1968 Major League Baseball season

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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.

Quick Facts League, Sport ...
1968 MLB season
LeagueAmerican League (AL)
National League (NL)
SportBaseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 10 – September 29, 1968
World Series:
  • October 2–10, 1968
Number of games162
Number of teams20 (10 per league)
TV partner(s)NBC
Draft
Top draft pickTim Foli
Picked byNew York Mets
Regular season
Season MVPAL: Denny McLain (DET)
NL: Bob Gibson (STL)
AL championsDetroit Tigers
  AL runners-upBaltimore Orioles
NL championsSt. Louis Cardinals
  NL runners-upSan Francisco Giants
World Series
ChampionsDetroit Tigers
  Runners-upSt. Louis Cardinals
World Series MVPMickey Lolich (DET)
MLB seasons
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Locations of teams for the 1966–1968 National League seasons
National League

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

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

More information League, Team ...
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
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Standings

American League

More information Team, W ...
American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Detroit Tigers 10359 .636 5625 4734
Baltimore Orioles 9171 .562 12 4733 4438
Cleveland Indians 8675 .534 16½ 4337 4338
Boston Red Sox 8676 .531 17 4635 4041
New York Yankees 8379 .512 20 3942 4437
Oakland Athletics 8280 .506 21 4438 3842
Minnesota Twins 7983 .488 24 4140 3843
California Angels 6795 .414 36 3249 3546
Chicago White Sox 6795 .414 36 3645 3150
Washington Senators 6596 .404 37½ 3447 3149
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National League

More information Team, W ...
National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
St. Louis Cardinals 9765 .599 4734 5031
San Francisco Giants 8874 .543 9 4239 4635
Chicago Cubs 8478 .519 13 4734 3744
Cincinnati Reds 8379 .512 14 4041 4338
Atlanta Braves 8181 .500 16 4140 4041
Pittsburgh Pirates 8082 .494 17 4041 4041
Los Angeles Dodgers 7686 .469 21 4140 3546
Philadelphia Phillies 7686 .469 21 3843 3843
New York Mets 7389 .451 24 3249 4140
Houston Astros 7290 .444 25 4239 3051
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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

In-season

League leaders

American League

More information Stat, Player ...
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
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More information Stat, Player ...
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
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National League

More information Stat, Player ...
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
Close
More information Stat, Player ...
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
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Awards and honors

Regular season

More information Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards, BBWAA Award ...
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Other awards

Monthly awards

Player of the Month

More information Month, National League ...
Month National League
May Don Drysdale (LA)
June Bob Gibson (STL)
July Bob Gibson (STL)
August Pete Rose (CIN)
September Steve Blass (PIT)
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Baseball Hall of Fame

Home field attendance

More information Team name, Wins ...
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
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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

References

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