1969 Cleveland Indians season

1969 Cleveland Indians
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Eastern Division (since 1969)
Location
Cleveland Municipal Stadium (since 1932)
Cleveland, Ohio (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	Vernon Stouffer
General manager(s)	Gabe Paul, Alvin Dark
Manager(s)	Alvin Dark
Local television	WJW-TV
Local radio	WERE (1300)
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The 1969 Cleveland Indians season was a season in American baseball. The club finished in last place in the newly established American League East with a record of 62 wins and 99 losses.

Offseason

• October 8, 1968: Eddie Fisher was traded by the Cleveland Indians to the California Angels for Jack Hamilton.^[1]
• October 15, 1968: 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft
  • Chico Salmon was drafted from the Indians by the Seattle Pilots as the 11th pick.^[2]
  • Lou Piniella was drafted from the Indians by the Pilots as the 28th pick.^[3]

Regular season

Season standings

AL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Baltimore Orioles	109	53	0.673	—	60–21	49–32
Detroit Tigers	90	72	0.556	19	46–35	44–37
Boston Red Sox	87	75	0.537	22	46–35	41–40
Washington Senators	86	76	0.531	23	47–34	39–42
New York Yankees	80	81	0.497	28½	48–32	32–49
Cleveland Indians	62	99	0.385	46½	33–48	29–51

Record vs. opponents

1969 American League Records Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	WSH
Baltimore	—	10–8	6–6	9–3	13–5	11–7	11–1	8–4	11–7	8–4	9–3	13–5
Boston	8–10	—	8–4	5–7	12–6	10–8	10–2	7–5	11–7	4–8	6–6	6–12
California	6–6	4–8	—	9–9	8–4	5–7	9–9	7–11	3–9	6–12	9–9–1	5–7
Chicago	3–9	7–5	9–9	—	8–4	3–9	8–10	5–13	3–9	8–10	10–8	4–8
Cleveland	5–13	6–12	4–8	4–8	—	7–11	7–5	5–7	9–8	5–7	7–5	3–15
Detroit	7–11	8–10	7–5	9–3	11–7	—	8–4	6–6	10–8	7–5	10–2	7–11
Kansas City	1–11	2–10	9–9	10–8	5–7	4–8	—	8–10	5–7–1	8–10	10–8	7–5
Minnesota	4–8	5–7	11–7	13–5	7–5	6–6	10–8	—	10–2	13–5	12–6	6–6
New York	7–11	7–11	9–3	9–3	8–9	8–10	7–5–1	2–10	—	6–6	7–5	10–8
Oakland	4–8	8–4	12–6	10–8	7–5	5–7	10–8	5–13	6–6	—	13–5	8–4
Seattle	3–9	6–6	9–9–1	8–10	5–7	2–10	8–10	6–12	5–7	5–13	—	7–5
Washington	5–13	12–6	7–5	8–4	15–3	11–7	5–7	6–6	8–10	4–8	5–7	—

Notable transactions

• April 10, 1969: Oscar Zamora was released by the Indians.^[4]
• April 19, 1969: Joe Azcue, Vicente Romo and Sonny Siebert were traded by the Indians to the Boston Red Sox for Dick Ellsworth, Ken Harrelson and Juan Pizarro.^[5]
• June 12, 1969: Rob Gardner was traded by the Indians to the New York Yankees for John Orsino.^[6]
• June 20, 1969: Lee Maye was traded by the Indians to the Washington Senators for Bill Denehy and cash.^[7]

Roster

1969 Cleveland Indians
Roster
Pitchers 54 Gary Boyd 36 Larry Burchart 42 Dick Ellsworth 32 Jack Hamilton 34 Steve Hargan 38 Phil Hennigan 37 Gary Kroll 41 Ron Law 48 Sam McDowell 39 Mike Paul 31 Horacio Piña 43 Juan Pizarro 43 Vicente Romo 42 Sonny Siebert 33 Luis Tiant 35 Stan Williams		Catchers  7 Joe Azcue  8 Ray Fosse  9 Duke Sims  7 Ken Suarez Infielders 10 Max Alvis 16 Larry Brown 17 Lou Camilli 13 Vern Fuller 18 Jack Heidemann 11 Tony Horton 29 Lou Klimchock 24 Eddie Leon 14 Dave Nelson 17 Zoilo Versalles		Outfielders 21 Frank Baker  1 José Cardenal 20 Jimmie Hall 40 Ken Harrelson 23 Chuck Hinton 26 Lee Maye 25 Russ Nagelson 20 Cap Peterson 28 Richie Scheinblum 27 Russ Snyder		Manager  5 Alvin Dark Coaches -- Clay Bryant 12 Luke Easter  4 Johnny Lipon  2 Jack Sanford  3 George Strickland

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
SS	Brown, LarryLarry Brown	132	469	112	.239	4	24
CF	Cardenal, JoséJosé Cardenal	146	557	143	.257	11	45

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
Nelson, DaveDave Nelson	52	123	25	.203	0	6
Maye, LeeLee Maye	43	108	27	.250	1	15
Azcue, JoeJoe Azcue	7	24	7	.292	1	1

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

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
Boyd, GaryGary Boyd	8	11	0	2	9.00	9

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
Piña, HoracioHoracio Piña	31	4	2	1	5.21	32
Burchart, LarryLarry Burchart	29	0	2	0	4.25	26

Awards and honors

All-Star Game

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Portland Beavers	Pacific Coast League	Red Davis
AA	Waterbury Indians	Eastern League	Clay Bryant
A	Reno Silver Sox	California League	Ken Aspromonte
A	Statesville/Monroe Indians	Western Carolinas League	Pinky May
Rookie	GCL Indians	Gulf Coast League	Joe Lutz

Statesville franchise moved to Monroe, June 20, 1969^[8]

Notes

1. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fisheed02.shtml
2. Chico Salmon page at Baseball Reference
3. Lou Piniella page at Baseball Reference
4. Oscar Zamora page at Baseball Reference
5. Joe Azcue page at Baseball-Reference
6. John Orsino page at Baseball Reference
7. Lee Maye 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 Cleveland Indians team page at Baseball Reference
• 1969 Cleveland Indians team page at www.baseball-almanac.com