1965 Los Angeles Dodgers 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.

Offseason

 * October 15, 1964: Nick Willhite was purchased from the Dodgers by the Washington Senators.
 * October 15, 1964: Larry Miller was traded by the Dodgers to the New York Mets for Dick Smith.
 * November 30, 1964: Doug Camilli was purchased from the Dodgers by the Washington Senators.
 * December 4, 1964: Frank Howard, Phil Ortega, Pete Richert and a player to be named later were traded by the Dodgers to the Washington Senators for Claude Osteen, John Kennedy and cash. The Dodgers completed the deal by sending Dick Nen to the Senators on December 15.

Season Recap
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 15 of their last 16 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.

Notable transactions

 * May 11, 1965: Nick Willhite was purchased by the Dodgers from the Washington Senators.
 * December 15, 1965: Dick Tracewski was traded by the Dodgers to the Detroit Tigers for Phil Regan.

Regular season

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 * Legend:      = Win       = Loss       = Postponement Bold = Dodgers team member

Postseason Game log

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 * Legend:      = Win       = Loss       = Postponement Bold = Dodgers team member

Player stats
Note: Team batting and pitching leaders are in bold.

Starters by position
''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; PA = Plate appearances; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles hit; 3B = Triples hit; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; CS = Caught stealing; BB = Walks; SO = Strikeouts; Avg. = Batting average; OBP = On-base percentage; SLG = Slugging; OPS = On Base + Slugging; TB = Total bases; GDP = Grounded into double play; HBP = Hit by pitch; SH = Sacrifice hits; SF = Sacrifice flies; IBB = Intentional base on balls''

Other batters
''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Game 1
October 6, 1965, at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota

Game 2
October 7, 1965, at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota

Game 3
October 9, 1965, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles

Game 4
October 10, 1965, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles

Game 5
October 11, 1965, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles

Game 6
October 13, 1965, at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota

Game 7
October 14, 1965, at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota

Awards and honors

 * National League Cy Young Award
 * Sandy Koufax
 * National League Rookie of the Year
 * Jim Lefebvre
 * World Series Most Valuable Player
 * Sandy Koufax
 * Associated Press Athlete of the Year
 * Sandy Koufax
 * TSN Pitcher of the Year Award
 * Sandy Koufax
 * TSN Major League Player of the Year Award
 * Sandy Koufax

All-Stars

 * 1965 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
 * Maury Wills starter
 * Don Drysdale reserve
 * Sandy Koufax reserve
 * TSN National League All-Star
 * Sandy Koufax
 * Maury Wills

Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Albuquerque

1965 Major League Baseball draft
This was the first Major League Baseball draft. The Dodgers drafted 30 players this year in the June draft and an additional 2 in the August Legion draft. The first player the Dodgers ever drafted was a shortstop from Bakersfield High School named John Wyatt. He played in the teams farm system through 1970 but never advanced past Class-A.

The most notable player drafted this year was Tom Seaver, who was picked in the 10th round from the University of Southern California, but he did not sign with the team and re-entered the draft the following year, where he was selected by the New York Mets.

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August Legion Draft
The August Legion Draft was for College players who had participated in summer amateur leagues.


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