Second Chance Tournament: 1969 Orioles

Editor’s note: Second Chance Tournament games are being played with Strat-o-Matic cards and dice. The designated hitter is also being used for all games. The first and second rounds will be decided with a best of three series, while the championship series will be a best of five format.

The Baltimore Orioles won the first American League East title in 1969 with 109 victories.

In the initial AL Championship Series, the Orioles won three straight contests to sweep the AL West champion Minnesota Twins.

Baltimore was the favorite heading into the World Series, but the New York Mets had a different plan as they would claim the title in five games.

The Orioles picked up one of the major post-season honors as pitcher Mike Cuellar shared the Cy Young Award with Detroit’s Denny McLain.

Boog Powell and Frank Robinson finished second and third in the AL Most Valuable Player voting.

The Batting Order
Paul Blair CF (26 HR, 76 RBI, 20 SB)
Don Buford LF (11 HR, 64 RBI, 19 SB)
Frank Robinson RF (32 HR, 100 RBI, .308)
Boog Powell 1B (37 HR, 121 RBI, .304)
Brooks Robinson 3B (23 HR, 84 RBI)
Merv Rettenmund DH (4 HR, 25 RBI)
Davey Johnson 2B (7 HR, 57 RBI)
Elrod Hendricks C (12 HR, 38 RBI)
Mark Belanger SS (2 HR, 50 RBI)

Starting Pitchers
Mike Cuellar (23-11, 2.38 ERA)
Jim Palmer (16-4, 2.34 ERA)
Dave McNally (20-7, 3.22 ERA)

Second Chance Tournament First Round Schedule

1965 Minnesota Twins at 1969 Baltimore Orioles
1969 Baltimore Orioles at 1965 Minnesota Twins
1965 Minnesota Twins at 1969 Baltimore Orioles, if necessary