1968 Pittsburgh Pirates season

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1968 Pittsburgh Pirates
LeagueNational League
BallparkForbes Field
CityPittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1]
OwnersJohn W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Bing Crosby, Thomas P. Johnson (minority shareholders)
General managersJoe L. Brown
ManagersLarry Shepard
TelevisionKDKA-TV
Bob Prince, Jim Woods, Nellie King
RadioKDKA
Bob Prince, Jim Woods, Nellie King

The 1968 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 87th season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; the 82nd in the National League. The Pirates finished sixth in the league standings with a record of 80–82.

Offseason

Regular season

Season standings

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
St. Louis Cardinals 9765 .599 4734 5031
San Francisco Giants 8874 .543 9 4239 4635
Chicago Cubs 8478 .519 13 4734 3744
Cincinnati Reds 8379 .512 14 4041 4338
Atlanta Braves 8181 .500 16 4140 4041
Pittsburgh Pirates 8082 .494 17 4041 4041
Los Angeles Dodgers 7686 .469 21 4140 3546
Philadelphia Phillies 7686 .469 21 3843 3843
New York Mets 7389 .451 24 3249 4140
Houston Astros 7290 .444 25 4239 3051

Record vs. opponents


Sources:
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD NYM PHI PIT SF STL
Atlanta 8–1010–811–79–912–6–111–76–129–95–13
Chicago 10–87–1110–812–68–109–910–89–9–19–9
Cincinnati 8–1011–79–99–910–811–710–8–18–107–11
Houston 7–118–109–911–710–89–95–138–105–13
Los Angeles 9–96–129–97–117–1110–810–89–99–9
New York 6–12–110–88–108–1011–78–109–97–116–12
Philadelphia 7–119–97–119–98–1010–89–99–98–10
Pittsburgh 12–68–108–10–113–58–109–99–97–116–12
San Francisco 9–99–9–110–810–89–911–79–911–710–8
St. Louis 13–59–911–713–59–912–610–812–68–10

