1965 Minnesota Twins season

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 [List of American League pennant (sports)|pennant winners|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. 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 and their smallest crowd ever.

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.

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.

Player stats

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	17	3	.251	22	65
2B		125	342	41	67	12	1	.196	6	36
3B		140	469	59	117	22	1	.249	5	32
SS		160	666	126	182	45	12	.285	20	86
LF		135	438	71	102	14	5	.233	23	78
CF		148	522	81	149	25	4	.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

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

Awards and honors

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

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: St. Cloud