1968 Baltimore Orioles season

Major League Baseball season

1968 Baltimore Orioles

Major League affiliations

* American League

Location

* Memorial Stadium
* Baltimore, Maryland

Results
Record| 91–71 (.562)
League place| 2nd
Other information
Owners| Jerold Hoffberger
General managers| Harry Dalton
Managers| Hank Bauer, Earl Weaver
Local television| WJZ-TV
Local radio| WBAL (AM)
(Chuck Thompson, Bill O'Donnell)
< Previous season Next season >

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[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[edit]

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[edit]

* v
* t
* e

American League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road

|
|
|
|
|
|

Detroit Tigers | 103 | 59  | 0.636  | —  | 56–25  | 47–34
Baltimore Orioles | 91 | 71  | 0.562  | 12  | 47–33  | 44–38
Cleveland Indians | 86 | 75  | 0.534  | 16½  | 43–37  | 43–38
Boston Red Sox | 86 | 76  | 0.531  | 17  | 46–35  | 40–41
New York Yankees | 83 | 79  | 0.512  | 20  | 39–42  | 44–37
Oakland Athletics | 82 | 80  | 0.506  | 21  | 44–38  | 38–42
Minnesota Twins | 79 | 83  | 0.488  | 24  | 41–40  | 38–43
California Angels | 67 | 95  | 0.414  | 36  | 32–49  | 35–46
Chicago White Sox | 67 | 95  | 0.414  | 36  | 36–45  | 31–50
Washington Senators | 65 | 96  | 0.404  | 37½  | 34–47  | 31–49

### Record vs. opponents[edit]

1968 American League record

* v
* t
* e

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[edit]

* June 15, 1968: Bruce Howard was traded by the Orioles to the Washington Senators for Fred Valentine.[6]

### Roster[edit]

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[edit]

### Batting[edit]

#### Starters by position[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

#### Starting pitchers[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[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

* v
* t
* e

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

* v
* t
* e

Baltimore Orioles

* Established in 1901
* Formerly the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Browns
* Based in Baltimore, Maryland

Franchise|

* History
* in St. Louis
* Seasons
* No-hitters
* Records
* Players
* Managers
* Owners and executives
* Broadcasters
* Opening Day starting pitchers
* First-round draft picks

Ballparks|

* Borchert Field
* Lloyd Street Grounds
* Sportsman's Park
* Memorial Stadium
* Oriole Park at Camden Yards

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

Culture|

* Baltimore & Ohio Warehouse at Camden Yards
* Hall of Fame
* "Thank God I'm a Country Boy"
* Baltimore Chop
* Going My Way
* A Winner Never Quits
* "The Letter" (Seinfeld episode)
* Seven Nation Army

Lore|

* Grandstand Managers Night
* Jeffrey Maier
* Miracle Mets
* 1910 Chalmers Award
* Wild Bill Hagy
* "Why Not?!"
* The Streak
* 1999 Cuba national baseball team exhibition
* 2015 crowdless game
* 2020 MLB Little League Classic

Rivalries|

* Washington Nationals

Key personnel|

* Owner: Peter Angelos
* Executive Vice President/General Manager: Mike Elias
* Manager: Brandon Hyde

World Series
championships (3)|

* 1966
* 1970
* 1983

American League
pennants (7)|

* 1944
* 1966
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1979
* 1983

AL East
division titles (10)|

* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1973
* 1974
* 1979
* 1983
* 1997
* 2014
* 2023

AL Wild Card
(3)|

* 1996
* 2012
* 2016

Minor league
affiliates|

* Triple-A: Norfolk Tides
* Double-A: Bowie Baysox
* High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds
* Single-A: Delmarva Shorebirds
* Rookie:
* FCL Orioles
* DSL Orioles 1
* DSL Orioles 2

Broadcasting|

Mid-Atlantic Sports Network
Radio
Orioles Radio Network
Announcers
Kevin Brown
Geoff Arnold
Scott Garceau
Melanie Newman
Jim Palmer
Ben McDonald

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