Minnesota Twins - The Psychedelic Years (1961-1969)

Twins
Home
Click
on Logo

1960

Decade

Click

102

on Logo

Titles:

Top Twins Players of the Sixties

1965 - AL Champs (Lost to Dodgers in World Series)

1969 - Division Champs (Lost to Orioles)

Pitchers:

Jim Kaat (23.85) - 90

BallPark:

Camilo Pascual (18.18) - 53

Metropolitan Stadium (1961-1969)

Jim Perry (20.6) - 36

Dave Boswell (12.98) - 33

Team Name:

Mudcat Grant (5.96) - 27

Twins

Dean Chance (13.14) - 24

Al Worthington (10.07) - 20

Owner:

Jack Kralick (7.79) - 15

Calvin Griffith

Dick Stigman (6.81) - 16

Jim Merritt (11.36) - 15

General Managers:

Ron Perranoski (5.08) - 9

Managers:

Catchers:

Cookie Lavagetto (1961)

Earl Battey (14.36) - 59

Sam Mele (1961-1967)

Cal Ermer (1967-1968)

First Basemen:

Billy Martin (1969)

Don Mincher (8.69) - 19

Rich Reese (3.37) - 13

No Hitters:

Vic Power (1.7) - 11

Jack Kralick (1962)

Dean Chance (1967)

Second Basemen:

Rod Carew (10.13) - 23

Hall of Famers:

Harmon Killebrew

ShortStop:

Rod Carew

Zoilo Versalles (15.27) - 60

Tony Oliva

Leo Cardenas (5.08) - 11

Jim Kaat

Third Base:

Rookie of the Year:

Harmon Killebrew (42.75) - 83

Tony Oliva (1964)

Rich Rollins (11.86) - 26

Rod Carew (1967)

Graig Nettles (1.07) - 0

MVP:

Outfield:

Zoilo Versalles (1965)

Tony Oliva (31.87) - 73

Harmon Killebrew (1969)

Bob Allison (30.31) - 72

Jimmie Hall (14.75) - 43

Notable Events:

Cesar Tovar (15.09) - 38

Ted Uhlaendar (3.19) - 22

1961 - The franchise moves to Minnesota after sixty years in Washington

Lenny Green (4.99) - 18

There are ironies all over the place here. Clark Griffith spent the last

twenty years of his life building up Griffith Stadium for his family, eschewing

Notable Events:

success on the field to do so. As a result, the team stunk, attendance

was low and because it was low, son Calvin had the perfect excuse to

1962 - The franchise posts its first winning season in ten years

move the franchise - and he did. Calvin, a snooty sort, never cared for

Washington because there were too many blacks for his taste. Minnesota

1963 - Rookie Center Fielder Jimmie Hall, 25, slugs 33 homers

was a white enough destination for him. Calvin's racism was couched in

economic terms when he stated that blacks don't attend baseball games

1963 - Jim Perry, 27, is acquired from the Indians for Jack Kralick

and he needed to move to somewhere that had hard working whites who

would pay to see baseball games. Calvin never wanted to stay in

1964 - Mudcat Grant, 28, is acquired from the Indians for Lee Stange

Washington, something that Clark seemed to be totally oblivious of.

1964 - Cuban outfielder Tony Oliva, 25, is Rookie of the Year

1961 - The team moves to Minnesota. However, in order for that to happen, major

He slugs 32 homers and bats .323

league baseball needs to have a team in Washington to appease Congress.

Congress needed to be appeased because they supported the Reserve Clause

1965 - Cesar Tovar, a talented twenty four year old Venezuelan

which was the mechanism by which baseball club owners were able to restrict

utility man, is a rookie.

player salaries. Major league baseball was looking to expand, anyway, to hurt the

possibility of a third major league, The Continental League, from being formed.

1965 - The Twins win the franchise's first AL pennant since 1933.

Originally, expansion was planned to be executed in both leagues in 1962, but

They lose to the Dodgers in a seven game World Series.

because the move to Minnesota was going to leave the major leagues without a

Minnesota is led by Mudcat Grant's 21 wins,

team in Washington, the American League hastily expanded a year earlier.

Tony Oliva's batting title, and MVP Zoilo Versalles.

Unfortunately for Washington baseball fans, just as the team was about to be

successful, the club was moved and another stinker took it's place in Washington.

1966 - Jim Kaat wins 25 games

1961 - The timing of all of this was crucial and, altho' Calvin Griffith was a

1967 - Panamanian Rod Carew, 21, is Rookie of the Year. Carew will end up

poove, he wasn't a dummy. A lot of Clark's baseball savvy had rubbed off.

winning seven batting titles with the Twins.

Calvin needed the team to be bad in Washington to keep attendance low

so that he had an excuse to move, but he also felt he needed to build a

1967 - Minnesota loses the pennant in the final game of the season,

winning team once they moved to Minnesota to ensure the move's success.

played in Boston, to the champion Red Sox

Calvin did a masterful job, the Twins were about to become a juggenaut.

1969 - The league is split into two divisions as the Seattle Pilots and

1961 - Altho' the Senators have stunk up the place forever, the 1961

Kansas City Royals make the league two six team divisions. The

Twins roster shows that there is definitely hope for improvement:

Twins are placed in the West Division and win the title. However,

□ Lefthander Jim Kaat, 22

they get beat by Baltimore in the first ever ALCS.

□ Righthander Camilo Pascual - 26

□ Righthander Pedro Ramos - 26

1969 - Miinnesota is led by MVP Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew's .332

□ Lefthander Jack Kralick - 26

average, and twenty game winners Jim Perry and Dave Boswell

□ Catcher Earl Battey - 26

□ First Baseman Don Mincher - 23

1969 - The Twins acquire Luis Tiant and Stan Williams from

□ Shortstop Zoilo Versalles - 21

Cleveland for a young Graig Nettles and three others.

□ Third Baseman Harmon Killebrew - 25

□ Outfielder Bob Alllison - 26

□ Reliever Ted Abernathy - 28

□ Reliever Hal Woodeshick - 28

1962 - Minnesota picks up lefthander Dick Stigman from Cleveland in

exchange for Pedro Ramos. This marks the first of several deals

that the Twins made with Cleveland for starting pitching during the

decade - helping greatly in Minnesota's success. They would later

acqure Jim Perry, Mudcat Grant and Luis Tiant from the Indians.

The Indians had a quality GM in Gabe Paul at the time, but Griffith would

snooker him time and again in deals for ace pitchers.