Remembering Jerry Koosman: All Time Mets Left Handed Pitcher (Part One: 1967 - 1969)

Jerome Martin Koosman was born December 23, 1942, on a farm in Appleton, Minnesota. As a child he left hander went ice fishing and played baseball in their family’s hay loft with his brother.

In 1962 Jerry was drafted into the army but there was no baseball team where he was stationed. Lucky enough his dentist, who was a general in the same unit helped him get to El Paso Texas where they did have a baseball team. 

After a few warmup pitches at the try out, he was told he was in the starting rotation.

While stationed at Fort Bliss. Koosman formed a friendship with a guy named John Luchese who was from Queens, New York. His father was an usher at the new Shea Stadium, home of the Mets. Luchese wrote to his dad telling him the Mets team should check this Koosman guy out, he could sure throw a baseball. The reference worked, as the team sent scouts to watch Koosman pitch, they soon offered him a contract.

Quotes- Jerry Koosman: “It seemed every time we spoke, they lowered the offer by a hundred dollars. I figured I better sign before I owed them money.”

At the start, Koosman was struggling so badly in the farm system, he was almost traded away. On a road trip with two other guys named Jerry, their car was damaged in an accident in Georgia. They called for money to get a new car.

Jerry sent word out to future Mets General Manager Joe McDonald, who was working at the minor league level at the time, asking if he could send over an additional $500. 

The organization gave him the loan with the Club president George Weiss figuring he’d trade the Koosman kid away once his loan was paid back. But soon, Kooz began pitching well and his future with the Mets was secured.

In 1966 he was 12-7 at A ball Auburn in the New York/ Penn. League posting a 1.38 ERA. In 1967 the Mets promoted him to their pitching staff & he was soon one of the teams first home grown pitching stars. 

Mets Career: On April 14th, Koosman made his MLB debut in a relief appearance, reliving Jack Fisher at Philadelphia. He struck out two Phillies & walked two in 2.2 innings of work. He would make five appearances through the end of May, before going back down to AAA Jacksonville.

There he was 11-10 leading International League in strikeouts & (183) while posting a 2.43 ERA. 

Jerry came back to New York in September & after a relief appearance, made his first career start. 

First Career Start: On September 17th, he pitched seven innings, allowing two runs at the Astrodome taking no decision in the Mets 4-3 loss. At Shea Stadium, he pitched one inning to Houston, giving up three runs to get his first career loss. 

Overall, in his first season, he made nine appearances, going 0-2 with a 6.04 ERA.

1968: This year former Brooklyn Dodger & early Mets legend Gil Hodges arrived in New York as the Met's manager. In his first season, Gil mostly observed his young talent, along with pitching coach Rube Walker. They knew they had something special in Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan &Jerry Koosman in an incredibly young but talented staff.

Four Hit Shut Out: To start out 1968, Kooz pitched the second Mets game of the season & was spectacular. He shut out the Dodgers 4-0 in a four hitter in Los Angeles, beating Bill Singer. The NY press was already calling him "the latest Mets glam boy" with Seaver being the first & "Amazing Jerry.

Back to Back Shut Outs: On April 17th, Jerry got his second start which was the Mets home opener at Shea Stadium in front of 52,079 fans, against the former New York team, the San Francisco Giants. 

In the madness Jerry forgot to leave a ticket for his wife Lavonne who had quite a time getting into the ballpark.

In the top of the 1st, former Met Ron Hunt singled, Jim Davenport reached on an error & Koosman walked Willie McCovey.

Quotes- Jerry Koosman: "For a second I wondered if Shea Stadium was going to be a bad lace for me". "What's a farm boy from Minnesota doing in a spot like this?"

But catcher Jerry Grote later stated he wasn't worried because the pitcher didn't look shook up at all. Koosman got the great Willie Mays to look at 1-2 fastball on the inside corner for the first huge out. The hot hitting Jim Ray Hart who aleardy had three HRs on the young season, popped up & Kooz struck out Jack Hiatt to end the inning to a huge ovation as he walked off the mound.

