a franchise record—and coasted to the league title. (The Yankees finished sixth.) Minnesota won the first two games in the 1965 World Series, but the superior pitching of the Los Angeles Dodgers' Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Claude Osteen asserted itself as Los Angeles won in seven games. 1966 and beyond The Twins won 13 fewer games, and finished runners-up to the Baltimore Orioles. Mele also became embroiled in a clash between two of his coaches, Martin and pitching tutor Johnny Sain, which was later described by Martin as Sain's efforts to try to get Mele fired. His action (or inaction) alienated him from some of the players. The club swung a major trade for pitcher Dean Chance during the offseason and unveiled star rookie Rod Carew in . Expectations were high in Minnesota, but when the Twins were only .500 after 50 games, Mele was fired. His successor was not Martin, as had been anticipated, but longtime minor league manager Cal Ermer. Mele's record as a manager was 524–436 (.546). He never managed again at any level in baseball, but returned to the Red Sox, where he served as a special assignments scout from the midseason of 1967 until his 1994 retirement. Managerial record Death Mele died on the night of May 1, 2017 at his residence in Quincy, Massachusetts of natural causes at the age of 95. See also List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders References External links Cool of the Evening: The 1965 Minnesota Twins – Web bio by author of Twins' book 1922 births 2017 deaths American men's basketball players American people of Italian descent Baltimore Orioles players Baseball coaches from New York (state) Baseball managers Boston Red Sox players Boston Red Sox scouts Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chicago White Sox players Cincinnati Redlegs players Cleveland Indians players Indianapolis Indians players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball third base coaches Minnesota Twins coaches Minnesota Twins managers NYU Violets baseball players NYU Violets men's basketball players People from Astoria, Queens Scranton Red Sox players Sportspeople from Queens, New York Baseball players from New York City Sportspeople from Quincy, Massachusetts United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II Washington Senators (1901–1960) coaches Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Washington Senators (1901–60) scouts