A Giant Blog

Gaylord Perry (#484) made a club-high 39 starts and was like a second ace in the Giants' staff. He went 19-14 with a 2.49 ERA.

• Ron Bryant (4-3, 1 save, 4.37 ERA)
• Rich Robertson (1-3, 5.38 ERA)
• Don McMahon (3-1, 2 saves, 3.04 ERA in 13 games)
• Ron Kline (0-2, 4.09 ERA in 7 games)
• Bob Garibaldi (0-1, 1.80 ERA in 1 start)
• Mike Davison (0-0, 4.50 ERA in 1 game) 

Juan Marichal (#370) was the staff ace and had a great year. He had a 2.10 ERA and was 21-11 in 36 starts.


Joe Gibbon (#158) was 1-3 with 2 saves and a 3.60 ERA in 16 games. Gibbon was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 10 for Ron Kline.
Frank Linzy (#345) was the main man out of the bullpen. He was 14-9 with 11 saves and a 3.64 ERA in 58 appearances. He averaged almost two innings per appearance.

Willie Mays (#190) was declining but he was still one of the best offensive players on the club. In 1969 Willie batted .283 with 13 HR and 58 RBI in 117 games.
Frank Johnson (#227) batted .100 (1 for 10) in seven games in 1969. He was in AAA Phoenix for most of the season. Johnson would spent all or part of eight seasons from 1966-1975 in Phoenix.
Jim Hart (#555) batted .254 with 3 HR and 26 RBI in 95 games. It was a huge drop-off from his previous seasons. Jim played for the Giants from 1963 until early in 1973 but he didn't have a big year after 1968.
Bobby Bonds (#630) batted .259 with 30 HR and 90 RBI in 1969. Bonds stole 45 bases and led the NL in runs (120) and strikeouts (187).

Others who played outfield for the Giants in 1969 and didn't receive a 1969 Topps card:

• Ken Henderson (.225, 6 HR, 44 RBI in 113 games)
• Leon Wagner (.333 in 15 AB)
• George Foster (.400 in 5 AB)

Willie McCovey (#440) was the NL MVP in 1969 and almost carried them to a division title. He batted .320 with 45 home runs and 126 RBI. He also had 121 walks, 45 of them intentional.
Bob Burda (#392) batted .230 in 161 at bats as a utilityman.
Don Mason (#584) batted .228 in 250 at bats as a backup infielder.
Willie McCovey All Star (#416)

I hadn't realized how unbalanced the Giants' offense was in 1969 until seeing these stats. It's surprising that Willie could get all of those RBI. The Giants really had a hard time getting much offense out of SS, 3B, LF, and catcher.

Others who played infield for the Giants in 1969 who didn't get a 1969 Topps Giants card:

• Tito Fuentes (.295 in 183 AB)
• Cesar Gutierrez (.217 in 23 AB)
• John Stephenson (.222 in 27 AB)

Clyde King (#274) became the Giants' manager in 1969. He managed them to a second place finish in the newly created National League West. King was replaced in May 1970 after starting the season 19-23. He later managed the Atlanta Braves at the end of the 1974 season and the beginning of the 1975 season (a total of 198 games). Clyde also managed the New York Yankees for the last 62 games of the 1982 season.

• Team Record: 90-72 (2nd in NL West, 3 games behind Atlanta)
• Team Attendance: 873,603 (9th of 12 in NL)
• Team Batting: .242 (7th in NL)
• Team Home Runs: 136 (5th in NL)
• Team ERA: 3.26 (4th in NL)
• Team Fielding: .974 (10th in NL)
• NL MVP: Willie McCovey
• NL All Stars: Willie McCovey (starting 1B), Willie Mays (OF), Juan Marichal (P)
• NL Batting Leaders: Willie McCovey (slugging - .656; home runs - 45; RBI - 126) Bobby Bonds (runs - 120; strikeouts - 187) Ron Hunt (hit by pitch - 25)
• NL Pitching Leaders: Juan Marichal (ERA - 2.10; shutouts - 8) Gaylord Perry (innings pitched - 325.1)
• Batting Leader: Willie McCovey (.320)
• Home Run Leader: Willie McCovey (45)
• RBI Leader: Willie McCovey (126)
• Runs Leader: Bobby Bonds (121)
• Stolen Base Leader: Bobby Bonds (45)
• Wins Leader: Juan Marichal (21)
• Losses Leader: Gaylord Perry (14)
• ERA Leader: Juan Marichal (2.10)
• Saves Leader: Frank Linzy (11)

Dick Dietz (#293) batted .230 with 11 HR in 79 games in 1969.
Bob Barton (#41) batted .170 in 118 at bats in 1969.
Jack Hiatt (#204) batted .196 in 69 games.

Others who caught for the Giants but didn't get a 1969 Topps card:

• John Harrell (.500 in 6 at bats)

A cool 2-player card (#572)

Don't forget to enter the Giant Strat-O-Matic contest if you want a game. A computer version and a board game version are still available.