Replaying the 1965 World Series in Strat-o-Matic: Game 1

During the spring of 2018, my father and I replayed the 1924 World Series in Strat-o-Matic; if you’d like to travel through that Series, begin here. Last Christmas, he bought me several team sets, including the 1965 Dodgers and Twins, with plans to replay that Series. It took a year to begin, but we have now begun. My dad, who played the Senators in the ‘24 rematch, this time selected the Dodgers, as he wanted Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax, giving me the Twins.

Before beginning, there are a couple notes I’d like to mention. With the 1924 Series, we have the full set of all teams, which include both basic and advanced Stratistics. The team sets have only basic Strats, meaning we are playing this series as the basic game instead of advanced. This eliminates a lot of strategy, such as lefty-right matchups, fielders’ range and error chances, hitters with weaker power, and different fielders’ throwing arms, but makes for a quick game.

As much as can be recreated, lineups and starters will be the same as in the actual Series (definitely on my part, and I’m pretty sure my dad is doing the same). And as before, I’ll report the result of the game in the style of the sports page, complete with box score. However, the Chorus editor does not provide a monospaced font, as I was able to access in the old fanpost editor; thus, the appropriate spacing in the box scores will be provided by oodles of dots.

In all likelihood, I’ll write seven articles even if the Series does not reach seven games, a strategy I decided upon before penning the ‘24 rematch recaps as well.

Hope you enjoy!

Game 1

MINNEAPOLIS — In advance of the opening of this year’s World Series, news flurried about Sandy Koufax’s decision to honor Yom Kippur and vacate the Dodger dugout for Game 1.

But Don Drysdale filled that fissure with a Koufax-like performance, holding the host Minnesota Twins to three hits as the Los Angeles Dodgers claimed an 8-1 victory to commence the Series.

Twins ace Mudcat Grant threw fairly well, but saw the Dodgers ascend slowly up the scoreboard before departing after seven innings, having allowed four runs on eight hits.

Los Angeles took the lead before half an inning had elapsed, with their speed and simple base knocks putting them ahead. But it was not Maury Wills who started the Dodgers’ fleetfoot thievery, but Jim Gilliam, who pilfered second base after a single and scored when Ron Fairly knocked a ball in front of Tony Oliva in right.

Though “small ball” removed the zero from beside the Dodgers’ name on the scoreboard, it would be “big ball” that kept it going, as Willie Davis powered a solo home run in the fourth and Wes Parker clubbed a two-run shot three innings later.

While the Dodgers’ bats and legs showed life, the Twins were thoroughly befuddled by Drysdale’s arsenal. Though he whiffed just two Minnesota limb-bearers, Drysdale regularly induced weak contact. The only times the Twins put wood to horsehide solidly, they took extra bases, Oliva doubling in the first inning and American League MVP Zoilo Versalles duplicating the feat in the sixth. But while Grant was on the hill, Minnesota remained shut out.

Grant’s eighth-inning departure proved disastrous for Minnesota. Closer Al Worthington entered to silence Dodger bats, but those bats instead silenced the fans as Worthington allowed four runs while recording just one out.

Rich Rollins contributed MInnesota’s sole tally with an eighth-inning pinch-hit home run, but Drysdale, whose eight-run lead had been reduced merely to seven, retired four of the next five batters, striking out Bob Allison to finish the contest.

Koufax will return to the Dodgers tomorrow. He is expected to take the mound opposite Jim Kaat.

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Dodgers.....1 0 0...1 0 0...2 4 0...8 11 1
Twins.........0 0 0...0 0 0...0 1 0....1. 3 0

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L.A. (N).................AB R H BI W K
Wills SS...................5. 1. 2. 0.. 0. 1
Gilliam 3B................4. 2. 1. 0.. 1. 0
Davis CF..................5. 1. 1. 1.. 0. 0
Fairly RF..................3. 1. 2. 1.. 1. 0
Johnson LF..............4. 2. 2. 2.. 0. 0
Lefebvre 2B.............4. 0. 1. 1.. 0. 0
Parker 1B................3. 1. 1. 3.. 0. 1
Roseboro C.............3. 0. 1. 0.. 1. 0
Drysdale P...............4. 0. 0. 0.. 0. 1
TOTALS.................35 8 11 8.. 3. 3

MINN.....................AB R H BI W K
Versalles SS............4. 0. 1. 0.. 0. 1
Valdespino LF-RF....4. 0. 0. 0.. 0. 0
Oliva RF-CF.............4. 0. 1. 0.. 0. 0
Killebrew 3B.............3. 0. 0. 0.. 1. 0
Hall CF.....................1. 0. 0. 0.. 1. 0
..Allison LF...............2. 0. 0. 0.. 0. 1
Mincher 1B..............3. 0. 0. 0.. 0. 0
Battey C..................3. 0. 0. 0.. 0. 0
Quilici 2B.................3. 0. 0. 0.. 0. 0
Grant P....................2. 0. 0. 0.. 0. 0
..Worthington P........0. 0. 0. 0.. 0. 0
..Klippstein P............0. 0. 0. 0.. 0. 0
..a-Rollins PH..........1. 1. 1. 1.. 0. 0
..Perry P...................0. 0. 0. 0.. 0. 0
TOTALS.................30 1. 3. 1.. 2. 2

a-Homered for Klippstein in 8th.
LOB: Los Angeles 4, Minnesota 4.
E: Parker (1).
2B: Versalles (1), Oliva (1).
HR: Davis (1, off Grant in 4th, 0 on, 0 out), Parker (1, off Grant in 7th, 1 on, 1 out), Rollins (1, off Drysdale in 8th, 0 on, 2 out).
SF: Parker.
DP: Los Angeles 1, Minnesota 1.
SB: Wills 2, Gilliam.
CS: Wills.

L.A. (N)...................IP H R ER W K
Drysdale (W, 1-0).....9 3. 1.. 1.. 2. 2
TOTALS...................9 3. 1.. 1.. 2. 2

MINN......................IP H R ER W K
Grant (L, 0-1)...........7 8. 4.. 4.. 0. 2
Worthington............⅓ 3. 4.. 4.. 2. 0
Klippstein................⅔ 0. 0.. 0.. 1. 1
Perry........................1 0. 0.. 0.. 0. 0
TOTALS..................9 11 8.. 8.. 3. 3

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