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KCRoyals15 · 12-24-2024, 11:03 AM

1968

The year is 1968. War is raging in Vietnam. The Summer of Love was followed by a year of turmoil and rioting in cities across the country. On the baseball field, hitters are up in arms as pitching has dominated the game like never before, with ERAs for entire leagues barely eclipsing 3.00 and scoring at its lowest point in nearly half a century.

In the Texas League, change comes, as the long-speculated move becomes official during the winter: after failing to reach the postseason and only twice posting a winning record in their 13 years as a big-league club, the Phoenix Firebirds bumped down to the American Baseball League. In their place, a powerful club deep in the heart of Texas boosted the Lone Star State’s capital to that of a big-league town: the Austin Wranglers were now a part of the Texas League.

In the Northern Conference, the Philadelphia Quakers got over the hump to win the New England League, while Albany finished second to secure their first playoff spot in nine years. The Midwest Association saw Detroit need just 89 wins to earn their first pennant in a dozen years, while Toronto finishes second to punch their third-straight playoff ticket.

In the postseason, Toronto scores a minor upset in defeating Detroit in a five-game set. Meanwhile, Albany takes down Philadelphia in a seven-game series. The Adirondacks then chewed through the Maple Leafs in six games to earn their first-ever Conference Championship in their 27th big-league season.

In the Southern Conference, the state of Florida is well-represented in the Eastern League, with Jacksonville winning a conference-best 103 games to take the pennant, though Miami was just two games behind them. St. Louis, meanwhile, won the Western League handily for the eighth-straight season. However, in his second season at the helm, Skipper Jr. led the Louisville Colonels to the second playoff spot, their first playoff bid in 14 seasons.

The playoffs saw the Colonels give St. Louis all they could handle in the first round, but the Browns came through with a seven-game triumph to avoid the upset. Miami then blitzed their in-state rivals with a five-game victory over Jacksonville. The Gators then beat down the Browns in five games to win their second Conference Championship in five seasons.

In the Pacific Coast League, two-time defending champion San Diego was pushed hard by Seattle, but the Padres pulled out the pennant by a game. Seattle took second, while Hollywood and Sacramento earned the final two playoff spots. For the Stars, it was their final playoff bid in an incredible run of 23 playoff berths in 25 years, including eight PCL titles and three National Championships.

The semifinals featured a pair of very tight series, as Seattle edged Hollywood in a seven-game series. In a low-scoring series between the two top pitching staffs (2.65 ERA for Sacramento, 2.71 for San Diego), the Padres better offense won out as San Diego took down the Solons in seven games. The Padres then summitted the Rainiers in six games to earn their third straight PCL crown.

In the new-look Texas League, the divisions re-shuffled with Austin’s arrival, seeing a long-overdue move to the North for Wichita, while El Paso flipped to the South and Austin slid into Phoenix’s southern spot. The North was firmly a two-horse race, with Dallas clipping Fort Worth by two games, though both teams were playoff-bound. In the South, all five teams finished within 11 games of each other and 78-84 Houston was the only sub-.500 club in a very competitive division. In the end, Galveston claimed their fourth-straight division title, with El Paso finishing second.

In the postseason, El Paso continued Galveston’s run of October frustration, sweeping the Hurricanes in the Division Finals. At the same time, Dallas and Fort Worth went the distance, with the Lone Stars taking down their cross-town rivals in seven. In the Lone Star Series, Dallas defeated El Paso to give the Lone Stars their second TL title in six seasons.

That set up the national tournament, where first-time participant Albany crashed the party in a big way, as the Albany Adirondacks (NOR) defeat the Jacksonville Tars (SOU). Meanwhile, the defending National Champions move on as the San Diego Padres (PCL) defeat the Dallas Lone Stars (TL). In the final, the San Diego Padres (PCL) defeat the Albany Adirondacks (NOR), 4-2, giving the Padres their third National Championship and making them the first repeat winner since Hollywood in 1952-53, and just the sixth ever.

Despite this season being the so-called Year of the Pitcher, it did not affect Philadelphia Quakers first baseman Matt Schomberg, as the 35-year-old batted a career-high .326, slashed .326/.374/.488 and led the Northern Conference with 207 hits, with 35 doubles, 22 homers, and 89 RBI. That was enough to earn the ten-year veteran his first and only MVP award of a stellar 16-year career.

Meanwhile, Buffalo ace Bill Lively already had a Pitcher of the Year award to his name, and two years later he added a second, posting an 18-6 record. Incredibly, he also posted his third straight sub-2.00 ERA, logging a 1.77 mark, though he did not lead the conference as he did the two previous years. He did lead in starts (36) and shutouts (7), while striking 223 and allowing just three home runs in 280.0 innings.

