1968 Baltimore Orioles season

1968 Baltimore Orioles
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
Memorial Stadium (since 1954)
Baltimore, Maryland (since 1954)
Results
Record	91–71 (.562)
League place	2nd
Other information
Owner(s)	Jerold Hoffberger
General manager(s)	Harry Dalton
Manager(s)	Hank Bauer, Earl Weaver
Local television	WJZ-TV
Local radio	WBAL (AM) (Chuck Thompson, Bill O'Donnell)
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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 by Hank Bauer, until he was replaced right after the All-Star break by Earl Weaver. The Orioles' home games were played at Memorial Stadium.

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

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

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB
Detroit Tigers	103	59	.636	–
Baltimore Orioles	91	71	.562	12
Cleveland Indians	86	75	.534	16½
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	37½

Record vs. opponents

1968 American League Records Sources:
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

June 15, 1968: Bruce Howard was traded by the Orioles to the Washington Senators for Fred Valentine.^[5]

Roster

1968 Baltimore Orioles

Roster

Pitchers

17 Mike Adamson

50 Fred Beene

32 Gene Brabender

27 Wally Bunker

25 Moe Drabowsky

44 Jim Hardin

16 Bruce Howard

40 Dave Leonhard

19 Dave McNally

37 John Morris

35 Roger Nelson

28 John O'Donoghue

36 Tom Phoebus

24 Pete Richert

39 Eddie Watt

Catchers

8 Andy Etchebarren

34 Larry Haney

10 Elrod Hendricks

Infielders

7 Mark Belanger

1,59 Chico Fernández

30 Mike Fiore

2 Bobby Floyd

15 Davey Johnson

26 Boog Powell

5 Brooks Robinson

Outfielders

6 Paul Blair

3 Curt Blefary

9 Don Buford

12 Dave May

21 Curt Motton

14,47 Merv Rettenmund

20 Frank Robinson

16 Fred Valentine

Manager

42 Hank Bauer

4 Earl Weaver

Coaches

31 George Bamberger

41 Vern Hoscheit

55 Billy Hunter

48 Ray Scarborough

48 George Staller

4 Earl Weaver

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: 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	Etchebarren, AndyAndy Etchebarren	74	189	44	.233	5	20
1B	Powell, BoogBoog Powell	154	550	137	.249	22	85
2B	Johnson, DaveyDavey Johnson	145	504	122	.242	9	56
3B	Robinson, BrooksBrooks Robinson	162	608	154	.253	17	75
SS	Belanger, MarkMark Belanger	145	472	98	.208	2	21
LF	Motton, CurtCurt Motton	83	217	43	.198	8	25
CF	Blair, PaulPaul Blair	141	421	89	.211	7	38
RF	Robinson, FrankFrank Robinson	130	421	113	.268	15	52

Other batters

Note: 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
Blefary, CurtCurt Blefary	137	451	90	.200	15	39
Buford, DonDon Buford	130	426	120	.282	15	46
May, DaveDave May	84	152	29	.191	0	7
Hendricks, ElrodElrod Hendricks	79	183	37	.202	7	23
Valentine, FredFred Valentine	47	91	17	.187	2	5
Haney, LarryLarry Haney	38	89	21	.236	1	5
Rettenmund, MervMerv Rettenmund	31	64	19	.297	2	7
Fernández, ChicoChico Fernández	24	18	2	.111	0	0
Fiore, MikeMike Fiore	6	17	1	.059	0	0
Floyd, BobbyBobby Floyd	5	9	1	.111	0	1

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
McNally, DaveDave McNally	35	273	22	10	1.95	202
Hardin, JimJim Hardin	35	244	18	13	2.51	160
Phoebus, TomTom Phoebus	36	240.2	15	15	2.62	193
Adamson, MikeMike Adamson	2	7.2	0	2	9.39	4

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Leonhard, DaveDave Leonhard	28	126.1	7	7	3.13	61
Brabender, GeneGene Brabender	37	124.2	6	7	3.32	92
Bunker, WallyWally Bunker	18	71	2	0	2.41	44
Nelson, RogerRoger Nelson	19	71	4	3	2.41	70
Howard, BruceBruce Howard	10	31	0	2	3.77	19

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Watt, EddieEddie Watt	59	5	5	11	2.27	72
Drabowsky, MoeMoe Drabowsky	45	4	4	7	1.91	46
Richert, PetePete Richert	36	6	3	6	3.47	47
Morris, JohnJohn Morris	19	2	0	0	2.56	22
O'Donoghue, JohnJohn O'Donoghue	16	0	0	2	6.14	11
Beene, FredFred Beene	1	0	0	0	9.00	1

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Rochester Red Wings	International League	Billy DeMars
AA	Elmira Pioneers	Eastern League	Cal Ripken, Sr.
A	Stockton Ports	California League	Joe Altobelli
A	Miami Marlins	Florida State League	Harry Malmberg
A-Short Season	Aberdeen Pheasants	Northern League	Bill Werle
Rookie	Bluefield Orioles	Appalachian League	Ken Rowe

Notes

References

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

1968 MLB season by team

American League	Baltimore Boston California Chicago Cleveland Detroit Minnesota New York Oakland Washington

National League	Atlanta Chicago Cincinnati Houston Los Angeles New York Philadelphia Pittsburgh St. Louis San Francisco

1968 MLB draft 1968 All-Star Game 1968 World Series 1968 MLB expansion draft

Baltimore Orioles

Formerly the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Browns
Based in Baltimore, Maryland

Franchise

Ballparks

Spring training: Majestic Park; West End Park; Coffee Pot Park; Wright Field; Tech Field; Perris Hill Park; City Island Ball Park; Miami Stadium; Ed Smith Stadium; Al Lang Stadium; Fort Lauderdale Stadium; Ed Smith Stadium

Culture

Lore

Rivalries

Washington Nationals
New York Yankees
Boston Red Sox

Key personnel

Owner: Peter Angelos
Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations: Dan Duquette
Manager: Buck Showalter

World Series
Championships (3)

American League
Championships (7)

American League East
Championships (9)

American League Wild Card
(3)

Minor league
affiliates

Broadcasting

TV: Mid-Atlantic Sports Network
Radio: Orioles Radio Network
Announcers: Gary Thorne; Jim Hunter; Jim Palmer; Rick Dempsey; Mike Bordick

Seasons (115)

1900s	1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909

1910s	1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919

1920s	1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929

1930s	1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939

1940s	1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949

1950s	1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959

1960s	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969

1970s	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979

1980s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989

1990s	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

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