Tag Archives: Minnesota Twins

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Seventy-three

MINNESOTA 3, KANSAS CITY 2 IN KANSAS CITY (11 INNINGS)

Date:  Saturday, July 3.

Batting stars:  Don Mincher was 2-for-5 with two home runs, his fifth and sixth.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-5 with two doubles.  Sandy Valdespino was 1-for-5 with a walk, a stolen base (his sixth) and a run.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched 4.2 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks with two strikeouts.  Al Worthington struck out two in 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Bill Pleis pitched two perfect innings with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Diego Segui struck out six in five innings, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks.  Jim Landis was 2-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.  John Wyatt struck out three in two perfect innings.

The game:  Mincher homered in the fourth to put the Twins up 1-0, but Ed Charles had an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to tie it.  Tony Oliva singled in a run in the fifth, but again the Athletics got the run right back in the bottom of the fifth, this time on a Landis single.  The Twins put the go-ahead run into scoring position in both the sixth and the ninth, but there was no more scoring until the eleventh, when Mincher led off the inning with his second home run.  The Twins could have scored more, but left the bases loaded.  In the bottom of the eleventh Ken Harrelson singled, was bunted to second, and took third on a ground out, but Dick Stigman came in to retire Dick Green on a fly out to end the game.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-6.  Oliva was 1-for-5 with an RBI and a stolen base, his seventh.  Jimmie Hall was 0-for-3.

Record:  The win made the Twins 45-28 and moved them up into a tie for first place with Cleveland, who had lost 8-4 to Baltimore.

Notes:  Sam Mele seemed to not know what he wanted to do with the lineup when Bob Allison did not start.  He again batted Hall fourth but this time put Mincher fifth, with Killebrew dropping to the sixth spot.  Hall's 0-for-3 dropped his average to .316 and he was pinch-hit for by Joe Nossek in the eighth.  Kaat led the league in games started with 42 but seemed to get a lot of quick hooks.  In this one, he was pulled with two on and two out in the fifth inning of a 2-2 game.  He still pitched 264 innings, though, so it's probably a good thing he was pulled early a number of times.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Seventy-two

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MINNESOTA 3, KANSAS CITY 1 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Friday, July 2.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in two.  Earl Battey was 3-for-4 with a double.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Pitching star:  Mudcat Grant pitched a complete game, giving up one run on five hits and no walks with three strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Ken Harrelson was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.  Wayne Causey was 2-for-4 with a run.  Jesse Hickman retired all four batters he faced, striking out one.

The game:  An error, a single, and a ground out put the Twins up 1-0 in the top of the first, but Harrelson singled in a run in the bottom of the first to tie it 1-1.  There was no more scoring until the sixth, when Oliva delivered a two-out run-scoring double and Killebrew followed with an RBI single.  The Athletics did not get a man into scoring position after the fourth.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-4 with a run.  Joe Nossek was 1-for-5.  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-4, dropping his average to .320.

Record:  The Twins went to 44-28, second in the American League, a game behind Cleveland.

Notes:  Battey made a strong return to the starting lineup after missing about ten days.  Bob Allison returned to the lineup as well, going 1-for-4.  With the additions, the Twins went back to their regular lineup, with Killebrew batting fourth, Allison fifth, and Hall sixth.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Seventy-one

CALIFORNIA 5, MINNESOTA 0 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Wednesday, June 30.

Batting stars:  None.  The Twins had only two hits, both singles.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry pitched three innings of relief, giving up one run on one hit and two walks with one strikeout.  Jerry Fosnow struck out three in three shutout innings, giving up one hit and one walk.

Opposition stars:  Fred Newman pitched a complete game shutout, allowing two hits and one walk with two strikeouts.  Buck Rodgers was 2-for-3 with a triple, scoring once and driving in two.  Joe Adcock was 2-for-4 with a run.

The game:  All the scoring came early.  A single, a Buck Rodgers triple, and three more singles produced three Angels runs in the second.  In the third, California loaded the bases with none out and hit a pair of sacrifice flies.  And that was it.  The closest the Twins came to a threat was in the second inning, when a one-out walk to Harmon Killebrew and a two-out single by Jerry Kindall put men on first and second.  Jerry Zimmerman grounded out to end the inning.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-4.  Sandy Valdespino was 0-for-4.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-3.  Jimmie Hall was 0-for-3.  Killebrew was 0-for-2 with a walk.  Starter Bill Pleis pitched two innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and one walk with no strikeouts.

Record:  The loss made the Twins 43-28 and kept them in second place, a game behind Cleveland.  The top four teams in the league all lost, with Chicago dropping a doubleheader.