Kooz rolled along from there as allowed just six more hits the rest of the way as he pitched his second straight complete shut out. He struck out ten Giants, for his first double digit K game of his career. Cleon Jones homered with Ed Charles & Al Weis driving in runs in the 3-0 win.

11 K Game: In his third start, he struck out eleven Houston Astros at Shea, allowing his first run of the season, on four hits pitching his third straight complete game. Now, the baseball world was noticing, as were the New York fans, this kid was special.

On April 28th in Cincinnati, he gave up four runs (three earned) but the Mets helped out with five runs scored, as Jerry got to 4-0 with a 1.04 ERA & 27 strike outs to start the season.On  May 5th the Cubs handed him his first loss as he fell to Ferguson Jenkins 3-2. 

From May 10th to June 19th, Koosman went 6-1, making nine starts never allowing more than two runs while giving up one run or less in four of them. On May 20th at Shea, he beat out the Pirates Bob Veale in a 2-1 matchup, that was won on Ed Charles walk off HR. Charles had homered earlier in that game as well. He then took victories in Atlanta & Pittsburgh to get to 8-2.

Mets Trivia: During a game that season, catcher Jerry Grote fired a ball back at Koosman from
behind the plate, tying him up around the belt area. Kooz called the rough catcher to the mound & said “if you ever throw a ball back at me like that, I’ll break your freaking’ neck”. Grote a bit surprised never did it again as the two had a mutual respect for each other over the next decade.

Shut Out: On May 4th, Kooz won his third straight start & got his third shut out of the year beating Fergie Jenkins at Wrigley Field lowering his season ERA to 1.43.

First Career RBI: On May 25th in Atlanta, not only did he win his seventh game & pitch his fifth complete game, he also drove in his first career run with a 3rd inning RBI single off "Hawk"Clay Carroll.

Tenth Victory: On June 14th, he beat the Giants at Shea for the second time, to earn his 10th win. Koosman was on a six-game winning streak going into late June. 

He was 11-3 & kept his ERA under 1.50 through June 24th. At the All Star break he was 11-4 with a 1.94 ERA.

1968 All Star: "In the Year of the Pitcher" Koosman made his first All Star team, representing the Mets along with Tom Seaver at the Astrodome. 

In the top of the 9th inning Koosman came into the game with the NL leading 1-0. Kooz got Oakland's Bert Campaneris to ground out, then struck out Baltimore's Davey Johnson for the second out. He then struck out Carl Yastrzemski for the final out of an exciting 1-0 National League victory. Koosman earned himself the save in the national spotlight.

Shut Out: On July 12th, he returned from the All Star break pitching a four-hit shut out over the
Cubs at Shea Stadium for his 12th win. Jerry Grote led the way with a two run HR & three RBIs off Ken Hotlzman in the 4-0 win.

On July 17th in at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, he was knocked out of the game in the 2nd inning,
taking a loss to the Pirates, his second loss to them in a row.

Back to Back Shut Outs: On July 21st in the night cap of a double header in St Louis, Kooz beat Nelson Briles & the Cardinals in a 1-0 pitchers dual where he struck out a season high, 12 batters. It was his fifth shut out & fourth game of double digit strike outs.

On July 26th at Shea, he beat the Cincinnati Reds & Tony Cloninger in another close one 2-0, with Ron Swoboda driving in Ed Charles on ground outs both times. Kooz struck out eight batters for his sixth shut out of the year while reaching a Mets high 14 wins, five ahead of Tom Seaver.

In his next two starts, he took losses to the Braves & Astros but followed with two complete game victories, where he allowed just one earned run both times beating the Giants & Dodgers. Koosman was now 16-7 with a 1.87 ERA among the best pitchers in league.

