Tag Archives: 1965 rewind

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-one

MINNESOTA 2, DETROIT 1 IN DETROIT

Date:  Thursday, August 19 (Game 2 of doubleheader).

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 3-for-4 with a triple and a double, scoring twice.  Sandy Valdespino was 1-for-1 with an RBI.

Pitching star:  Jim Kaat pitched a complete game, giving up one run on six hits and three walks with seven strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Mickey Lolich struck out thirteen in seven innings, allowing one run on three hits and two walks.  Norm Cash was 1-for-4 with a double and a run.  Jerry Lumpe was 2-for-4.

The game:  With one out in the third, Versalles tripled and scored on Jerry Kindall's squeeze bunt to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  The lead held until the seventh, when Cash doubled and scored on a two-out single by Jake Wood.  In the eighth, Versalles doubled and scored on a pinch-hit single by Valdespino to put the Twins back in front 2-1.  The Tigers got the tying run to second with one out in the eighth, but that was as close as they would come.

Of note:  Kindall was 0-for-2 with an RBI.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-4.  Andy Kosco was 0-for-3.

Record:  The doubleheader sweep gave the Twins a record of 77-44.  The Tigers dropped to third, with Chicago moving up into second, 8.5 games back.

Of note:  Kosco played right, with Oliva moving to center.  Jimmie Hall was rested, although he was used as a pinch-hitter...Earl Battey was also rested, with Jerry Zimmerman catching...Oliva's average dropped to .310...I wonder when the last time is a team got complete games in both ends of a doubleheader.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty

MINNESOTA 8, DETROIT 3 IN DETROIT

Date:  Thursday, August 19 (Game 1 of doubleheader).

Batting stars:  Don Mincher was 1-for-3 with a home run (his seventeenth) and a walk, driving in four.  Sandy Valdespino was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring twice.  Earl Battey was 1-for-3 with a double and two walks, scoring once and driving in one.

Pitching star:  Mudcat Grant pitched a complete game, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Julio Navarro struck out four in 3.1 scoreless innings of relief, allowing one hit and one walk.  Don Demeter was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fifteenth.  Norm Cash was 1-for-3 with a home run, his seventeenth.

The game:  An RBI single by Tony Oliva and a run-scoring double by Battey put the Twins ahead 2-0 in the first.  In the third the Twins had back-to-back homers, a three-run shot by Mincher followed by a round-tripper by Rich Rollins to go up 6-0.  The Tigers never got closer than five runs after that.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-5.  Tony Oliva was 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI.  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.

Record:  The win made the Twins 76-44 and increased their lead over second-place Detroit to eight games.

Notes:  Valdespino played left in place of Bob Allison...Demeter replaced Al Kaline, who was removed in the first inning, apparently injured chasing down Battey's run-scoring double.  He would miss the rest of the month...Oliva tied Battey for the team batting lead, both at .313.  Hall fell below .300 at .299.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Nineteen

DETROIT 7, MINNESOTA 4 IN DETROIT

Date:  Tuesday, August 17.

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs.  Earl Battey was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch, scoring once and driving in one.

Pitching stars:  Mel Nelson struck out two in two perfect innings.  Johnny Klippstein pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and one walk.

Opposition stars:  Willie Horton was 3-for-4 with two home runs (his twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth) and four RBIs.  Hank Aguirre struck out seven in 7.2 innings, allowing three runs on nine hits and a walk.  Al Kaline was 2-for-2 with a home run (his eighteenth) and a walk.

The game:  Don Wert and Kaline each hit a solo homer in the third to put the Tigers up 2-0.  Horton homered in the fourth to make it 3-0.  In the fifth, Kaline had an RBI single and Horton hit a three-run homer to put the Tigers up 7-0.  The Twins made somewhat of a late comeback, scoring three in the eighth and one in the ninth, but did not get the tying run up to bat.

Of note:  Joe Nossek was 0-for-3.  Bob Allison was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run.

Record:  The Twins dropped to 75-44.  Detroit moved into sole possession of second place, seven games back.

Notes:  Battey raised his average to .312.  Oliva went to .310.  Hall was 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter and had his average at an even .300...Andy Kosco played right field, with Oliva moving to center.  Nossek was at third base.  Oliva played forty-two games of center field in his career, ten of them in 1965.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Eighteen

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CLEVELAND 6, MINNESOTA 4 IN CLEVELAND (11 INNINGS)

Date:  Sunday, August 15 (Game 2 of doubleheader).

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Rich Rollins was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.  Jerry Kindall was 1-for-4 with a home run, his sixth.

