July 24, 1963: Minnesota’s Jim Kaat pitches shutout, hits three-run home run to beat Cleveland

The Minnesota Twins surprised almost everyone by jumping from 70 wins in 1961 – the team’s first season after relocating from Washington, DC – to 91 wins in 1962; advancing from seventh place to second in the 10-team American League.1 The 1962 Twins had brief stays in first place in May and June, then chased the New York Yankees until the final week of the season before being eliminated from contention. 

One of the reasons for Minnesota’s sudden rise was the improved pitching of Jim Kaat. The young lefty improved from 9-17 in 1961 to 18-14 and earned his first of three All-Star selections in 1962. He pitched 269 innings, achieved a 3.14 ERA, and threw five shutouts to tie for the AL lead.2 Kaat was awarded the first of his 16 consecutive Gold Glove Awards.

On July 24, 1963, Kaat, now 24, was the second-game starter in a doubleheader with the Cleveland Indians. His 9-8 record included three wins without a loss against the Indians.

Cleveland was Minnesota’s first stop on a 17-game road trip. Wins in 33 of 45 games from May 17 to July 2 pushed the Twins from 10th to second, just three games behind league-leading New York. But a subsequent 1-9 stretch brought Minnesota back to the pack with the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, and Baltimore Orioles, all fighting for second place. The Indians were in sixth.

The four-game series at Cleveland began July 23, and the Twins lost to the Indians in 13 innings on Tito Francona’s walk-off home run. In the early game on July 24 Minnesota’s Dick Stigman struck out nine, and was backed by four home runs, as the Twins crushed Cleveland, 9-0. If Kaat could complete the doubleheader sweep, Minnesota would take over sole possession of second place.3

Kaat’s mound opponent was much-traveled 35-year-old right-hander Dick Donovan. He had pitched for the Boston Braves, Tigers, White Sox, and the expansion 1961 Washinton Senators before arriving in Cleveland in 1962, where he finished 20-10, and was selected as an All-Star.

Donovan had never posted 20 wins before 1962, but he still had an impressive pitching resumé. He earned an All-Star nod in 1955 when he won 15 games, and another in 1961 when he took home the AL ERA crown with a career-best 2.40 mark. In addition, Donovan started Game Three of the 1959 World Series for the White Sox.

Donovan entered his start against the Twins with a 6-7 record and 4.66 ERA, well behind his 1962 pace.4 Since a July 5 complete-game victory over the Yankees he was winless.

Donovan got off to a great start, disposing of the Twins 1-2-3 in the first. Zoilo Versalles grounded out; Rich Rollins and Harmon Killebrew flied to center.

Kaat retired the first two Indians he faced, then was rocked for a triple to deep right by rookie Max Alvis. Veteran slugger Joe Adcock walked, putting runners at the corners with two out. But they were left on base when Willie Kirkland watched a curveball sweep over the plate for strike three. It was the first of Kaat’s 11 strikeouts.

Over the next three innings Donovan looked sharp. He allowed a walk in the second and a single in the third, but no runs. In the fourth he set down the Twins in order for the second time, striking out two.

As good as Donovan was pitching, Kaat was better. From the second through the fourth he blitzed through Cleveland’s lineup, running his streak of consecutive outs to 10, and raising his strikeout total to five.

Gene Green broke Kaat’s string of outs by reaching first on third baseman Rollins’ throwing error to open the home half of the fifth. Joe Azcue forced Green at second, then Kaat hit Miguel de la Hoz with a pitch to give the Indians runners at first and second with one out.

But Kaat struck out Donovan, and Francona followed with a hard liner back to the box. Kaat knocked it down, picked it up, and threw Francona out at first, making the sort of play that earned Kaat his second Gold Glove in 1963.

Neither team had scored through five innings. In the sixth the Twins put a runner on second with no outs. Donovan hit Versalles (starting shortstop at the recent All-Star Game) with a pitch, and the 23-year-old Cuban – who would become the AL MVP in 1965 for the pennant-winning Twins – stole second. Donovan struck out Rollins, Killebrew, and Don Mincher, the Twins’ two, three, and four hitters, stranding Versalles.

In the bottom of the seventh Green led off with a single to right, then gave way to pinch-runner Al Luplow. After Azcue fouled out to right field, de la Hoz singled, sending Luplow to second, and bringing up Donovan, who struck out for the third time. With two out, Francona tapped a ball back to Kaat, who threw him out.

In the eighth Jerry Zimmerman singled, Kaat struck out, and Versalles singled, sending pinch-runner Bernie Allen to second. The inning ended when rookie shortstop Larry Brown turned a wicked one-hop liner by Rollins into a 6-4-3 double play.5

Brown’s leadoff single in the bottom of the eighth gave Cleveland hope, but Kaat struck out Alvis, Adcock, and – for the third time – Kirkland. Adcock was stuck in a frustrating 0-for-31 slump, which had sliced his batting average by more than 40 points to .243.

After eight innings Kaat had surrendered five hits and struck out 11; Donovan had nine strikeouts and had limited the Twins to three singles.