On August 19th, he matched zeros with the San Francisco Giants Bobby Bolin, at Shea Stadium, as Koosman lasted 12 innings before giving way to Ron Taylor. Taylor gave up a 17th inning RBI single to Ron Hunt, as the Mets took a heart breaking 1-0 loss.

From August 18th thru September 2nd, he had his worst stretch of the season losing three straight starts for the only time. His ERA was at 1.95 still haven't getting over two all season.

Three Hit Shut Out: On September 13th at Shea, he threw his seventh shut out of the year, a 2-0 three-hitter over the Pittsburgh Pirates, winning his 18th game. Art Shamsky's HR off Bob Moose & an unearned run led to the two Mets runs.

First Career HR: On July 18th, he hit his first career HR coming off the Cubs Bill Hands in a 7-2 loss. Jerry would not hit another a HR until 1977 the only other HR of his career.

After two rough outings, where he gave up five runs each time, Koosman closed out the season with a three hit, one run performance, against the Philadelphia Phillies. It wasn;t until September 24th, in his next to last start of the season that his ERA went over two.

Season Stats: Koosman missed out being a twenty-game winner due to a 3-3 September, as he finished up his rookie year going 19-10 leading the team in wins, (4th best in the NL). He was the first rookie since the Phillies Jack Sanford (1957) to win as many games.

He posted a 2.08 ERA (4th in the NL) which is still the fifth best Mets single season ERA for a starting pitcher. His season ERA was also the lowest for a rookie since Brooklyn's Jeff Pfeffer (1914).

Kooz struck out 178 batters pitching in 262 innings, throwing seven shut outs (3rd most in the NL) & 17 complete games, which is the second-best mark in Mets history. He pitched seven shutouts which was third best in the NL. That year he set franchise records in wins, shutouts & ERA. At bat he hit .077 with a HR & four RBIs.

Koosman was named to the Topps All-Star Rookie Team & finished runner-up to Johnny Bench of the Reds for the Rookie of the Year honors, missing by just one vote!

Koosman was generally the number two starter for the Mets in the coming years behind Hall of Famer Tom Seaver. Seaver & Koosman became one of the league's top righty/lefty starting combos.

Trivia: They sometimes were called “The Tom & Jerry Show”. 

Throughout his up coming career Koosman would be the victim of low run support, just as Seaver & the rest of the Mets pitchers would suffer from. But the good-natured Koosman never complained, he always went about his business & pitched his best.

1969 Championship Season: In 1969 Koosman wouldn't make his first start until the fourth game of the season, taking a loss to Steve Carlton & the reigning NL Champion Cardinals. He gave up four runs then in his next start he gave up five runs in Pittsburgh. He would never give up that many runs in back to back games again all season & would not allow more than three runs in a game until mid-August a good four months later. 

Shut Out: On April 23rd, Kooz shut out Jim Bunning & the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-0 with a five-hit complete game, striking out six, for his first win. Ed Kranepool & Cleon Jones supplied the runs.

In May he made just two starts, taking a loss at Houston, despite giving up just two runs to the pesky Astros, who were the Mets toughest opponent in the regular season that year beating New York ten times in their twelve matchups. 

15 K Game: On May 28th at Shea Stadium, Koosman struck out a season high 15 batters, setting a new Mets franchise record that had been set by Nolan Ryan a year earlier. In the top of the 10th inning, he struck out pinch hitter Ivan Murrell for the 15th K. Koosman pitched ten shutout innings against the San Diego Padres. Clay Kirby shut out the Mets for nine innings but the Mets won it in the bottom of the 11th, on a Bud Harrelson walk off single.

From June 2nd to July 18th, Koosman would win seven of nine decisions posting a 1.53 ERA, striking out 73 batters in 84.2 innings. In that stretch he threw seven complete games. 

On June 2nd, he pitched an exciting 2-1 win at Shea Stadium, beating Claude Osteen & the Dodgers notching eight more strike outs. Jerry Grote & Al Weis supplied the RBI hits as the Mets won their fourth in a row. 

