1965 Minnesota Twins: The First 100-Win Team

Veering a bit off topic, the 1965 ASG is mentioned. When the ASG was at Target Field in 2014 Reusse wrote a column about the 1965 game, opining that the NL team may have been the best baseball team ever assembled. To back that up, he pointed out that the NL outfield reserves were Roberto Clemente, Frank Robinson, Billy Williams, and Johnny Callison. Not to take anything away from Callison, but picture telling Clemente, Robinson, and Williams that they have to watch the start of the game from the bench because they're not good enough. (Mays, Aaron and Stargell batted 1-2-3.)

I was privileged to be at that game as an 11-year-old in 1965, sitting in the sun down the left-field line.

That was a truly amazing NL team with Mays, Aaron, Clemente, Robinson, Banks, etc. Among the NL stars who didn't make the team were Curt Flood and Lou Brock! And of course they had Koufax, Drysdale, Gibson (not Kyle), and Marichal to throw the ball. 

I was privileged to be at that game as an 11-year-old in 1965, sitting in the sun down the left-field line.

 

I was a 9-year-old sitting in the sun down the right field line. And in October I was a 9-year-old sitting down the left field line on a wet day for Game 2. I would have seen Allison's catch straight ahead of my seat but everyone around me stood up.

To say that All-Star game came as the Twins were riding a wave of popularity and excitement would be an understatement. In the final game before the break, Killebrew had walked-off the Yankees to open up a 5-game lead (over Baltimore). Then, Killebrew hit a 2-run HR in the bottom of the 5th to tie the All-Star game. (Killebrew had the highest WPA on either side in that game.) The 1965 all-star game was a huge deal in out-state Minnesota...everyone was watching the game, the Minnesota team being the talk of baseball for the first time ever...and to see one of the first nationally-televised games in Minnesota. It's one of the first baseball games I can remember seeing on TV (having grown up in northern Minnesota).

Fwiw...the outfield reserves for the AL included Tony Oliva, Carl Yastrzemski, Mickey Mantle, Al Kaline. However, I think there were some injuries involved there.

Btw...that game is available in it's entirely on YouTube. Jack Buck and Joe Garagiola on the call. It's really poor video quality, but still pretty cool. (Go to 1:11:30 for the Killebrew blast, full at-bat. I get the over-all improvement over 50 years in terms of training and development. But...honestly...how far would Killebrew have hit 2019 baseballs? Just unbelievable power at just under 6 feet and maybe 200-210 in his prime.)

The 1965 team is the greatest regular season Twins team. Losing a World Series game 7 to a legendary Dodgers team is the only obstacle keeping the 1965 Twins from leading the conversation as the greatest Twins team ever.

I was born October of that season. Hopefully I wasn't the cause/curse of the loss to the Dodgers, lol.

My father, who I often mention, was an instant Twins fan when they moved to Minnesota and remembers that team, and its stars, well. I became a fan at about 5yo, taking in a double header with my dad's little league team along, and slowly learning the game from that age on from his transistor radio while he worked around the house, or listening in the car. My greatest regret as a Twins fan is that while I know some of the names, and others that followed like Hisle and Bostock, etc, those early days didn't etch themselves greater in my memory at the time. My memory is pretty darn good from about the mj d 70's on, however.

I often wonder if the series might have turned out differently had Pascual not run into arm problems. And even though Harmon had a good series, he too was not at full strength after the elbow dislocation. If's and buts....