1965 Los Angeles Dodgers season
| 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers | |
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| World Series Champions National League champions |
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| Major League affiliations | |
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| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Walter O'Malley, James & Dearie Mulvey |
| General manager(s) | Buzzie Bavasi |
| Manager(s) | Walter Alston |
| Local television | KTTV (11) |
| Local radio |
KWKW José García, Jaime Jarrín |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers finished the regular-season with a 97–65 record, which earned them the NL pennant by two games over their arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants. The Dodgers went on to win the World Series in seven games over the Minnesota Twins.
The Dodgers won the World Series in 1963, but injuries and poor play saw them fall to 6th place in 1964. Despite their weak offense and the trade of power hitting Frank Howard for Claude Osteen during the off season, they were expected to contend in 1965 with their strong pitching. However, one month into the season, they lost their best hitter Tommy Davis when he fractured his ankle sliding into second base. Most experts thought this ended any hope the Dodgers had of winning the pennant. To replace Davis, the club called up journeyman Lou Johnson; his infectious cheerful attitude and knack for timely hitting helped keep the club in contention.
The National League pennant race was a thriller, with 6 teams (the Dodgers, Giants, Pirates, Reds, Braves, and Phillies) in contention throughout a summer that saw the Dodgers, Giants, Braves, and Reds all take their turns in first place. With these 6 teams tightly bunched heading into September, the Giants went on a 14-game winning streak to take a 4 1/2 game lead with two weeks to play. Then the Dodgers went on a 13-game winning streak, and won 14 of their last 15 games to win the pennant by 2 games over the Giants.
The Dodgers were led by shortstop Maury Wills with 94 stolen bases, Sandy Koufax (26–8, 2.04 E.R.A. and a then record 382 strikeouts), and Don Drysdale (23–12, 2.77 E.R.A.) Drysdale also chipped in with 7 home runs and was the club's only .300 hitter.
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
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