On June 7th in San Diego, he reached double digits in K's for the second time in three starts as he struck out eleven Padres. He allowed just one earned run, in another complete game effort, getting him to .500 at 3-3. The win was also the hot Mets ninth in a row.

25 Scoreless Innings Streak: In his next outing, June 13th at Dodger Stadium, he took a heart breaking 1-0 loss to Alan Foster. An Art Shamsky error in the 2nd inning led to an unearned run scoring on Jim Lefebvre's base hit. Koosman would not allow another run the rest of the game or in his next 25 innings. He pitched seven innings of shut out ball giving up six hits.

Back to Back Shut Outs: In his next two starts, he pitched consecutive complete game shut outs for the third time in his career. On June 16th in Philadelphia, he blanked eventual 15 game winner, Rick Wise 2-0 with Wayne Garrett & Ed Kranepool supplying the RBIs. Kooz held the Phillies to just four hits & walk while fanning six.

Next on June 22nd, in the second game of a Sunday twin-bill sweep of the Cardinals at Shea, Jerry beat Mike Torrez in a 1-0 pitching battle, where Tommie Agee's RBI double was lone run. With the shut out he now had three on the season, ten in his career & had thrown back to back shut outs three times as well. It was his fifth complete game of the year & he was now 5-4 with a 1.42 ERA.

By now the Mets were getting noticed as possibly being a real contender. They were still behind the Chicago Cubs by eight games, but soon even Leo Durocher's cocky Cubs would take notice.

On July 8th, in a big show down with the first place Cubs at Shea, Koosman the Chicago ace Ferguson Jenkins 4-3. In the bottom of the 9th inning, the Mets were trailing 3-1 when they got some help from Chicago outfielder Don Young who misplayed two fly balls. Doubles by Donn Clendennon & Cleon Jones tied the game with Ed Kranepool provided the walk off, game winning single.

On July 13th at Shea, Kooz won the first game of a double header sweep over the Montreal Expos, pitching his seventh complete game. The Mets then went up to Montreal & Kooz beat them again, fanning seven for the second straight time, earning his eighth win. He went into the half way point at 8-5 with a 1.88 ERA & 105 strike outs.

1969 All Star Game: On July 25th, 1969, Koosman & Tom Seaver represented the Mets at the All Star Game in the Nation's Capitol at Washington D.C. 

In the top of the 7th, Koosman came into the game with the NL ahead 9-3. He gave up a lead off double to Boston's Rico Petrocelli, then retired the Twins' John Roseboro, struck out the Orioles Brooks Robinson & got Boston's Mike Andrews to ground out. The NL went on to a 9-3 victory.

On August 4th in Cincinnati, he lost a 1-0 heart breaker to Jim Maloney & the Reds. Pete Rose scored the only run of the game on Alex Johnson's sac fly. 

On August 8th, in a twin bill split in Atlanta, Kooz earned his ninth victory as he allowed just one run to the Western Division leading Braves while fanning five. 

Astro Woes: In his next start he got beat up once again by those tough Astros, giving up a season

high six earned runs at the Astrodome. It was the first time in four months he allowed more than four earned runs in a game. That year he went 0-3 with a 4.87 ERA vs Houston by far his worst numbers against any team in the league.

In mid-August Koosman found himself at 9-8 but the record didn't show how well he had pitched. He had a 2.24 ERA, 124 strike outs &  just 46 walks in 160.2 innings pitched. Of course he was pitching in the shadows of Tom Sever who was having his first Cy Young season, but with Koosman following the Mets were a tough team to go up against in a series.

 

From August 17th to the end of September, he was a very important part of the Mets winning the NL Eastern Division. Kooz went 8-1, winning three straight then after his only loss in his final eleven starts he won another five straight. He posted a 2.24 ERA the rest of the way as well.

