With the current club set to honor the remaining ’65 gang this Saturday, it is time to dive into the winner-take-all contest at Metropolitan Stadium.
As 50,596 spectators tackled the turnstiles on a 50 degree day with little wind and no precipitation—not bad for mid-October Minny—Sandy Koufax & Jim Kaat warmed in their respective pens. Each would be making a third Series start.
For the first three innings, lumber was laconic—goose eggs in the R column. But in the top of the 4th, Kaat (pitching on just two days of rest) ran out of gas—and quickly. A Lou Johnson solo home run was immediately followed by a Ron Fairly double and a Wes Parker RBI single, giving the visiting Californians a 2-0 advantage and chasing Kitty to the showers.
In the bottom of the 5th, this special ’65 Twins group began to fight back. After a Don Mincher pop-out, Frank Quilici doubled and Rich Rollins coaxed a free pass from Koufax. Then, eventual AL MVP Zoilo Versalles lined a hot shot down the third base line.
Somewhere in the multiverse, there’s a thread where Zoilo’s zonk rattles around LF—scoring two runs—and the Twins chase Sandy from the slab. Alas, in this galactic plain Dodgers third baseman Jim Gilliam made a tremendous snare and raced to touch 3B for the force out. After Joe Nossek grounded out, the rally was stymied.
Remarkably, the bullpen procession of Al Worthington, Johnny Klippstein, Jim Merritt, & Jim Perry had kept LA quiet (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER) since Kaat acquiesced. The problem? After escaping the 5th, Koufax was other-worldly. As a result, it was still a 2-0 contest headed to MN’s “last ups” of the 1965 campaign.
After Tony Oliva grounded out to start the bottom of the 9th, Harmon Killebrew—ever the Twins Territory hero—singled to keep hope alive. But when Earl Battey whiffed on three Koufax offerings it was Bob Allison-or-bust.
On a 2-2 count, Allison swung through a Sandy speedball—and the MLB Commissioner’s Trophy would be taking a flight to the West Coast.
The story of this game will forever be Sandy Koufax’s dominance on two days rest: 9 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 10 K, 3 BB. In today’s parlance: “peak Koufax”. Much like Tom Brady on a game-ending drive or Michael Jordan with a game-deciding jumper, Sandy simply would not be denied.
The 1965 season remains a magical memory in Minnesota. To this day, it ranks as the most successful single season (102-60) in franchise history and was only lanced by a lefty legend. If you are looking for a reason to get out to the ballpark tomorrow, you could do a lot worse than cheering on those remaining stalwarts of Twins past. Oliva, Kaat & Co. deserve a roar the likes of which might register on an LA seismometer.