The Twins have produced their share of players who have won the Rookie of the Year award.
There’s Tony Oliva, of course, and his incredible 1964 debut. It was so amazing (look it up, newbies) that he also finished fourth in the AL MVP vote that season. He was followed by Rod Carew (no surprise) in 1967, John Castino co-won the award with Blue Jays infielder Alfredo Griffin in 1979, Chuck Knoblauch received the honor in 1991 and Marty Cordova was the last Twin to win it in 1995.
And then there’s outfielder Bob Allison, who, although he started his career with the Washington Senators, is more associated with the Twins than the Senators/Nationals. And yet in 1959 he and the Nats were still in D.C. and Allison was the rookie of choice after he slashed .261/.333/.482 with 30 home runs and 85 RBI. Harmon Killebrew smacked 42 long balls that season as well, so they were a formidable one-two punch in Washington just as they would be in Minnesota.
Allison made his case early when he hit his first major league home run on April 16, 1959, in a 7-5 win over the Boston Red Sox. Globe sportswriter Clif Keane, who I have noticed was frequently described as “acerbic,” said that Allison appeared to be more than the typical Senators ballplayer.
“But Bob Allison, one of the few Senators who looks qualified to wear a big league uniform, hit the second pitch into the left centerfield screen and Norm Zauchin hit the second pitch into the leftfield area,” Keane wrote.
Allison then took it a step higher with a 5-for-5 day at the plate, including two home runs, four RBI and two runs scored in a 7-6 loss to the Detroit Tigers on June 5.
The (Washington, D.C.) Evening Star
“The Tigers agree that the most destructive roommates since the elderly sisters in ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ are Harmon Killebrew and Bob Allison, the Senators’ young musclemen.
“But that pair will need help If the team is to rise above its seventh-place status. Allison and Killebrew are giving the Tigers a fright every time they step to the plate, what with Bob hitting .370 and Harmon whacking away at a .428 clip against them. They’ve combined to collect 19 hits in six games against Detroit pitching and among their blows have been nine honkers, two triples and two double.
“They’ve batted In 21 runs against the Tigers. Allison boosted the total to that figure with four last night as he got five hits in as many tries, including a pair of long homers. But with all of Bob’s heroics, the Senators lost as poor fielding cost Camilo Pascual four unearned runs and a 7-6 defeat before 27,537 customers.”
Pascual put up quite the pitching line with seven runs allowed on eight hits across eight-plus innings, but only three of those runs were earned because of an error and passed ball. He also walked six batters and struck out eight.
Following the regular season, the Rookie of the Year award was his.
“I knew I had a good chance of winning it because of my record,” Allison told the Washington Daily News, “but I also felt that (Jim) Perry could win it.”
Pitcher Perry, who would eventually join the Twins, was the runner up for the award.
Sources: Newspapers.com, Baseball-Reference.com