1967 Minnesota Twins | |
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91–71, second in the American League | |
Major League affiliations | |
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Owner(s) | Calvin Griffith (majority owner, with Thelma Griffith Haynes) |
General manager(s) | Calvin Griffith |
Manager(s) | Sam Mele, Cal Ermer |
Local television | WTCN-TV |
Local radio | 830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal, Halsey Hall, Merle Harmon) |
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The 1967 Minnesota Twins finished 91–73, tied for second in the American League with the Detroit Tigers. The Twins had a one-game lead with two games remaining, but lost both games to the Boston Red Sox in the season's final days. 1,483,547 fans attended Twins games, the second highest total in the American League.
Contents
Offseason[edit]
- December 3, 1966: Bernie Allen and Camilo Pascual were traded by the Twins to the Washington Senators for Ron Kline.[1]
Regular season[edit]
With a second-place finish in 1966, the Twins appeared poised to contend in 1967. However, at the end of May, they were in sixth place (in a ten team league), with 20 wins and 22 losses.[2] One week later, owner Calvin Griffith fired manager Sam Mele, who had guided the club to a pennant in 1965. He was replaced by Cal Ermer, who had been managing the Twins AAA farm club in Denver.[3]
The Twins continued to play .500 ball until late June, when Minnesota reeled off an eight-game winning streak. At the all star break, they had risen to third place, two and one half games behind the league leading Chicago White Sox.
Five Twins made the All-Star Game: first baseman Harmon Killebrew, who led the team with 44 HR and 113 RBI; second baseman Rod Carew, the AL Rookie of the Year; outfielder Tony Oliva; catcher Earl Battey, and pitcher Dean Chance, a 20-game winner in 1967. Pitcher Jim Kaat won his sixth Gold Glove Award.
After a brief slump in late July, the Twins began the month of August by winning 15 of 20 games, including a three-game sweep of the White Sox, which put them in first place on August 13. From that point on, they remained in first place, or never more than two games out of it.
On September 14, outfielder Walt Bond died of leukemia. Bond had been diagnosed with the disease several years earlier, but it had gone into remission.[4] He started the season with the Twins and played in 10 games before being removed from the active roster. His final game was on May 7.
With one day left in the regular season, Minnesota was tied for first place with the Boston Red Sox, with the Detroit Tigers just a half game behind them. The two first place teams were scheduled to play one another in Fenway Park, while the Tigers were to meet the California Angels in a doubleheader. Dean Chance threw five scoreless innings and the Twins scored unearned runs in the first and third inning to take a 2–0 lead. However, in the sixth inning, things fell apart for the Twins as the Red Sox took advantage of four consecutive singles, two wild pitches, and an error to score five runs.[5] Minnesota mustered only one more run, and lost the game and their chance for a second league championship in three years. The Tigers won their first game, but lost their second, and Boston earned the American League pennant.
Season standings[edit]
American League | W | L | Pct. | GB |
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Boston Red Sox | 92 | 70 | .568 | – |
Detroit Tigers | 91 | 71 | .562 | 1 |
Minnesota Twins | 91 | 71 | .562 | 1 |
Chicago White Sox | 89 | 73 | .549 | 3 |
California Angels | 84 | 77 | .522 | 7½ |
Baltimore Orioles | 76 | 85 | .472 | 15½ |
Washington Senators | 76 | 85 | .472 | 15½ |
Cleveland Indians | 75 | 87 | .463 | 17 |
New York Yankees | 72 | 90 | .444 | 20 |
Kansas City Athletics | 62 | 99 | .385 | 29½ |
Record vs. opponents[edit]
1967 American League Records
Sources: |
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Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIN | NYY | WSH | |||
Baltimore | — | 10–8 | 6–11 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 3–15 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 13–5 | 10–8 | |||
Boston | 8–10 | — | 10–8 | 8–10 | 13–5 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 7–11 | 12–6 | 11–7 | |||