Game log

1968 game log: 80–82 (home: 40–41; Away: 40–41)
April: 8–8 (home: 5–3; Away: 3–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 10@ Astros4–5DierkerPizarro (0–1)21,3200–1
2April 11@ Giants3–1 (15)Face (1–0)LinzyMoose (1)7,8441–1
3April 13@ Giants2–1McBean (1–0)Perry11,4882–1
4April 14@ Dodgers3–0Bunning (1–0)Osteen27,1363–1
5April 15@ Dodgers2–3SingerVeale (0–1)16,2143–2
6April 17Astros13–4McBean (2–0)Lemaster30,7794–2
7April 19Giants2–5MarichalBunning (1–1)24,2244–3
8April 20Giants0–1SadeckiVeale (0–2)8,1564–4
9April 21Giants10–0McBean (3–0)McCormick17,3375–4
10April 22Dodgers3–5BrewerMoose (0–1)Billingham7,9635–5
11April 24Dodgers4–3Bunning (2–1)OsteenFace (1)4,9386–5
12April 26@ Cardinals1–2GibsonVeale (0–3)39,8666–6
13April 27@ Cardinals5–7BrilesMcBean (3–1)Hoerner20,8636–7
14April 28@ Cardinals2–4CarltonSisk (0–1)20,5626–8
15April 29Cubs7–4Blass (1–0)JenkinsMoose (2)5,6037–8
16April 30Cubs4–3Pizarro (1–1)Hartenstein3,7108–8
May: 10–15 (home: 4–9; Away: 6–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
17May 1Cubs4–0McBean (4–1)Nye5,4499–8
18May 2Cubs0–1NiekroBunning (2–2)7,2499–9
19May 3@ Phillies2–3FarrellKline (0–1)9,4339–10
20May 4@ Phillies2–3HallFace (1–1)15,8349–11
21May 5@ Phillies5–2Wickersham (1–0)JacksonMoose (3)9,40710–11
22May 6@ Braves2–1Bunning (3–2)JarvisKline (1)9,13111–11
23May 7@ Braves1–2UpshawMcBean (4–2)6,61011–12
24May 8@ Braves4–3 (14)Kline (1–1)UpshawFace (2)7,03512–12
25May 9@ Braves2–4ReedMoose (0–2)Britton5,70412–13
26May 10Phillies2–1Veale (1–3)FrymanFace (3)9,39713–13
27May 12Phillies2–1McBean (5–2)James12,20314–13
28May 13Cardinals0–1BrilesBunning (3–3)10,08214–14
29May 15Cardinals0–1CarltonBlass (1–1)9,46114–15
30May 16Cardinals3–0Veale (2–3)Washburn9,59515–15
31May 17Reds2–3MaloneyMcBean (5–3)Abernathy13,49915–16
32May 18Reds3–8McCoolBunning (3–4)3,67015–17
33May 19Reds3–9CulverBlass (1–2)Kelso9,45815–18
34May 20@ Mets1–2KoosmanVeale (2–4)12,22115–19
35May 21@ Mets3–4 (17)TaylorMoose (0–3)8,18815–20
36May 22@ Cubs13–6Sisk (1–1)NiekroWickersham (1)5,07516–20
37May 24@ Reds8–5Kline (2–1)Culver9,37917–20
38May 25@ Reds5–4 (12)Sisk (2–1)McCool12,15318–20
39May 26@ Reds8–8 (7)9,67218–20
40May 30Mets3–6KoosmanBunning (3–5)Koonce18–21
41May 30Mets4–5SelmaVeale (2–5)Jackson19,77918–22
42May 31Braves2–5NiekroMcBean (5–4)7,30118–23
June: 18–13 (home: 9–5; Away: 9–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
43June 2Braves8–4Kline (3–1)Cloninger19–23
44June 2Braves5–10JarvisMoose (0–4)Niekro21,49119–24
45June 3@ Dodgers0–2OsteenVeale (2–6)14,56819–25
46June 4@ Dodgers0–5DrysdaleBunning (3–6)30,42219–26
47June 5@ Dodgers1–2 (10)SingerMcBean (5–5)14,66019–27
48June 6@ Dodgers2–4SuttonSisk (2–2)14,11219–28
49June 7@ Astros5–0Blass (2–2)Giusti14,57820–28
50June 8@ Astros2–3LemasterBunning (3–7)Buzhardt21,44720–29
51June 9@ Astros3–1Moose (1–4)CuellarKline (2)12,86221–29
52June 10@ Giants0–8MarichalVeale (2–7)4,35621–30
53June 11@ Giants7–4Kline (4–1)SadeckiFace (4)7,80722–30
54June 12@ Giants2–4BolinBunning (3–8)Linzy4,77122–31
