Among the many Twins promotions and events this season, there is one that stands out: On Aug. 16, the team will recognize the 60th anniversary of the 1965 AL Pennant-winning Twins.
I’m not sure who will be on hand for that celebration — Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva come to mind — but how about also inviting 89-year-old Jim Perry, 91-year-old Camilo Pascual and 96-year-old Al Worthington?
Al, who began his career as a starter, later moved to the bullpen and recorded 111 saves over a 14-year career, including 88 saves for the Twins from 1964 through 1969. He notched 21 saves for the Twins during that ’65 season.
That club was a machine. They tore through the American League and never looked back, finally winning the league by seven games at 102-60. And it didn’t matter where they played: They were 51-30 at home and 51-30 on the road. Of the 10 teams in the league, the Twins had a winning record against all but one, the Cleveland Indians. But they dominated the Boston Red Sox (17-1), the Washington Senators (15-3) and believe it or not, the Yankees, too, at 13-5. Nothing could be sweeter.
The Twins also stormed out of the gates. They were 8-3 in April, 19-12 in May, 16-13 in June and 22-9 in July to keep the other teams at bay. Although they had a losing record against the Tribe (7-11), the Twins gave them a taste of how good they could be on April 27, 1965.
Pascual took the mound at the behemoth known as Cleveland Stadium and proceeded to scatter two hits over nine innings. It gets better: Camilo slugged a first-inning grand slam as part of a seven-run frame and the Twins rolled, 11-1. Incredibly, those runs came at the expense of fireballer Sudden Sam McDowell, who would go on to strike out 325 batters across 273 innings. They don’t make ’em like that anymore.
The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer was there:
“The busiest and best man at the Stadium last night was Camilo Pascual, but a fellow named Johnny Szabo gave him a run for honors.
“Pascual was seldom better as he pitched and batted the Minnesota Twins to an 11-1 victory over the Indians.
“Szabo was never busier as he chauffered six Tribe relief pitchers between the bullpen and the mound without even a minor accident.
“And the way things went for the Indians last night, Szabo’s was quite an achievement.
“Pascual, the 32-year-old Cuban right-hander, who wasn’t able to beat the Tribe once through 1963 and 1964, had everything his own way last night.
“In addition to hurling a sparkling two-hitter, Pascual belted a grand slam homer the second of his 12-year major league career and drove in another run with a single to pace the Twins’ 13-hit barrage.
“Sam McDowell, who started but couldn’t survive the first inning, absorbed the lopsided loss which was witnessed by 3,827 thoroughly chilled fans.”
Pascual went the distance, allowing a run on two hits with two walks and five strikeouts. At the plate, he went 2-for-4 with 5 RBI. When Camilo connected on his grand slam, Jerry Kindall was on first base, Earl Battey stood at second and Jimmie Hall waited at third.
Sources: Baseball-Reference.com, Newspapers.com