1965 Minnesota Twins

08/10/21 • 40 min

In this episode Mad Dog is digging up the story of one of the greatest baseball teams to never win the world series, the 1965 Minnesota Twins. Led by the likes Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Zolio Versalles and Bob Alison, the Twins were one of the best franchises throughout the '60s, averaging over 90 wins per season for most of the decade. They would come close to winning a championship in '69 & '70, but it was their squad in '65 that was there best, winning 102 games in usually dramatic fashion. Their power hitting carried them most of the season until they faced Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers in the World Series. Jim Kaat won 18 games that year and joins Christopher to provide more insight on that season for Minnesota (18:31)

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1991 Pittsburgh Pirates

In this episode Mad Dog is digging up the story of one of the greatest baseball teams to never win the world series, the 1991 Pittsburgh Pirates. Led by Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, Andy Van Slyke and Doug Drabek, the Pirates were one of best teams in the early 90s going to three straight National League Championship Series. During that stretch, their '91 team was their best, winning 98 games. The Pirates had vicious lineup of power and speed, but in the '91 NLCS they faced off against an Atlanta Braves squad that was able to match them with dominant pitching. The manager for the '91 Pirates was Jim Leyland and he joins Christopher to provide more insight on that season for Pittsburgh (26:30)

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1995 Cleveland Indians

In this episode Mad Dog is digging up the story of one of the greatest baseball teams to never win the world series, the 1995 Cleveland Indians. Led by the likes of Albert Belle, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez and Kenny Lofton, the mid-90s Indians were one of the most explosive offenses of the decade. This squad would also advance to the World Series in 1997, but the 1995 version was better as they would dominate the American League, winning 100 games and finishing 30 games ahead the runner-up in their division. Their ferocious offense would face their greatest test in the '95 World Series when they matched up against the Atlanta Braves and their hall of fame pitchers. Mike Hargrove was the manager for Cleveland and joins Mad Dog for more insight on the season (25:30)