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The 1968 WPK World Series is well under way but before I report on that I thought it would be good to give some final wrap-up regarding the Brewers 1968 season.
Coming down the stretch, as mentioned earlier, the Brewers offense perked up a bit and while we still finished the season in the bottom half of the league in most offensive categories, there was marked improvement from the first half of the season in pretty much each of these categories. Of course, as always, the Brewers finished first in stolen bases. The team was near, but not at, the bottom in HR's, even though our top HR producer only managed 10 during the 1968 season. With a good number of extra-base hit producers and very good speed on the base paths, the Brewers did climb to 5th in runs scored in the MGL.
And given that the pitching staff (and defense) was the best in the MGL at preventing the other team from scoring, that was enough to make the team competitive. The Brewers finished 4th or better in every single major pitching category (and defensive efficiency) in a year in which dominant pitching was the rule.
Interestingly, by the end of the season the team's performance against left-handed and right-handed starters had evened out quite a bit, which might bode well for the 1969 season. The team did continue to perform much better at home than on the road and will have to improve their away record in 1969 if they are to take another step forward. The Brewers were very good in 1-run games, which given our pitching and defensive strengths probably shouldn't surprise, but it would be good if the offense improved enough in 1969 to avoid being so dependent upon such narrow victories.
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