1969 Washington Senators season

March 2026 November 2013 Washington Senators 1969 Washington Senators Cap Logo (1968 to 1971).svg American League East RFK Stadium Washington, D.C. 86 76 y 4th Bob Short Ted Williams WTOP WWDC (FM)(Ron Menchine, Shelby Whitfield, Warner Wolf) List of Texas Rangers seasons The 1969 Washington Senators season involved the Senators finishing fourth in the newly established American League East with a record of 86 wins and 76 losses, their first winning season in franchise history, and only in Washington. Offseason January 8, 1969: John Orsino was purchased from the Senators by the New York Yankees.John Orsino at Baseball-Reference Regular season The year 1969 was a turning point in Washington sports history. The Senators named Ted Williams as manager. The Washington Redskins hired Vince Lombardi as Head Coach and he had brought a winning attitude to the nation's capital. In the same year, the nearby University of Maryland had hired Lefty Driesell to coach basketball. It marked a renaissance in sports interest in America's most transient of cities. The hiring of Ted Williams sparked at least increased curiosity in the team. Williams' fanatical approach to hitting helped improve the Senators offense considerably, and inspired the team to its one and only winning season during its 11-year stay in Washington. The Senators won 86 games, 21 more than in 1968, and improved from last place in the ten-team 1968 American League to one game out of third in the new AL East division. For this remarkable turnaround, Williams was voted American League Manager of the Year. As a result, attendance at RFK Stadium improved to over 900,000, the highest attendance for the "new" Senators and, at the time, the highest in Washington's baseball history. Season standings Washington Senators Record vs. opponents WAS Opening Day starters right|thumb|President Richard Nixon throwing out the first pitch of the Senators' season in April 1969; manager Ted Williams is at left; owner Bob Short at right. CF Del Unser RF Ed Stroud LF Frank Howard 1B Mike Epstein 3B Ken McMullen SS Ed Brinkman 2B Tim Cullen C Paul Casanova P Camilo Pascual https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/WS2/WS2196904070.shtml New York Yankees at Washington Senators Box Score, April 7, 1969 Notable transactions June 5, 1969: 1969 Major League Baseball draft Dave Moates was drafted by the Senators in the 4th round.Dave Moates at Baseball Reference Dave Criscione was drafted by the Senators in the 5th round.Dave Criscione at Baseball Reference June 20, 1969: Bill Denehy and cash was traded by the Senators to the Cleveland Indians for Lee Maye.Lee Maye at Baseball Reference Roster 1969 Washington Senators Roster Pitchers 37 Dave Baldwin 24 Frank Bertaina 27 Dick Bosman 31 Cisco Carlos 20 Joe Coleman 29 Casey Cox 22 Jan Dukes 16 Jim Hannan 28 Dennis Higgins 23 Bob Humphreys 32 Darold Knowles 22 Frank Kreutzer 21,24 Jim Miles 25 Barry Moore 17 Camilo Pascual 21 Jim Shellenback Catchers 12 Doug Camilli  8 Paul Casanova 10 Jim French Infielders  7 Bernie Allen 11 Ed Brinkman  1 Tim Cullen  6 Mike Epstein 17 Toby Harrah  5 Gary Holman  2 Ken McMullen 15 Zoilo Versalles Outfielders 35 Hank Allen  3 Brant Alyea 16,31 Dick Billings 31 Sam Bowens 33 Frank Howard  5 Lee Maye 14 Dick Smith 36 Ed Stroud 30 Del Unser Manager  9 Ted Williams Coaches 40 Joe Camacho 12 Doug Camilli 42 Nellie Fox 41 Sid Hudson 43 George Susce 44 Wayne Terwilliger Game log Regular season Washington Senators 1968thru1971; 1969 regular season game log: 86–76 (Home: 47–34; Away: 39–42) y Washington Senators 1968thru1971; April: 12–11 (Home: 5–5; Away: 