Heading into their ninth season, the expansion Washington Senators had never won more than 76 games in a season. The team even seemed to be backsliding, as the 1968 season brought 31 more losses than wins. Desperate to try something new, Senators owner Bob Short hired Hall of Famer Ted Williams to manage the team. Williams sparked the Senators to the best record for a Washington team since the old Senators (now the Minnesota Twins) had won 87 games in 1945. The Splendid Splinter oversaw dramatic improvements in both offense and pitching, with Dick Bosman even leading the league in ERA.The Senators' last winning season, 1969 was an unlikely high point in an otherwise lackluster 11 - year stay in the capital. Prior to that season, they'd been a perennial cellar dweller, and after 1969 the team would experience steep declines in attendance and wins, leading to an acrimonious departure to Texas. This book recounts that 1969 season in-depth.