RetroSeasons recaps past sports seasons through stories, photos, videos, and stats from every team, league, and stadium in history. Coverage includes the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL, as well as vintage media from defunct teams and leagues.
The 1968 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 10 to October 10, 1968. It was the last year of baseball's pre-playoffs era, in which the teams that finished in first place in each league went directly to the World Series to face each other for the "World Championship." A playoff system was developed and debuted in 1969; with the addition of four expansion teams, both leagues were divided into two six-team divisions, with the winners competing in the League Championship Series. It featured the most dominant pitching year of the modern era, and the first season of the Oakland Athletics (having moved from Kansas City after the 1967 season).
In Major League Baseball, the trend throughout the 1960s was of increased pitching dominance, caused by enforcing a larger strike zone (top of armpit to bottom of knee) beginning in 1963. The delicate balance of power between offense and defense reached its greatest tilt in favor of the pitcher by 1968.
During what later became known as "the year of the pitcher", Bob Gibson set a modern earned run average record of 1.12 and a World Series record of 17 strikeouts in Game 1, while Series opponent Denny McLain of the Detroit Tigers won 31 regular season games, the only player to reach the 30 win milestone since Dizzy Dean in 1934. Don Drysdale of the L.A. Dodgers pitched six consecutive shutout games in May and June, ending with 58 and 2/3 scoreless innings. Mickey Lolich won three complete games in the World Series, the last player as of today to do so. Luis Tiant of the Cleveland Indians had the American League's lowest ERA at 1.60 and allowed a batting average of only .168, a major league record (since broken by Pedro Martínez in 2000). Both MVPs for that year were pitchers.
339 shutouts were recorded in 1,619 regular-season games. The St. Louis Cardinals alone pitched 30 shutouts, the most in the majors. The 472 runs they allowed remains the lowest total ever recorded by any major league team in a 162-game season.
Hitting was anemic. Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox had the lowest batting average of any league champion when his .301 was good enough for the American League batting title. The AL's collective slugging average of .339 remains the lowest since 1915 (when the game was still in the so-called dead-ball era), while the collective batting average of .230 is the all-time lowest. The Chicago White Sox scored only 463 runs during the regular season and were shut out a league-high 23 times. Both those totals are still all-time records in the era of the 162-game season.
After the season, the Rules Committee, seeking to restore balance, restored the pre-1963 strike zone and lowered the height of the pitching mound from 15 to 10 inches (38 to 25 cm). Four expansion teams joined the majors, and batting averages in 1969 returned to their historical averages; never again would pitching have as large a statistical average over batting in the major leagues.
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1983 Home Run Derby Simulation • Schmidt - Rice - Armas - Murphy
In the 1983 MLB Home Run Derby, we're looking at a face-off between some of the most powerful hitters of the era: Mike Schmidt, Jim Rice, Tony Armas, and Dale Murphy. The '83 season was a standout for these players, each making significant contributions to their respective teams. Mike Schmidt, the Philadelphia Phillies' third baseman, was fresh off his second consecutive MVP season, while Boston Red Sox's Jim Rice had been a consistent force at the plate, known for his ability to drive in runs. Tony Armas, playing for the Red Sox as well, was the American League home run leader that year, delivering a whopping 36 home runs. Dale Murphy, the Atlanta Braves' center fielder, was in the midst of his prime, having won the National League MVP in '82 and '83. This matchup is a snapshot of one of the most competitive periods in baseball, with each player having a unique blend of power and precision at the plate.
Ernie Harwell with the radio call as Detroit Tigers pitcher Denny McLain wins 30 for...
Ernie Harwell Calls Denny McLain 30th Win / Ernie Harwell with the radio call as Detroit Tigers pitcher Denny McLain wins 30 for the season on September 14, 1968...more info at https://www.retroseasons.com/teams/detroit-tigers/1968/overview/
Historian Eugene C. Murdock interviewed several former baseball players that had been active in baseball in the 1920s and 1930s.
SABR Speech by Baseball Player Mike Shannon / Historian Eugene C. Murdock interviewed several former baseball players that had been active in baseball in the 1920s and 1930s. Murdock was chairman of the history department at Marietta College. The interviews were not professionally recorded, and the audio quality is variable.
1 Comment
I sincerely appreciate the research work, and the information being shared. It is important and interesting history.
I sincerely appreciate the research work, and the information being shared. It is important and interesting history.