7–6) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak |- style="background:#fcc;" | 1 || April 7 || 1:30p.m. EST || Yankees || L 4–8 || Stottlemyre (1–0) || Pascual (0–1) || – || 2:47 || 45,113 || 0–1 || L1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 2 || April 9 || 8:05p.m. EST || Yankees || W 6–4 || Coleman (1–0) || Bahnsen (0–1) || – || 2:00 || 15,162 || 1–1 || W1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 3 || April 10 || 1:30p.m. EST || Yankees || W 9–6 || Hannan (1–0) || Peterson (0–1) || Higgins (1) || 2:33 || 3,971 || 2–1 || W2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 4 || April 11 || 8:00p.m. EST || @ Orioles || W 4–0 || Moore (1–0) || Hardin (0–1) || Higgins (2) || 2:15 || 8,415 || 3–1 || W3 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 5 || April 12 || 2:15p.m. EST || @ Orioles || L 0–9 || McNally (1–0) || Pascual (0–2) || – || 2:16 || 6,379 || 3–2 || L1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 6 || April 13 || 2:00p.m. EST || @ Orioles || L 0–2 || Palmer (1–0) || Coleman (1–1) || – || 2:03 || – || 3–3 || L2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 7 || April 13 || 4:38p.m. EST || @ Orioles || L 0–9 || Phoebus (1–0) || Bosman (0–1) || – || 2:07 || 20,483 || 3–4 || L3 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 8 || April 15 || 2:00p.m. EST || @ Yankees || L 2–8 || Peterson (1–1) || Bertaina (0–1) || – || 2:32 || 13,889 || 3–5 || L4 |- style="background:#bbb;" |–|| April 16 || || @ Yankees || colspan="8"|Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: April 17) |- style="background:#fcc;" | 9 || April 17 || 1:00p.m. EST || @ Yankees || L 3–7 (10) || Stottlemyre (3–0) || Higgins (0–1) || – || 2:28 || – || 3–6 || L5 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 10 || April 17 || 4:03p.m. EST || @ Yankees || W 5–2 || Moore (2–0) || Bahnsen (0–3) || Higgins (3) || 2:17 || 6,883 || 4–6 || W1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 11 || April 18 || 8:05p.m. EST || Orioles || L 0–6 || Phoebus (2–0) || Coleman (1–2) || – || 2:27 || 4,457 || 4–7 || L1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 12 || April 19 || 2:15p.m. EST || Orioles || W 7–5 || Bosman (1–1) || Cuellar (0–2) || Higgins (4) || 2:20 || 5,495 || 5–7 || W1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 13 || April 20 || 1:00p.m. EST || Orioles || L 1–2 || McNally (2–0) || Hannan (1–1) || Watt (2) || 2:52 || – || 5–8 || L1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 14 || April 20 || 4:27p.m. EST || Orioles || W 5–2 || Bertaina (1–1) || Hardin (0–2) || Humphreys (1) || 2:19 || 18,055 || 6–8 || W1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 15 || April 21 || 8:05p.m. EST || Tigers || L 0–2 || Sparma (2–0) || Moore (2–1) || – || 2:15 || 3,813 || 6–9 || L1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 16 || April 22 || 8:05p.m. EST || Tigers || L 2–4 || Hiller (1–0) || Pascual (0–3) || McMahon (3) || 2:48 || 4,922 || 6–10 || L2 |- style="background:#bbb;" |–|| April 24 || || @ Red Sox || colspan="8"|Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: July 5) |- style="background:#cfc;" | 21 || April 28 || 8:00p.m. EDT || @ Tigers || W 6–1 || Pascual (1–3) || Wilson (1–3) || Bosman (1) || 2:39 || 7,353 || 11–10 || W5 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 22 || April 29 || 8:00p.m. EDT || @ Tigers || L 4–5 || Radatz (1–0) || Bertaina (1–2) || – || 2:24 || 6,986 || 11–11 || L1 |- y Washington Senators 1968thru1971; May: 12–16 (Home: 9–7; Away: 3–9) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak |- y Washington Senators 1968thru1971; June: 14–12 (Home: 6–7; Away: 