1969 Minnesota Twins season
1969 Minnesota Twins | ||
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American League West Champions | ||
File:Twins 6171.gif | ||
Division | Western Division | |
Ballpark | Metropolitan Stadium | |
City | Bloomington, Minnesota | |
Owners | Calvin Griffith (majority owner, with Thelma Griffith Haynes) | |
Managers | Billy Martin | |
Television | WTCN-TV | |
Radio | 830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal, Halsey Hall, Merle Harmon) | |
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Led by new manager Billy Martin, the 1969 Minnesota Twins won the newly formed American League West with a 97–65 record, nine games over the second-place Oakland Athletics. The Twins were swept by the Baltimore Orioles in the first American League Championship Series.
Regular season
In the first year of divisional play, the Twins won the American League West, led by Rod Carew (.332, his first AL batting title), Tony Oliva (.309, 24 HR, 101 RBI) and league MVP Harmon Killebrew (49 HR, 140 RBI – both league-leading totals). Carew stole home 7 times. Leadoff batter César Tovar was third in the AL with 45 stolen bases. Jim Perry and Dave Boswell each won 20 games, the first and only time a Minnesota club has held two 20-game winners. Reliever Ron Perranoski became the first Twin to lead the AL in saves with 31. Pitcher Jim Kaat won his 8th Gold Glove Award.
In the May 18 loss to Detroit, Twins stole five bases during the third inning to tie a major league record. Four bases were stolen during Harmon Killebrew's at-bat: César Tovar stole home, and Rod Carew stole second, third and then home.[1]
On June 21 in Oakland, the Twins were tied 3-3 with the A's going into the tenth inning. In the top of the inning, Minnesota scored eleven times, tying a 1928 New York Yankees record. The Twins won the game 14-4.[2]
Four Twins made the All-Star Game: first baseman Killebrew, second baseman Carew, outfielder Oliva, and catcher Johnny Roseboro. Harmon Killebrew became the second Twin to be named American League Most Valuable Player.
1,349,328 fans attended Twins games, the third highest total in the American League.
Season standings
Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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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 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] | |||||||||||||
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Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEP | 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
- June 5, 1969: 1969 Major League Baseball draft
- Bert Blyleven was drafted by the Twins in the 3rd round.[3]
- Jim Hughes was drafted by the Twins in the 33rd round.[4]
Roster
1969 Minnesota Twins | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
= Indicates team leader |
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 |
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C | Johnny Roseboro | 115 | 361 | 95 | .263 | 3 | 32 |
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 |
RF | Tony Oliva | 153 | 637 | 197 | .309 | 24 | 101 |
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 |
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César Tovar | 158 | 535 | 154 | .288 | 11 | 52 |
Jim Holt | 12 | 14 | 5 | .357 | 1 | 2 |
Ron Clark | 5 | 8 | 1 | .125 | 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 |
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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 |
Dean Chance | 20 | 88.1 | 5 | 4 | 2.95 | 50 |
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 |
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Bob Miller | 48 | 119.1 | 5 | 5 | 3.02 | 57 |
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 |
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Ron Perranoski | 75 | 9 | 10 | 31 | 2.11 | 62 |
Bucky Brandon | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.70 | 1 |
Postseason
The Twins were swept 3–0 by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1969 American League Championship Series.
Awards and honors
- Harmon Killebrew, Third Base, American League MVP
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Charlotte
Notes
- ^ "May 18, 1969 Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
- ^ "June 21, 1969 Minnesota Twins at Oakland Athletics Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
- ^ Bert Blyleven at Baseball Reference
- ^ Jim Hughes at Baseball Reference
References
- Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com
- Team info from www.baseball-almanac.com
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.