The Yankees won another pennant, and their catcher Elston Howard won the MVP Award. In the World Series, they were swept by the Dodgers. Manager Ralph Houk, who had won three pennants in three years, was dismissed and replaced by Yogi Berra. That didn't work out too well, and Houk returned as New York's manager in 1966. His second of tour of duty in New York was longer (eight years), but he did not lead his team to another pennant.

         A pair of catchers each had pretty good seasons this year. Elston Howard was 34 years old; this was not his best year, but it was a good one, and he deserved the MVP. Earl Battey was the Twins' regular catcher for most of the decade. He was a good hitter and a fine defensive player, and was a key to the franchise's revival in the 1960's.
        Jim Fregosi had his first full season at shortstop. These days, Fregosi is known as a manager; he managed the Angels to a division title in 1982, and the Phillies to the pennant in 1993. As a player, he is probably best remembered as the guy whom the Mets got in return for Nolan Ryan in one of the worst trades ever made.
        The Ryan trade was made near the end of Fregosi's career. To be fair, Jim was probably the best American League shortstop of the 1960's. He was a better hitter than Luis Aparacio, and was more consistent than Zolio Versalles, and was a good enough defensive player that he won a Gold Glove. Fregosi was an All-Star six times; he had the misfortune to have his best years in a lousy era for hitters, but had decent power for a shortstop, and would draw a walk. Fregosi played for 18 years, the last eight as a backup player; he recorded over 1700 career hits.
         Among the sluggers, the best were Al Kaline (who was runner-up in the vote), Carl Yastrzemski and Bob Allison. Yaz did a lot o good things, like leading the league, in hits, doubles and batting average, and he won a Gold Glove — but he didn't produce many runs, and his team was lousy. The credentials of Kaline and Allison weren't much different; Kaline had a higher batting average, Allison had more power and led the league in OPS. Kaline won a Gold Glove, but Allison also had an outstanding throwing arm.
        Bob Allison was yet another fine right-fielder from the 1960's. He played for 13 years, all of them with the Senators-Twins franchise. Allison was only a career .255 hitter, but he hit home runs and drew walks, and was a fine defensive player. He had his best years in the early 1960's, when the Twins were building themselves into a fine team. Allison was an All-Star three times, and hit 256 career homers.