1965 MLB playoffs - The 1965 Major League baseball season was exciting, but the excitement of the regular season as pale in comparison to the playoffs.
The 1965 Major League baseball season was exciting, but the excitement of the regular season as pale in comparison to the playoffs. The teams that were particularly successful in the playoffs that season were the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Minnesota Twins. These two squads would go through the playoffs playing with a purpose. It was clear that each of these teams felt like they had the talent to go through their opponents in order to take home a World Series Title.
In the end these teams were able to beat out their competition in order for a shot at the World Series. These two teams would square off in what would be one of the greatest World Series matchups in the history of baseball.
The Dodgers were managed by Walter Alston and the Twins by Sam Mele. Game one would feature a pitching matchup between Mudcat Grant and Don Drysdale. These two pitchers were squaring off in what many people thought would be a true duel. Drysdale was not the typical ace for the Dodgers, but Sandy Koufax was sitting out the day in order to observe Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for those people that practice Judaism.
The game did not go as many people thought it would. The first inning went by without much noise, and the second inning likewise. The third inning would be the inning when all would break loose. The Twins went wild, scoring 6 runs in the inning off of Drysdale. This outburst would put the Dodgers away in game one, giving a 1-0 lead to the Twins.
The Twins couldn’t avoid Sandy Koufax forever and would have to face him in game 2 of the series. The game started out as a true pitcher’s duel. Jim Kaat and Koufax were leaving zeroes on the scoreboard inning after inning. The 6th inning started at 0-0, but the Twins were finally able to strike. An error gave the Twins some momentum and they were able to score 2 runs. They would never look back that back and won 5-1. This extended the series lead to 2-0.
Claude Osteen took the mound for the Dodgers in game 3 and knew what he had to do. He would go on to pitch a game that the Dodgers desperately needed. Osteen threw a complete game shutout, limiting the Twins to just 5 hits in the 4-0 loss. The Dodgers were now down 2-1 in the series, but had a bit of momentum.
The duel between Mudcat Grant and Drysdale was renewed in game 4, but this time the Dodgers struck first. They managed to score runs early and often, putting up runs in 5 different innings. The Dodgers would manage a 7-2 victory and evened up the series.
The Dodgers had Koufax back in the hill in game 5 and they saw a magical outing. Koufax threw another shutout, striking out 10. The Dodgers had now won 3 games in a row and looked like they were ready to close things out.
The Twins weren’t ready to die just yet in game 6. They sent Mudcat Grant out to the mound for his 3rd start of the series to face Cluade Osteen. Osteeen wasn’t able to shutout the Twins again and they put some runs on the board in the 4th and 6th. Unfortunately for the Dodgers they were not able to keep up and dropped the game. This left the series at 3-3.
The excitement was now mounting between these two teams as they squared off in Minnesota. Koufax would take the mound again. He would make World Series history in this one by throwing another shutout. This three-hit gem would go along with 10 strikeouts. This performance landed his team a World Series Championship.
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