1965 Minnesota Twins season
The 1965 Minnesota Twins won the 1965 American League pennant with a 102–60 record. It was the team's first pennant since moving to Minnesota, and the 102 wins is a team record.
| 1965 Minnesota Twins | |
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| 1965 American League Champions | |
| Major League affiliations | |
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| Location | |
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| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Calvin Griffith (majority owner, with Thelma Griffith Haynes) |
| General manager(s) | Calvin Griffith |
| Manager(s) | Sam Mele |
| Local television | WTCN-TV |
| Local radio | 830 WCCO AM (Ray Scott, Herb Carneal, Halsey Hall) |
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Regular season
On April 27, in addition to being the game's winning pitcher, Camilo Pascual hit a grand slam in the first inning – the second of his career. The Detroit Tigers' Dizzy Trout is the only pitcher to have done that before.
The Twins spent much of the summer in a race for first with the Baltimore Orioles. On July 1, however, the Twins took first place and kept it, ultimately winning the pennant by seven games.
Six Twins made the All-Star Game, (which was played in the Twins' home park, Metropolitan Stadium). First baseman Harmon Killebrew, shortstop Zoilo Versalles, outfielders Tony Oliva and Jimmie Hall, catcher Earl Battey, and pitcher Mudcat Grant all appeared in the game.
On September 26 at D.C. Stadium in Washington, D.C. – the city the Twins franchise called home until 1961 — the Twins beat the Washington Senators 2–1 to clinch the pennant. Jim Kaat was the winning pitcher.
Overall, 1,463,258 fans attended Twins games, the highest total in the American League. During the season, the Twins played in front of their largest crowd ever (71,245 at Yankee Stadium on June 20) and their smallest crowd ever (537 at home, September 20).[1]
Offense
Versalles was named AL Most Valuable Player. He also led the team with 126 runs scored, and won a Gold Glove Award for his play at shortstop. Oliva led the AL with a .321 batting average. Killebrew was limited to 113 games by injuries, but still hit 25 HR and 75 RBI.
Pitching
Grant led the league with 21 wins, becoming the first black pitcher in the history of the American League to win 20 games in a season.[2] Kaat won the Gold Glove for pitchers.
Season standings
| American League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Twins | 102 | 60 | 0.630 | — | 51–30 | 51–30 |
| Chicago White Sox | 95 | 67 | 0.586 | 7 | 48–33 | 47–34 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 94 | 68 | 0.580 | 8 | 46–33 | 48–35 |
| Detroit Tigers | 89 | 73 | 0.549 | 13 | 47–34 | 42–39 |
| Cleveland Indians | 87 | 75 | 0.537 | 15 | 52–30 | 35–45 |
| New York Yankees | 77 | 85 | 0.475 | 25 | 40–43 | 37–42 |
| California Angels | 75 | 87 | 0.463 | 27 | 46–34 | 29–53 |
| Washington Senators | 70 | 92 | 0.432 | 32 | 36–45 | 34–47 |
| Boston Red Sox | 62 | 100 | 0.383 | 40 | 34–47 | 28–53 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 59 | 103 | 0.364 | 43 | 33–48 | 26–55 |
Record vs. opponents
1965 American League Records Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | LAA/ CAL |
MIN | NYY | WSH | |||
| Baltimore | — | 11–7 | 9–9 | 10–8 | 11–7 | 11–7 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 13–5 | 8–10 | |||
| Boston | 7–11 | — | 4–14 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 11–7 | 5–13 | 1–17 | 9–9 | 11–7 | |||
| Chicago | 9–9 | 14–4 | — | 10–8 | 9–9 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 7–11 | 8–10 | 13–5 | |||
| Cleveland | 8–10 | 10–8 | 8–10 | — | 9–9 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 11–7 | |||
| Detroit | 7–11 | 12–6 | 9–9 | 9–9 | — | 13–5 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 11–7 | |||
| Kansas City | 7–11 | 7–11 | 5–13 | 9–9 | 5–13 | — | 5–13 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 6–12 | |||
| Los Angeles/California | 5–13 | 13–5 | 6–12 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 13–5 | — | 9–9 | 6–12 | 6–12 | |||
| Minnesota | 10–8 | 17–1 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 9–9 | — | 13–5 | 15–3 | |||
| New York | 5–13 | 9–9 | 10–8 | 6–12 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 5–13 | — | 11–7 | |||
| Washington | 10–8 | 7–11 | 5–13 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 12–6 | 12–6 | 3–15 | 7–11 | — | |||
NOTE: The Los Angeles Angels changed their name to California Angels on September 2, 1965, with the season in progress.
