MAYS, OLIVA TOP LEAGUE HONORS.
Oliva missed some time with a leg injury, but batted .402 down the stretch in a successful pennant drive for the Twins.
National League MVP: Willie Mays, San Francisco .312, 54 HR, 118 RBI
Mays hit the most home runs in the National League since Ralph Kiner in 1949. The Giants came up short, but Mays did put on a show in 1965.
Cy Young: Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles 25-11, 1.90 ERA, 332.1 IP, 369 K
Koufax is the first pitcher to win a second Cy Young award. Sandy overcame early elbow troubles that caused him to miss spring training to finish with as the major-league strikeout king.
American League Rookie of the Year: Curt Blefary, Baltimore .270, 25 HR, 70 RBI
Blefary slumped late in the season, but still stood out among a rookie crop that included pitcher Marcelino Lopez and outfielder Jose Cardenal of the Angels.
National League Rookie of the Year: Joe Morgan, Houston .264, 12 HR, 50 RBI, 16 SB
Morgan's consistent season held off a late challenge by Los Angeles' Jim Lefebvre who batted .306 with 22 RBI in the final month of the Dodger pennant drive. The voters stayed with Morgan's better numbers by a slim margin.
American League Fireman of the Year: (TIE) Eddie Fisher, Chicago 9-6, 22 SV, 2.77 ERA, 83 G and Ron Kline, Washington 5-10, 26 SV, 3.04 ERA, 67 G
Fisher lost the All-Star Game on rookie Ron Swoboda's three-run HR, and the knuckleballer never completely regained his phenomenial first-half form. Kline won five and saved fifteen games for an eighth-place Senators club in the final three months of the season.
National League Fireman of the Year: Ted Abernathy, Chicago 9-7, 29 SV, 1.95 ERA, 74 G
A final roster move brought the submariner over from Cleveland, and the Cubs certainly could not have expected such a season. Abernathy paired with veteran Lindy McDaniel to give the Bruins a formidable duo in the bull pen.