The decrease in offense did little to deter Jacksonville second baseman Steve Bishop, who slashed .296/.357/.621 with 98 runs, 39 homers, and 109 RBI. He would’ve lead the league in runs and RBI and maybe in home runs as well had his season not ended on August 25 due to a concussion, limited him to 123 games. Nonetheless, Bishop still claimed his record seventh Southern Conference MVP of his ten-year career.

For the 11th time in 14 years, a St. Louis pitcher was named the best in the Southern Conference, as second-year hurler Josh Donovan posted the season of a lifetime, going 24-3 with a 1.91 ERA, leading the conference in wins and ERA, while striking out 200 over 259.1 innings. It would be Donovan’s only POTY, as he was traded in the offseason to Norfolk and despite pitching for 15 more seasons was 39 games below .500 over the rest of his career.

Matt Moshier was a generally solid, if second-tier pitcher who notably won 20 games and led the South in ERA in 1967. However, his biggest legacy was his performance on August 23, when the Miami hurler spun a perfect game against Louisville, striking out four in a 97-pitch gem.

Eight years after his second trophy and 11 years after his first, Seattle centerfielder Jarrett Messing dipped into the fountain of youth to win his third Pacific Coast League MVP. The 37-year-old slashed .316/.390/.497, winning his third batting title, leading the league in hits (224) and RBI (111), while adding 25 doubles, 29 homers, and 24 stolen bases.

Likewise, Hollywood ace Kevin Corbett also earned his third Pitcher of the Year trophy, going 21-12 with a 2.42 ERA, leading the PCL in starts (43) and innings pitched (342.0), while striking out a career-high 225 batters. Corbett had one more good season in Hollywood before being dealt to Albany in a terrible trade before the 1970 season, where he won 231 games over 16 seasons as the Stars slipped into an extended malaise.

If you blinked, you missed Chris Nowling’s big league career. A long list of injuries ultimately limited him to 22 games (ten starts) over four seasons for five teams. He was only 4-2 lifetime, with three of those wins coming in 1968 for Sacramento, where he made six starts. As it turned out, his start on July 18 saw him stymie San Diego, striking out five and throwing 95 pitches in an extremely unlikely perfect game, just the third in the PCL’s major-league history.

Amidst the pitching heroics, two PCL sluggers made history. First of all, Los Angeles’ Marcus Hale became the second player in United States Baseball Federation history to reach 500 home runs, doing so on July 1. The other man to do, Griffin Searle, went one further by crushing his 600th roundtripper on April 10, becoming the first player to reach that benchmark.

In 1966, Dallas outfielder Guy Werner made news as the first Texas Leage player with a four-homer game. In 1968, the 35-year-old earn MVP honors, batting .287 with 164 hits, 81 runs, 26 doubles, 24 home runs, and 82 RBI to take home the trophy. While his numbers were rather pedestrian, no TL batter eclipsed 29 homers or 86(!!!) RBI.

Mark Lucas didn’t debut until he was 29 years old, but the righty starred for Houston and Fort Worth throughout his 30’s. In the waning hours of his career (he earned just one win and made only five starts after 1968), the 38-year-old went 19-10 with a 2.23 ERA, leading the Texas League in wins, ERA, starts (36), innings (278.2), complete games (15), and shutouts (4) to earn Pitcher of the Year.

---

The biggest story in the American Baseball League was losing another stalwart (Austin) to the major leagues. However, another notable storyline was the departure of their only Canadian franchise, the Vancouver Mounties, who posted some of the worst seasons (and the very worst) in league history. After 14 putrid seasons (11 with over 100 losses), the Mounties traded in cold Canada for sunny Honolulu. A losing club and a crumbling wooden stadium nicknamed “The Termite Palace” didn’t scare off the franchise, or their new fans, who came out in droves to support the Hawaii Islanders in their first season.

Amidst this new landscape, the New Haven Weavers ran amok, going 120-42—the most wins of a non-PCL team in professional baseball history. The Weavers outscored their opponents by 340 runs, posted a league-best 2.67 ERA, and averaged 5.0 runs per game, which was three-quarters of a run higher than anyone else. That earned New Haven a comfortable East Division title, their fifth in a row. Pittsburgh finished a distant second with their 101 wins, earning their fourth consecutive playoff bid. In the West, San Jose won 100 games to claim their first division title, while Spokane took the second playoff spot. In the postseason, both division winners moved on with ease, as San Jose beat Pittsburgh and New Haven handled Spokane, both in five-game sets. The Weavers were pushed to the edge by the Gulls, but planted their flag as the greatest team in ABL history with a seven-game triumph over San Jose, New Haven’s fourth ABL title and first since 1959.