8–5) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak |- style="background:#bbb;" |–|| June 15 || || Angels || colspan="8"|Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: September 2) |- style="background:#fcc;" | 64 || June 17 || 8:05p.m. EDT || Orioles || L 1–5 || Cuellar (0–2) || Shellenback (1–2) || – || 2:26 || 22,134 || 31–33 || L2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 65 || June 18 || 8:05p.m. EDT || Orioles || L 1–3 || Hardin (3–3) || Moore (5–2) || Hall (2) || 2:11 || 10,420 || 31–34 || L3 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 66 || June 19 || 8:05p.m. EDT || Orioles || L 0–2 || McNally (10–0) || Higgins (4–7) || – || 2:04 || 13,376 || 31–35 || L4 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 67 || June 20 || 8:00p.m. EDT || @ Tigers || W 7–2 (10) || Knowles (3–0) || McMahon (1–4) || – || 3:07 || 27,725 || 32–35 || W1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 68 || June 21 || 1:15p.m. EDT || @ Tigers || L 5–9 || Lolich (8–1) || Humphreys (1–2) || – || 2:31 || 25,340 || 32–36 || L1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 69 || June 22 || 1:30p.m. EDT || @ Tigers || W 9–4 || Higgins (5–7) || Dobson (2–5) || – || 2:51 || – || 33–36 || W1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 70 || June 22 || 4:56p.m. EDT || @ Tigers || W 9–5 (6) || Moore (6–2) || Sparma (4–3) || – || 1:51 || 52,721 || 34–36 || W2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 71 || June 23 || 8:00p.m. EDT || @ Orioles || L 3–5 || Palmer (9–2) || Knowles (3–1) || Richert (6) || 1:57 || 7,830 || 34–37 || L1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 72 || June 24 || 8:00p.m. EDT || @ Orioles || L 3–6 (11) || Hall (4–2) || Shellenback (1–3) || – || 3:06 || 14,763 || 34–38 || L2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 73 || June 25 || 8:00p.m. EDT || @ Orioles || W 11–8 || Humphreys (2–2) || Hardin (3–4) || Knowles (2) || 2:41 || 11,130 || 35–38 || W1 |- style="background:#bbb;" |–|| June 30 || || @ Indians || colspan="8"|Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: July 1) |- y Washington Senators 1968thru1971; July: 16–15 (Home: 4–3; Away: 12–12) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak |- style="background:#fcc;" | 90 || July 11 || 8:05p.m. EDT || Yankees || L 3–4 || Stottlemyre (13–6) || Moore (7–4) || – || 2:13 || 22,254 || 46–44 || L1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 91 || July 12 || 2:15p.m. EDT || Yankees || L 1–3 || Burbach (6–7) || Bosman (6–3) || Aker (7) || 2:39 || 17,818 || 46–45 || L2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 92 || July 13 || 1:00p.m. EDT || Yankees || W 5–4 || Cox (7–1) || Peterson (9–11) || – || 2:19 || – || 47–45 || W1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 93 || July 13 || 3:54p.m. EDT || Yankees || W 10–1 || Shellenback (2–4) || Downing (1–3) || – || 2:22 || 31,700 || 48–45 || W2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 94 || July 14 || 8:05p.m. EDT || Tigers || W 3–0 || Coleman (6–7) || Sparma (5–7) || – || 2:50 || 23,831 || 49–45 || W3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 95 || July 15 || 8:05p.m. EDT || Tigers || W 7–3 || Moore (8–4) || Hiller (2–3) || Baldwin (3) || 2:28 || 16,122 || 50–45 || W4 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 96 || July 16 || 8:05p.m. EDT || Tigers || L 0–3 || Lolich (8–1) || Bosman (6–4) || – || 2:27 || 21,568 || 50–46 || L1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 97 || July 17 || 8:05p.m. EDT || Tigers || L 3–4 || Wilson (8–7) || Cox (7–2) || McMahon (8) || 2:31 || 24,701 || 50–47 || L2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 98 || July 18 || 8:00p.m. EDT || @ Yankees || L 0–5 || Peterson (10–11) || Shellenback (2–5) || – || 2:13 || 11,002 || 50–48 || L3 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 99 || July 19 || 5:00p.m. EDT || @ Yankees || L 0–9 || Stottlemyre (14–7) || Moore (8–5) || – || 2:12 || – || 50–49 || L4 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 100 || July 19 || 7:47p.m. EDT || @ Yankees || W 4–0 || Coleman (7–7) || Bahnsen (5–11) || – || 2:37 || 16,547 || 51–49 || W1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 101 || July 20 || 2:00p.m. EDT || @ Yankees || L 2–3 (11) || Aker (5–2) || Cox (7–3) || – || 3:17 || 32,933 || 51–50 || L1 |- style=background:#bbbfff |colspan="12"|40th All-Star Game in Washington, DC |- y Washington Senators 1968thru1971; August: 14–11 (Home: 8–6; Away: 6–5) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak |- y Washington Senators 1968thru1971; September: 17–11 (Home: 12–4; Away: 5–7) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak |- style="background:#bbb;" |–|| September 8 || || @ Orioles || colspan="8"|Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: September 9) |- style="background:#fcc;" | 141 || September 9 || 8:00p.m. EDT || @ Orioles || L 1–6 || Cuellar (21–10) || Carlos (5–4) || – || 2:25 || – || 72–69 || L1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 142 || September 9 || 8:00p.m. EDT || @ Orioles || L 2–3 || Phoebus (13–6) || Coleman (10–13) || Watt (14) || 2:39 || 10,747 || 72–70 || L2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 143 || September 10 || 8:05p.m. EDT || Yankees || W 6–1 || Bosman (12–5) || Stottlemyre (18–13) || – || 2:10 || 6,016 || 73–70 || W1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 144 || September 11 || 8:05p.m. EDT || Yankees || W 7–3 || Hannan (6–5) || Bahnsen (9–14) || Knowles (12) || 2:10 || 5,389 || 74–70 || W2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 145 || September 12 || 8:05p.m. EDT || Tigers || W 4–3 || Cox (12–5) || Wilson (12–10) || – || 2:17 || 9,398 || 75–70 || W3 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 146 || September 13 || 2:15p.m. EDT || Tigers || W 11–6 || Knowles (1–2) || Timmermann (3–3) || – || 2:56 || 9,921 || 76–70 || W4 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 147 || September 14 || 1:30p.m. EDT || Tigers || L 4–7 (12) || Dobson (5–10) || Dukes (0–1) || Hiller (4) || 3:58 || 12,114 || 76–71 || L1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 148 || September 15 || 8:05p.m. EDT || Orioles || W 3–2 || Humphreys (3–3) || Palmer (14–3) || – || 1:51 || 5,376 || 77–71 || W1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 149 || September 16 || 8:05p.m. EDT || Orioles || L 0–1 || McNally (19–6) || Hannan (6–6) || Watt (16) || 2:41 || 8,165 || 77–72 || L1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 150 || September 17 || 8:00p.m. EDT || @ Yankees || L 1–2 (5) || Peterson (16–15) || Cox (12–6) || – || 1:17 || 5,025 || 77–73 || L2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 151 || September 18 || 8:00p.m. EDT || @ Yankees || L 3–4 || Stottlemyre (19–13) || Moore (8–8) || – || 2:13 || 6,020 || 77–74 || L3 |- style="background:#bbb;" |–|| September 23 || || @ Tigers || colspan="8"|Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: September 24) |- style="background:#cfc;" | 154 || September 24 || 5:30p.m. EDT || @ Tigers || W 8–4 || Hannan (7–6) || McLain (23–9) || Shellenback (1) || 2:38 || – || 79–75 || W1 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 155 || September 24 || 8:43p.m. EDT || @ Tigers || W 7–4 || Higgins (10–9) || Lolich (18–10) || Knowles (13) || 2:44 || 14,032 || 80–75 || W2 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 156 || September 25 || 1:30p.m. EDT || @ Tigers || W 7–2 || Bosman (13–5) || Kilkenny (7–6) || – || 2:18 || 4,589 || 81–75 || W3 |- y Washington Senators 1968thru1971; October: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Away: 0–0) # Date Time (ET) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/Streak |- |- style="text-align:center;" | Legend:      #cfc darkgray = Win      #fcc darkgray = Loss      #bbb darkgray = PostponementBold = Senators team member Player stats = Indicates team leader Batting Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases Pos Player G AB R H Avg. HR RBI SB C Paul Casanova 124 379 26 82 .216 4 37 0 1B Mike Epstein 131 403 73 112 .278 30 85 2 2B Bernie Allen 122 365 33 90 .247 9 45 5 3B Ken McMullen Ken McMullen (baseball) 158 562 83 153 .272 19 87 4 SS Ed Brinkman 151 576 71 153 .266 2 43 2 LF Frank Howard Frank Howard (baseball) 161 592 111 175 .296 48 111 1 CF Del Unser 153 581 69 166 .286 7 57 8 RF Lee Maye 71 238 41 69 .290 9 26 1https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/WSA/1969.shtml 1969 Washington Senators Statistics Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases Player G AB R H Avg. HR RBI SB Hank Allen 109 271 42 75 .277 1 17 12 Tim Cullen 119 249 22 52 .209 1 15 1 Brant Alyea 104 237 29 59 .249 11 40 1 Ed Stroud 123 206 35 52 .252 4 29 12 Jim French Jim French (baseball) 63 158 14 29 .184 2 13 1 Zoilo Versalles 31 75 9 20 .267 0 6 1 Sam Bowens 33 57 6 11 .193 0 4 1 Dick Billings 27 37 3 5 .135 0 0 0 Gary Holman Gary Holman (baseball) 41 31 1 5 .161 0 2 0 Dick Smith Dick Smith (AL outfielder) 21 28 2 3 .107 0 0 0 Doug Camilli 1 3 0 1 .333 0 0 0 Toby Harrah 8 1 4 0 .000 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 Joe Coleman Joe Coleman (1970s pitcher) 40 247.2 12 13 3.27 182 Dick Bosman 31 193.0 14 5 2.19 99 Jim Hannan 35 158.1 7 6 3.64 72 Barry Moore Barry Moore (baseball) 31 134.0 9 8 4.30 51 Camilo Pascual 14 55.1 2 5 6.83 34 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 Casey Cox 52 171.2 12 7 2.78 73 Jim Shellenback 30 84.2 4 7 4.04 50 Frank Bertaina 14 35.2 1 3 6.56 25 Cisco Carlos 6 17.2 1 1 4.58 5 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 Dennis Higgins 55 10 9 16 3.48 71 Darold Knowles 53 9 2 13 2.24 59 Bob Humphreys Bob Humphreys (baseball) 47 3 3 5 3.05 43 Dave Baldwin Dave Baldwin (baseball) 43 2 4 4 4.05 51 Jim Miles Jim Miles (baseball) 10 0 1 0 6.20 15 Jan Dukes 8 0 2 0 2.45 3 Frank Kreutzer 4 0 0 0 4.50 2 Awards and honors Del Unser, American League Leader, Triples (8)Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.96, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, 978-0-451-22363-0 Del Unser, American League Record, Fewest Triples in One Season by an American League Leader (8) Ted Williams, Associated Press AL Manager of the Year All-Star Game Frank Howard, starting LF Darold Knowles, reserve Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Buffalo Bisons International League Héctor López AA Savannah Senators Southern League Hub Kittle A Burlington Senators Carolina League Buddy Hicks and Bill Haywood A Shelby Senators Western Carolinas League Joe Klein Rookie Wytheville Senators Appalachian League Dick Gernert Savannah affiliation shared with Houston Astros Notes 2 References 1969 Washington Senators at Baseball Reference 1969 Washington Senators at Baseball Almanac Johnson Lloyd Wolff Miles The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball 3rd Durham, North Carolina Baseball America 2007 978-1-932391-17-6 Category:Washington Senators (1961–1971) seasons Washington Senators season Washing