Remembering Rich Rollins, who Twins fans should never forget

The news of the passing of Rich Rollins on Tuesday should have hit Minnesota Twins fans of a certain age hard. Rollins was a member of the Twins from 1961-68, most of their “mini dynasty” of the 1960s. During Rollins’ time with the Twins, which preceded divisional play, they won at least 89 games five times, finished second three times, and won the American League pennant in 1965, losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

The Twins left him unprotected in the 1968 expansion draft. He was plucked by the Seattle Pilots. Thus, he wasn’t around when the Twins won the new AL West Division in 1969. He finished his playing career with the Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Indians in 1970. For his career, he batted .269/.328/.388, 77 HR and 399 RBI while being worth 11.8 WAR.

Born in Mount Pleasant near Pittsburgh, the bespectacled right-handed hitter was signed by the original Washington Senators out of Kent State University in 1960. He debuted with the Twins in 1961, appearing in 13 games. That’s enough background. This isn’t meant to be an obituary. There are plenty of those throughout the internet. This is the story of two seasons Twins fans shouldn’t forget.

“I’d hate to guess how many games Rollins has won for us”

The determined 24-year-old Rollins won the Twins’ third base job in 1962 and had his best season, hitting .298/.374/.428, 16 HR and 96 RBI. Rollins was largely credited for the Twins’ surprising 91-71 record and second-place finish behind the New York Yankees in the American League, although future Hall-of-Famer Harmon Killebrew’s AL-leading 48 homers and 126 RBI didn’t hurt. In June, the Associated Press posed the question: Where would the Twins be without Rollins?

“I hate to think about it,” said Twins manager Sam Mele, who was dealing with slow starts from sluggers Killebrew and Bob Allison. Added Twins president Calvin Griffith, who moved the team from Washington, “Maybe sixth or seventh. I’d hate to guess how many games Rollins has won for us or given us the impetus we needed to win.” Might Griffith tear up Rollins’ contract and reward him with a new one? “No, sir,” said the notoriously tight-fisted executive. He said he’d address it after the season. The guess here is that he didn’t.

For his efforts, Rollins was named to the AL All-Star team for the only time in his career and finished eighth in voting for the AL Most Valuable Player Award. At the end of the year, he won the AL Sophomore of the Year Award, beating out Carl Yastrzemski, among others. The award was created in 1953 but discontinued in 1963 due to a lack of interest. Thus, Rollins became the answer to a trivia question as the AL’s final winner.

“I’ve been living mostly on milkshakes”

The 1963 season got off to a rough start for Rollins. On the Sunday before the Twins season opener, Rollins was hit on the side of the face by a pitch from the Detroit Tigers’ Paul Foytack. The result was a broken jaw. Rollins continued to play through it. On May 8, the wire brace on his jaw snapped accidentally. This gave him a chance to eat solid food before the jaw was rewired.

United Press International took advantage of the opportunity to interview him. UPI reported Rollins had gone without solid food for four months. (This couldn’t have been right, unless Rollins was already on a hunger strike on that April day when Foytack’s pitch struck him.) Rollins told the UPI, “I’ve been living mostly on milkshakes ever since and I’ve been trying to keep my weight up. I also take vitamin shots every day.”

Read that last paragraph again, while thinking of some of the injuries ballplayers sit out with today. Rollins was playing ball with a broken jaw while living on milkshakes. A slow start to his season saw him hitting .200 as of May 14. However, the bat got hot again. From May 15 through the end of the season, he hit .322/.373/.468. He finished the year hitting .307/.359/.444, 16 HR and 61 RBI. His hitting was a big factor in another 91-win season, although this time the Twins finished third in the AL.

A pennant winner

By 1965, Rollins’ offensive production slipped, and he lost his starting job late in that pennant-winning season. For the World Series, Mele settled on a lineup that had Killebrew at third base every day. Rollins made three plate appearances as a pinch hitter in the Series, going 0-for-2 with a walk.

Rollins never quite recovered his hitting stroke for the Twins, hitting .246/.300/.351 from 1965-68. But no Twins fan should forget what he did for Minnesota during two magical years.

The post Remembering Rich Rollins, who Twins fans should never forget first appeared on Through The Fence Baseball.