1965 Minnesota Twins season explained

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.

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.

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
Roster
Pitchers		CatchersInfielders		Outfielders		ManagerCoaches

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		131	394	117	.297	6	60
1B		128	346	87	.251	22	65
2B		125	342	67	.196	6	36
3B		140	469	117	.249	5	32
SS		148	522	149	.285	20	86
LF		135	438	102	.233	23	78
CF		160	666	182	.273	19	77
RF		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
	113	401	108	.269	25	75
	108	245	64	.261	1	22
	87	170	37	.218	2	16
	83	154	33	.214	1	11
	56	149	31	.208	0	7
	23	55	13	.236	1	6
	19	39	9	.231	0	6
	20	31	5	.161	0	1
	18	25	5	.200	0	2
	13	22	4	.182	0	1
	12	16	1	.063	0	0
	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
	41	270.1	21	7	3.30	142
	45	264.1	18	11	2.83	154
	36	167.2	12	7	2.63	88
	27	156.0	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
	27	106.0	6	5	3.40	85
	16	76.2	5	4	3.17	61
	33	70.0	4	2	4.37	70
	7	15.0	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
	62	10	7	21	2.13	59
	56	9	3	5	2.24	59
	41	4	4	4	2.98	33
	29	3	3	2	4.44	35
	28	0	4	3	4.12	31
	12	1	0	2	3.43	6
	1	0	0	0	0.00	0

1965 World Series

See 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.

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: St. Cloud

References

• Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com
• Team info from www.baseball-almanac.com
• Book: Johnson. Lloyd. Wolff. Miles. The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. 2nd. Durham, North Carolina. Baseball America. 1997. 978-0-9637189-8-3.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Kansas City Athletics vs Minnesota Twins Box Score: September 20, 1965. Baseball-Reference.com. June 14, 2024.
2. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 198, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York,
3. https://www.baseball-reference.com/u/unserde01.shtml Del Unser
4. https://www.baseball-reference.com/n/nettlgr01.shtml Graig Nettles