Notes:  So who is this awesome pitcher, Fred Newman?  Well, he played for the Angels in parts of six seasons.  He had two seasons in which he was very good, 1964 and 1965.  His won-lost record doesn't show it--he was 13-10 in 1964 and 14-16 in 1965--but he had ERAs below three both seasons.  Even granting that it was a pitchers' era, that's pretty good.  He was never a strikeout pitcher, averaging less than four strikeouts per nine innings.  He pitched 260 innings in 1965 at age twenty-three, which appears to have led to both injury and ineffectiveness.  He made nineteen starts with an ERA well over four in 1966, was injured most of 1967, was a minor league relief pitcher in 1968, and then was done.  He passed away due to injuries suffered in an automobile accident in June of 1987.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Seventy

MINNESOTA 7, CHICAGO 6 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, June 29.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in two.  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in two.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 with a double and two runs.

Pitching star:  Jim Kaat pitched 7.1 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on seven hits and one walk with three strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Danny Cater was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in two.  John Romano was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring twice.  Smoky Burgess was 1-for-1 with a pinch-hit two-run homer, his second.

The game:  Hall doubled in a run  and Killebrew singled in another to give the Twins a 2-0 lead in the first.  Single runs in the second and third made it 4-0.  Cater doubled in a run in the fourth, but the Twins tallied twice in the fifth, one on Killebrew's RBI double, to take a seemingly comfortable 6-1 lead.  In the sixth, however, Cater singled home a run and Ron Hansen drove in two with another single to make it 6-4.  With one out in the ninth, Burgess hit a pinch-hit two-run homer off Dick Stigman to tie it 6-6.  Bernie Allen led off the ninth with a double and was pinch-run for by Dave Boswell.  Joe Nossek bunted him to third and Zolio Versalles hit a sacrifice fly to center to bring home the winning run.

Of note:  Versalles was 0-for-3 with two sacrifice flies.  Sandy Valdespino was 2-for-4.

Record:  The win made the Twins 43-27 and lifted them into second place, a half game behind Cleveland.

Notes:  Bob Allison was apparently dealing with some sort of injury, as he was in and out of the lineup int his period.  Sandy Valdespino was playing left field in his place.  Hall's day raised his average to .325.  He was batting fourth in this stretch, between Oliva and Killebrew.  Burgess had sixteen pinch-hit home runs in his career.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Sixty-nine

CHICAGO 17, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, June 28.

Batting stars:   Jimmie Hall was 3-for-4 with a three-run homer (his fourteenth) and two runs.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, driving in one.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 with a double and a run.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Danny Cater was 3-for-5 with a home run (his tenth) and a double, scoring twice and driving in three.  Don Buford was 2-for-5 with a walk, scoring three times and driving in three.  Tom McCraw was 2-for-5 with a grand slam, his second homer.

The game:  The Twins actually led for nearly half the game.  Jimmie Hall had an RBI single and Killebrew drove in a run with a double in the first to give them a 2-0 lead.  Hall's run-scoring single in the third made it 3-0.  In the fifth the first two White Sox were retired, but then two singles, a walk, and McCraw's grand slam made it 4-3 Chicago.  Hall homered in the bottom of the fifth to tie it 4-4, but the roof fell in in the sixth inning, as the White Sox scored seven times.  Cater and John Romano each homered to make it 6-4.  That chased starter Dave Boswell and brought in Jerry Fosnow, who walked his first batter, gave up a single, then walked two more to make it 7-4 with the bases loaded.  Dick Stigman came in and struck out McCraw but then allowed three consecutive singles that produced four runs.  The White Sox added two in the eighth and four in the ninth, all off Mel Nelson, who had started and pitched four innings the previous day.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-3.  Sandy Valdespino was 1-for-3 with a run.  Boswell struck out six in 5.1 innings but gave up six runs on six hits and a walk.

Record:  The loss dropped the Twins to 42-27 and, coupled with a Cleveland win, dropped them all the way to third place, a half game behind both Cleveland and Chicago.

Notes:  Hall raised his average to .322.  Cater did not start the game, but came on in the second, replacing Floyd Robinson for an unknown reason.  It is hard for me to imagine a pitcher now being asked to pitch two innings of mop-up relief after starting and pitching four innings the day before.  I know there were fewer pitchers on a staff back then, but it still seems like a lot to ask.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 13

Jack Taylor (1873)
Hank Majeski (1916)
Larry Doby (1923)
Shotgun Shuba (1924)
Carl Erskine (1926)
Billy Loes (1929)
Bubba Morton (1931)
Lindy McDaniel (1935)
J. C. Martin (1936)
Ron Taylor (1937)
Ferguson Jenkins (1942)
Paul Boris (1955)
Dale Berra (1956)
Mike Mordecai (1967)
Matthew LeCroy (1975)
Ricky Nolasco (1982)

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to spookymilk's mom.

