Introduction of the series here

Part 2: 1961-1962 Offseason MLB expansion here

Part 3: 1964 World Series Champs! here

Hello friends! Putting a slight pause on the series to ask a question in the comments below. In the meantime, enjoy another WS title winning run in 1967! Below are my notes since the last time I checked in... 

• CF Jackie Brandt wins a Gold Glove, and 4 Twins win Silver Slugger Awards - Mincher, Rollins, Killebrew, and Allison. 
• Sam Mele was named AL Manager of the Year after his WS clinching run. 
• Mickey Mantle has been named MVP in the AL for the 4th consecutive season. Meanwhile, Sandy Koufax swept the NL MVP and Cy Young - the first Triple Crown winning pitcher in the series! 
• The major signing for the Twins is 19 year 2B/1B Rod Carew who starts his professional career as the #3 prospect in baseball. 
• The Twins made another major trade, this time with the Cincinatti Reds. Minnesota trades 2 minor league prospects - 24 year old OF Ted Uhlaender and 23 year old SP Larry Bohannon for 32 year old LH SP Billy O'Dell. 

• First Amateur Player Draft: SP Tom Seaver is the first ever 1st overall pick to the Washington Senators. SP George Stone was the Twins' first draft pick ever at 16th overall. 

• 1965 is the first season where we felt the penny pinching of our owner Calvin Griffith. In order to sign the majority of our draft class, it required making a drastic change... As a result, the highest paid player on the team, LF Bob Allison, was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for 18 year old SS Don Money and 19 year old SP Harold Clem. 
• All Stars - SP Jim Merritt, 1B Don Mincher, 3B Harmon Killebrew, and RF Tony Oliva. 54-30 record and 4.5 games back of the Detroit Tigers at the AS Break. 
• Even though the Twins sat at 2nd place in the AL with a 62-39 record at the trade deadline, the payroll slashing continued on. The Twins traded C Earl Battey (current highest paid player) and CF Jackie Brandt for 2 prospects - 21 year old CF Jose Cardenal and 20 year old RHP Ray Miller. 
• Despite finishing with a 20-4 record in September, including 13 wins in a row, it was not enough to overcome the Detroit Tigers. The Twins were eliminated in the 158th game of the regular season. The 105 win Twins go home unsatisfied, as the 109 win Tigers face the 103 win LA Dodgers in the World Series.
• Even though SP Sandy Koufax is a back to back Triple Crown winning pitcher, the team could not overcome the Tigers, losing the series 4-2. Detroit wins their first WS since 1945.

• Don Mincher and Harmon Killebrew win Silver Slugger awards. 
• Because Griffith cut payroll even further after losing the pennant race, the Twins traded another highly popular, but highly paid player in 4 time All Star 1B Don Mincher. The 27 year old 1B was traded to the Kansas City Athletics for 26 year old speedster OF Lou Brock, who has yet to establish himself. This move allows 1965 MVP winning 29 year old Harmon Killebrew to settle in at 1B for the foreseeable future.
• Major trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates for LH SP Bob Veale.

• Ted Williams has been elected to the 1966 HOF class. The Twins are in the middle of their contending window, and 1966 is another year full of hope in Bloomington, MN.

• Legendary 3B Eddie Matthews hits his 500th career HR. Hammerin' Hank Aaron hits career #400 this season at 32 years old. 
• Due to Phil Niekro establishing himself in the starting rotation, and 21 year old hotshot prospect Dave Broswell returning from injury, this made SP Camilio Pascual avaliable via trade. He was traded to the Washington Senators for 19 year old SP Joe Coleman. 
• The Twins selected 3B Steve Brye at 22nd overall in the 1st round of the 1966 draft. @USAFChief has accomplished his goal of creating a top 3 minor league farm system after drafting John Mayberry Sr with the 4th overall pick. @AceWrigleyis the best of the lousiest, and lousiest of the best ranking 10th.