From August 17th to August 27th, he won three straight beating the California teams. In a double header sweep over the Padres at Shea he beat Joe Niekro in a tight 3-2 game with catcher Duffy Dyer's three run HR being the difference. He earned his tenth win of the season reaching double figures in wins in his first two full seasons. On that same homestand, he beat the Dodgers 15 game winner Bill Singer 5-3.

Two Hit Victory: On August 27th in San Diego, Kooz allowed a 1st inning HR to "Downtown" Ollie Brown & a single to Al Ferrara. After that he did not allow another hit the rest of the game as he earned his 12th win in a one run two hit victory. 

The two hits were the fewest hits he had allowed in any complete game start he had made in his career to that point. In the game he also collected a season high two hits for himself.

On September 1st, the Mets were still five games behind the Cubs, but coming on fast. That night Kooz took the only loss he would suffer the rest of the year including the post season. He never got out of the 1st inning as the Dodgers tagged him for four runs on four hits.

Two days later Gil Hodges gave him another start in L.A. but once again the Dodgers tagged him for four runs in a no decision.

On September 8th, 1969 was the biggest start of his young career up to that point. The Mets went up against the first place Chicago Cubs at wild sold-out Shea Stadium. The Cubs divisional lead had dwindled down to just 2.5 games. The Cubs were on a four game losing streak that would eventually go to eight games, as they would drop eleven of twelve.

Koosman went up against one of the Cubs top pitchers, Hackensack, New Jersey's own Bill Hands. Hands already had 16 wins on his way to his only twenty win season. 

At the start of the game, Cubs' manager Leo Durocher ordered Hands to knock down the Mets lead off hitter Tommie Agee to send a message. Bill Hands did as instructed as Agee hit the dirt to lead off the bottom of the 1st.

But Jerry Koosman was never one who sat back & let his players get knocked down without retaliating back. In the top of the 2nd inning the Cubs slugger Ron Santo came to bat. Kooz drilled him with a pitch hitting Santo in the hand sending the message back to the Cubs- don't mess with us. 

Quotes- Jerry Koosman: "They threw at Tommie, I had to do it & end it right there. If I don't they keep doing it & they keep getting away with it."

Later when Kooz came up to the plate Hands threw a close one & Koos quickly shouted back at him. 

Agee got his revenge by hitting a two run HR in his next at bat. Later in the game he scored on Wayne Garrett's RBI single on a close play at home that sent catcher Randy Hundley into a tirade with the home plate umpire.

After it was all over, the Mets won the game 3-2. Kooz took the victory, his 13th, giving up two runs on seven hits & striking out a season high 13 batters. The next night the Mets swept the two game series as Tom Seaver beat Fergie Jenkins 7-1 to get within a half game. This famous night was "The Black Cat Game' where a stray black cat ran onto the field peered into the Cubs dugout then scampered away.

The Shea crowd gave it to the Cubbies & their manager waving handkerchiefs singing "Goodnight Leo". 

The Mets took over first place the next night, as the Cubs were losing New York was on a ten game win streak, winning 13 of 14 keeping them in first place for good.

Three Hit Shut Out: In his next start, on September 12th the first game of a double header in Pittsburgh, Kooz pitched a three hit 1-0 shutout & also drove in the game's only run with an RBI single off Bob Moose. It was his only RBI of the season. He won his 14th game (14-9) earning his fourth shut out & 12th complete game while posting a 2.37 ERA. 

In the second game Don Cardwell pitched a five hit shut out over eight innings & drove in the only run of that game with an RBI single off Doc Ellis. Tug McGraw saved it with a scoreless 9th to combine in the shut out.

Back to Back Shut Outs: On September 17th in Montreal, Koosman threw a five hit shut out to earn his 15th win. It was his fifth shut out & his second in as many games. It was the fourth time in his career he tossed back to back complete game blanking.

On September 21st, in a double header sweep of the Pirates at Shea, Kooz won his 16th game with a 5-3 win in the opener.

