Former major league second basement Billy Martin got his first chance at managing and employing a 'Billy Ball' style of aggressive base-running, led the Twins from a sub-.500 ball to a division crown.

Rod Carew, a Panamanian speedster, won his first of seven American League batting titles with .332. Carew, a member of the Hall of Fame, stole 19 bases, including 7 of home.

Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew batted .276, busted 49 long balls and collected 140 RBIs, leading the league in home runs and RBIs.

Tony Oliva hit .308, with 24 homers, 101 RBIs and third baseman Rich Reese batted .322, had 16 homers and 69 RBIs.

Pitcher Jim Perry dominated opposing batters and posted a 20-6 record, a 2.82 ERA in 46 games. Perry fanned 153, walked just 66 batters in 261 2/3 innings.

Dave Boswell, had a career year with a 20-12 record, struck out 190 in 256 1/3 innings of work.

Jim Kaat, a 6-ft, 4-inch, 215-pound left-hander was 14-13, a 3.49 ERA in 242 2/3 innings, spanning 40 games. Reliever Ron Perranoski appeared in 75 games, collected 31 saves and posted a 9-10 record.

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Minnesota Twins 1969

Batting Averages:

Rod Carew .332, 8 HR, 56 RBIs in 123 Games... Leo Cardenas .280, 10 HR, 70 RBIs in 160G... Bob Allison .228, 8 HR, 27 RBIs in 81G... Jim Kaat .207, 2 HR, 10 RBIs in 43G... Chuck Manuel .207, 2 HR, 24 RBIs in 83G...

Harmon Killebrew .276, 49 HR, 140 RBIs in 162G... Tony Oliva .309, 24 HR, 101 RBIs in 153G... George Mitterwald .257, 5 HR, 13 RBIs in 69G... Graig Nettles .222, 7 HR, 26 RBIs in 96G... Rick Renick .245, 5 HR, 17 RBIs in 71G...

Rich Reese .322, 16 HR, 69 RBIs in 132G... Ted Uhlander .273, 8 HR, 62 RBIs in 152 G... Frank Quillici .174, 2 HR, 12 RBIs in 118G... Cesar Tovar .288, 11 HR, 52 RBIs in 158G... John Roseboro .263, 3 HR, 32 RBIs in 115G...

Rick Dempsey .500, 0 RBIs in 5G... Herman Hill .000, 0 RBIs in 16G... Ron Clark .125 BA, 0 RBIs in 5G... Jim Holt .357, 1 HR, 2 RBIs in 12G... Frank Kostro .000, 0 RBIs in 2G... Cotton Nash .222, 0 RBIs in 6G... Tom Tischinski .191, 0 HR, 2 RBIs in 37G...

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1969 Minnesota Twins:

Pitching Stats:

Dave Boswell 20-12 W/L, 3.23 ERA in 39 Games... Dean Chance 5-4, 2.95 ERA in 20G... Jim Kaat 14-13, 3.49 ERA in 40G... Jerry Crider 1-0, 4.71 ERA in 21G... Joe Grzenda 4-1, 3.88 ERA in 38G... Dick Woodson 7-5, 3.67 ERA in 44G... Bucky Brandon 0-0, 2.70 ERA in 3G...

Jim Perry 20-6, 2.82 ERA in 46G... Ron Perranoski 9-10, 2.11 ERA in 75G... Tom Hall 8-7, 3.33 ERA in 31G... Bob Miller 5-5, 3.02 ERA in 48G... Al Worthington 4-1, 4.57 ERA in 46G... Charlie Walters 0-0, 5.40 ERA in 6G... Bill Zepp 0-0, 6.75 ERA in 4G... Danny Morris 0-1, 5.06 ERA in 3G...

Compiled by staff@baseballhistorian.com - Minnesota Twins Baseball History - All Rights Reserved

Wayne Granger, Cincinnati Reds 90 Games... Wilbur Wood, Chicago White Sox 76G... Ron Perranoski, Minnesota Twins 75G... Dan McGinn, Montreal Expos 74G...

Clay Carroll, Reds 71G... Phil Regan, Chicago Cubs 71G... Sparky Lyle, Boston Red Sox 71G... Bob Locker, Seattle Pilots 68G... Frank Reberger, San Diego Padres 67G... Diego Segui, Seattle Pilots 66G...

Cecil Upshaw, Atlanta Braves 62G... Jack Bladschun, Padres 61G... Stan Williams Cleveland Indians 61G... Rollie Fingers, Oakland Athletics 60G... Paul Lindbald, Athletics 60G... Jim Brewer, Los Angeles Dodgers 59G... Ron Tqaylor, New York Mets 59G...

Frank Linzy, San Francisco Giants 58G... Juan Pizzaro, Athletics 57G... Jim Bouton, Seattle Pilots 57G... Fred Gladding, Houston Astros 57G... Bruce DelCanton, Pittsburgh Pirates 57G... Chuck Hartenstein, Pirates 56G... Ted Abernathy, Cubs 56G... Ed 'Eddie' Watt, Baltimore Orioles 56G...

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Pitchers Bios:

* Larry Dierker, Houston Astros, Right-hander - posted a sterling 20-13 record with a brilliant 2.33 ERA 305 innings in '69... made his major league debut with Astros on his 18th birthday back in 1964, after pitching just 39 innings in the minors with the Cocoa Colts of the Florida League.

* Wayne Granger, Cincinnati Red, Right-hander - set a new major league record when he led the majors in Game Pitched in '69 with 90 - and that's a lot!... compiled a 9-6 W/L record, posted a nice 2.79 ERA in 145 innings... broke into pro ball with Tulsa of the Texas League... in his rookie season (1968) appeared in 34 games with St Louis, going 4-2 before being traded to Houston.

* Diego Segui, Seattle Pilots, Right-hander - one of the leading pitchers during the 1960s, he was 12-6 with a fine 3.42 ERA in 142 innings in 1969, fanning 113 would-be hitters with his hard-to-hit fork ball. Segui led the expansion Seattle Pilots in appearances with 66 and had the second lowest ERA on the team.

* Bruce Dal Canton, Pittsburgh Pirates, Right-hander - one of the top NL firemen, he relieved in 57 games, rang up an impressive 8-2 mark with a 3.35 ERA in 86 innings in '69 - his 3rd major league season... the 6-ft, 2-inch, 209-pounder also coached basketball during the off-season.

* John 'Blue Moon' Odom, Oakland A's, Right-hander - a mound starter, he was 15-9, with a solid 2.91 ERA in '69. A four-sport star in high school, he broke in with Kansas City back in '64... tossed two straight shutouts in his first two major league starts.

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