MLB Monday has entered a new era for this miniseries: that of the League Championship series. We now have an extra two awards to analyze, even though actual hardware wasn’t voted upon until 1977 in the National League and 1980 in the American League. But we digress: the divisional-play era of the sport began in the final year of the 1960s, and with it? A sign that all could be chaos in the baseball future.

1969 World Series MVP: Donn Clendenon, 1B, New York (NL) (original); Jerry Koosman, SP, New York (NL) (revised)

The New York Mets won their first World Series just a handful of years after their disastrous inception in 1962. They beat the mighty Baltimore Orioles in five games, no less; the Mets lost Game 1 on the road, and then they ripped off four consecutive victories by a combined 14-5 margin. New York first baseman Donn Clendenon (3 HRs, 4 RBI, 1.509 OPS) was named the MVP by the media. All those numbers led the Mets.

But what about the pitchers? Starter Jerry Koosman won Games 2 and 5 by posting a 2.04 ERA in 17 2/3 innings, thanks to a 0.623 WHIP. The thing we don’t like about Clendenon is the solo HRs (2), only 5 total hits, and the fact he struck out six times in five games, while walking just twice. We’re going with Koosman for the Series-changing win in Game 2 and the title-clinching effort in Game 5. Those are mad moments.

1969 AL Championship Series MVP: Dave McNally, SP, Baltimore

Baltimore swept the Minnesota Twins in the inaugural best-of-five ALCS, winning the first two games at home in extra innings by one run each—and then blowing out the opponent on the road in Game 3. Those first two games are the key, so we look to the Orioles pitching first: in Game 2, starter Dave McNally went all 11 innings to post a complete-game shutout with 11 strikeouts, too. That wins our nod here, hands down.

If Baltimore loses that game, it goes to Minneapolis facing a chance of not even returning home for a Game 5. McNally’s sheer will carried his team there, as he didn’t surrender any runs while his own team couldn’t score, either. The fact that Orioles Manager Earl Weaver left his starter in for the complete game says a lot.

1969 NL Championship Series MVP: Wayne Garrett, UTL, New York

The Miracle Mets swept the Atlanta Braves, winning Games 1 and 2 on the road before closing it out in Game 3. The Mets had five guys post OPS marks over 1.000, as N.Y. outscored Atlanta, 27-15, in the three contests. That means the pitching wasn’t that great, though. Only Game 3 winner Nolan Ryan was really effective for the Mets (2.57 ERA, 0.714 WHIP). Not sure we can give him the nod based on that alone.

So, of the hitters? Utility infielder Wayne Garrett is our pick, as he didn’t commit an error in the field, and he was the only top hitter who didn’t strike out more than he walked. Garrett was third in OPS (1.236) and third in average (.385); he also stole a base as the Mets just overwhelmed the Braves pitching staff on every level. With 2 doubles, 1 HR, 3 RBI, and 2 walks, he was all over the box scores for the three victories.

1969 AL MOTY: Dick Williams, Boston

The Boston Red Sox finished 22 games behind the Orioles, and they fired their manager, Dick Williams, with nine games left in the season. The interesting thing here is that Williams (82-71) was the only AL East manager to post a positive PPP mark (plus 5) on a winning team during the year. He got Boston to the World Series in 1967, and he was our pick for MOTY in 1968. Now, he wins another trophy from us here, too. Wow.

For the record, only Oakland Manager Hank Bauer (plus-1 PPP) in the AL West also finished above even zero on a winning club, and of course, A’s owner Charles O. Finley fired Bauer with 13 games left. The twist here is that Williams would end up managing the A’s from 1971 to 1973, winning two World Series in the process—before Finley fired him, too, basically. What a world of musical chairs in the dugouts of MLB …

1969 NL MOTY: Gil Hodges, New York

The Mets finished 8 games ahead in the NL East Division, and Manager Gil Hodges (plus-8 PPP) easily had the best impact on any team by a dugout skipper this season. Both Braves Manager Lum Harris and Cincinnati Reds Manager Dave Bristol finished at plus-5 PPP in the West Division. So, there was competition for this. In fact, one could argue Harris deserves equal consideration. He does, but this is close.

Hodges and Harris both would have finished second by 1 game in a neutral setting, in terms of the straight sabermetric projections based on stats alone. Instead, they both impacted their teams in respective fashion to win their respective divisions. Hodges just was better in the end by those three extra wins. That’s the key.