th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played in the afternoon on Wednesday, July 23, at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., and resulted in a 9–3 victory for the National League. Steve Carlton was the winning pitcher while Mel Stottlemyre was the losing pitcher.
The game was originally scheduled for the evening of Tuesday, July 22, but heavy rains forced its postponement to the following afternoon. The 1969 contest remains the last All-Star Game to date to be played earlier than prime time in the Eastern United States.
President Richard Nixon originally planned to attend the Tuesday night game and throw out the first ball, and then depart for the splashdown of Apollo 11 in the Pacific Ocean. But with the game's postponement until Wednesday afternoon, Nixon missed the game altogether and Vice President Spiro Agnew attended instead.

## Game summary

After scoring in the first inning on an error, the National League made it 3–0 in the second inning against AL starter Mel Stottlemyre on a two-run homer by Reds' catcher Johnny Bench. Denny McLain was scheduled as the American League starter, but was late arriving to the stadium (via his own airplane) and pitched later in the game.
Five more runs came across for the NL in the third inning, Blue Moon Odom of Oakland surrendering all. Willie McCovey's two-run homer and back-to-back doubles by Félix Millán and pitcher Steve Carlton were the key blows.
McCovey added another home run in the fourth, and was voted the game's most valuable player.

## Starting lineup

| National League | National League | National League | National League | American League | American League | American League | American League |
| Order | Player | Team | Position | Order | Player | Team | Position |
| 1 | Matty Alou | Pirates | OF | 1 | Rod Carew | Twins | 2B |
| 2 | Don Kessinger | Cubs | SS | 2 | Reggie Jackson | Athletics | OF |
| 3 | Hank Aaron | Braves | OF | 3 | Frank Robinson | Orioles | OF |
| 4 | Willie McCovey | Giants | 1B | 4 | Boog Powell | Orioles | 1B |
| 5 | Ron Santo | Cubs | 3B | 5 | Frank Howard | Senators | OF |
| 6 | Cleon Jones | Mets | OF | 6 | Sal Bando | Athletics | 3B |
| 7 | Johnny Bench | Reds | C | 7 | Rico Petrocelli | Red Sox | SS |
| 8 | Félix Millán | Braves | 2B | 8 | Bill Freehan | Tigers | C |
| 9 | Steve Carlton | Cardinals | P | 9 | Mel Stottlemyre | Yankees | P |

## Reserves
### American League
#### Pitchers

| Throws | Pitcher | Team | Notes |
| RH | Ray Culp | Boston Red Sox | |
| LH | Darold Knowles | Washington Senators | |
| LH | Mickey Lolich | Detroit Tigers | Did not pitch |
| LH | Sam McDowell | Cleveland Indians | |
| RH | Denny McLain | Detroit Tigers | |
| LH | Dave McNally | Baltimore Orioles | |
| RH | Blue Moon Odom | Oakland Athletics | |

#### Position players

| Position | Player | Team | Notes |
| C | Ellie Rodríguez | Kansas City Royals | Did not play |
| C | John Roseboro | Minnesota Twins | |
| 1B | Don Mincher | Seattle Pilots | Replaced Mike Hegan |
| 1B | Harmon Killebrew | Minnesota Twins | |
| 2B | Mike Andrews | Boston Red Sox | Replaced Davey Johnson |
| 2B | Davey Johnson | Baltimore Orioles | Injured, did not play |
| 3B | Brooks Robinson | Baltimore Orioles | |
| SS | Jim Fregosi | California Angels | |
| OF | Paul Blair | Baltimore Orioles | |
| OF | Mike Hegan | Seattle Pilots | Injured, did not play |
| OF | Carlos May | Chicago White Sox | |
| OF | Tony Oliva | Minnesota Twins | Injured, did not play |
| OF | Reggie Smith | Boston Red Sox | |
| OF | Roy White | New York Yankees | |
| OF | Carl Yastrzemski | Boston Red Sox | |

### National League
#### Pitchers

| Throws | Pitcher | Team | Notes |
| RH | Larry Dierker | Houston Astros | |
| RH | Bob Gibson | St. Louis Cardinals | |
| LH | Grant Jackson | Philadelphia Phillies | Did not pitch |
| RH | Jerry Koosman | New York Mets | |
| RH | Juan Marichal | San Francisco Giants | Did not pitch |
| RH | Phil Niekro | Atlanta Braves | |
| RH | Tom Seaver | New York Mets | Did not pitch |
| RH | Bill Singer | Los Angeles Dodgers | |

#### Position players

| Position | Player | Team | Notes |
| C | Chris Cannizzaro | San Diego Padres | Did not play |
| C | Randy Hundley | Chicago Cubs | |
| 1B | Ernie Banks | Chicago Cubs | |
| 1B | Lee May | Cincinnati Reds | |
| 2B | Glenn Beckert | Chicago Cubs | |
| 3B | Tony Pérez | Cincinnati Reds | |
| SS | Denis Menke | Houston Astros | |
| OF | Roberto Clemente | Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| OF | Willie Mays | San Francisco Giants | |
| OF | Pete Rose | Cincinnati Reds | |
| OF | Rusty Staub | Montreal Expos | Did not play |

## Umpires

| Position | Umpire |
| Home Plate | Red Flaherty (AL) |
| First Base | Augie Donatelli (NL) |
| Second Base | Bob Stewart (AL) |
| Third Base | Tom Gorman (NL) |
| Left Field | Marty Springstead (AL) |
| Right Field | Tony Venzon (NL) |

## Line score

Wednesday, July 23, 1969 1:45 pm (ET) at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C. :
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| National League | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 11 | 0 |
| American League | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| WP: Steve Carlton (1-0) LP: Mel Stottlemyre (0-1) Sv: Phil Niekro (1) |||||||||||||