Jerry Koosman, the left-handed pitcher who recorded the last out of the New York Mets' unexpected 1969 World Series championship, died Sunday at age 83. Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said Koosman had been ill for about a year and died of multiple illnesses in Osceola, Wisconsin, with his children around him.
His embrace with catcher Jerry Grote on the mound at Shea Stadium became an enduring image of the Miracle Mets. Before their championship season, the franchise had never posted a winning record and had lost at least 100 games in five of its first seven seasons. In 1969, New York won 38 of its final 49 games to finish 100-62 and claim the National League East title.
Pitching behind Tom Seaver in the rotation, Koosman finished that season 17-9 with a 2.28 ERA across 32 starts. After the Baltimore Orioles won the World Series opener, he helped New York draw even by allowing one run in 8⅔ innings in a 2-1 Game 2 victory. He then threw a five-hitter in the Mets' 5-3 clinching win in Game 5. Davey Johnson's flyout to left fielder Cleon Jones ended the series, sending thousands of fans onto the field.
Across 19 major league seasons, Koosman compiled a 222-209 record and a 3.36 ERA, with 140 complete games and 33 shutouts. He twice won 20 games in a season. Using mainly a fastball and curveball, he went 140-137 with a 3.09 ERA for the Mets from 1967 through 1978, before continuing his career with Minnesota, the Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia.
Born in Appleton, Minnesota, on Dec. 23, 1942, Koosman played baseball during his Army service at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. According to his biography by Irv Goldfarb for the Society for American Baseball Research, catcher John Luchese alerted his father, a Shea Stadium usher, to Koosman's ability. The information reached Mets front-office official Joe McDonald, and Koosman signed for $1,600 on Aug. 27, 1964.
Koosman's major league debut came in Philadelphia on April 14, 1967, when he delivered 2⅔ scoreless, hitless innings in relief. He established himself in the majors the following year, going 19-12 with a 2.08 ERA and finishing second to Johnny Bench in National League Rookie of the Year voting. He earned All-Star selections in both 1968 and 1969.
Koosman also helped the Mets reach the 1973 World Series, winning Game 5 against Oakland after receiving no decision in Game 2. Following the 1978 season, he told the declining Mets he would retire unless traded. New York sent him to Minnesota that December, and subsequent trades took him to Chicago and Philadelphia. The Mets retired his No. 36 in 2021.
Koosman is survived by his sons, Michael and Shawn, and his daughter, Danielle. His marriage to the former LaVonne Sorum ended in divorce.