To begin the ninth Killebrew grounded out and Mincher flied out, bringing rookie center fielder Jimmie Hall to the plate. Hall began the season as a late-inning defensive replacement or pinch-hitter, but by June 13, his powerful bat made him the regular center fielder.

Hall pounced on a pitch, sending it 400 feet into the right-field stands for his 13th home run,6 giving Minnesota the lead, 1-0. In the words of the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Robert Dolgan, “Donovan then came apart.”7

Bob Allison broke out of a 0-for-19 slide with a double to left, and he raced home when Brown, who had been playing excellent defense at short,8 went into the hole to grab Johnny Goryl’s grounder, and threw the ball wildly over first baseman Adcock’s head. The unearned run made it 2-0. With Goryl still on first, Earl Battey, enjoying his best offensive season,9 was walked intentionally to get to Kaat, who was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.

Kaat foiled the strategy, blasting a pitch over Municipal Stadium’s right-field fence for his only home run of 1963.10 Minnesota was suddenly ahead by five, and Donovan was headed to the locker room. Reliever Gary Bell got Versalles to hit a short fly, caught by second baseman de la Hoz.

Cleveland’s sixth hit, a single by Luplow, opened the bottom of the ninth, but there would be no dramatic rally. Azcue flied to right, and de la Hoz grounded into a 6-4-3 double play – Versalles to Goryl to Mincher – ending the game. Kaat strode off the mound with his 10th win, his first complete game since June 7, and his only shutout of 1963. It was the Twins’ ninth win in 12 games, and captured second place, a half game ahead of the White Sox and Orioles.

Minnesota manager Sam Mele told the press, “Kaat pitched the best he’s pitched since last year. It was typical of several games he won last season. … He looked real strong in the late innings.”11 

At season’s end Minnesota won 91 games, just as in 1962, but it never really threatened the pennant-winning Yankees. Minnesota placed third, 13 games behind New York, and 2½ games behind Chicago.12

Kaat did not build upon his impressive outing in Cleveland; this shutout was his final win of 1963. He started six more games without a win, while losing twice. He did not pitch beyond the sixth inning in any of those starts.13 On September 10 Kaat was pulled in the third inning against Cleveland, and did not pitch the remainder of the season.

Glenn Redman reported in The Sporting News that Kaat suffered from “shoulder miseries” a good share of 1963, which kept him from throwing an effective fastball.14 Kaat’s final log was 10-10, with a 4.19 ERA – highest among regular Twins starters.

Kaat bounced back in 1964 to 17-11, and was 18-11 in 1965, helping Minnesota to the World Series. His 25-13 record in 1966, was the best of his Hall of Fame career which ended at age 44 in 1983.15 Kaat was primarily a starter through the end of the 1978 season, but never again did he hit a home run and throw a shutout in the same game.16

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Ray Danner and copy-edited by Keith Thursby.

Photo credit: Jim Kaat, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for play-by-play, and for pertinent statistical information. The author reviewed game coverage in the Minneapolis Star and Cleveland Plain Dealer and reviewed SABR BioProject biographies for several players participating in the game.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CLE/CLE196307242.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B07242CLE1963.htm

Notes

1 The improvement was all the more unexpected if you consider that while the franchise was still in Washington it had a losing record each season from 1954-1960, and last had a record above .500 in 1952.

2 Also pitching five shutouts were Kaat’s teammate Camilo Pascual, and his mound opponent, Donovan.

3 The Twins reached second place on July 3 and July 5, but only for one day each time.

4 On the same date in 1962 Donovan was 13-4 with a 3.04 ERA.

5 Robert Dolgan, “Twins 6 Homers Rip Tribe, 9-0, 5-0,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 25, 1963: 43.

6 Hall had just two home runs by the end of May. He hit five in June, and had six in July, including this game. He hit one more before the end of July. In August he hit 13, and in September he added six more for a season total of 33. That broke Ted Williams’ rookie record.

7 Dolgan.

8 Dolgan.

9 Battey hit 26 home runs, and drove in 84 on the season. He hit home run number 20 off Donovan on July 15.

10 Kaat hit 16 home runs in his 24-year career, and may have had more if not for the adoption of the Designated Hitter rule before the 1973 season. He had hit two home runs in 1972, and he hit a home run in both 1976 and 1980.

11 “Twins Starters at Peak for N.Y.,” Minneapolis Star, July 25, 1963: 1D

12 Even though the Twins had a disappointing season, Minnesota led the AL in attendance with 1,406,652.

13 Kaat also pitched once out of the bullpen.

14 Glenn Redman, “Kaat to Battle Four Rivals for 4th Spot on Twins Staff,” The Sporting News, November 2, 1963: 15.

15 Kaat pitched from 1959 through 1983 and amassed a career 283-237 won-lost record.

16 On October 1, 1970, the final game of the regular season, Kaat shut out the Kansas City Royals on three hits through seven innings, but gave way to relievers Stan Williams and Ron Perranoski who pitched the final two innings, maintaining the shutout. Kaat had hit a two-run home run in the second inning.