55June 13@ Giants8–7Sisk (3–2)LinzyFace (5)6,02823–31
56June 14Astros3–0Moose (2–4)Lemaster8,60324–31
57June 15Astros13–2Veale (3–7)Wilson5,00525–31
58June 16Astros3–1Blass (3–2)CuellarFace (6)26–31
59June 16Astros11–2Sisk (4–2)DierkerKline (3)8,44827–31
60June 17Astros4–3McBean (6–5)GiustiFace (7)5,88728–31
61June 18Dodgers3–2 (10)Ellis (1–0)Aguirre13,72129–31
62June 19Dodgers2–1Veale (4–7)Singer10,79930–31
63June 20Dodgers7–3Blass (4–2)Sutton31–31
64June 20Dodgers2–3 (10)BillinghamFace (1–2)Purdin19,83831–32
65June 21Giants0–3BolinMcBean (6–6)16,22231–33
66June 22Giants3–10McCormickMoose (2–5)15,61731–34
67June 23Giants1–2MarichalBunning (3–9)16,84331–35
68June 25@ Cardinals3–2Veale (5–7)CarltonWalker (1)26,92732–35
69June 26@ Cardinals0–3GibsonMcBean (6–7)32–36
70June 26@ Cardinals3–1Blass (5–2)JasterKline (4)30,64133–36
71June 28@ Phillies10–1Bunning (4–9)Fryman18,99434–36
72June 29@ Phillies1–0Moose (3–5)Jackson17,05235–36
73June 30@ Phillies5–2Veale (6–7)Farrell8,88436–36
July: 15–18 (home: 7–12; Away: 8–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
74July 2@ Mets2–1McBean (7–7)SelmaFace (8)27,35037–36
75July 3@ Mets8–1Blass (6–2)Ryan14,90938–36
76July 4@ Mets3–2Kline (5–1)Koosman39–36
77July 4@ Mets3–4CardwellBunning (4–10)Taylor29,58739–37
78July 5@ Cubs4–0Veale (7–7)Nye16,04040–37
79July 6@ Cubs1–6JenkinsWalker (0–1)40–38
80July 6@ Cubs2–10RossSisk (4–3)30,79440–39
81July 7@ Cubs4–5ReganVeale (7–8)40–40
82July 7@ Cubs3–4ReganFace (1–3)32,44740–41
83July 11Phillies0–5JacksonVeale (7–9)40–42
84July 11Phillies1–4ShortMoose (3–6)Boozer15,37140–43
85July 12Phillies2–3JamesBunning (4–11)Boozer9,20640–44
86July 13Phillies2–3 (16)ShortEllis (1–1)6,86940–45
87July 14Cubs2–6NiekroMcBean (7–8)19,33540–46
88July 15Cubs1–2 (10)JenkinsWalker (0–2)6,64840–47
89July 16Mets3–2Kline (6–1)Selma6,12341–47
90July 17Mets8–2Blass (7–2)Koosman42–47
91July 17Mets4–5KoonceWalker (0–3)Taylor8,97442–48
92July 18Mets0–3SeaverMcBean (7–9)6,23442–49
93July 19@ Braves2–0Moose (4–6)Reed17,28643–49
94July 20@ Braves2–1Veale (8–9)Niekro20,77144–49
95July 21@ Braves6–0Blass (8–2)Pappas25,10945–49
96July 23Reds6–7 (12)ArrigoFace (1–4)Lee8,73945–50
97July 25Reds0–2CulverVeale (8–10)Carroll5,79745–51
98July 26Cardinals1–9BrilesBlass (8–3)45–52
99July 26Cardinals5–4 (10)Kline (7–1)Granger23,51546–52
100July 27Cardinals0–4CarltonMoose (4–7)12,14746–53
101July 28Cardinals7–1McBean (8–9)Jaster14,92647–53
102July 29Braves3–2Veale (9–10)Reed7,35748–53
103July 30Braves8–5Blass (9–3)JohnsonSisk (1)49–53
104July 30Braves5–4 (10)Kline (8–1)Niekro11,62450–53
105July 31@ Reds2–8ArrigoMoose (4–8)50–54
106July 31@ Reds10–1Ellis (2–1)RitchieFace (9)14,78051–54
August: 14–17 (home: 4–6; Away: 10–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
107August 1@ Reds6–1Sisk (5–3)MaloneyFace (10)10,92652–54
108August 2@ Giants3–1McBean (9–9)Perry6,42353–54
109August 3@ Giants0–7SadeckiVeale (9–11)9,25153–55
110August 4@ Giants0–2BolinBunning (4–12)18,15153–56
111August 5@ Dodgers0–1 (10)BrewerBlass (9–4)17,85153–57
112August 6@ Dodgers4–1Moose (5–8)DrysdaleKline (5)15,73254–57