Unsurprisingly, a Weaver took home MVP as 32-year-old first baseman Garrett Callis enjoyed an incredible year, slashing .327/.418/.458 with a league-high 201 hits and 140 runs, as well as 35 doubles, 13 homers, and 72 RBI…and stealing a league-record 97 bases. That mark would stand for a quarter-century, while Callis’ career total of 950 still stands as the ABL standard and is the sixth-most in professional baseball history. For the second year in a row, though, it was a San Jose hurler winning Pitcher of the Year, as 22-year-old Casey Hund went 20-9 with a league-leading 2.00 ERA as a rookie, striking out 274 over 266.0 innings to take the trophy.

---

Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Montgomery Generals, 94-60, defeats Jackson
Colonial League: Scranton-Wilkes Barre Steamers, 85-55, defeats Pittsfield
River Valley League: Peoria Distillers, 85-55, defeats Evansville (2nd straight)
Rocky Mountain League: Billings Mustangs, 74-52, defeats Cheyenne
Coastal League: Richmond Giants, 92-62, defeats Savannah (2nd straight)
Northern League: Fargo-Moorhead Indians, 85-55, defeats Sioux City
Great Lakes League: Youngstown Steelers, 83-57, defeats Harrisburg
Southwest League: Fresno Suns, 91-63, defeats Bakersfield
Southern Association: Shreveport Captains, 76-64, defeats Little Rock; 5 teams within 5 games
Northwest League: Salem Senators, 98-42, defeats Yakima (2nd straight)
Can-Am League: Manchester Monarchs, 83-43, defeats Waterbury
Mid-Atlantic League: Charleston (WV) Coal Sox, 77-63, defeats Altoona
Lone Star League: Laredo Vaqueros, 90-50, defeats Midland-Odessa
Great Plains League: Lincoln Lions, 92-48, defeats St. Paul
Florida Coast League: Daytona Islanders, 77-63, defeats Huntsville
Big Sky League: Ogden Railroaders, 72-60, defeats Missoula

