1968 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1968 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1968 in baseball.

1968 MLB season
League	American League (AL) National League (NL)
Sport	Baseball
Duration	Regular season: April 10 – September 29, 1968 World Series: October 2–10, 1968
Number of games	162
Number of teams	20 (10 per league)
TV partner(s)	NBC
Draft
Top draft pick	Tim Foli
Picked by	New York Mets
Regular season
Season MVP	AL: Denny McLain (DET) NL: Bob Gibson (STL)
AL champions	Detroit Tigers
AL runners-up	Baltimore Orioles
NL champions	St. Louis Cardinals
NL runners-up	San Francisco Giants
World Series
Champions	Detroit Tigers
Runners-up	St. Louis Cardinals
World Series MVP	Mickey Lolich (DET)
MLB seasons
← 1967 1969 →

Orioles

Red Sox

Angels

White Sox

Indians

Tigers

Twins

Yankees

      Athletics

Senators

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Locations of teams for the 1968 American League season
American League

Braves

Cubs

Reds

Astros

Dodgers

Mets

      Phillies

Pirates   

   Giants

Cardinals

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Locations of teams for the 1966–1968 National League seasons
National League

The 1968 major league baseball season began on April 10, 1968. The regular season ended on September 29, with the St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 65th World Series on October 2 and ended with Game 7 on October 10. In the second iteration of this World Series matchup, the Tigers defeated the Cardinals, four games to three, capturing their third championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1945. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the St. Louis Cardinals from the 1967 season.

The 39th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, was held on July 9 at the Houston Astrodome in Houston, Texas, home of the Houston Astros. The National League won, 1–0.

The 1968 season was the final year of baseball's pre-division era, in which the teams that finished in first place in each league went directly to the World Series to face each other for the "World Championship."

The Kansas City Athletics moved to Oakland, California as the Oakland Athletics, being the eighth team since 1953 to relocate, and the fourth of American League teams since them. Kansas City would be without a major league team for the 1968 season. Legal pressure from the city moved the originally planned 1971 American League expansion up to 1969, which saw the enfranchisement of the Kansas City Royals. ^[1]

Schedule

See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1968 schedule consisted of 162 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had ten teams. Each team was scheduled to play 18 games against the other nine teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place by the American League since the 1961 season and by the National League since the 1962 season. This would be the last season with this format, as the following season would see a new format due to expansion and the creation of divisions.

Opening Day took place on April 10, featuring all 20 teams in both leagues. The final day of the regular season was on September 29, which saw all teams play, except for the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians. The World Series took place between October 2 and October 10.

Teams

League	Team	City	Stadium	Capacity	Manager [2]
American League	Baltimore Orioles	Baltimore, Maryland	Baltimore Memorial Stadium	52,185	Hank Bauer
					Earl Weaver
	Boston Red Sox	Boston, Massachusetts	Fenway Park	33,375	Dick Williams
	California Angels	Anaheim, California	Anaheim Stadium	43,202	Bill Rigney
	Chicago White Sox	Chicago, Illinois	White Sox Park	46,550	Eddie Stanky
					Les Moss
					Al López
	Cleveland Indians	Cleveland, Ohio	Cleveland Stadium	74,056	Alvin Dark
	Detroit Tigers	Detroit, Michigan	Tiger Stadium	53,089	Mayo Smith
	Minnesota Twins	Bloomington, Minnesota	Metropolitan Stadium	45,182	Cal Ermer
	New York Yankees	New York, New York	Yankee Stadium	67,000	Ralph Houk
	Oakland Athletics	Oakland, California	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	50,000	Bob Kennedy
	Washington Senators	Washington, D.C.	District of Columbia Stadium	43,500	Jim Lemon
National League	Atlanta Braves	Atlanta, Georgia	Atlanta Stadium	51,383	Lum Harris
	Chicago Cubs	Chicago, Illinois	Wrigley Field	36,644	Leo Durocher
	Cincinnati Reds	Cincinnati, Ohio	Crosley Field	29,603	Dave Bristol
	Houston Astros	Houston, Texas	Houston Astrodome	44,500	Grady Hatton
					Harry Walker
	Los Angeles Dodgers	Los Angeles, California	Dodger Stadium	56,000	Walter Alston
	New York Mets	New York, New York	Shea Stadium	55,300	Gil Hodges
	Philadelphia Phillies	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Connie Mack Stadium	33,608	Gene Mauch
					George Myatt
					Bob Skinner
	Pittsburgh Pirates	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Forbes Field	35,500	Larry Shepard
	San Francisco Giants	San Francisco, California	Candlestick Park	42,500	Herman Franks
	St. Louis Cardinals	St. Louis, Missouri	Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium	49,450	Red Schoendienst

