The 1968 Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. The team finished second in the American League with a record of 91 wins and 71 losses, 12 games behind the AL and World Series champion Detroit Tigers. The team was managed for the first 80 games by Hank Bauer (who won 43 of them) and he was replaced right after the All-Star break by Earl Weaver. The Orioles' home games were played at Memorial Stadium.
1968 Baltimore Orioles | ||
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League | American League | |
Ballpark | Memorial Stadium | |
City | Baltimore, Maryland | |
Record | 91–71 (.562) | |
League place | 2nd | |
Owners | Jerold Hoffberger | |
General managers | Harry Dalton | |
Managers | Hank Bauer, Earl Weaver | |
Television | WJZ-TV | |
Radio | WBAL (AM) (Chuck Thompson, Bill O'Donnell) | |
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Following the season, it was announced that the American League, along with the National League, would be split into two divisions for the 1969 season in order to accommodate the admittance of two new franchises to each league. The Orioles were assigned to the new American League East division.
Offseason
edit- November 28, 1967: Elrod Hendricks was drafted by the Orioles from the California Angels in the 1967 rule 5 draft.[1]
- November 28, 1967: Eddie Fisher was traded by the Baltimore Orioles with Bob Scott (minors) and John Scruggs (minors) to the Cleveland Indians for Gordy Lund and John O'Donoghue.[2]
- November 29, 1967: Luis Aparicio, Russ Snyder and John Matias were traded by the Orioles to the Chicago White Sox for Don Buford, Roger Nelson and Bruce Howard.[3]
- January 27, 1968: Tom Walker was drafted by the Orioles in the 1st round (9th pick) of the 1968 Major League Baseball Draft.[4]
Regular season
editOn April 27, 1968, Tom Phoebus would throw a no-hitter versus the Boston Red Sox. Frank Robinson would contribute with three RBIs in the win.[5]
Season standings
editTeam | 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 |
Record vs. opponents
editSources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | MIN | NYY | OAK | WSH | |||
Baltimore | — | 9–9 | 10–8 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 14–4 | |||
Boston | 9–9 | — | 9–9 | 14–4 | 10–8 | 6–12 | 9–9 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 11–7 | |||
California | 8–10 | 9–9 | — | 8–10 | 7–11 | 5–13 | 7–11 | 6–12 | 5–13 | 12–6 | |||
Chicago | 7–11 | 4–14 | 10–8 | — | 5–13 | 5–13 | 10–8 | 6–12 | 10–8 | 10–8 | |||
Cleveland | 11–7 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 13–5 | — | 6–12 | 14–4 | 10–8–1 | 6–12 | 7–10 | |||
Detroit | 10–8 | 12–6 | 13–5 | 13–5 | 12–6 | — | 10–8 | 10–8–1 | 13–5–1 | 10–8 | |||
Minnesota | 8–10 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 8–10 | 4–14 | 8–10 | — | 12–6 | 8–10 | 11–7 | |||
New York | 5–13 | 8–10 | 12–6 | 12–6 | 8–10–1 | 8–10–1 | 6–12 | — | 10–8 | 14–4 | |||
Oakland | 9–9 | 10–8 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 12–6 | 5–13–1 | 10–8 | 8–10 | — | 7–11 | |||
Washington | 4–14 | 7–11 | 6–12 | 8–10 | 10–7 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 4–14 | 11–7 | — |
Notable transactions
edit- June 15, 1968: Bruce Howard was traded by the Orioles to the Washington Senators for Fred Valentine.[6]
Roster
edit1968 Baltimore Orioles | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
editBatting
editStarters by position
editNote: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Andy Etchebarren | 74 | 189 | 44 | .233 | 5 | 20 |
1B | Boog Powell | 154 | 550 | 137 | .249 | 22 | 85 |
2B | Davey Johnson | 145 | 504 | 122 | .242 | 9 | 56 |
3B | Brooks Robinson | 162 | 608 | 154 | .253 | 17 | 75 |
SS | Mark Belanger | 145 | 472 | 98 | .208 | 2 | 21 |
LF | Curt Motton | 83 | 217 | 43 | .198 | 8 | 25 |
CF | Paul Blair | 141 | 421 | 89 | .211 | 7 | 38 |
RF | Frank Robinson | 130 | 421 | 113 | .268 | 15 | 52 |
Other batters
editNote: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Curt Blefary | 137 | 451 | 90 | .200 | 15 | 39 |
Don Buford | 130 | 426 | 120 | .282 | 15 | 46 |
Elrod Hendricks | 79 | 183 | 37 | .202 | 7 | 23 |
Dave May | 84 | 152 | 29 | .191 | 0 | 7 |
Fred Valentine | 47 | 91 | 17 | .187 | 2 | 5 |
Larry Haney | 38 | 89 | 21 | .236 | 1 | 5 |
Merv Rettenmund | 31 | 64 | 19 | .297 | 2 | 7 |
Chico Fernández | 24 | 18 | 2 | .111 | 0 | 0 |
Mike Fiore | 6 | 17 | 1 | .059 | 0 | 0 |
Bobby Floyd | 5 | 9 | 1 | .111 | 0 | 1 |
Pitching
editStarting pitchers
editNote: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dave McNally | 35 | 273.0 | 22 | 10 | 1.95 | 202 |
Jim Hardin | 35 | 244.0 | 18 | 13 | 2.51 | 160 |
Tom Phoebus | 36 | 240.2 | 15 | 15 | 2.62 | 193 |
Mike Adamson | 2 | 7.2 | 0 | 2 | 9.39 | 4 |
Other pitchers
editNote: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dave Leonhard | 28 | 126.1 | 7 | 7 | 3.13 | 61 |
Gene Brabender | 37 | 124.2 | 6 | 7 | 3.32 | 92 |
Wally Bunker | 18 | 71.0 | 2 | 0 | 2.41 | 44 |
Roger Nelson | 19 | 71.0 | 4 | 3 | 2.41 | 70 |
Bruce Howard | 10 | 31.0 | 0 | 2 | 3.77 | 19 |
Relief pitchers
editNote: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eddie Watt | 59 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 2.27 | 72 |
Moe Drabowsky | 45 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 1.91 | 46 |
Pete Richert | 36 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 3.47 | 47 |
John Morris | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.56 | 22 |
John O'Donoghue | 16 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6.14 | 11 |
Fred Beene | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 1 |
Farm system
editNotes
edit- ^ Elrod Hendricks page at Baseball Reference
- ^ "Eddie Fisher Stats".
- ^ Roger Nelson page at Baseball Reference.
- ^ Tom Walker page at Baseball Reference
- ^ 100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Dan Connolly, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2015, ISBN 978-1-62937-041-5, p.213
- ^ Fred Valentine transactions at Baseball Reference
References
edit- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
- 1968 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference
- 1968 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com