1965 Minnesota Twins season

1965 Minnesota Twins
1965 American League Champions
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
Metropolitan Stadium (since 1961)
Bloomington, Minnesota (since 1961)
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 (Herb Carneal, Halsey Hall, Ray Scott)
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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 was a team record.

Regular season

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.

On September 26 at D.C. Stadium in Washington, D.C. – the city the Twins franchise called home until 1960—the Twins beat the Washington Senators 2–1 to clinch the pennant. Jim Kaat was the winning pitcher.

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. Overall, 1,463,258 fans attended Twins games, the highest total in the American League.

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. Kaat won the Gold Glove for pitchers.

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB
Minnesota Twins	102	60	.630	--
Chicago White Sox	95	67	.586	7
Baltimore Orioles	94	68	.580	8
Detroit Tigers	89	73	.549	13
Cleveland Indians	87	75	.537	15
New York Yankees	77	85	.475	25
California Angels	75	87	.463	27
Washington Senators	70	92	.432	32
Boston Red Sox	62	100	.383	40
Kansas City Athletics	59	103	.364	43

Record vs. opponents

1965 American League Records Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
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.
  • Graig Nettles was drafted by the Twins in the 4th round.

Roster

1965 Minnesota Twins
Roster
Pitchers 23 Dave Boswell 35 Pete Cimino 26 Jerry Fosnow 33 Mudcat Grant 36 Jim Kaat 27 Johnny Klippstein 26 Jim Merritt 29 Mel Nelson 17 Camilo Pascual 31 Jim Perry 19 Bill Pleis 30 Garry Roggenburk 25 Dwight Siebler 18 Dick Stigman 15 Al Worthington		Catchers 10 Earl Battey 20,25,41 John Sevcik 22 Jerry Zimmerman Infielders  8 Bernie Allen  3 Harmon Killebrew 16 Jerry Kindall 11 Frank Kostro  5 Don Mincher 11 Frank Quilici 13 Rich Reese  9 Rich Rollins 12 César Tovar  2 Zoilo Versalles		Outfielders  4 Bob Allison  7 Jimmie Hall  8 Andy Kosco 24 Joe Nossek  6 Tony Oliva 34 Ted Uhlaender 47,28 Sandy Valdespino		Manager 14 Sam Mele Coaches 52 Jim Lemon  1 Billy Martin 51 Hal Naragon 53 Johnny Sain

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
SS	Zoilo Versalles	148	522	149	.285	20	86
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

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

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
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
Jerry Fosnow	29	3	3	2	4.44	35
Pete Cimino	1	0	0	0	0.00	0

1965 World Series

Main article: 1965 World Series

Awards and honors

• Zoilo Versalles, Shortstop, American League MVP
• Sam Mele, Associated Press AL Manager of the Year

Farm system

See also: Minor league baseball

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
Short-Season A	St. Cloud Rox	Northern League	Jim Rantz
Rookie	FRL Twins	Florida Rookie League	Fred Waters

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: St. Cloud

References

• Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com
• Team info from www.baseball-almanac.com

External links

• 2005 book about the 1965 Minnesota Twins
• Account of July 9 Killebrew home run