Pitching star:  Dick Stigman pitched seven innings, giving up one run an five hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Rocky Colavito was 2-for-5 with a home run (his twenty-third) and a double.  Larry Brown was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring twice.  Leon Wagner was 1-for-1 with a two-run homer, his twenty-second.

The game:  Had the pennant race been closer, this one would've really hurt.  Don Mincher singled in a run in the first and the Twins scored again in the second to go up 2-0.  Colavito homered in the bottom of the second to make it 2-1, which is where the score stayed through six.  Oliva singled in a run in the seventh to make it 3-1, which was the score going to the bottom of the ninth.  With two out in the ninth, Brown singled and Max Alvis hit a pinch-hit two-run homer to tie it at three and send the game to extra innings.  Kindall homered in the eleventh to make it 4-3 and it looked like all's well that ends well.  In the bottom of the eleventh, however, Chico Salmon singled and Brown doubled to put men on second and third with none out.  A balk was called on Bill Pleis to tie the score, and Wagner hit a pinch-hit two-run homer to win the game for Cleveland.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-5 with a double.  Sandy Valdespino was 1-for-5 with a double and a run.  Don Mincher was 1-for-5 with an RBI.  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-4.

Record:  The loss made the Twins 75-43.  Detroit won the second game of its doubleheader, so the Tigers and Indians were now tied for second, eight games back.

Notes:  Oliva took over the team batting lead at .310.  Earl Battey was used as a pinch-hitter and dropped to .309.  Hall fell to an even .300...In addition to Jerry Zimmerman playing in place of Battey, Valdespino started in left in place of Bob Allison.  Allison was also used as a pinch-hitter...The Indians used two former Twins as relief pitchers, Lee Stange and Jack Kralick...It has to be pretty unusual for a team to hit a two-run homer to tie the game in the ninth and then hit another two-run homer to win the game in extra innings.  It has to be even more unusual for both home run hitters to be pinch-hitters.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Seventeen

MINNESOTA 4, CLEVELAND 3 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Sunday, August 15 (Game 1 of doubleheader).

Batting stars:  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.  Don Mincher was 1-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in two.  Sandy Valdespino was 2-for-4 with a run.

Pitching star:  Mudcat Grant pitched eight innings, giving up two runs on six hits and three walks with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Luis Tiant pitched eight innings, allowing one run on three hits and a walk with seven strikeouts.  Leon Wagner was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his twenty-first) and a walk.  Vic Davalillo was 1-for-2 with two walks and a run.

The game:  With one out in the second, Hall doubled and scored on an Earl Battey single to put the Twins ahead 1-0.  That was it for the scoring until the ninth inning.  In fact, from the third through the eighth, each team managed only one hit, each a single.  In the ninth, however, Zoilo Versalles and Valdespino greeted reliever Bobby Tiefenauer with singles, and with one out Mincher delivered a two-run double.  Hall had an RBI single off Don McMahon to make it 4-0.  The Twins would need every one of those runs, because the Indians opened the ninth with a walk and a Wagner's two-run homer.  That brought in Al Worthington, who promptly gave up a double to Rocky Colavito.  He retired the next two batters, but Chuck Hinton's pinch-hit RBI single made it 4-3.  Pedro Gonzalez came up representing the winning run, but he popped up to short to end the game.

Of note:  Versalles was 1-for-4 with a run.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-4.  Battey was 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Record:  The win made the Twins 75-42 and increased their lead over Cleveland to nine games.  The Indians were now in a tie for second with Detroit, which won the first game of a doubleheader with California and was also nine games back.

Notes:  Battey raised his average to .311.  Oliva dropped to .306.  Hall pushed his average back over the .300 mark at .301...Another forgotten star from the 1960s is Leon Wagner.  He started his career with the Giants in 1958 but did not become a regular until he went to the Angels in 1961.  He was an all-star for the Angels in 1962 and 1963 and finished fourth in MVP voting in 1962, when he hit 37 home runs.  He also received MVP consideration in 1963, 1964, and 1966.  The year in-between, 1965, was arguably his best year, as he set career highs in batting average (.294) and on-base percentage (.369) and also hit 28 homers.  The Angels traded him after the 1963 season for Barry Latman and a fading Joe Adcock--either he got crosswise with management somehow or the Angels just made a really dumb trade.  He appeared in a couple of movies in the 1970s and later owned a clothing store, but eventually fell on hard times.  He was living in an abandoned electrical shed next to a dumpster in Los Angeles when he passed away in 2004.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Sixteen

CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 1 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Saturday, August 14.

