In the annals of St. Paul baseball, Jim Rantz doesn’t ring the same bells as names such as Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor or Joe Mauer. But Rantz’s impact on major league baseball is comparable, certainly locally.

Rantz, 75, the Twins’ director of minor league operations since 1986 and part of the team for its entire 52 years in Minnesota, will retire at the end of the year, he announced Monday, Oct. 15. Rantz actually first joined the organization as a pitcher when the franchise still was the Washington Senators, a year before the move to Minnesota.

“One of the things I’m most proud of is the fact I did it all in once place,” Rantz said. “I was born and raised in St. Paul, married my high school sweetheart, played at the University of Minnesota, signed with the Senators in 1960 and (have) been with the organization ever since. It’s time for me to see what else goes on in the summer besides baseball.”

After playing at Washington High School in St. Paul, Rantz went to the University of Minnesota and won an NCAA championship in 1960, pitching 10 innings in a 2-1 victory over Southern California in the title game.

He was the first Twins scout to lay eyes on Kirby Puckett, recommending Minnesota draft the future hall of famer in 1982.

For the past 43 seasons, Rantz has helped run the Twins’ minor league operations, the past 27 as director.

During that time, the Twins won two Word Series (1987 and 1991) and six additional division titles (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009 and 2010).

“I’ve always considered myself a player-development guy,” Rantz said, “and that’s what has always been the most exciting thing for me, to see a guy advance to the major leagues. I know what it’s like working your way through the minor leagues. I made it to spring training, which was an accomplishment back then. There were only 16 teams then, and I got to play with the Killebrews and Olivas.

“I still get a thrill when a player advances through our system and plays in the major leagues.”

The Twins were named Topps’ organization of the year in 2000 and won the same award from Baseball America in 2002 and 2004. He was elected to the Twins Hall of Fame in 2007 — “the highlight of my career,” he said — and in 2008 was minor league baseball’s first recipient of the Sheldon “Chief” Bender Award for distinguished service and player development and for fostering good relationships with the organization’s affiliates.

Rantz didn’t just develop players. In 1987, he sent Class AAA infielder Ron Gardenhire to instructional league as a coach.

“I owe Jim so much for giving me a chance,” Gardenhire said Monday. “He saw how lousy I was and promptly hired me to coach. Jim and (his wife) Pearl have been so good to (my wife) Carol and I. He is truly an icon to us, and plenty of others like us.”

Rantz and his wife have four children and nine grandchildren.

“I missed a lot of time with my own kids when they were growing up, because of the job,” Rantz said. “Now I want to make up for some of that by spending time with my grandkids.”

He will play his traditional part in organizational meetings this month in Fort Myers, Fla., where he made the announcement Monday morning.

“I felt it was the right time,” Rantz said. “With the organizational meetings, everyone is here. I thought, why not do this face to face instead of the middle of some season?”

Rantz was watching his son, Mike, play college baseball during the 1982 strike when he first saw Puckett, who would become a 10-time all-star with the Twins and lead the team to its World Series titles.

“The big league club was on strike, so I took my family down to Peoria to watch my son play,” Rantz said. “Puckett was playing for the Quincy team, and I put his name in for the draft. We took him No. 1, and the rest was history.”

And like much of the Twins’ history, it had Rantz’s stamp on it.