1968 Baltimore Orioles season

1968 Baltimore Orioles
LeagueAmerican League
BallparkMemorial Stadium
CityBaltimore, Maryland
Record91–71 (.562)
League place2nd
OwnersJerold Hoffberger
General managersHarry Dalton
ManagersHank Bauer, Earl Weaver
TelevisionWJZ-TV
RadioWBAL (AM)
(Chuck Thompson, Bill O'Donnell)
← 1967 Seasons 1969 →

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.

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

Regular season

On 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

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

Record vs. opponents

1968 American League record

Sources: [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

Roster

1968 Baltimore Orioles
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

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 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

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
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

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
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

Note: 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

Note: 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

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

  1. ^ Elrod Hendricks page at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ "Eddie Fisher Stats".
  3. ^ Roger Nelson page at Baseball Reference.
  4. ^ Tom Walker page at Baseball Reference
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ Fred Valentine transactions at Baseball Reference

References