• At the All-Star break, the Twins sit in 2th place with a 56-35 record. 3 Twins players were named All Stars - SP Jim Merritt (2x), C Tim McCarver (1st appearance for the 24 year old), and 1B Harmon Killebrew (7x)
• Approaching the trade deadline, the Twins won 6 in a row to raise their record to 65-41 However, they still have a steep hill to climb trailing the Detroit Tigers by 3 games. Sid Hartman felt confident in his young team and stood pat. 
• The Twins continued to play red-hot winning baseball throughout August and enter September tied with the Detroit Tigers for the AL lead. It's a 3 team race between us, the Tigers, and the Red Sox who are 3.5 games back. 

• The Twins and Tigers battled all throughout September for the AL lead. Unfortunately for Minnesota, they were eliminated in the final game of the season, after losing the last 2 games to Baltimore. Detroit wins the AL with 97 wins, Minnesota 96 wins, and Boston 95 wins. 
• The San Francisco Giants won the World Series in 6 games, with Willie Mays winning MVP honors.

• In a shocking turn of events, Sam Mele who has been managing the team for the last 5 seasons is leaving the team after not coming to an agreement on a new contract. He will be remembered as the winningest manager since moving to Minnesota with a 490-321 record and 1 WS title. Sid Hartman hosted a press conference and disclosed that Mele wanted full control of the team. Hartman did not agree and allowed him to explore other opportunities. 
• Hartman was once an unorthodox hire, and he is taking a chance on recently retired SP Curt Simmons to be the next Twins manager. He was signed to a 5 year contract. 

• This is going to be a tricky off-season for the Twins. 21 year old 2B Rod Carew is beating the door down in AAA, but another 21 year old in Reggie Smith is currently occupying his position in the majors. Reggie has the ability to play corner OF, but our current OF is set with Brock, Cardenal, Oliva, and Jones. The Twins could use an upgrade at 3B, where Joe Foy underperformed, and a shutdown reliever. 
• New York Yankees C Eslton Howard retired from baseball at 37 years old and will enter politics as New York City's newest House of Representatives. 
• SS Zoilo Versalles and RF Tony Oliva won the Gold Glove Award for their respective positions. Oliva also won a Silver Slugger Award. 
• SP Jim Merritt wins his first Cy Young Award, leading the majors with 272 innings pitched. 

• 2B John Donaldson and SP/RP Larry Bearnarth were added to the 40 man roster prior to the Rule 5 draft. 
• Brooklyn Dodgers catching legend Roy Campanella is the lone member of the 1967 HOF class. 

• Milestone watch heading into Opening Day... Mickey Mantle, who has been the best player in this series by far, has 575 HRs entering his age 35 season. Hammerin' Hank Aaron has 433 HRs entering his age 33 season. Pete Rose is looking for the 3 peat as NL batting champion. 
• Due to new manager Curt Simmons' unorthodox ways, the Twins enter 1967 with a new defensive configuration... Lou Brock spent spring training playing CF, and ended up winning the starting job over Jose Cardenal. Reggie Smith made the move from 2B to LF, and rookie Rod Carew made the team at 2B. Defensive prowess has been sacrificed to clear a path for Carew, but Hartman sees something special in him to make these decisions. 

• Reggie Smith on May 31st was beaned in the head with a pitch, and was concussed in the process. The Twins lost him for the season.
• Jim Merritt was also struck with the injury bug after his extreme workload last season. 1966 4th round selection Jim Colborn was called up from AAA to take a spot in the rotation. 
• With the 20th overall pick in the 1967 draft, the Minnesota Twins select CF Tom Kelly, a 17 year old CF from Graceville, MN. A close, personal friend told Hartman that Kelly could not only be a potential MLB player, but a future manager. 

• The Twins were off to a historic start to the 67 season - they entered the All Star break with a 63-21 record. As a result, 9 players were selected to the All-Star team.
• At the trade deadline, the Twins could have looked for an upgrade at SS, where Versalles is struggling with a .590 OPS, but they are so far ahead at 76-27, Hartman spent the day at Manny's Steakhouse. The starting pitching staff has been pitching in such dominating fashion that nothing else really matters. It really is a sight to see. 

• Minnesota cruised to an AL pennant, winning 108 games. 21 year old rookie Rod Carew wins the AL batting title, and Pete Rose does three peat in the NL. 
• The Twins faced the Dodgers once again in the World Series, and won in 5 games!