| 1969 Minnesota Twins | |
|---|---|
| American League West champions | |
| League | American League |
| Division | West |
| Ballpark | Metropolitan Stadium |
| City | Bloomington, Minnesota |
| Record | 97–65 (.599) |
| Divisional place | 1st |
| Owners | Calvin Griffith(majority owner, withThelma Griffith Haynes) |
| General managers | Calvin Griffith |
| Managers | Billy Martin |
| Television | WTCN-TV |
| Radio | 830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal,Halsey Hall,Merle Harmon) |
The1969 Minnesota Twins seasonwas the 9th season for theMinnesota Twins franchise in theTwin Cities ofMinnesota, their 9th season atMetropolitan Stadium and the 69th overall in theAmerican League.
Led by new managerBilly Martin, the Twins won the newly formedAmerican League West with a 97–65 record, nine games over the second-placeOakland Athletics. The Twins were swept by theBaltimore Orioles in thefirst ALCS.
In the first year of divisional play, the Twins won theAmerican League West, led byRod Carew (.332, his firstAL batting title),Tony Oliva (.309, 24 HR, 101 RBI) andleague MVPHarmon Killebrew (49 HR, 140 RBI – both league-leading totals). Carew stole home 7 times. Leadoff batterCésar Tovar was third in theAL with 45 stolen bases.Jim Perry andDave Boswell each won 20 games, the first and only time a Minnesota club has held two 20-game winners. RelieverRon Perranoski became the first Twin to lead theAL in saves with 31. PitcherJim Kaat won his 8thGold Glove Award.
In the May 18 loss to Detroit, theTwins stole five bases during the third inning to tie amajor league record. Four bases were stolen duringHarmon Killebrew's at-bat:César Tovar stole home, andRod Carew stole second, third and then home.[1]
On June 21 in Oakland, theTwins were tied 3–3 with theA's going into the tenth inning. In the top of the inning, Minnesota scored eleven times, tying a1928New York Yankees record. The Twins won the game 14–4.[2]
Four Twins made theAll-Star Game: first baseman Killebrew, second baseman Carew, outfielder Oliva, and catcherJohn Roseboro.Harmon Killebrew became the second Twin to be namedAmerican LeagueMost Valuable Player.
1,349,328 fans attended Twins games, the third highest total in theAmerican League.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Twins | 97 | 65 | .599 | — | 57–24 | 40–41 |
| Oakland Athletics | 88 | 74 | .543 | 9 | 49–32 | 39–42 |
| California Angels | 71 | 91 | .438 | 26 | 43–38 | 28–53 |
| Kansas City Royals | 69 | 93 | .426 | 28 | 36–45 | 33–48 |
| Chicago White Sox | 68 | 94 | .420 | 29 | 41–40 | 27–54 |
| Seattle Pilots | 64 | 98 | .395 | 33 | 34–47 | 30–51 |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | WAS | |
| 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 | — | |
| 1969 Minnesota Twins | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders
Other batters | Manager Coaches | ||||||
| = Indicates team leader |
| = Indicates league leader |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | John Roseboro | 115 | 361 | 95 | .263 | 3 | 32 |
| 1B | Rich Reese | 132 | 419 | 135 | .322 | 16 | 69 |
| 2B | Rod Carew | 123 | 458 | 152 | .332 | 8 | 56 |
| 3B | Harmon Killebrew | 162 | 555 | 153 | .276 | 49 | 140 |
| SS | Leo Cárdenas | 160 | 578 | 162 | .280 | 10 | 70 |
| LF | Bob Allison | 81 | 189 | 43 | .228 | 8 | 29 |
| CF | Ted Uhlaender | 152 | 554 | 151 | .273 | 8 | 62 |
| RF | Tony Oliva | 153 | 637 | 197 | .309 | 24 | 101 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| César Tovar | 158 | 535 | 154 | .288 | 11 | 52 |
| Graig Nettles | 96 | 225 | 50 | .222 | 7 | 26 |
| George Mitterwald | 69 | 187 | 48 | .257 | 5 | 13 |
| Charlie Manuel | 83 | 164 | 34 | .207 | 2 | 24 |
| Frank Quilici | 118 | 144 | 25 | .174 | 2 | 12 |
| Rick Renick | 71 | 139 | 34 | .254 | 5 | 17 |
| Tom Tischinski | 37 | 47 | 9 | .191 | 0 | 2 |
| Jim Holt | 12 | 14 | 5 | .357 | 1 | 2 |
| Cotton Nash | 6 | 9 | 2 | .222 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Clark | 5 | 8 | 1 | .125 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Dempsey | 5 | 6 | 3 | .500 | 0 | 0 |
| Frank Kostro | 2 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Herman Hill | 16 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Perry | 46 | 261.2 | 20 | 6 | 2.82 | 153 |
| Dave Boswell | 39 | 256.1 | 20 | 12 | 3.23 | 190 |
| Jim Kaat | 40 | 242.1 | 14 | 13 | 3.49 | 139 |
| Tom Hall | 20 | 140.2 | 8 | 7 | 3.33 | 92 |
| Dean Chance | 20 | 88.1 | 5 | 4 | 2.95 | 50 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Miller | 48 | 119.1 | 5 | 5 | 3.02 | 57 |
| Dick Woodson | 44 | 110.1 | 7 | 5 | 3.67 | 66 |
| Danny Morris | 3 | 5.1 | 0 | 1 | 5.06 | 1 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ron Perranoski | 75 | 9 | 10 | 31 | 2.11 | 62 |
| Al Worthington | 46 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 4.57 | 51 |
| Joe Grzenda | 38 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3.88 | 24 |
| Jerry Crider | 21 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4.71 | 16 |
| Charley Walters | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.40 | 2 |
| Bill Zepp | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 2 |
| Bucky Brandon | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.70 | 1 |
The Twins were swept 3–0 by theBaltimore Orioles in the1969 American League Championship Series.
| Recipient | Award |
|---|---|
| Rod Carew | All-Star starting 2B |
| Harmon Killebrew | All-Star reserve 1B |
| Tony Oliva | All-Star reserve OF (did not play due to injury) |
| John Roseboro | All-Star reserve C |
| Jim Kaat | ALGold Glove Award P |
| Harmon Killebrew | ALMost Valuable Player |
Along with MVP winner Killebrew, starting pitcherJim Perry, Carew, shortstopLeo Cardenas, relief pitcherRon Perranoski, Oliva, and utility manCesar Tovar all received votes inAmerican League MVP balloting, finishing in 9th, 10th, 12th, 13th, 15th and 17th place, respectively.[5]
Perry finished in third place in American LeagueCy Young Award balloting.[6]
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Charlotte