Mets Clinch the NL East: On September 24th at Shea Stadium, the Mets clinched the Eastern division with a 6-0 win over the reigning NL Champion Cardinals. A 100-1 long shot in the pre season, the Amazing Mets were going to the first NLCS in history as divisional play had just begun that season.

Third Shut Out of the Month: On September 26th, in Philadelphia, Jerry pitched his third shut out of his last four starts. This a four-hitter where he struck out seven & walked two. It was the 13th shut out of his career & the sixth of the season. He also notched his 16th complete game of the season.

Season Stats: He finished the year at 17-9 with a 2.28 ERA (5th best in the NL) 180 strikeouts & 68 walks in 241 innings pitched. He had 16 complete games (9th in the NL) and six shutouts (4th most in the NL) in 32 starts. 

1969 Post Season-NLCS: In Game #2 of the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves, Koosman was shelled from the mound, giving up six runs in 4.2 innings of work, three of those runs coming on Hank Aaron’s fifth-inning home run. 

The Mets were already ahead 9-6 but they added two more runs to win the game with Ron Taylor getting the victory.

1969 World Series: Tom Seaver was the Mets Cy Young winner, with his 25 wins that year but in the World Series, Koosman was the pitching star & certainly could have won the MVP award himself. 

World Series Game #2: The Mets had dropped the opener of the Series in Baltimore as the Mighty Orioles with their slugging line up beat Tom Seaver & the Mets 4-1. The Orioles who had already been talking big & putting down the Mets were now really thinking this was going to be easy.

In Game #2 at Memorial Stadium, Koosman got the start against twenty game winner Dave McNally. McNally would win twenty or more games for four straight years (1968-1971).

Koosman started out the game striking out Don Buford. He retired the next two batters for an easy 1st inning. In the 2nd, he struck out Boog Powell then got Brooks Robinson to pop out. He then issued a two out walk to Davey Johnson. 

But from there Kooz retired the next 13 batters in a row taking a no hitter into the 7th inning. The Mets had a 1-0 lead as Donn Clendenon had hit a solo shot in the 4th inning.

To lead off the bottom of the 7th, Paul Blair singled to left field  breaking up the no hit bid. Balir stole second & would score the tying run on Brooks Robinson's base hit.

But the Amazing Mets went ahead in the 9th inning with two out singles from "the Glider" Ed Charles then Jerry Grote. Pinch hitter Al Weis then drove in the game winning run with a base hit to left scoring The Glider.

In the bottom of the 9th Koosman came out to finish the game. After getting the first two outs, Don Buford on a fly out & Paul Blair on a grounder to Bud Harrelson, Koosman walked Frank Robinson then Boog Powell. 

Mets manager Gil Hodges removed him, and even the Oriole fans gave him a nice round of applause for his performance that afternoon.

Ron Taylor came in getting Brooks Robinson to ground out to save the game. Koosman got the win pitching 8.1 innings, allowing one run, on only two hits, with four strikeouts and two walks. The Mets went back to New York tied at one game each.

In New York the Mets took Game #3 as Nolan Ryan earned his only World Series save with the help of Tommie Agee & his two Amazing catches in center field. 

In Game #4 Ron Swoboda made another fantastic catch as Tom Seaver held the Orioles to a run in ten innings to earn his only World Series victory. The Amazing Mets were up three games to one & whole world were rooting for the ultimate underdogs.

World Series Game #5: Koosman took the mound for Game Five at Shea Stadium in front of  57,397 very excited Mets fans looking to witness history. 

In the top of the 1st inning, Jerry Koosman got Don Buford to ground out to Bud Harrelson for the first out. Next Paul Blair & Frank Robinson both flew out for an easy inning. In the top of the 2nd inning, after retiring the first two batters, Davey Johnson singled into left field. Koozthen got Andy Etchebarren to ground out to Ed Charles to end the inning.