Standings

American League

• v
• t
• e

American League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Detroit Tigers	103	59	.636	—	56‍–‍25	47‍–‍34
Baltimore Orioles	91	71	.562	12	47‍–‍33	44‍–‍38
Cleveland Indians	86	75	.534	16½	43‍–‍37	43‍–‍38
Boston Red Sox	86	76	.531	17	46‍–‍35	40‍–‍41
New York Yankees	83	79	.512	20	39‍–‍42	44‍–‍37
Oakland Athletics	82	80	.506	21	44‍–‍38	38‍–‍42
Minnesota Twins	79	83	.488	24	41‍–‍40	38‍–‍43
California Angels	67	95	.414	36	32‍–‍49	35‍–‍46
Chicago White Sox	67	95	.414	36	36‍–‍45	31‍–‍50
Washington Senators	65	96	.404	37½	34‍–‍47	31‍–‍49

National League

• v
• t
• e

National League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
St. Louis Cardinals	97	65	.599	—	47‍–‍34	50‍–‍31
San Francisco Giants	88	74	.543	9	42‍–‍39	46‍–‍35
Chicago Cubs	84	78	.519	13	47‍–‍34	37‍–‍44
Cincinnati Reds	83	79	.512	14	40‍–‍41	43‍–‍38
Atlanta Braves	81	81	.500	16	41‍–‍40	40‍–‍41
Pittsburgh Pirates	80	82	.494	17	40‍–‍41	40‍–‍41
Los Angeles Dodgers	76	86	.469	21	41‍–‍40	35‍–‍46
Philadelphia Phillies	76	86	.469	21	38‍–‍43	38‍–‍43
New York Mets	73	89	.451	24	32‍–‍49	41‍–‍40
Houston Astros	72	90	.444	25	42‍–‍39	30‍–‍51

Postseason

The postseason began on October 2 and ended on October 10 with the Detroit Tigers defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1968 World Series in seven games.

Bracket

	World Series
	AL	Detroit	4
	NL	St. Louis	3

Managerial changes

Off-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Atlanta Braves	Ken Silvestri	Lum Harris
Cleveland Indians	Joe Adcock	Alvin Dark
New York Mets	Salty Parker	Gil Hodges
Oakland Athletics	Luke Appling (Kansas City Athletics)	Bob Kennedy
Pittsburgh Pirates	Danny Murtaugh	Larry Shepard
Washington Senators	Gil Hodges	Jim Lemon

In-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Baltimore Orioles	Hank Bauer	Earl Weaver
Chicago White Sox	Eddie Stanky	Les Moss
	Les Moss	Al López
Houston Astros	Grady Hatton	Harry Walker
Philadelphia Phillies	Gene Mauch	George Myatt
	George Myatt	Bob Skinner

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders ^[3]

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Carl Yastrzemski (BOS)	.301
OPS	Carl Yastrzemski (BOS)	.922
HR	Frank Howard (WSH)	44
RBI	Ken Harrelson (BOS)	109
R	Dick McAuliffe (DET)	95
H	Bert Campaneris (OAK)	177
SB	Bert Campaneris (OAK)	62

Pitching leaders ^[4]

Stat	Player	Total
W	Denny McLain (DET)	31
L	George Brunet (CAL)	17
ERA	Luis Tiant (CLE)	1.60
K	Sam McDowell (CLE)	283
IP	Denny McLain (DET)	336.0
SV	Al Worthington (MIN)	18
WHIP	Dave McNally (BAL)	0.842

National League

Hitting leaders ^[5]

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Pete Rose (CIN)	.335
OPS	Willie McCovey (SF)	.923
HR	Willie McCovey (SF)	36
RBI	Willie McCovey (SF)	105
R	Glenn Beckert (CHC)	98
H	Felipe Alou (ATL) Pete Rose (CIN)	210
SB	Lou Brock (STL)	62

Pitching leaders ^[6]

Stat	Player	Total
W	Juan Marichal (SF)	26
L	Claude Osteen (LA) Ray Sadecki (SF)	18
ERA	Bob Gibson (STL)	1.12
K	Bob Gibson (STL)	268
IP	Juan Marichal (SF)	325.2
SV	Phil Regan (CHC/ LA )	25
WHIP	Bob Gibson (STL)	0.853

Awards and honors

Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award	National League	American League
Rookie of the Year	Johnny Bench (CIN)	Stan Bahnsen (NYY)
Cy Young Award	Bob Gibson (STL)	Denny McLain (DET)
Most Valuable Player	Bob Gibson (STL)	Denny McLain (DET)
Babe Ruth Award (World Series MVP)	Mickey Lolich (STL)	—
Gold Glove Awards
Position	National League	American League
Pitcher	Bob Gibson (STL)	Jim Kaat (MIN)
Catcher	Johnny Bench (CIN)	Bill Freehan (DET)
1st Base	Wes Parker (LA)	George Scott (BOS)
2nd Base	Glenn Beckert (CHC)	Bobby Knoop (CAL)
3rd Base	Ron Santo (CHC)	Brooks Robinson (BAL)
Shortstop	Dal Maxvill (STL)	Luis Aparicio (CWS)
Outfield	Roberto Clemente (PIT)	Reggie Smith (BOS)
	Curt Flood (STL)	Mickey Stanley (DET)
	Willie Mays (SF)	Carl Yastrzemski (BOS)