12-24-2024, 11:03 AM	#78
KCRoyals15 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Oct 2020 Location: A lot of them Posts: 123	Year of the Pitcher 1968 The year is 1968. War is raging in Vietnam. The Summer of Love was followed by a year of turmoil and rioting in cities across the country. On the baseball field, hitters are up in arms as pitching has dominated the game like never before, with ERAs for entire leagues barely eclipsing 3.00 and scoring at its lowest point in nearly half a century. In the Texas League, change comes, as the long-speculated move becomes official during the winter: after failing to reach the postseason and only twice posting a winning record in their 13 years as a big-league club, the Phoenix Firebirds bumped down to the American Baseball League. In their place, a powerful club deep in the heart of Texas boosted the Lone Star State’s capital to that of a big-league town: the *Austin Wranglers* were now a part of the Texas League. In the Northern Conference, the Philadelphia Quakers got over the hump to win the New England League, while Albany finished second to secure their first playoff spot in nine years. The Midwest Association saw Detroit need just 89 wins to earn their first pennant in a dozen years, while Toronto finishes second to punch their third-straight playoff ticket. In the postseason, Toronto scores a minor upset in defeating Detroit in a five-game set. Meanwhile, Albany takes down Philadelphia in a seven-game series. The Adirondacks then chewed through the Maple Leafs in six games to earn their first-ever Conference Championship in their 27th big-league season. In the Southern Conference, the state of Florida is well-represented in the Eastern League, with Jacksonville winning a conference-best 103 games to take the pennant, though Miami was just two games behind them. St. Louis, meanwhile, won the Western League handily for the eighth-straight season. However, in his second season at the helm, Skipper Jr. led the Louisville Colonels to the second playoff spot, their first playoff bid in 14 seasons. The playoffs saw the Colonels give St. Louis all they could handle in the first round, but the Browns came through with a seven-game triumph to avoid the upset. Miami then blitzed their in-state rivals with a five-game victory over Jacksonville. The Gators then beat down the Browns in five games to win their second Conference Championship in five seasons. In the Pacific Coast League, two-time defending champion San Diego was pushed hard by Seattle, but the Padres pulled out the pennant by a game. Seattle took second, while Hollywood and Sacramento earned the final two playoff spots. For the Stars, it was their final playoff bid in an incredible run of 23 playoff berths in 25 years, including eight PCL titles and three National Championships. The semifinals featured a pair of very tight series, as Seattle edged Hollywood in a seven-game series. In a low-scoring series between the two top pitching staffs (2.65 ERA for Sacramento, 2.71 for San Diego), the Padres better offense won out as San Diego took down the Solons in seven games. The Padres then summitted the Rainiers in six games to earn their third straight PCL crown. In the new-look Texas League, the divisions re-shuffled with Austin’s arrival, seeing a long-overdue move to the North for Wichita, while El Paso flipped to the South and Austin slid into Phoenix’s southern spot. The North was firmly a two-horse race, with Dallas clipping Fort Worth by two games, though both teams were playoff-bound. In the South, all five teams finished within 11 games of each other and 78-84 Houston was the only sub-.500 club in a very competitive division. In the end, Galveston claimed their fourth-straight division title, with El Paso finishing second. In the postseason, El Paso continued Galveston’s run of October frustration, sweeping the Hurricanes in the Division Finals. At the same time, Dallas and Fort Worth went the distance, with the Lone Stars taking down their cross-town rivals in seven. In the Lone Star Series, Dallas defeated El Paso to give the Lone Stars their second TL title in six seasons. That set up the national tournament, where first-time participant Albany crashed the party in a big way, as the Albany Adirondacks (NOR) defeat the Jacksonville Tars (SOU). Meanwhile, the defending National Champions move on as the San Diego Padres (PCL) defeat the Dallas Lone Stars (TL). In the final, the *San Diego Padres (PCL) defeat the Albany Adirondacks (NOR), 4-2, giving the Padres their third National Championship and making them the first repeat winner since Hollywood in 1952-53, and just the sixth ever. Despite this season being the so-called Year of the Pitcher, it did not affect Philadelphia Quakers first baseman Matt Schomberg, as the 35-year-old batted a career-high .326, slashed .326/.374/.488 and led the Northern Conference with 207 hits, with 35 doubles, 22 homers, and 89 RBI. That was enough to earn the ten-year veteran his first and only MVP award of a stellar 16-year career. Meanwhile, Buffalo ace Bill Lively* already had a Pitcher of the Year award to his name, and two years later he added a second, posting an 18-6 record. Incredibly, he also posted his third straight sub-2.00 ERA, logging a 1.77 mark, though he did not lead the conference as he did the two previous years. He did lead in starts (36) and shutouts (7), while striking 223 and allowing just three home runs in 280.0 innings. The decrease in offense did little to deter Jacksonville second baseman Steve Bishop, who slashed .296/.357/.621 with 98 runs, 39 homers, and 109 RBI. He would’ve lead the league in runs and RBI and maybe in home runs as well had his season not ended on August 25 due to a concussion, limited him to 123 games. Nonetheless, Bishop still claimed his record seventh Southern Conference MVP of his ten-year career. For the 11th time in 14 years, a St. Louis pitcher was named the best in the Southern Conference, as second-year hurler Josh Donovan posted the season of a lifetime, going 24-3 with a 1.91 ERA, leading the conference in wins and ERA, while striking out 200 over 259.1 innings. It would be