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Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Sixty-eight

MINNESOTA 6, DETROIT 5 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Sunday, June 27 (Game 2 of doubleheader)

Batting stars:  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-5 with a double, scoring twice and driving in one.  Joe Nossek was 3-for-5 with a hit-by-pitch, scoring once and driving in one.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Mel Nelson pitched four innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits and one walk with three strikeouts.  Jim Perry pitched three innings, giving up one run on two hits and no walks with two strikeouts.  Al Worthington pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one walk with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Al Kaline was 4-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in two.  Don Demeter was 3-for-5 with a home run (his sixth) and a stolen base, scoring twice.  Orlando Pena struck out four in 1.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit.

The game:  Kaline singled in a run in the first, but an RBI double by Hall and a run-scoring single by Jerry Zimmerman put the Twins ahead 2-1 after two.  Kaline's run-scoring double tied the score in the third, but Versalles drove in a run with a single in the fourth to put the Twins back in front 3-2.  Run-producing singles by Oliva and Killebrew gave the Twins a seemingly safe 5-2 lead after seven, but Demeter led off the eighth with a home run and Willie Horton hit a two-run shot later in the inning to tie it 5-5.  The Twins loaded the bases with none out in the ninth, but Bob Allison fouled out and Hall grounded into a double play.  In the tenth, Rich Rollins led off with a single and was sacrificed to second.  Bernie Allen was walked, Zoilo Versalles flied out, but Nossek singled to center to bring home the winning run.

Of note:  Versalles was 2-for-6 with a run and an RBI.  Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.  Hall raised his average to .315.

Record:  The Twins improved their record to 42-26, but doubleheader sweeps by Chicago and Cleveland held their lead to a half game over both teams.

Notes:  This was the last of Nelson's three starts in 1965.  He would pitch in relief the next day and stay in the bullpen the rest of the season.  He would make four more starts in his career, all with St. Louis in 1968.  It was the next-to-last relief appearance for Perry, who would join the rotation July 5.  Nossek raised his average to .315.  He played third base, with Rollins playing second, and the way the Twins were searching for infield options you'd think he might have been given a shot there.  Apparently Sam Mele didn't think the defensive cost was worth it, though, as he only started at third two more times in 1965 and would make only one more appearance there in his career.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 12

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Phenomenal Smith (1864)
Tully Sparks (1874)
Buzzie Bavasi (1915)
Clyde Kluttz (1917)
Ralph Garr (1945)
Gorman Thomas (1950)
Steve Farr (1956)
Alonzo Powell (1964)
Orlando Hudson (1977)
Ervin Santana (1982)

Emil "Buzzie" Bavasi was the general manager of the Dodgers from 1951-1968, San Diego from 1969-1972, and the Angels from 1977-1984.

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Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Sixty-seven

MINNESOTA 6, DETROIT 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, June 27 (Game 1 of doubleheader).

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-3 with a home run (his seventh) and two walks, scoring twice.  Don Mincher was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his fourth) and a double.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Mudcat Grant struck out six in 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on eleven hits and a walk.  Al Worthington struck out two in 2.1 innings, giving up an unearned run on two hits.

Opposition stars:  Joe Sparma struck out eight in six innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks.  Don Demeter was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fifth.  Don Wert was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.

The game:  Killebrew had a two-run single in the first and Versalles homered in the second to give the Twins a 3-0 lead.  Dick McAuliffe had an RBI single in the third and Demeter hit a two-run homer in the fourth to tie it 3-3.  The Twins scored once in the fifth to go ahead 4-3, a lead which held until Jackie Moore's RBI single in the eight tied it 4-4.  In the bottom of the eighth, Mincher hit a two-run homer to put the Twins in the lead to stay.  Detroit went down in order in the ninth.

Of note:  Sandy Valdespino was 0-for-4 with a walk, two stolen bases (his fourth and fifth) and a run.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-4 with a double.  Jimmie Hall was 0-for-4 with an RBI, dropping his average to .313.

Record:  The win made the Twins 41-26 and kept them a half game ahead of Chicago and Cleveland.

Notes:  I'd forgotten how common Sunday doubleheaders were in the 1960s.  It was not unusual for their to be seven or eight doubleheaders among the ten matchups played on a Sunday.