1968 Pittsburgh Pirates season

1968 Pittsburgh Pirates
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1887)
Location
Forbes Field (since 1909)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1] (since 1907)
Other information
Owner(s)	John W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Bing Crosby, Thomas Johnson (minority shareholders)
General manager(s)	Joe L. Brown
Manager(s)	Larry Shepard
Local television	KDKA-TV Bob Prince, Jim Woods, Nellie King
Local radio	KDKA Bob Prince, Jim Woods, Nellie King
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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

• November 28, 1967: Dennis Ribant was traded by the Pirates to the Detroit Tigers for Dave Wickersham.^[2]
• December 15, 1967: Woodie Fryman, Bill Laxton, Don Money and Harold Clem (minors) were traded by the Pirates to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jim Bunning.^[3]
• January 27, 1968: Tom Dettore was drafted by the Pirates in the 3rd round of the 1968 Major League Baseball Draft (Secondary Phase). Player signed March 29, 1968.^[4]

Regular season

Season standings

National League	W	L	GB	Pct.
St. Louis Cardinals	97	65	--	.599
San Francisco Giants	88	74	9	.543
Chicago Cubs	84	78	13	.519
Cincinnati Reds	83	79	14	.512
Atlanta Braves	81	81	16	.500
Pittsburgh Pirates	80	82	17	.494
Los Angeles Dodgers	76	86	21	.469
Philadelphia Phillies	76	86	21	.469
New York Mets	73	89	24	.451
Houston Astros	72	90	25	.444

Record vs. opponents

1968 National League Records Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	NYM	PHI	PIT	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	8–10	10–8	11–7	9–9	12–6–1	11–7	6–12	9–9	5–13
Chicago	10–8	—	7–11	10–8	12–6	8–10	9–9	10–8	9–9–1	9–9
Cincinnati	8–10	11–7	—	9–9	9–9	10–8	11–7	10–8–1	8–10	7–11
Houston	7–11	8–10	9–9	—	11–7	10–8	9–9	5–13	8–10	5–13
Los Angeles	9–9	6–12	9–9	7–11	—	7–11	10–8	10–8	9–9	9–9
New York	6–12–1	10–8	8–10	8–10	11–7	—	8–10	9–9	7–11	6–12
Philadelphia	7–11	9–9	7–11	9–9	8–10	10–8	—	9–9	9–9	8–10
Pittsburgh	12–6	8–10	8–10–1	13–5	8–10	9–9	9–9	—	7–11	6–12
San Francisco	9–9	9–9–1	10–8	10–8	9–9	11–7	9–9	11–7	—	10–8
St. Louis	13–5	9–9	11–7	13–5	9–9	12–6	10–8	12–6	8–10	—

Notable transactions

• July 15, 1968: Bill Virdon was signed as a free agent by the Pirates.^[5]
• August 13, 1968: Bill Virdon was released by the Pirates.^[5]

Draft picks

• June 7, 1968: Bruce Kison was drafted by the Pirates in the 14th round of the 1968 Major League Baseball Draft.^[6]

Roster

1968 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers 28 Steve Blass 14 Jim Bunning 43 Bruce Dal Canton 37,40 Dock Ellis 26 Roy Face 31 Bill Henry 27 Ron Kline 34 Al McBean 38 Bob Moose 29 Juan Pizarro 25 Tommie Sisk 39 Bob Veale 23 Luke Walker 40 Dave Wickersham		Catchers 16 Chris Cannizzaro 12 Jerry May 36 Carl Taylor Infielders 22 Gene Alley 17 Donn Clendenon  2 Chuck Hiller  9 Bill Mazeroski 11 José Pagán  2 Freddie Patek 30 Maury Wills		Outfielders 18 Matty Alou 21 Roberto Clemente 24 Manny Jiménez 10 Gary Kolb 15 Manny Mota 29 Al Oliver  8 Willie Stargell  4 Bill Virdon Other batters 20 Richie Hebner		Manager  7 Larry Shepard Coaches  5 Alex Grammas 32 Vern Law  6 Don Leppert  4 Bill Virdon

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

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	May, JerryJerry May	137	416	91	.219	1	33
1B	Clendenon, DonnDonn Clendenon	158	584	150	.257	17	87
2B
3B
SS
LF
CF
RF

Other batters

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
Virdon, BillBill Virdon	6	3	1	.333	1	2

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Blass, SteveSteve Blass	33	220.1	18	6	2.12	132
Bunning, JimJim Bunning	27	160	4	14	3.88	95

Other pitchers

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

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Relief pitchers

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

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Wickersham, DaveDave Wickersham	11	1	0	1	3.48	9

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 Shore in 1907.
2. Dennis Ribant page at Baseball Reference
3. Woodie Fryman page at Baseball Reference
4. Tom Dettore page at Baseball Reference
5. Bill Virdon page at Baseball Reference
6. Bruce Kison page at Baseball Reference

References

• 1968 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at Baseball Reference
• 1968 Pittsburgh Pirates Page at Baseball Almanac
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.