In the top of the 3rd, the Orioles had their biggest inning of the entire World Series. First Short stop Mark Belanger led off with a single to right field. Then Jerry Koosman made one of his few post season mistakes, as he served up a two run HR, to the opposing pitcher, Dave McNally. McNally had nine career HRs.

After retiring the next two batters Frank Robinson homered into the Shea parking lot. It was just Robinson's third hit of the Series as Met pitching held him to a .188 batting average.

Words of Inspiration: Kooz came into the Mets dug out angry with himself, tossing his glove down to the ground. He told his teammates "I'll hold them right there, you guys go out & score some runs."

Koosman did exactly that, holding the mighty Orioles down the rest of the way. He would give up just one more hit & walk one batter over the next six innings. He would retire 19 of the next 21 Oriole batters, with no one reaching second base.

In the bottom of the 3rd Koosman doubled down the left field line to lead off the inning but was left stranded. It was his only hit in seven at bats in the Series.

The Shoe Polish Incident: In the 6th inning, Cleon Jones led off as a pitch came inside sending Cleon down to the ground as he tried to get out of the way. When he started his way toward first base, umpire Lou DiMuro called him back. The ball either had bounced first then hit Jones or hit first hit Jones on the foot then bounced away into the Mets dug out.

Mets coach Yogi Berra came half way down the line questioning the call as did on deck batter
Donn Clendenon. Mets manager Gil Hodges emerged from the dugout with a ball in his hand & walked out to the home plate umpire, showing him the ball with a shoe polish smudge on it for proof Cleon was hit by the pitch. 

After seeing the black smudge on the ball, umpire Lou DiMuro decided that Cleon Jones indeed was hit by the pitch & awarded him first base.

Trivia: Years later, Jerry Koosman said that Gil Hodges had come over to him in the dugout after the pitch & told him to rub a ball on his shoe. That was what had created the smudge on the baseball that Hodges presented to the umpire. 

The next batter, Donn Clendenon followed with a two run HR. In the bottom of the 7th, the light hitting, Long Island native-Al Weis also homered, to tie the game. 

In the 8th inning, Cleon Jones & Ron Swoboda hit back-to back doubles putting the Mets ahead for good. Jerry Grote reached on a Boog Powell error then Swoboda scored an insurance run in the 5-3. win 

In the top of the 8th, Koosman was rolling along. Pinch hitter Curt Motton grounded out to Bud Harrelson at short. Next Don Buford flew out to Tommie Agee in center field. Paul Blair then hit a bouncer in the hole, that short stop Bud Harrelson snagged, it was a long throw but he threw it right on to Donn Clendenon for the third out. Kooz had retired seven batters in a row, 13 of his last 16.

In the top of the 9th inning, a determined Jerry Koosman came out to finish off the Orioles & close out the World Series. The Shea Stadium fans were anxiously awaiting the last three outs with a combination of nerves & excitement ready to burst out into celebration. 

Frank Robinson led off the inning with a walk, the first walk Kooz allowed all afternoon. Koosman then got Boog Powell to ground out to Al Weis at second who got the force play on Frank Robinson at second. Robinson ran out of the baseline trying to take out Harrelson with a cheap body block slide at second. The Shea fans booed him off the field once again.

Next Brooks Robinson flew out to Ron Swoboda in right for the second out.

The next batter was Davey Johnson, who hit a long fly ball to left field. At first Jerry Koosman later admitted he thought it may have been a HR saying to himself "Ut oh!" But Cleon Jones got under it in left field, kneeling down on his left knee. The Mets were the World Champions.

One of the most memorable pictures in Mets history is Koosman leaping into catcher Jerry Grote's arms the Amazing Mets won the 1969 World Series against all the odds in the world.

For Koosman, he tossed a complete game five hit, three run victory, walking only one while striking out five Orioles. 

World Series Stats: In the World Series, Koosman pitched two games, going 2-0 while pitching 17.2 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, posting a 2.04 ERA. He struck out nine & walked four. An incredible performance. He was 3-0 in the post season.