1968 in baseball

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MLB Headline Event of the Year

In the "Year of the Pitcher", Denny McLain wins 31 regular season games, making him the first 30-game winning pitcher since Dizzy Dean in 1934. Bob Gibson sets the modern baseball record for ERA with a 1.12.

Champions

MLB Statistical Leaders

	American League		National League
Type	Name	Stat	Name	Stat
AVG	Carl Yastrzemski BOS	.301	Pete Rose CIN	.335
HR	Frank Howard WAS	44	Willie McCovey SFG	36
RBI	Ken Harrelson BOS	109	Willie McCovey SFG	105
Wins	Denny McLain DET	31	Juan Marichal SFG	26
ERA	Luis Tiant CLE	1.60	Bob Gibson STL	1.12
Ks	Sam McDowell CLE	283	Bob Gibson STL	268
SB	Bert Campaneris	62	Lou Brock STL	62

Major League Baseball final standings

American League final standings

American League
Club	Wins	Losses	Win %	GB
Detroit Tigers	103	59	.636	--
Baltimore Orioles	91	71	.562	12
Cleveland Indians	86	75	.534	16.5
Boston Red Sox	86	76	.531	17
New York Yankees	83	79	.512	20
Oakland Athletics	82	80	.506	21
Minnesota Twins	79	83	.488	24
California Angels	67	95	.414	36
Chicago White Sox	67	95	.414	36
Washington Senators	65	96	.404	37.5

National League final standings

National League
Club	Wins	Losses	Win %	GB
St. Louis Cardinals	97	65	.599	--
San Francisco Giants	88	74	.543	9
Chicago Cubs	84	78	.519	13
Cincinnati Reds	83	79	.512	14
Atlanta Braves	81	81	.500	16
Pittsburgh Pirates	80	82	.494	17
Los Angeles Dodgers	76	86	.469	21
Philadelphia Phillies	76	86	.469	21
New York Mets	73	89	.451	24
Houston Astros	72	90	.444	25

Events

January 23 - Joe Medwick is voted into the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

January 28 - Goose Goslin and Kiki Cuyler are admitted into the Hall of Fame by unanimous vote of the Special Veterans Committee.

April 9 - Opening Day is postponed because of the funeral for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., assassinated on April 4.

April 14 - Jim Bunning's first win with the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-0 at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium, is his 40th career shutout and includes his 1,000th National League strikeout, making him the first pitcher since Cy Young with 1,000 in each league.

April 19 - Nolan Ryan of the New York Mets becomes the 6th pitcher in National League history to strike out the side on nine pitches. But Los Angeles wins 3-2 at New York's Shea Stadium.

April 27 - Tom Phoebus, the Baltimore Orioles' top pitcher in 1967, throws a 6-0 no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. Brooks Robinson drives in three runs and makes a great stab to rob Rico Petrocelli of a hit in the 8th. Converted outfielder Curt Blefary catches the game.

July 9 - At the Houston Astrodome, in the first All-Star Game ever to be played in an indoor arena and on artificial turf, the National League defeats the American League 1–0. Appropriately, pitching dominates the game. Willie Mays, playing in place of injured Pete Rose, tallies an unearned run in the first inning against American League starter Luis Tiant. Don Drysdale, Juan Marichal, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, Ron Reed and Jerry Koosman hold the AL to three hits, as Mays is named MVP.

September 14 - Denny McLain becomes the first 30-game winner since Dizzy Dean in 1934 as the Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics 5-4 at Detroit's Tiger Stadium. Reggie Jackson's homer in the 4th puts the A's ahead 2-0, but Norm Cash answers with a 3-run shot. Reggie hits another in the 6th, but the Tigers push across two in the 9th to win. Al Kaline, pinch hitting for McLain, walks and scores the tying run. Denny (30-5) gives up six hits and strikes out 10.

September 15 - The St. Louis Cardinals clinch the National League pennant with a 7-4 win at the Astrodome over the Houston Astros. Roger Maris hits his 275th, and last, regular-season home run off Don Wilson in the 3rd, and Curt Flood racks up five hits.

September 17 - Gaylord Perry of the San Francisco Giants hurls a no-hitter at San Francisco's Candlestick Park as the Giants edge the Cardinals and Bob Gibson, 1-0. Ron Hunt's solo home run back s Perry, who evens his record at 14-14.

September 18 - Sixteen hours after Perry's feat, Ray Washburn of the St. Louis cardinals makes major league history by hurling a 2nd consecutive no-hitter in the same park. Run-scoring hits by Mike Shannon and Curt Flood at Candlestick down the Giants 2-0.

September 29 - Carl Yastrzemski goes 0-for-5 but maintains a .3005 batting average, to win his 2nd straight batting crown with the lowest winning average ever. Yaztrzemski is the American League's only .300 hitter. Oakland's Danny Cater is 2nd with .290.

September 29 - Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Wilbur Wood ends his season with a 7-6 win over the California Angels and a major league record 88 appearances.

October 2 - For the first time in history, two soon-to-be-named MVPs oppose each other in Game One of the 1968 World Series. St. Louis Cardinals' Bob Gibson is nearly untouchable with a World Series-record 17 strikeouts and a 4-0 win over Denny McLain. Detroit Tigers manager Mayo Smith moves Gold Glove outfielder Mickey Stanley to shortstop, improving his offense by opening a spot for Al Kaline.

October 10 - In Game Seven of the World Series, and for the third time in the Series, Mickey Lolich of the Tigers bests Bob Gibson of the Cardinals and brings Detroit its first World Championship since 1945. Lolich hurls a five-hitter, giving Detroit a 4–1 win, and is named Series MVP.

Births

Deaths

April 19 - Tommy Bridges, 61, 6-time All-Star pitcher who won 194 games for the Detroit Tigers, including three 20-win seasons
May 26 - Doc Ayers, 78, spitball pitcher for the Washington Senators and Detroit Tigers
June 15 - Sam Crawford, 88, Hall of Fame right fielder for the Tigers, a lifetime .309 hitter who hit a record 312 triples, led both leagues in home runs, and retired with the 5th-most RBI in history
July 8 - Dusty Boggess, 64, NL umpire for 18 seasons from 1944 to 1962 who worked in four World Series
July 27 - Babe Adams, 86, pitcher who won 194 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates; the only member of their championship teams in both 1909 and 1925, he won three games in the 1909 World Series
August 22 - Heinie Groh, 78, third baseman for the New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds who led the NL in hits, runs and walks once each and in doubles twice, widely known for his "bottle bat"
November 3 - Vern Stephens, 48, 8-time All-Star shortstop who led the AL in RBI three times and in home runs once
November 17 - Earl Hamilton, 77, pitcher with the St. Louis Browns and Pittsburgh Pirates, later a minor league team owner
December 6 - Fats Jenkins, 70, All-Star left fielder of the Negro Leagues

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