1965 Los Angeles Dodgers: Overcoming Obstacles

1965 Los Angeles Dodgers: Overcoming Obstacles

Only 1 year removed from being the World Series Champions in 1963, the Dodgers suffered a setback in 1964 where they finished in 6th place in the National League due to badly timed injuries. One injury in particular appeared to doom the Dodgers 1 month into the 1965 regular season where left fielder Tommy Davis fractured his ankle while sliding into second base. However, because of a couple trades the Dodgers picked themselves up and went 97-65, winning the National League pennant by 2 games over the San Francisco Giants. The Dodgers went 10-8 against the Giants in head-to-head play.

Shortstop Maury Wills batted .286 with 186 hits, 14 doubles, 7 triples and an amazing 94 stolen bases. Third baseman Jim Gilliam batted .280 with 4 home runs, 104 hits, 19 doubles and 4 triples. Right fielder Ron Fairly batted .274 with 9 home runs and 70 RBI’s off 152 hits and 28 doubles. Pitcher Larry Sherry would be traded to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for left fielder Lou Johnson, who would give the Dodgers a much needed lift from the injury to Davis. Johnson had 12 home runs and 58 RBI’s off 121 hits, 24 doubles, 3 triples and 25 stolen bases. First baseman Wes Parker had 8 home runs and 51 RBI’s off 129 hits, 24 doubles, 7 triples and 13 stolen bases. Catcher John Roseboro had 8 home runs and 57 RBI’s off 102 hits.

Sandy Koufax remained as dominant as ever on the pitcher’s mound as he went 26-8 with 382 strikeouts and a 2.04 ERA, recording 27 complete games and 8 shutouts. Don Drysdale went 23-12 with 210 strikeouts and a 2.77 ERA, recording 20 complete games and 7 shutouts. Acquired in a trade from the Washington Senators for pitchers Phil Ortega and Pete Richert and outfielder and first baseman Frank Howard, Claude Osteen went 15-15 with 162 strikeouts and a 2.79 ERA, recording 9 complete games and 1 shutout. Johnny Podres went 7-6 with a 3.43 ERA, recording 2 complete games and 1 shutout. Closer Ron Perranoski went 6-6 with 18 saves and a 2.24 ERA. Bob Miller had 9 saves and a 2.97 ERA. Howie Reed went 7-5 with a 3.12 ERA. Jim Brewer went 3-2 with a 1.82 ERA.

The Los Angeles Dodgers played against the American League Champion Minnesota Twins in the 1965 World Series, and it would take all 7 games for a champion to emerge. In Game 1 on October 6 at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota the Twins beat the Dodgers 8-2. James “Mudcat” Grant pitched a complete game for Minnesota, giving up 10 hits, 1 walk and 2 runs, recording 5 strikeouts. Ron Fairly hit a solo home run in the top of the 2nd inning, and then in the bottom of the 2nd Twins first baseman Don Mincher hit a solo home run. In the bottom of the 3rd shortstop Zoilo Versalles smacked a 3-run home run, catcher Earl Battey hit a 2-run single, and second baseman Frank Quilici had an RBI single. Versalles had an RBI single in the bottom of the 6th, and a bunt RBI single by Maury Wills in the top of the 9th didn’t hurt the Twins.

In Game 2 on October 7 the Twins beat the Dodgers 5-1. Jim Kaat pitched a complete game for Minnesota, giving up 7 hits, 1 walk and 1 run while recording 3 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 6th inning right fielder Tony Oliva had an RBI double, and third baseman Harmon Killebrew followed with an RBI single. In the top of the 7th John Roseboro had an RBI single, and a wild pitch scored Versalles later on. Kaat would have a 2-run single in the bottom of the 8th.

In Game 3 on October 9 at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers blanked the Twins 4-0. Claude Osteen pitched a complete game, giving up 5 hits and 2 walks while recording 2 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 4th inning Roseboro had a 2-run single. In the bottom of the 5th Lou Johnson had an RBI double, and in the bottom of the 6th Maury Wills had an RBI double.

In Game 4 on October 10 the Dodgers won 7-2. Drysdale pitched a complete game, giving up 5 hits, 2 walks and 2 runs, recording 11 strikeouts. Fairly had an RBI groundout in the bottom of the 1st, and in the bottom of the 2nd Roseboro reached on an error to score Parker. In the top of the 4th Killebrew hit a solo home run, and Parker responded by hitting his own solo home run in the bottom of the 4th. Oliva hit a solo home run in the top of the 6th, and in the bottom of the 6th Fairly had a 2-run single, and Johnson followed by scoring Fairly off a sacrifice bunt. Johnson hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 8th.

In Game 5 on October 11 the Dodgers blanked the Twins 7-0. Sandy Koufax pitched a complete game, giving up 4 hits and 1 walk, but recording 10 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 1st inning Jim Gilliam had an RBI single, and then Willie Davis reached on an error off a bunt to score Gilliam. In the bottom of the 3rd Johnson had an RBI single, and Fairly followed with an RBI double. In the bottom of the 4th Gilliam had an RBI single, and in the bottom of the 7th Koufax and Wills both had RBI singles.

In Game 6 on October 13, the Twins won 5-1 at Metropolitan Stadium. Mudcat Grant pitched a complete game, giving up 6 hits and 1 run, but he recorded 5 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 4th left fielder Bob Allison smacked a 2-run home run, and in the bottom of the 6th Grant helped himself out by crushing a 3-run home run. In the top of the 7th Fairly hit a solo home run.

In Game 7 on October 14 the Dodgers blanked the Twins 2-0 to send Minnesota fans home unhappy. Sandy Koufax pitched a complete game, giving up 3 hits and 3 walks, recording 10 strikeouts. Lou Johnson hit a solo home run in the top of the 4th inning, and Wes Parker followed with an RBI single. The Dodgers won their 3rd World Series championship since moving from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, overcoming tough obstacles from earlier.

Sandy Koufax once again won multiple awards and honors as he won the National League Cy Young award, the Associated Press Athlete of the Year, The Sporting News Pitcher and Major League Pitcher of the Year awards, and the 1965 World Series Most Valuable Player award. Dodgers second baseman Jim Lefebvre was selected as the National League Rookie of the Year.