Batting stars:  Andy Kosco was 1-for-4 with a home run.  Bob Allison was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched seven innings, giving up three runs (one earned) on five hits and one walk with five strikeouts.  Al Worthington pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Sam McDowell pitched a complete game, allowing one run on three hits and two walks with eleven strikeouts.  Chuck Hinton was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fifteenth) and a double.  Larry Brown was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fifth.

The game:  Kosco homered leading off the second to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  Allison followed with a double, but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple.  The Twins would get only one hit the rest of the game, a two-out single by Joe Nossek in the sixth.  The lead held until the fifth, when Brown hit a two-run homer and Hinton had a solo homer later in the inning.  That was it for scoring.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch.  Rich Rollins was 0-for-4.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-1.  Earl Battey was 0-for-3.

Record:  The loss dropped the Twins to 74-42.  Baltimore lost to Washington 8-5 in eleven innings, so Cleveland moved into second place, eight games behind Minnesota.

Notes:  Oliva batted in the first inning, grounded out, and was immediately replaced by Nossek.  One wonders if that caused some panic among Twins fans, as the lineup was already missing Harmon Killebrew.  Oliva would be back in the lineup the next day...This was the first major league start for Kosco, who had made his major league debut the previous day.  He was immediately put in the fourth spot in the lineup and, as shown above, homered.  It was his only home run of the season in fifty-five at-bats.  He would hit seventy-three in his career, with a high of nineteen for the Dodgers in 1969...Battey had his average drop to .310.  Oliva was now at .309...Another largely forgotten player, Chuck Hinton was pretty good.  He made the all-star team in 1964 and was mentioned on a couple of MVP ballots in 1962.  Primarily an outfielder, he played from 1961-71, although his last year as a regular was 1967.  He hit .264 for his career, which for a career played mostly in the 1960s is not bad at all.  He hit 113 home runs, with a high of eighteen in 1965...For some reason, when great pitchers of the 1960s are mentioned, Sudden Sam McDowell is at best an "Oh, yeah, him, too."  The fact that he spent most of his career with Cleveland and never appeared in the post-season probably has something to do with that.  Like Bert Blyleven, he had high strikeout totals and low ERAs but not high win totals.  He won twenty games only once, in 1970.  Not coincidentally, that was the only time he received significant Cy Young consideration, although it was not his best season.  He was a six-time all-star and led the league in strikeouts six times (topping 300 twice).  He also led in ERA once (1965) and in innings once (305 in 1970).  He had an ERA under three six times, with his best coming in 1968 (1.81).  He also led the league in walks five times, leading one to believe he must have thrown a huge number of pitches.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifteen

CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 1 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Friday, August 13.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a home run, his sixteenth.  Earl Battey was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry pitched five innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits and one walk with one strikeout.  Garry Roggenburk pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit and three walks.  Johnny Klippstein pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Larry Brown was 2-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch and two runs.  Bobby Tiefenauer pitched three shutout innings, allowing one hit and two walks.  Max Alvis was 2-for-3 with a walk.

The game:  Rocky Colavito's RBI single put the Indians up 1-0 in the first.  It stayed 1-0 until the fifth, when three consecutive singles and a wild pitch produced two Cleveland runs for a 3-0 advantage.  The Twins did not get a man past first until the seventh, when Oliva led off with a home run.  The Twins never got the tying run on base.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-4.  Bob Allison was 0-for-4.

Record:  The loss made the Twins 74-41.  Baltimore lost 4-2 to Washington, so the Twins' lead remained 8.5 games.

Notes:  Battey raised his average to .314.  Oliva went up to .310...Cleveland starter Sonny Siebert pitched only one inning and was removed, presumably due to injury.  He would not start again until August 31, although he did make a couple of relief appearances...Siebert has been largely forgotten now, but he was a fine pitcher in his day.  He posted double digit wins every year from 1965-72, with an ERA under three from 1965-68 and again in 1971.  He pitched over two hundred innings four times in that span and never had fewer than 177.  He made the all-star team twice, with Cleveland in 1966 and with Boston in 1971.  For his career, he was 140-114, 3.21, 1.21 WHIP in twelve seasons.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fourteen

MINNESOTA 8, NEW YORK 2 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Thursday, August 12.

Batting stars:  Don Mincher was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer (his sixteenth), a double, and a walk, scoring twice.  Zoilo Versalles was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a walk, scoring twice.  Earl Battey was 2-for-3 with a triple and a walk, scoring twice.

Pitching star:  Jim Merritt pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on ten hits and one walk with eight strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Clete Boyer was 3-for-4 with a home run (his eleventh) and a double.  Hector Lopez was 2-for-4 with a home run, his sixth.  Mickey Mantle was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.

