1968 in baseball

The following are the baseball events of the year 1968 throughout the world.

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 (AL)
 * Bob Gibson (NL)
 * Cy Young Award
 * Denny McLain (AL)
 * Bob Gibson (NL)
 * Rookie of the Year
 * Stan Bahnsen (AL)
 * Johnny Bench (NL)

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.


 * 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.


 * September 14 - Denny McLain becomes the first 30-game winner since Dizzy Dean in 1934 as the Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics 5-4 at Detroit's Tiger Stadium. Reggie Jackson's homer in the 4th puts the A's ahead 2-0, but Norm Cash answers with a 3-run shot. Reggie hits another in the 6th, but the Tigers push across two in the 9th to win. Al Kaline, pinch hitting for McLain, walks and scores the tying run. Denny (30-5) gives up six hits and strikes out 10.


 * September 15 - The St. Louis Cardinals clinch the National League pennant with a 7-4 win at the Astrodome over the Houston Astros. Roger Maris hits his 275th, and last, regular-season home run off Don Wilson in the 3rd, and Curt Flood racks up five hits.


 * September 17 - Gaylord Perry of the San Francisco Giants hurls a no-hitter at San Francisco's Candlestick Park as the Giants edge the Cardinals and Bob Gibson, 1-0. Ron Hunt's solo home run back s Perry, who evens his record at 14-14.


 * September 18 - Sixteen hours after Perry's feat, Ray Washburn of the St. Louis cardinals makes major league history by hurling a 2nd consecutive no-hitter in the same park. Run-scoring hits by Mike Shannon and Curt Flood at Candlestick down the Giants 2-0.


 * September 29 - Carl Yastrzemski goes 0-for-5 but maintains a .3005 batting average, to win his 2nd straight batting crown with the lowest winning average ever. Yaztrzemski is the American League's only .300 hitter. Oakland's Danny Cater is 2nd with .290.


 * September 29 - Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Wilbur Wood ends his season with a 7-6 win over the California Angels and a major league record 88 appearances.


 * October 2 - For the first time in history, two soon-to-be-named MVPs oppose each other in Game One of the 1968 World Series. St. Louis Cardinals' Bob Gibson is nearly untouchable with a World Series-record 17 strikeouts and a 4-0 win over Denny McLain. Detroit Tigers manager Mayo Smith moves Gold Glove outfielder Mickey Stanley to shortstop, improving his offense by opening a spot for Al Kaline.


 * October 10 - In Game Seven of the World Series, and for the third time in the Series, Mickey Lolich of the Tigers bests Bob Gibson of the Cardinals and brings Detroit its first World Championship since 1945. Lolich hurls a five-hitter, giving Detroit a 4–1 win, and is named Series MVP.

Births

 * February 5 - Roberto Alomar
 * February 26 - J.T. Snow
 * March 7 - Jeff Kent
 * May 27 - Jeff Bagwell
 * May 27 - Frank Thomas
 * July 7 - Chuck Knoblauch
 * August 5 - John Olerud
 * August 24 - Tim Salmon
 * August 31 - Hideo Nomo
 * September 4 - Mike Piazza
 * September 13 - Bernie Williams
 * November 12 - Sammy Sosa
 * November 18 - Gary Sheffield
 * December 8 - Mike Mussina

Deaths

 * April 19 - Tommy Bridges, 61, 6-time All-Star pitcher who won 194 games for the Detroit Tigers, including three 20-win seasons
 * May 26 - Doc Ayers, 78, spitball pitcher for the Washington Senators and Detroit Tigers
 * June 15 - Sam Crawford, 88, Hall of Fame right fielder for the Tigers, a lifetime .309 hitter who hit a record 312 triples, led both leagues in home runs, and retired with the 5th-most RBI in history
 * July 27 - Babe Adams, 86, pitcher who won 194 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates; the only member of their championship teams in both 1909 and 1925, he won three games in the 1909 World Series
 * August 22 - Heinie Groh, 78, third baseman for the New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds who led the NL in hits, runs and walks once each and in doubles twice, widely known for his "bottle bat"
 * November 3 - Vern Stephens, 48, 8-time All-Star shortstop who led the AL in RBI three times and in home runs once
 * November 17 - Earl Hamilton, 77, pitcher with the St. Louis Browns and Pittsburgh Pirates, later a minor league team owner
 * December 6 - Fats Jenkins, 70, All-Star left fielder of the Negro Leagues