Donovan’s only POTY, as he was traded in the offseason to Norfolk and despite pitching for 15 more seasons was 39 games below .500 over the rest of his career. Matt Moshier was a generally solid, if second-tier pitcher who notably won 20 games and led the South in ERA in 1967. However, his biggest legacy was his performance on August 23, when the Miami hurler spun a perfect game against Louisville, striking out four in a 97-pitch gem. Eight years after his second trophy and 11 years after his first, Seattle centerfielder Jarrett Messing dipped into the fountain of youth to win his third Pacific Coast League MVP. The 37-year-old slashed .316/.390/.497, winning his third batting title, leading the league in hits (224) and RBI (111), while adding 25 doubles, 29 homers, and 24 stolen bases. Likewise, Hollywood ace Kevin Corbett also earned his third Pitcher of the Year trophy, going 21-12 with a 2.42 ERA, leading the PCL in starts (43) and innings pitched (342.0), while striking out a career-high 225 batters. Corbett had one more good season in Hollywood before being dealt to Albany in a terrible trade before the 1970 season, where he won 231 games over 16 seasons as the Stars slipped into an extended malaise. If you blinked, you missed Chris Nowling’s big league career. A long list of injuries ultimately limited him to 22 games (ten starts) over four seasons for five teams. He was only 4-2 lifetime, with three of those wins coming in 1968 for Sacramento, where he made six starts. As it turned out, his start on July 18 saw him stymie San Diego, striking out five and throwing 95 pitches in an extremely unlikely perfect game, just the third in the PCL’s major-league history. Amidst the pitching heroics, two PCL sluggers made history. First of all, Los Angeles’ Marcus Hale became the second player in United States Baseball Federation history to reach 500 home runs, doing so on July 1. The other man to do, Griffin Searle, went one further by crushing his 600th roundtripper on April 10, becoming the first player to reach that benchmark. In 1966, Dallas outfielder Guy Werner made news as the first Texas Leage player with a four-homer game. In 1968, the 35-year-old earn MVP honors, batting .287 with 164 hits, 81 runs, 26 doubles, 24 home runs, and 82 RBI to take home the trophy. While his numbers were rather pedestrian, no TL batter eclipsed 29 homers or 86(!!!) RBI. Mark Lucas didn’t debut until he was 29 years old, but the righty starred for Houston and Fort Worth throughout his 30’s. In the waning hours of his career (he earned just one win and made only five starts after 1968), the 38-year-old went 19-10 with a 2.23 ERA, leading the Texas League in wins, ERA, starts (36), innings (278.2), complete games (15), and shutouts (4) to earn Pitcher of the Year. --- The biggest story in the American Baseball League was losing another stalwart (Austin) to the major leagues. However, another notable storyline was the departure of their only Canadian franchise, the Vancouver Mounties, who posted some of the worst seasons (and the very worst) in league history. After 14 putrid seasons (11 with over 100 losses), the Mounties traded in cold Canada for sunny Honolulu. A losing club and a crumbling wooden stadium nicknamed “The Termite Palace” didn’t scare off the franchise, or their new fans, who came out in droves to support the *Hawaii Islanders* in their first season. Amidst this new landscape, the New Haven Weavers ran amok, going 120-42—the most wins of a non-PCL team in professional baseball history. The Weavers outscored their opponents by 340 runs, posted a league-best 2.67 ERA, and averaged 5.0 runs per game, which was three-quarters of a run higher than anyone else. That earned New Haven a comfortable East Division title, their fifth in a row. Pittsburgh finished a distant second with their 101 wins, earning their fourth consecutive playoff bid. In the West, San Jose won 100 games to claim their first division title, while Spokane took the second playoff spot. In the postseason, both division winners moved on with ease, as San Jose beat Pittsburgh and New Haven handled Spokane, both in five-game sets. The Weavers were pushed to the edge by the Gulls, but planted their flag as the greatest team in ABL history with a seven-game triumph over San Jose, New Haven’s fourth ABL title and first since 1959. Unsurprisingly, a Weaver took home MVP as 32-year-old first baseman Garrett Callis enjoyed an incredible year, slashing .327/.418/.458 with a league-high 201 hits and 140 runs, as well as 35 doubles, 13 homers, and 72 RBI…and stealing a league-record 97 bases. That mark would stand for a quarter-century, while Callis’ career total of 950 still stands as the ABL standard and is the sixth-most in professional baseball history. For the second year in a row, though, it was a San Jose hurler winning Pitcher of the Year, as 22-year-old Casey Hund went 20-9 with a league-leading 2.00 ERA as a rookie, striking out 274 over 266.0 innings to take the trophy. --- Minor League Champions Southeastern League: Montgomery Generals, 94-60, defeats Jackson Colonial League: Scranton-Wilkes Barre Steamers, 85-55, defeats Pittsfield River Valley League: Peoria Distillers, 85-55, defeats Evansville (2nd straight) Rocky Mountain League: Billings Mustangs, 74-52, defeats Cheyenne Coastal League: Richmond Giants, 92-62, defeats Savannah (2nd straight) Northern League: Fargo-Moorhead Indians, 85-55, defeats Sioux City Great Lakes League: Youngstown Steelers, 83-57, defeats Harrisburg Southwest League: Fresno Suns, 91-63, defeats Bakersfield Southern Association: Shreveport Captains, 76-64, defeats Little Rock; 5 teams within 5 games Northwest League: Salem Senators, 98-42, defeats Yakima (2nd straight) Can-Am League: Manchester Monarchs, 83-43, defeats Waterbury Mid-Atlantic League: Charleston (WV) Coal Sox, 77-63, defeats Altoona Lone Star League: Laredo Vaqueros, 90-50, defeats Midland-Odessa Great Plains League: Lincoln Lions, 92-48, defeats St. Paul Florida Coast League: Daytona Islanders, 77-63, defeats Huntsville Big Sky League: Ogden Railroaders, 72-60, defeats Missoula Last edited by KCRoyals15; 12-24-2024 at 11:05 AM.