The game:  It was scoreless until the fourth, when Mincher hit a two-out two-run homer.  Tony Oliva's sacrifice fly in the fifth made it 3-0.  Each team scored once in the seventh.  The Twins put it away in the eighth when they got a pair of two-out walks and Frank Quilici circled the bases on a triple-plus error to make it 7-1.  Each team scored once in the ninth.

Of note:  Rich Rollins was 3-for-5 with a stolen base (his second, scoring once and driving in one.  Oliva was 2-for-4 with an RBI.  Bob Allison was 0-for-5.  Jimmie Hall was 0-for-5.

Record:  The win made the Twins 74-40.  Baltimore beat Boston 5-3, so the Twins' lead remained 8.5 games.

Notes:  Battey took over the team lead in batting with .310.  Oliva went to .308.  Hall dropped below .300 for the first time since May 31 at .299...Quilici's triple was the first of his major league career.  He would hit six in his career, four in 1968 and one in 1969...Battey hit seventeen triples in his career.  He never hit more than three in a season, but he had at least one every year from 1959-1967.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirteen

NEW YORK 5, MINNESOTA 4 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Wednesday, August 11.

Batting stars:  Earl Battey was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs.  Don Mincher was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring twice.  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-4 with a run.

Pitching stars:  Garry Roggenburk pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit with one strikeout.  Dick Stigman struck out four in two perfect innings.

Opposition stars:  Mel Stottlemyre pitched a complete game, allowing four unearned runs on eight hits and two walks with six strikeouts.  Ray Barker was 1-for-3 with a double.  Clete Boyer was 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI.

The game:  The Twins jumped out to an early lead.  A single, an error, and a two-out intentional walk to Mincher were followed by a two-run single by Battey and an RBI single by Rich Rollins to make it 3-0.  The lead held until the fifth, when the Yankees scored all five of their runs.  A double, five singles, and an error did the damage.  The Twins cut it to 5-4 in the sixth when Jerry Zimmerman's single-plus-error brought home a run.  The Twins had the tying run on second, but a line drive double play ended the threat and the Twins did not get a man past first after that.

Of note:  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 with a run.  Jimmie Hall was 0-for-4.  Bob Allison was 0-for-3 with a walk.  Mudcat Grant pitched four innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on six hits and no walks with two strikeouts.

Record:  The win snapped the Twins' six-game winning streak and made their record 73-40.  Baltimore lost to Boston, so the Twins' lead remained 8.5 games.

Notes:  Battey was replaced by Zimmerman in the sixth inning following an RBI single by Joe Pepitone.  One suspects Battey may have been shaken up on a play at the plate.  Battey would be back in the lineup the next day...Oliva and Battey were now each batting .306, with Hall dropping to .303.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twelve

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MINNESOTA 7, NEW YORK 3 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Tuesday, August 10.

Batting stars:  Earl Battey was 2-for-4 with two doubles, scoring once and driving in two.  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-3 with two walks, scoring once and driving in one.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched 7.1 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts.  Al Worthington struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Whitey Ford pitched seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and no walks with four strikeouts.  Hector Lopez was 2-for-3 with a triple, scoring twice.  Mickey Mantle was 1-for-4 with a home run, his sixteenth.

The game:  The Twins started the scoring early, as Rich Rollins had an RBI double and Tony Oliva a run-scoring single to take a 2-0 lead.  It stayed 2-0 until the fifth, when Lopez tripled and scored on a Clete Boyer single to make it 2-1.  The Yankees had two out and none on in the seventh, but a walk, an error, and a Ray Barker single tied it 2-2.  Things worked out for the Twins, though, because Barker pinch-hit for Ford, against whom the Twins had done little since the first.  Pete Mikkelsen came in and it looked as if it might work, as the Twins had a man on second with two out.  A walk and an error put the Twins up 3-2.  Then came an RBI single by Jimmie Hall, a two-run double by Battey, and a run-scoring single by Don Mincher to make it 7-2.  Mantle homered leading off the eighth, but New York never threatened to get back into the game.

Of note:  Rollins was 1-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.  Bob Allison was 0-for-5 with a run.

Record:  The win was the Twins' sixth straight and made their record 73-39.  Baltimore split a doubleheader with Boston, making the Twins' lead 8.5 games.

Notes:  Oliva's average stayed at .307.  Hall fell to .306.  Battey raised his average back to .300...1965 was Whitey Ford's last year as a rotation starter.  He had the worst ERA of his career at 3.24.  He also pitched the fewest innings that he had since 1960, at 244.1.