1968 Minnesota Twins season

1968 Minnesota Twins
79–83, seventh in the American League
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
Metropolitan Stadium (since 1961)
Bloomington, Minnesota (since 1961)
Other information
Owner(s)	Calvin Griffith (majority owner, with Thelma Griffith Haynes)
General manager(s)	Calvin Griffith
Manager(s)	Cal Ermer
Local television	WTCN-TV
Local radio	830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal, Halsey Hall, Merle Harmon)
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The 1968 Minnesota Twins season was a season in American baseball. The team finished 79–83, seventh in the American League.

Offseason

• January 27, 1968: Eric Soderholm was drafted by the Twins in the 1st round (1st pick) of the secondary phase of the 1968 Major League Baseball Draft.

Regular season

Leadoff batter César Tovar sparked the offense, finishing second in the AL with 167 hits and third with 89 runs. Tony Oliva was third in the AL with a .289 batting average. Harmon Killebrew had 17 HR and 40 RBI at the All-Star break, but was injured in the game and missed the second half of the season.

Four Twins won 10 or more games: Dean Chance (16–16), Jim Kaat (14–12) Jim Merritt (12–16), Dave Boswell (10–13). Pitcher Jim Kaat won his seventh Gold Glove. Al Worthington led the American League with 18 saves.

Three Twins made the All-Star Game: first baseman Harmon Killebrew, second baseman Rod Carew, and outfielder Tony Oliva.

1,143,257 fans attended Twins games, the fourth highest total in the American League.

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB
Detroit Tigers	103	59	.636	–
Baltimore Orioles	91	71	.562	12
Cleveland Indians	86	75	.534	16½
Boston Red Sox	86	76	.531	17
New York Yankees	83	79	.512	20
Oakland Athletics	82	80	.506	21
Minnesota Twins	79	83	.488	24
California Angels	67	95	.414	36
Chicago White Sox	67	95	.414	36
Washington Senators	65	96	.404	37½

Record vs. opponents

1968 American League Records Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	MIN	NYY	OAK	WSH
Baltimore	—	9–9	10–8	11–7	7–11	8–10	10–8	13–5	9–9	14–4
Boston	9–9	—	9–9	14–4	10–8	6–12	9–9	10–8	8–10	11–7
California	8–10	9–9	—	8–10	7–11	5–13	7–11	6–12	5–13	12–6
Chicago	7–11	4–14	10–8	—	5–13	5–13	10–8	6–12	10–8	10–8
Cleveland	11–7	8–10	11–7	13–5	—	6–12	14–4	10–8–1	6–12	7–10
Detroit	10–8	12–6	13–5	13–5	12–6	—	10–8	10–8–1	13–5–1	10–8
Minnesota	8–10	9–9	11–7	8–10	4–14	8–10	—	12–6	8–10	11–7
New York	5–13	8–10	12–6	12–6	8–10–1	8–10–1	6–12	—	10–8	14–4
Oakland	9–9	10–8	13–5	8–10	12–6	5–13–1	10–8	8–10	—	7–11
Washington	4–14	7–11	6–12	8–10	10–7	8–10	7–11	4–14	11–7	—

Roster

1968 Minnesota Twins
Roster
Pitchers 23 Dave Boswell 32 Dean Chance 18 Tom Hall 36 Jim Kaat 38 Ron Keller 26 Jim Merritt 21,49 Bob Miller 27 Danny Morris 16 Ron Perranoski 31 Jim Perry 19 Jim Roland 42 Buzz Stephen 15 Al Worthington		Catchers 25 Bruce Look 34 George Mitterwald 10,13 Johnny Roseboro 22 Jerry Zimmerman Infielders 29 Rod Carew  8 Ron Clark 24 Jackie Hernández  3 Harmon Killebrew  7 Frank Quilici 20 Rich Reese 10 Rick Renick  9 Rich Rollins		Outfielders  4 Bob Allison 45 Jim Holt 25 Pat Kelly  2 Frank Kostro 28 Graig Nettles  6 Tony Oliva 12 César Tovar 11 Ted Uhlaender		Manager 43 Cal Ermer Coaches 46 George Case 48 Johnny Goryl  1 Billy Martin  5 Bob Oldis 47 Early Wynn

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

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
1B	Harmon Killebrew	100	295	62	.210	17	40
3B	César Tovar	157	613	167	.272	6	47
LF	Bob Allison	145	469	116	.247	22	52
RF	Tony Oliva	128	470	136	.289	18	68

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

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
Dean Chance	43	292	16	16	2.53	234
Dave Boswell	34	190	10	13	3.32	143

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
Ron Perranoski	66	8	7	6	3.10	65
Al Worthington	54	4	5	18	2.71	57

Farm system

See also: Minor league baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Denver Bears	Pacific Coast League	Johnny Goryl and Billy Martin
AA	Charlotte Hornets	Southern League	Harry Warner
A	Wilson Tobs	Carolina League	Vern Morgan
A	Orlando Twins	Florida State League	Ralph Rowe
A	Wisconsin Rapids Twins	Midwest League	Ray Bellino and Tom Umphlett
Short-Season A	Auburn Twins	New York-Penn League	Boyd Coffie
Short-Season A	St. Cloud Rox	Northern League	Carroll Hardy
Rookie	GCL Twins	Gulf Coast League	Fred Waters

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Orlando, St. Cloud

References

• Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com
• Team info from www.baseball-almanac.com