113August 7@ Dodgers2–6SuttonMcBean (9–10)13,84854–58
114August 8@ Astros4–3Kline (9–1)CuellarFace (11)14,85155–58
115August 9@ Astros1–2SheaEllis (2–2)15,27055–59
116August 10@ Astros3–16CoombsBlass (9–5)12,81455–60
117August 10@ Astros7–4Kline (10–1)House25,81456–60
118August 11@ Astros1–5DierkerSisk (5–4)Giusti16,89256–61
119August 13Giants0–3MarichalVeale (9–12)9,13556–62
120August 14Giants1–2 (10)PerryKline (10–2)6,92656–63
121August 15Giants2–0Blass (10–5)Bolin6,85957–63
122August 16Dodgers4–8DrysdaleMcBean (9–11)Billingham8,22157–64
123August 17Dodgers3–0Moose (6–8)KekichKline (6)8,18158–64
124August 18Dodgers5–1Veale (10–12)Sutton17,42359–64
125August 19@ Reds3–8ArrigoBunning (4–13)6,65959–65
126August 20@ Reds8–3Ellis (3–2)RitchieKline (7)8,10360–65
127August 21@ Reds19–1Blass (11–5)MaloneyFace (12)8,15561–65
128August 22@ Reds5–7AbernathySisk (5–5)7,19561–66
129August 23@ Cardinals2–3 (11)HoernerKline (10–3)34,84561–67
130August 24@ Cardinals6–4Face (2–4)Gibson31,01962–67
131August 25@ Cardinals2–4BrilesEllis (3–3)Hoerner26,75662–68
132August 26@ Braves4–0Blass (12–5)Pappas7,49163–68
133August 27@ Braves4–3 (11)Kline (11–3)BrittonFace (13)6,63364–68
134August 28Cardinals0–8GibsonVeale (10–13)11,19764–69
135August 29Cardinals0–5WashburnMoose (6–9)7,68164–70
136August 30Braves0–2PappasEllis (3–4)Raymond5,89664–71
137August 31Braves8–0Blass (13–5)Reed4,67165–71
September: 15–11 (home: 11–6; Away: 4–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
138September 1Braves7–8 (11)RaymondKline (11–4)Britton5,65065–72
139September 2Astros6–1Veale (11–13)Cuellar66–72
140September 2Astros4–3 (10)Dal Canton (1–0)Ray6,22567–72
141September 3Astros3–2Ellis (4–4)DierkerWalker (2)3,00368–72
142September 6Mets2–1Blass (14–5)McAndrew4,08269–72
143September 7Mets3–4KoosmanBunning (4–14)Taylor4,00269–73
144September 8Mets3–0Veale (12–13)Seaver5,42470–73
145September 9Phillies7–8 (15)ShortDal Canton (1–1)2,66470–74
146September 11Phillies6–8 (12)WagnerMcBean (9–12)Farrell70–75
147September 11Phillies6–4Blass (15–5)WiseWalker (3)2,78971–75
148September 13@ Mets0–2KoosmanMoose (6–10)17,24571–76
149September 14@ Mets6–0Veale (13–13)Seaver15,67672–76
150September 15@ Mets3–0Blass (16–5)Cardwell33,83873–76
151September 16@ Phillies6–1Ellis (5–4)Wise2,08774–76
152September 17@ Phillies4–2Moose (7–10)ShortDal Canton (1)2,57675–76
153September 18@ Phillies1–2JohnsonVeale (13–14)Wagner2,46375–77
154September 20Cubs5–0Blass (17–5)Jenkins4,47876–77
155September 21Cubs5–1Ellis (6–4)Niekro3,42977–77
156September 22Cubs5–1Moose (8–10)HoltzmanDal Canton (2)27,40578–77
157September 23Reds6–9KelsoKline (11–5)Carroll78–78
158September 23Reds2–1 (10)Kline (12–5)Kelso4,23279–78
159September 24Reds2–0Blass (18–5)Nolan4,04480–78
160September 25Reds0–3MaloneyEllis (6–5)4,57780–79
161September 27@ Cubs1–4HoltzmanMoose (8–11)Regan2,38480–80
162September 28@ Cubs3–4JenkinsBlass (18–6)10,94080–81
163September 29@ Cubs4–5ReganMoose (8–12)16,86080–82
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie
Bold = Pirates team member

Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters
#NamePosition
30Maury Wills3B
22Gene AlleySS
21Roberto ClementeRF
8Willie StargellLF
17Donn Clendenon1B
9Bill Mazeroski2B
18Matty AlouCF
12Jerry MayC
14Jim BunningSP

[12]

Notable transactions

Roster

1968 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Statistics

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Regular Season[18]
Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Chuck Hiller111350.38501
Bill Virdon6310.33312
Dave Wickersham11310.33302
Matty Alou1465581850.332052
Manny Jimenez6666200.303111
Roberto Clemente1325021460.2911857
Manny Mota111331930.281133
Maury Wills1536271740.278031
Donn Clendenon1585841500.2571787
Freddie Patek61208530.255218
Bill Mazeroski1435061270.251342
Gene Alley1334741160.245439
Chris Cannizzaro2558140.24117
Willie Stargell1284351030.2372467
Jose Pagan80163360.221421
Jerry May137416910.219133
Gary Kolb74119260.21826
Carl Taylor4471150.21107
Al McBean4367130.19418
Steve Blass3580110.13808
Al Oliver4810.12500
Bob Veale368290.11001
Jim Bunning275150.09803
Bob Moose385450.09300
Tommie Sisk332420.08300
Dock Ellis272920.06902
Bruce Dal Canton7300.00000
Roy Face43400.00000
Richie Hebner2100.00000
Bill Henry10300.00000
Ron Kline561600.00000
Juan Pizarro13200.00000
Luke Walker39800.00000
Team totals1635,5691,4040.25280538

Pitching

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Regular Season[19]
Player G IP W L ERA SO
Ron Kline56112231251.6848
Luke Walker396123032.0466
Bob Veale362451313142.05171
Bruce Dal Canton717112.128
Steve Blass33220131862.12132
Dock Ellis26104652.5152
Roy Face4352242.6034
Bob Moose38171138122.73126
Juan Pizarro1211113.276
Tommie Sisk3396553.2841
Dave Wickersham112023103.489
Al McBean36198139123.58100
Jim Bunning271604143.8895
Bill Henry101623008.109
Team totals1631,4871380822.74897

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Columbus Jets International League Johnny Pesky
AA York Pirates Eastern League Joe Morgan
A Salem Rebels Carolina League Don Hoak
A Clinton Pilots Midwest League Bob Clear
A Gastonia Pirates Western Carolinas League Frank Oceak
Rookie GCL Pirates Gulf Coast League Buddy Pritchard

Notes

  1. From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Side in 1907.
  2. Billy O'Dell at "Baseball Almanac"
  3. Larry Shepard
  4. Dennis Ribant page at Baseball Reference
  5. Chuck Hiller at "Baseball Almanac"
  6. Mets buy Short
  7. Ron Kline at "Baseball Almanac"
  8. Jim Pagliaroni at "Baseball Almanac"
  9. Woodie Fryman page at Baseball Reference
  10. Frank Taveras
  11. Tom Dettore page at Baseball Reference
  12. 1968 Opening Day lineup at "Baseball-Almanac"
  13. Milt May at "Baseball Almanac"
  14. Bruce Kison at "Baseball Almanac"
  15. Juan Pizarro at "Baseball Almanac"
  16. Bill Virdon page at Baseball Reference
  17. Bill Henry at "Baseball Almanac"
  18. "Major League Baseball Regular Season Hitting Stats". Pittsburgh Pirates. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  19. "Major League Baseball Regular Season Pitching Stats". Pittsburgh Pirates. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2016.

References