Dec. 5, 1964 - It’s official now: American League averages have been authenticated, proving the Minnesota Twins’ Tony Oliva, a left-handed hitter, won the batting title with a .323 average. He beat out Brooks Robinson, Baltimore third baseman and 1964’s most valuable player, by six points.
Elston Howard of the pennant-winning Yankees was third with .313, followed by Mickey Mantle of the Yanks, .303; Floyd Robinson of the White Sox, .301; and Bill Freehan, Detroit, .300.
As the major leagues’ first rookie batting champion, Oliva, a Cuban, also set a first-year record of 217 hits and 374 total bases. He also topped the American League with 43 doubles and 109 runs scored.
Harmon Killebrew of the Twins won the home run crown for the third straight year with 49, a career high.
Rich Rollins and Zoilo Versalles of the Twins led the A.L. with 11 triples. The Minnesota club set the pace in four batting departments — 221 home runs, 2,295 total bases, 707 RBI’s, and 737 runs scored.
Boston won team batting honors at .258. Then came New York and Detroit, .253 each.
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