1969 Cincinnati Reds season

1969 Cincinnati Reds
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1890)
Western Division (since 1969)
Location
Crosley Field (since 1934)
Cincinnati (since 1882)
Other information
Owner(s)	Francis L. Dale
General manager(s)	Bob Howsam
Manager(s)	Dave Bristol
Local television	WLW (Ed Kennedy, Pee Wee Reese)
Local radio	WLW (Jim McIntyre, Joe Nuxhall)
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The 1969 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. It consisted of the Reds finishing in third place in the newly established National League West, four games behind the NL West champion Atlanta Braves. The Reds were managed by Dave Bristol, and played their home games at Crosley Field, which was in its final full season of operation, before moving into their new facility in the middle of the following season.

Offseason

Crosley Field, pictured in August 1969

• October 14, 1968: Jimy Williams was drafted from the Reds by the Montreal Expos as the 32nd pick in the 1968 MLB expansion draft.^[1]
• December 5, 1968: Don Pavletich and Don Secrist were traded by the Reds to the Chicago White Sox for Jack Fisher.^[2]
• March 18, 1969: Bill Kelso was purchased from the Reds by the Boston Red Sox.^[3]
• March 29, 1969: Bill Kelso was returned to the Reds by the Boston Red Sox.^[3]

Divisional alignment

1969 not only marked the 100th anniversary of the original Cincinnati Red Stockings being the first fully professional baseball team, but it also marked the first year of divisional play in Major League Baseball. The Reds (along with the Atlanta Braves) were placed in the NL West division, despite being located further east than the 2 westernmost teams in the NL East division, the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. This was because the New York Mets wanted to be in the same division as the reigning power in the NL, which were the Cardinals at the time (to compensate for playing against the Dodgers and Giants fewer times each season). The Cubs consequently demanded to be in the NL East as well in order to continue playing in the same division as the Cardinals, one of the Cubs' biggest rivals. A side effect of this alignment is that it set the stage for what is considered one of the greatest pennant races – and comebacks in such a race – in MLB history (see 1969 New York Mets season for more info).

Regular season

Season standings

NL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Atlanta Braves	93	69	0.574	—	50–31	43–38
San Francisco Giants	90	72	0.556	3	52–29	38–43
Cincinnati Reds	89	73	0.549	4	50–31	39–42
Los Angeles Dodgers	85	77	0.525	8	50–31	35–46
Houston Astros	81	81	0.500	12	52–29	29–52
San Diego Padres	52	110	0.321	41	28–53	24–57

Record vs. opponents

1969 National League Records 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	—

Notable transactions

• June 5, 1969: 1969 Major League Baseball Draft
  • Nardi Contreras was drafted by the Reds in the 12th round.^[4]
  • Ken Griffey, Sr. was drafted by the Reds in the 29th round.^[5]
• June 13, 1969: Al Jackson was purchased by the Reds from the New York Mets.^[6]
• June 14, 1969: Aurelio Monteagudo was traded by the Reds to the St. Louis Cardinals for Dennis Ribant.^[7]

Roster

1969 Cincinnati Reds
Roster
Pitchers 35 Gerry Arrigo 36 Clay Carroll 40 Tony Cloninger 39 George Culver 43 Jack Fisher 37 Wayne Granger 44 Al Jackson 46 Jim Maloney 30 Jim Merritt 38 Gary Nolan 44 John Noriega 33 Camilo Pascual 34 José Peña 22 Mel Queen 34 Pedro Ramos 42 Dennis Ribant 42 Bill Short		Catchers  5 Johnny Bench  8 Danny Breeden  7 Pat Corrales Infielders 12 Darrel Chaney 19 Tommy Helms 23 Lee May 24 Tony Pérez 15 Chico Ruiz 17 Fred Whitfield  6 Woody Woodward		Outfielders 55 Jim Beauchamp 29 Alex Johnson 14 Pete Rose 20 Ted Savage 16 Jimmy Stewart 28 Bobby Tolan Other batters 25 Bernie Carbo 26 Mike de la Hoz 21 Clyde Mashore		Manager  4 Dave Bristol Coaches 10 Vern Benson  2 Jim Bragan 31 Harvey Haddix  9 Hal Smith

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	Bench, JohnnyJohnny Bench	148	532	156	.293	26	90

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

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
Arrigo, GerryGerry Arrigo	20	91	4	7	4.15	35
Queen, MelMel Queen	2	12	1	0	2.25	7

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
Fisher, JackJack Fisher	34	113	4	4	5.50	55

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
Carroll, ClayClay Carroll	77	12	6	7	3.52	90
Jackson, AlAl Jackson	33	1	0	3	5.27	16
Ribant, DennisDennis Ribant	7	0	0	0	1.08	7

Awards and honors

• Pete Rose, National League batting champion
• Pete Rose, Lou Gehrig Award
• Johnny Bench, Marathon Oil Cincinnati Reds Player of the Year

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Indianapolis Indians	American Association	Vern Rapp
AA	Asheville Tourists	Southern League	Alex Cosmidis
A	Tampa Tarpons	Florida State League	Bunky Warren
A-Short Season	Sioux Falls Packers	Northern League	Jim Snyder
Rookie	GCL Reds	Gulf Coast League	George Scherger

^[8]

Notes

1. Jimy Williams page at Baseball Reference
2. Jack Fisher page at Baseball Reference
3. Bill Kelso page at Baseball Reference
4. Nardi Contreras page at Baseball Reference
5. Ken Griffey page at Baseball Reference
6. Al Jackson page at Baseball Reference
7. Dennis Ribant page at Baseball Reference
8. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

References

• 1969 Cincinnati Reds season at Baseball Reference