California | 11–6 | 8–10 | — | 7–11 | 14–4 | 8–10 | 14–4 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 6–12 | |||
Chicago | 11–7 | 10–8 | 11–7 | — | 12–6 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 12–6 | 8–10 | |||
Cleveland | 9–9 | 5–13 | 4–14 | 6–12 | — | 8–10 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 13–5 | |||
Detroit | 15–3 | 7–11 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 10–8 | — | 12–6 | 8–10–1 | 10–8 | 9–9 | |||
Kansas City | 8–10 | 6–12 | 4–14 | 10–8 | 7–11 | 6–12 | — | 8–10 | 7–11 | 6–11 | |||
Minnesota | 10–8 | 11–7 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 10–8–1 | 10–8 | — | 12–6–1 | 10–8 | |||
New York | 5–13 | 6–12 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 6–12–1 | — | 12–6 | |||
Washington | 8–10 | 7–11 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 5–13 | 9–9 | 11–6 | 8–10 | 6–12 | — |
Notable transactions[edit]
- June 6, 1967: 1967 Major League Baseball Draft
- Mike Sadek was drafted by the Twins in the 5th round.[6]
- Steve Luebber was drafted by the Twins in the 13th round.[7]
Roster[edit]
1967 Minnesota Twins | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats[edit]
= Indicates team leader |
Batting[edit]
Starters by position[edit]
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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C | Zimmerman, JerryJerry Zimmerman | 104 | 234 | 39 | .167 | 1 | 12 |
1B | Killebrew, HarmonHarmon Killebrew | 163 | 547 | 147 | .269 | 44 | 113 |
2B | Carew, RodRod Carew | 137 | 514 | 150 | .292 | 8 | 51 |
SS | Versalles, ZoiloZoilo Versalles | 160 | 581 | 116 | .200 | 6 | 50 |
3B | Rollins, RichRich Rollins | 109 | 339 | 83 | .245 | 6 | 39 |
LF | Allison, BobBob Allison | 153 | 496 | 128 | .258 | 24 | 75 |
CF | Uhlaender, TedTed Uhlaender | 133 | 415 | 107 | .258 | 6 | 49 |
RF | Oliva, TonyTony Oliva | 146 | 557 | 161 | .289 | 17 | 83 |
Other batters[edit]
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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Tovar, CésarCésar Tovar | 164 | 649 | 173 | .267 | 6 | 47 |
Nixon, RussRuss Nixon | 74 | 170 | 40 | .235 | 1 | 22 |
Battey, EarlEarl Battey | 48 | 109 | 18 | .165 | 0 | 8 |
Reese, RichRich Reese | 95 | 101 | 25 | .248 | 4 | 20 |
Valdespino, SandySandy Valdespino | 99 | 97 | 16 | .165 | 1 | 3 |
Clark, RonRon Clark | 20 | 60 | 10 | .167 | 2 | 11 |
Hernández, JackieJackie Hernández | 29 | 28 | 4 | .143 | 0 | 3 |
Bond, WaltWalt Bond | 10 | 16 | 5 | .313 | 1 | 5 |
Kelly, PatPat Kelly | 8 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching[edit]
Starting pitchers[edit]
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Chance, DeanDean Chance | 41 | 283.2 | 20 | 14 | 2.73 | 220 |
Kaat, JimJim Kaat | 42 | 263.1 | 16 | 13 | 3.04 | 211 |
Merritt, JimJim Merritt | 37 | 227.2 | 13 | 7 | 2.53 | 161 |
Boswell, DaveDave Boswell | 37 | 222.2 | 14 | 12 | 3.27 | 204 |
Other pitchers[edit]
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Perry, JimJim Perry | 37 | 130.2 | 8 | 7 | 3.03 | 94 |
Grant, MudcatMudcat Grant | 27 | 95.1 | 5 | 6 | 4.72 | 50 |
Relief pitchers[edit]
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
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Worthington, AlAl Worthington | 59 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 2.84 | 80 |
Kline, RonRon Kline | 54 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 3.77 | 36 |
Siebler, DwightDwight Siebler | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 0 |
Nelson, MelMel Nelson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54.00 | 0 |
Farm system[edit]
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Auburn, St. Cloud
Notes[edit]
- ^ Bernie Allen page at Baseball Reference
- ^ 1967 Minnesota Twins game log at Baseball Reference
- ^ Cal Ermer page at Baseball Reference
- ^ The Hardball Times article on Walt Bond
- ^ [1] Boston Red Sox 5, Minnesota Twins 3
- ^ Mike Sadek page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Steve Luebber page at Baseball Reference
References[edit]
- Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com
- Team info from www.baseball-almanac.com
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
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