Notable transactions
- June 8, 1965: 1965 Major League Baseball draft
- Del Unser was drafted by the Twins in the 2nd round, but did not sign.[3]
- Graig Nettles was drafted by the Twins in the 4th round.[4]
Roster
| 1965 Minnesota Twins | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Earl Battey | 131 | 394 | 117 | .297 | 6 | 60 |
| 1B | Don Mincher | 128 | 346 | 87 | .251 | 22 | 65 |
| 2B | Jerry Kindall | 125 | 342 | 67 | .196 | 6 | 36 |
| 3B | Rich Rollins | 140 | 469 | 117 | .249 | 5 | 32 |
| SS | Zoilo Versalles | 148 | 522 | 149 | .285 | 20 | 86 |
| LF | Bob Allison | 135 | 438 | 102 | .233 | 23 | 78 |
| CF | Jimmie Hall | 160 | 666 | 182 | .273 | 19 | 77 |
| RF | Tony Oliva | 149 | 576 | 185 | .321 | 16 | 98 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harmon Killebrew | 113 | 401 | 108 | .269 | 25 | 75 |
| Sandy Valdespino | 108 | 245 | 64 | .261 | 1 | 22 |
| Joe Nossek | 87 | 170 | 37 | .218 | 2 | 16 |
| Jerry Zimmerman | 83 | 154 | 33 | .214 | 1 | 11 |
| Frank Quilici | 56 | 149 | 31 | .208 | 0 | 7 |
| Andy Kosco | 23 | 55 | 13 | .236 | 1 | 6 |
| Bernie Allen | 19 | 39 | 9 | .231 | 0 | 6 |
| Frank Kostro | 20 | 31 | 5 | .161 | 0 | 1 |
| César Tovar | 18 | 25 | 5 | .200 | 0 | 2 |
| Ted Uhlaender | 13 | 22 | 4 | .182 | 0 | 1 |
| John Sevcik | 12 | 16 | 1 | .063 | 0 | 0 |
| Rich Reese | 14 | 7 | 2 | .286 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mudcat Grant | 41 | 270.1 | 21 | 7 | 3.30 | 142 |
| Jim Kaat | 45 | 264.1 | 18 | 11 | 2.83 | 154 |
| Jim Perry | 36 | 167.2 | 12 | 7 | 2.63 | 88 |
| Camilo Pascual | 27 | 156 | 9 | 3 | 3.35 | 96 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Boswell | 27 | 106 | 6 | 5 | 3.40 | 85 |
| Jim Merritt | 16 | 76.2 | 5 | 4 | 3.17 | 61 |
| Dick Stigman | 33 | 70 | 4 | 2 | 4.37 | 70 |
| Dwight Siebler | 7 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 4.20 | 15 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Worthington | 62 | 10 | 7 | 21 | 2.13 | 59 |
| Johnny Klippstein | 56 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 2.24 | 59 |
| Bill Pleis | 41 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2.98 | 33 |
| Jerry Fosnow | 29 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4.44 | 35 |
| Mel Nelson | 28 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 4.12 | 31 |
| Garry Roggenburk | 12 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3.43 | 6 |
| Pete Cimino | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
1965 World Series
Awards and honors
- Zoilo Versalles, Shortstop, American League MVP
- Sam Mele, Associated Press AL Manager of the Year
Farm system
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | Denver Bears | Pacific Coast League | Cal Ermer |
| AA | Charlotte Hornets | Southern League | Al Evans |
| A | Wilson Tobs | Carolina League | Vern Morgan |
| A | Orlando Twins | Florida State League | Harry Warner |
| A | Wisconsin Rapids Twins | Midwest League | Ray Bellino and Pete Appleton |
| A | Thomasville Hi-Toms | Western Carolinas League | Ralph Rowe |
| A-Short Season | St. Cloud Rox | Northern League | Jim Rantz |
| Rookie | FRL Twins | Florida Rookie League | Fred Waters |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: St. Cloud
Notes
- "Minnesota Twins". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
- Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 198, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
- Del Unser at Baseball Reference
- Graig Nettles 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.