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The 1963 Minnesota Twins finished 91–70, third in the American League. 1,406,652 fans attended Twins games, the highest total in the American League.
| 1963 Minnesota Twins | ||
|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |
| Ballpark | Metropolitan Stadium | |
| City | Bloomington, Minnesota | |
| Owners | Calvin Griffith (majority owner, with Thelma Griffith Haynes) | |
| General managers | Calvin Griffith | |
| Managers | Sam Mele | |
| Television | WTCN-TV | |
| Radio | 830 WCCO AM (Ray Scott, Herb Carneal, Halsey Hall) | |
| ||
- November 5, 1962: Rudy May was signed as an amateur free agent by the Twins.[1]
- November 26, 1962: Rich Reese was drafted by the Twins from the Detroit Tigers in the 1962 first-year draft.[2]
- November 26, 1962: Joe Foy was drafted by the Boston Red Sox from the Minnesota Twins in the 1962 minor league draft.[3]
- January 21, 1963: Rubén Gómez was released by the Twins.[4]
Four Twins made the All-Star Game: first baseman Harmon Killebrew, shortstop Zoilo Versalles, outfielder Bob Allison and catcher Earl Battey.
On August 29, the Twins played two games at Washington. The club struck eight home runs in the first game (to tie an American League record) and four more in the nightcap, for an even dozen on the day.
On September 21, the Twins played two games at Boston's Fenway Park. Slugger Harmon Killebrew connected for three home runs in the first game and another in the nightcap. His four-homer double-header tied an AL record.
Harmon Killebrew again led the team (and the American League) with 45 home runs; his 96 RBI was Minnesota's best. Bob Allison hit 35 home runs and drove in 91. Camilo Pascual won 21 games and led the AL with 202 strikeouts.
With 33 home runs, Twins rookie Jimmie Hall topped the Boston Red Sox Ted Williams' "true rookie" American League record of 31 homers, set by Williams in 1939. The team's total of 225 home runs was the second-most ever in a season at the time, only trailing the 1961 New York Yankees' 240.[5]
Three Twins won Gold Gloves: first baseman Vic Power won his sixth, shortstop Zoilo Versalles won his first, and Jim Kaat won his second.
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 104 | 57 | .646 | — | 58–22 | 46–35 |
| Chicago White Sox | 94 | 68 | .580 | 10½ | 49–33 | 45–35 |
| Minnesota Twins | 91 | 70 | .565 | 13 | 48–33 | 43–37 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 86 | 76 | .531 | 18½ | 48–33 | 38–43 |
| Cleveland Indians | 79 | 83 | .488 | 25½ | 41–40 | 38–43 |
| Detroit Tigers | 79 | 83 | .488 | 25½ | 47–34 | 32–49 |
| Boston Red Sox | 76 | 85 | .472 | 28 | 44–36 | 32–49 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 73 | 89 | .451 | 31½ | 36–45 | 37–44 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 70 | 91 | .435 | 34 | 39–42 | 31–49 |
| Washington Senators | 56 | 106 | .346 | 48½ | 31–49 | 25–57 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KCA | LAA | MIN | NYY | WSH | |||
| Baltimore | — | 7–11 | 7–11 | 10–8 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 15–3 | |||
| Boston | 11–7 | — | 8–10 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 9–8 | 7–11 | 6–12 | 9–9 | |||
| Chicago | 11–7 | 10–8 | — | 11–7 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 13–5 | |||
| Cleveland | 8–10 | 8–10 | 7–11 | — | 10–8 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 5–13 | 7–11 | 13–5 | |||
| Detroit | 5–13 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 8–10 | — | 13–5 | 12–6 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 9–9 | |||
| Kansas City | 9–9 | 11–7 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 5–13 | — | 10–8 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 10–8 | |||
| Los Angeles | 9–9 | 8–9 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 8–10 | — | 9–9 | 5–13 | 9–9 | |||
| Minnesota | 9–9 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 13–5 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 9–9 | — | 6–11 | 14–4 | |||
| New York | 11–7 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 12–6 | 13–5 | 11–6 | — | 14–4 | |||
| Washington | 3–15 | 9–9 | 5–13 | 5–13 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 4–14 | 4–14 | — | |||
Notable transactions
- May 21, 1963: Bill Tuttle was released by the Twins.[6]
- August 24, 1963: Dwight Siebler was purchased by the Twins from the Philadelphia Phillies.[7]
Roster
| 1963 Minnesota Twins | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
Other batters
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
| = Indicates team leader |
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Earl Battey | 147 | 508 | 145 | .285 | 26 | 84 |
| 1B | Vic Power | 138 | 541 | 146 | .270 | 10 | 52 |
| 2B | Bernie Allen | 139 | 421 | 101 | .240 | 9 | 43 |
| 3B | Rich Rollins | 136 | 531 | 163 | .307 | 16 | 61 |
| SS | Zoilo Versalles | 159 | 621 | 162 | .261 | 10 | 54 |
| LF | Harmon Killebrew | 142 | 515 | 133 | .258 | 45 | 96 |
| CF | Jimmie Hall | 156 | 497 | 129 | .260 | 33 | 80 |
| RF | Bob Allison | 148 | 527 | 143 | .271 | 35 | 91 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lenny Green | 145 | 280 | 67 | .239 | 4 | 27 |
| Don Mincher | 82 | 225 | 58 | .258 | 17 | 42 |
| Johnny Goryl | 64 | 150 | 43 | .287 | 9 | 24 |
| George Banks | 25 | 71 | 11 | .155 | 3 | 8 |
| Jerry Zimmerman | 39 | 56 | 13 | .232 | 0 | 3 |
| Wally Post | 21 | 47 | 9 | .191 | 2 | 6 |
| Vic Wertz | 35 | 44 | 6 | .136 | 3 | 7 |
| Paul Ratliff | 10 | 21 | 4 | .190 | 1 | 3 |
| Jim Lemon | 7 | 17 | 2 | .118 | 0 | 1 |
| Jay Ward | 9 | 15 | 1 | .067 | 0 | 2 |
| Tony Oliva | 7 | 7 | 3 | .429 | 0 | 1 |
| Bill Tuttle | 4 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Julio Bécquer | 1 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camilo Pascual | 31 | 248.1 | 21 | 9 | 2.46 | 202 |
| Dick Stigman | 33 | 241.0 | 15 | 15 | 3.25 | 193 |
| Jim Kaat | 31 | 178.1 | 10 | 10 | 4.19 | 105 |
| Jim Perry | 35 | 168.1 | 9 | 9 | 3.74 | 65 |
| Lee Stange | 32 | 164.2 | 12 | 5 | 2.62 | 100 |
| Jack Kralick | 5 | 25.2 | 1 | 4 | 3.86 | 13 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Roland | 10 | 49.0 | 4 | 1 | 2.57 | 34 |
| Dwight Siebler | 7 | 38.2 | 2 | 1 | 2.79 | 22 |
| Gerry Arrigo | 5 | 15.2 | 1 | 2 | 2.87 | 13 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Dailey | 66 | 6 | 3 | 21 | 1.99 | 72 |
| Bill Pleis | 36 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4.37 | 37 |
| Garry Roggenburk | 36 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2.16 | 24 |
| Ray Moore | 31 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6.98 | 38 |
| Mike Fornieles | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.76 | 7 |
| Fred Lasher | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.76 | 10 |
| Frank Sullivan | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5.73 | 2 |
| Don Williams | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.38 | 2 |
| Gary Dotter | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Wilson[8]
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