Game of The Week: Sunday, Oct. 1,1967 Twin vs. RedSox : "The Impossible Dream"

I'll tell ya now.  Sox won, 5-3. El Crappo! But this post is a nice vehicle for viewing the young Rod Carew, in his rookie year.  Sweet! Bad part: having to see dumb baserunning by Ted Uhlaender!  Ugh.

It was the final game in the season ending 3-game set.  One win (1) would have sent our Twins to the big dance.  And...the Sox swept! Guess it's an exercise in torture, my posting another feature on a late season big game Twins loss...but this one is of the "Sweet Sorrow" variety, with thanks to William "Billy Ball" Shakespeare.  It's art, I tell you.

1967 was the year the Red Sox trotted Carl Yastrzemski out to left field, and layed 8 athletic supporters at the other positions on the diamond.  He single-handedly won the pennant for them that summer. Sure, they did have Rico Petrocelli at short and Reggie Smith in center, solid, but not the players they would be. Sure,  George"The Boomer" Scott was in the upper echelon of the League's first sackers. But c'mon...with Harmon, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, Cesar Tovar and Bob Allison in your lineup, you sort of like your chances! Not to mention a dang thing about that poor devil, Zoilo Versalles, playing in his last game as a Twin.

This game put the Sox over the top, and into the World Series. Dean Chance was the loser that day, in his last start in an otherwise great first season with the Twins.  The game also marked the last appearance of Jim "Mudcat" Grant, too, in a Twins uniform.

Carl Yastrzemski again came up big for the home team.  He went four for four in this game, and threw out Bob Allison at second on an attempted double in the top of the 8th.  He represented the go ahead run, had he stayed at first.  He tested Yaz' arm in left, and payed for it.  Essentially, Yaz would have thrown out The Savior Himself too, had He elected to run; so good was the Big Pole (if you'll pardon the expression) in big game situations, during his Triple Crown Year.

I'm sorry you had to see this, kids.

Go ahead, click on the line ups in the link above. DARE YA!  You would never have guessed the Red Sox were in any way a match for what was perhaps the best Twins team ever fielded.  The Twins were 3rd in the league in runs scored (.671), 4th in batting average (.240), 4th in homers (131), 6th in fielding (.978), and 2nd in team ERA (3.14). The Red Sox were 1st in runs scored (722), 1st in batting average (.255), 1st in homeruns (158), 9th?? in fielding (.977), and 8th in team ERA (3.36). Harrumph!

Ultimately, it set the scene for rebuilding for the great 1969 Twins team.  More on that later...

FYI: Sox lost to the St. Louis Cardinals and Bob Gibson in seven games in the World Series.  So there.

Nice face, Yaz!

At least not having the Twins in the World Series made the famous Jose Feliciano*  rendition (see below vid) of the "Star Spangled Banner" possible.  Who would the Twins have forwarded for the job? Merv Griffin?  Oooooooh! Maybe a Jimi Hendrix appearance at Met Stadium, coming on the heals of the Monteray Pop Festival...?  Nothing wrong with dreamin."
OK, maybe that would have heralded an outbreak of reefer madness on the great state of Minnesota, allowing the likes of him into sunny Bloomington.

*not to be confused with the Red Sox' Jose,  hurler Jose Tartabull (the father of Danny Tartabull, FYI).






May your taters fly far!

Twins Twinkler is OUT!