1968 Season

20 teams competing in 2 leagues

The 1968 Major League Baseball season was played by 20 teams. The Detroit Tigers won the World Series, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals. Frank Howard led with 44 home runs, Ken Harrelson led with 109 RBI, and Felipe Alou and Pete Rose led with 210 hits. This page carries the 1968 standings, league leaders, postseason results, and a link to every team's season.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
L (Losses):
Games charged to the pitcher of record when the opposing team took a lead it never surrendered.
Win% (Winning Percentage):
Wins divided by games decided.
GB (Games Back):
How far a team trailed the division or league leader.

Data updated

🏆 Postseason

1968 Bracket
World Series DET def. SLN (4-3)

📂 Quick Links

📊 Full Leaders 📋 Standings ⚾ Batting 🎯 Pitching

⏳ Browse Seasons

1958 1963 1967 1968 1969 1973 1978

⚾ Batting Leaders

1968 Home Run Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

Batting average and OPS list qualified hitters only: 3.1 plate appearances per team game — 502 plate appearances at 162 team games. Home runs, RBI, hits, runs and stolen bases are counting totals and list every player.

Batting Average qualified

1 Pete Rose .335 2 Matty Alou .332 3 Felipe Alou .317 4 Alex Johnson .312 5 Curt Flood .301

OPS qualified

1 Willie McCovey .923 2 Carl Yastrzemski .922 3 Willie Horton .895 4 Frank Howard .890 5 Ken Harrelson .874

Home Runs all players

1 Frank Howard 44 2 Willie Horton 36 3 Willie McCovey 36 4 Ken Harrelson 35 5 Dick Allen 33

RBI all players

1 Ken Harrelson 109 2 Frank Howard 106 3 Willie McCovey 105 4 Ron Santo 98 5 Billy Williams 98

Hits all players

1 Felipe Alou 210 2 Pete Rose 210 3 Glenn Beckert 189 4 Alex Johnson 188 5 Curt Flood 186

Runs all players

1 Glenn Beckert 98 2 Dick McAuliffe 95 3 Pete Rose 94 4 Tony Perez 93 5 Lou Brock 92

Stolen Bases all players

1 Lou Brock 62 2 Bert Campaneris 62 3 Maury Wills 52 4 Jose Cardenal 40 5 Willie Davis 36
View Complete Batting Stats →

🎯 Pitching Leaders

1968 Strikeout Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

ERA and WHIP list qualified pitchers only: 1 inning pitched per team game — 162 innings at 162 team games. Wins, strikeouts and saves are counting totals and list every pitcher.

ERA qualified

1 Bob Gibson 1.12 2 Luis Tiant 1.60 3 Sam McDowell 1.81 4 Dave McNally 1.95 5 Denny McLain 1.96

WHIP qualified

1 Dave McNally 0.84 2 Bob Gibson 0.85 3 Luis Tiant 0.87 4 Denny McLain 0.90 5 Tom Seaver 0.98

Wins all pitchers

1 Denny McLain 31 2 Juan Marichal 26 3 Bob Gibson 22 4 Dave McNally 22 5 Mel Stottlemyre 21

Strikeouts all pitchers

1 Sam McDowell 283 2 Denny McLain 280 3 Bob Gibson 268 4 Luis Tiant 264 5 Fergie Jenkins 260

Saves all pitchers

1 Phil Regan 25 2 Al Worthington 18 3 Clay Carroll 17 4 Joe Hoerner 17 5 Wilbur Wood 16
View Complete Pitching Stats →

📋 Standings

National League

St. Louis Cardinals ★ 97-65 San Francisco Giants 88-74 Chicago Cubs 84-78 Cincinnati Reds 83-79 Atlanta Braves 81-81 Pittsburgh Pirates 80-82 Los Angeles Dodgers 76-86 Philadelphia Phillies 76-86 New York Mets 73-89 Houston Astros 72-90

American League

Detroit Tigers ★ 103-59 Baltimore Orioles 91-71 Cleveland Indians 86-75 Boston Red Sox 86-76 New York Yankees 83-79 Oakland Athletics 82-80 Minnesota Twins 79-83 California Angels 67-95 Chicago White Sox 67-95 Washington Senators 65-96

The 1968 season in brief

The best record in the 1968 standings belonged to the Detroit Tigers, who finished 103-59. 65-96 left the Washington Senators with the lowest winning percentage of 1968. By season's end, the National League was not close, the St. Louis Cardinals finishing 97-65 to the San Francisco Giants's 88-74 and nobody in the American League came near the Detroit Tigers's 103-59. The bracket ends with the Detroit Tigers taking the World Series from the St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 3. The home run board is topped by Frank Howard at 44, ahead of Willie Horton with 36. The qualified batting-average board starts with Pete Rose at .335, with Matty Alou next at .332. Pete Rose cleared the 502-plate-appearance line that 1968's 162 team games set. The ERA board, limited to qualified pitchers, starts with Bob Gibson at 1.12; Luis Tiant followed at 1.60. The other 1968 pitching tiles are led by Denny McLain in wins (31), Sam McDowell in strikeouts (283), and Phil Regan in saves (25). The stolen-base tile is headed by Lou Brock with 62. Full batting and pitching tables are on the 1968 leaders page.

1968 MLB Season: Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the World Series in 1968?
The Detroit Tigers won the 1968 World Series, beating the St. Louis Cardinals.
How many teams played in 1968?
20 teams played in the 1968 major league season.
Who led MLB in home runs in 1968?
Frank Howard led with 44 home runs in 1968.
Who led MLB in RBI in 1968?
Ken Harrelson led with 109 RBI in 1968.
Who led MLB in hits in 1968?
Felipe Alou and Pete Rose tied for the lead with 210 hits in 1968.
All Seasons