When the Twins traveled to Comiskey Park for a weekend set against the Chicago White Sox 50 years ago, they had held down first place—or a share of it—for nearly two weeks. They were coming off convincing series wins in Baltimore and Washington, but in the Friday night opener on September 15, 1967, White Sox ace Joe Horlen went the distance for his 17th win, a 7-3 decision that left the 84-64 Twins tied atop the American League with both the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers.
Leading the normally low-scoring White Sox was light-hitting Ron Hansen, who tallied four hits and four RBIs against Twins pitching. Hansen, who had collected seven hits in his two previous games, was heard issuing a warning within range of a reporter: “Don’t touch me. . . or you’ll get burned.”
With Friday’s win, the White Sox had pulled to within 1.5 games of the leaders, and they inched closer on Saturday, scoring four runs in the bottom of the ninth to stun the Twins, 5-4. Dean Chance seemingly had his 19th victory of the season in the bag, but the Twins ace allowed three straight singles to open the ninth, which ended with Pete Ward’s walk-off single off reliever Al Worthington.
On Sunday, White Sox southpaw Gary Peters worked a nifty four-hitter in a 4-0 win that completed the sweep of the Twins. The Red Sox were swept as well, by the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park, allowing the Tigers to claim sole possession of first place by a half-game over the revitalized White Sox. The Twins and Red Sox, who had led the pack for most of September, both trailed the Tigers by a game.
The Tigers were on a 9-3 tear, but with a dozen games to play, this would be the last day that they held down the top spot alone. They hosted the struggling Red Sox twice to start the new week and lost a pair of close contests before sellout crowds. After the Red Sox scored three ninth-inning runs to claim the second game, 4-2, on Tuesday, only they and the Twins led the league the rest of the way.
Both the Twins and Red Sox, after being swept over the weekend, kicked off the new week with winning streaks. On Monday, September 18, Jim Kaat nearly single-handedly put an end to Minnesota’s three-game skid. He tossed a 10-inning shutout, fanning 12 without walking a batter in a 2-0 road win over the Kansas City A’s. After Minnesota’s 8-2 romp over the A’s on Tuesday, the Twins and Red Sox were deadlocked at 86-66. The White Sox were a half-game back, the Tigers a game behind.
I will post about the 1967 Twins and their wild AL pennant race down to the final days of the season, culling stories from the upcoming and tentatively titled The Glory Years of the Minnesota Twins: Rock ‘n’ Roll, War and Peace, the Civil Rights Movement and Baseball in the 1960s. I also post on my author page on Facebook.
Leading the normally low-scoring White Sox was light-hitting Ron Hansen, who tallied four hits and four RBIs against Twins pitching. Hansen, who had collected seven hits in his two previous games, was heard issuing a warning within range of a reporter: “Don’t touch me. . . or you’ll get burned.”
With Friday’s win, the White Sox had pulled to within 1.5 games of the leaders, and they inched closer on Saturday, scoring four runs in the bottom of the ninth to stun the Twins, 5-4. Dean Chance seemingly had his 19th victory of the season in the bag, but the Twins ace allowed three straight singles to open the ninth, which ended with Pete Ward’s walk-off single off reliever Al Worthington.
On Sunday, White Sox southpaw Gary Peters worked a nifty four-hitter in a 4-0 win that completed the sweep of the Twins. The Red Sox were swept as well, by the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park, allowing the Tigers to claim sole possession of first place by a half-game over the revitalized White Sox. The Twins and Red Sox, who had led the pack for most of September, both trailed the Tigers by a game.
The Tigers were on a 9-3 tear, but with a dozen games to play, this would be the last day that they held down the top spot alone. They hosted the struggling Red Sox twice to start the new week and lost a pair of close contests before sellout crowds. After the Red Sox scored three ninth-inning runs to claim the second game, 4-2, on Tuesday, only they and the Twins led the league the rest of the way.
Both the Twins and Red Sox, after being swept over the weekend, kicked off the new week with winning streaks. On Monday, September 18, Jim Kaat nearly single-handedly put an end to Minnesota’s three-game skid. He tossed a 10-inning shutout, fanning 12 without walking a batter in a 2-0 road win over the Kansas City A’s. After Minnesota’s 8-2 romp over the A’s on Tuesday, the Twins and Red Sox were deadlocked at 86-66. The White Sox were a half-game back, the Tigers a game behind.
I will post about the 1967 Twins and their wild AL pennant race down to the final days of the season, culling stories from the upcoming and tentatively titled The Glory Years of the Minnesota Twins: Rock ‘n’ Roll, War and Peace, the Civil Rights Movement and Baseball in the 1960s. I also post on my author page on Facebook.