Other awards

• Hutch Award: Pete Rose (CIN)
• Sport Magazine's World Series Most Valuable Player Award: Mickey Lolich (STL)

The Sporting News Awards
Award	National League	American League
Player of the Year [7]	—	Denny McLain (DET)
Pitcher of the Year [8]	Bob Gibson (STL)	Denny McLain (DET)
Fireman of the Year [9] (Relief pitcher)	Phil Regan (CHC)	Wilbur Wood (CWS)
Rookie Player of the Year [10]	Johnny Bench (CIN)	Del Unser (WSH)
Rookie Pitcher of the Year [11]	Jerry Koosman (NYM)	Stan Bahnsen (NYY)
Comeback Player of the Year [12]	Alex Johnson (CIN)	Ken Harrelson (BOS)
Manager of the Year [13]	—	Mayo Smith (DET)
Executive of the Year [14]	—	Jim Campbell (DET)

Monthly awards

Player of the Month

Main article: Major League Baseball Player of the Month Award

Month	National League
May	Don Drysdale (LA)
June	Bob Gibson (STL)
July	Bob Gibson (STL)
August	Pete Rose (CIN)
September	Steve Blass (PIT)

Baseball Hall of Fame

Main article: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

• Kiki Cuyler
• Goose Goslin
• Joe Medwick

Further information: 1968 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting

Home field attendance

Team name	Wins	%±	Home attendance	%±	Per game
Detroit Tigers [15]	103	13.2%	2,031,847	40.4%	25,085
St. Louis Cardinals [16]	97	−4.0%	2,011,167	−3.8%	24,829
Boston Red Sox [17]	86	−6.5%	1,940,788	12.3%	23,960
New York Mets [18]	73	19.7%	1,781,657	13.8%	21,728
Los Angeles Dodgers [19]	76	4.1%	1,581,093	−5.0%	19,520
Houston Astros [20]	72	4.3%	1,312,887	−2.6%	16,208
New York Yankees [21]	83	15.3%	1,185,666	−5.9%	14,459
Minnesota Twins [22]	79	−13.2%	1,143,257	−22.9%	14,114
Atlanta Braves [23]	81	5.2%	1,126,540	−18.9%	13,908
Chicago Cubs [24]	84	−3.4%	1,043,409	6.8%	12,725
California Angels [25]	67	−20.2%	1,025,956	−22.1%	12,666
Baltimore Orioles [26]	91	19.7%	943,977	−1.2%	11,800
Cleveland Indians [27]	86	14.7%	857,994	29.4%	10,593
Oakland Athletics [28]	82	32.3%	837,466	15.3%	10,090
San Francisco Giants [29]	88	−3.3%	837,220	−32.6%	10,336
Chicago White Sox [30]	67	−24.7%	803,775	−18.5%	9,923
Cincinnati Reds [31]	83	−4.6%	733,354	−23.5%	8,943
Pittsburgh Pirates [32]	80	−1.2%	693,485	−23.5%	8,562
Philadelphia Phillies [33]	76	−7.3%	664,546	−19.8%	8,204
Washington Senators [34]	65	−14.5%	546,661	−29.1%	6,749

Events

• May 1 – Philadelphia Phillies pitcher John Boozer is ejected from a game against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium without throwing a pitch. Boozer had put spit on his hand to clean his uniform, which was in contravention of the anti-spitball rule that had been introduced that year. After calling him for that indiscretion and two further examples, umpire Ed Vargo ejected Boozer. ^[35]

Television coverage

NBC was the exclusive national TV broadcaster of MLB, airing the weekend Game of the Week , the All-Star Game, and the World Series.

See also

• 1968 Nippon Professional Baseball season

References

1. Peterson, John E. (2003). The Kansas City Athletics: A Baseball History, 1954–1967. McFarland. p. 261. ISBN   9780786481439.
2. "1968 Major League Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
3. "1968 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
4. "1968 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
5. "1968 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
6. "1968 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
7. "Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
8. "Pitcher of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
9. "Fireman of the Year Award / Reliever of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
10. "Rookie Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
11. "Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
12. "The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
13. "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
14. "MLB Executive of the Year Award | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
15. "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
16. "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
17. "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
18. "New York Mets Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
19. "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
20. "Houston Astros Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
21. "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
22. "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
23. "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
24. "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
25. "Los Angeles Angels Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
26. "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
27. "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
28. "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
29. "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
30. "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
31. "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
32. "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
33. "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
34. "Texas Rangers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
35. "Ejected While Warming Up". goldenrankings.com. Retrieved November 29, 2014.

External links

• 1968 Major League Baseball season schedule