Minnesota Twins: Top 5 All-Star seasons in a Twins uniform
By Nate Palmer
No. 4 Bob Allison-1964
It is amazing to think of the power bats that the Twins once had. Especially since I am from a generation of Twins fandom where one of the most successful teams generated offense mainly by way of the “piranhas”. The first of a pair of those power bats we will highlight on this list is Bob Allison and his performance in 1964.
In his first half on the way to his third All-Star appearance, Allison hit .336/.439/.657 with a 1.096 OPS. He also added 21 home runs, 23 doubles, and 55 RBIs. Allison had 55 strikeouts which were almost evenly matched by his 48 walks in the season’s first half.
Allison earned the start at first base for the All-Star game. He had very minimal success in his four plate appearances. Allison officially went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. His first strikeout came in the first inning from Don Drysdale. Although his at-bat did create a wild pitch scenario which allowed teammate Harmon Killebrew to advance to second from first base.
Allison’s second strikeout came with Jim Running on the mound. It was until Allison’s fourth and final at-bat that he settled to get on base for the first time by way of a walk with Turk Farrel on the mound. Allison wouldn’t continue quite the same pace in the second half as he did in the first, but still slashed a career best .287/.404/.553 with a .957 OPS. He also finished with 32 home runs, 27 doubles, four triples, and 86 RBIs.