The 1965 Twins are one of the greatest teams to not win a World Series. Minnesota won 102 games that season, which is the most in Minnesota history.
Reaching the World Series, Minnesota fell to the Dodgers in seven games. But that's not what we're here to talk about. This 1965 swuad had four players place within the Top 10 in the American League MVP race, as well as two more within the Top 15.
Zoilo Versalles won the MVP, while Tony Oliva finished second. It was a memorable year, and one that goes down in baseball history with legendary dominance.
1965 Twins had stars playing in every corner of the field
Zoilo Versalles: Led the league in several categories: 308 total bases, 7.2 bWAR, 45 doubles, 12 triples, 126 runs scored
- Placed 1st in MVP
Tony Oliva: Led the league with a .321 batting average and 185 hits, also produced 107 runs and 98 RBIs, 5.4 bWAR
- Placed 2nd in MVP
Mudcat Grant: 21 wins, 3.30 ERA, 14 complete games, six shutouts, 1.158 WHIP, 2.6 bWAR
- Placed 6th in MVP
Earl Battey: .297 AVG, .375 OBP, 3.2 bWAR, 22 doubles
- Placed 10th in MVP
Jimmie Hall: .285 AVG, 49 extra-base hits, 4.3 bWAR
- Placed 13th in MVP
Harmon Killebrew: 25 home runs, 4.4 bWAR, .885 OPS
- Placed 15th in MVP
Let's also not forget Jim Kaat, even though he didn't receive any MVP votes. Kaat was a Gold Glover in 1965, and also produced a 2.83 ERA in 264.1 innings.
Jim Perry had a 2.63 ERA and Camilo Pascual had a 3.35 ERA to round out the impressive starting rotation. Al Worthington led with 21 saves, while Johnny Klippstein and Bill Pleis each had a sub-3.00 ERA out of the bullpen.
At the plate, Bob Allison and Don Mincher muscled 23 and 22 home runs, respectively. A stacked team indeed that took the Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and Claude Osteen-led Dodgers to seven games.