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Español1968 IN BASEBALL
The Year of the Pitcher
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.
Individually, 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. Mickey Lolich won three complete games in the World Series, the last player as of 2006 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.
Hitting was anemic. Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox had the lowest batting average of any league champion when his .3005 was good enough for the American League batting title. The AL's collective slugging average of .340 remains the lowest since 1915 (when the game was still in the so-called dead-ball era), while the collective batting average of .231 is the all-time lowest.
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 18 to 16 inches. Four expansion teams joined the majors. 1969 batting averages zoomed back to their historical averages and never again would pitching have as large a statistical average over batting in the major leagues.
Champions
Major League Baseball
★ World Series: Detroit Tigers over St. Louis Cardinals (4-3); Mickey Lolich, MVP
★ All-Star Game, July 9 at the Astrodome: National League, 1-0; Willie Mays, MVP
Other champions
★ College World Series: USC
★ Japan Series: Yomiuri Giants over Hankyu Braves (4-2)
★ Little League World Series: Wakayama, Osaka, Japan
Awards and honors
★ 'Most Valuable Player'
★
★ Denny McLain, Detroit Tigers, P (AL)
★
★ Bob Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals, P (NL)
★ 'Cy Young Award'
★
★ Denny McLain, Detroit Tigers (AL)
★
★ Bob Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals (NL)
★ 'Rookie of the Year'
★
★ Stan Bahnsen, New York Yankees, P (AL)
★
★ Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds, C (NL)
MLB Statistical Leaders
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Major League Baseball final standings
American League final standings
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National League final standings
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Events
★ January 23 - Joe Medwick is voted into the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
★ January 28 - Goose Goslin and Kiki Cuyler are admitted into the Hall of Fame by unanimous vote of the Special Veterans Committee.
★ April 9 - Opening Day is postponed because of the funeral for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., assassinated on April 4.
★ April 14 - Jim Bunning's first win with the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-0 at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium, is his 40th career shutout and includes his 1,000th National League strikeout, making him the first pitcher since Cy Young with 1,000 in each league.
★ April 19 - Nolan Ryan of the New York Mets becomes the 6th pitcher in National League history to strike out the side on nine pitches. But Los Angeles wins 3-2 at New York's Shea Stadium.
★ April 27 - Tom Phoebus, the Baltimore Orioles' top pitcher in 1967, throws a 6-0 no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. Brooks Robinson drives in three runs and makes a great stab to rob Rico Petrocelli of a hit in the 8th. Converted outfielder Curt Blefary catches the game.
★ June 1 - St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Joe Hoerner ties a National League record for relievers with 6 consecutive strikeouts vs. the New York Mets.
★ July 1 - As a part of the season that will see him post a 1.12 ERA, Bob Gibson's streak of 47 and two-thirds inning of scoreless pitching is broken.
★ July 3 - Luis Tiant of the Cleveland Indians strikes out 19 in a ten inning, 1-0 win over the Minnesota Twins.
★ July 9 - At the Houston Astrodome, in the first All-Star Game ever to be played in an indoor arena and on artificial turf, the National League defeats the American League 1–0. Appropriately, pitching dominates the game. Willie Mays, playing in place of injured Pete Rose, tallies an unearned run in the first inning against American League starter Luis Tiant. Don Drysdale, Juan Marichal, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, Ron Reed and Jerry Koosman hold the AL to three hits, as Mays is named MVP.
★ July 11 - The Baltimore Orioles promote first base coach
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