The 1965 Minnesota Twins season was the 5th season for the Minnesota Twins franchise in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, their 5th season at Metropolitan Stadium and the 65th overall in the American League.

The 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).

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.Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 198, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, Kaat won the Gold Glove for pitchers.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

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.Del Unser at Baseball Reference Graig Nettles was drafted by the Twins in the 4th round.Graig Nettles at Baseball Reference

Roster 1965 Minnesota Twins Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats = Indicates team leader = Indicates league leader Batting

Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB R H 2B 3B Avg. HR RBI C Earl Battey 131 394 36 117 22 2.297 6 60 1B Don Mincher 128 346 43 87 173 .251 22 65 2B 125 342 41 67 121 .196 6 36 3B 140 469 59 117 221 .249 5 32 SS 160 666126 182 45 12 .285 20 86 LF 135 438 71 102 145 .233 23 78 CF 148 522 81 149 254 .273 19 77 RF 149 576 107 185 40 5 .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 = Indicates league leader 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

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

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: St. Cloud

Notes

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

External links