1968 Los Angeles Dodgers season

March 2026 November 2013 Los Angeles Dodgers 1968 National League Dodger Stadium Los Angeles, California 73–89 (76 86) 7th Walter O'Malley, James & Dearie Mulvey Walter O'Malley Buzzie Bavasi, Fresco Thompson Walter Alston KTTV (11) KFIVin Scully, Jerry DoggettKWKWJosé García, Jaime Jarrín The 1968 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the 79th season for the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise in Major League Baseball (MLB), their 11th season in Los Angeles, California, and their 7th season playing their home games at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles California. They improved upon their 73–89 record from 1967 to a 76–86 record and finished in seventh place in the National League standings, 21 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals. After the season, the Dodgers underwent some changes among the team management when long time general manager Buzzie Bavasi resigned to take over the expansion San Diego Padres. He was replaced by team vice-president Fresco Thompson. However, Thompson was diagnosed with cancer weeks after taking the job and died in November. Al Campanis became the new general manager for the following season. Offseason November 28, 1967: John Roseboro, Ron Perranoski and Bob Miller were traded by the Dodgers to the Minnesota Twins for Mudcat Grant and Zoilo Versalles.John Roseboro page at Baseball Reference November 30, 1967: Gene Michael was purchased from the Dodgers by the New York Yankees.Gene Michael page at Baseball Reference November 30, 1967: Lou Johnson was traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago Cubs for Paul Popovich.Paul Popovich page at Baseball Reference February 13, 1968: Ron Hunt and Nate Oliver were traded by the Dodgers to the San Francisco Giants for Tom Haller and Frank Kasheta (minors).Ron Hunt page at Baseball Reference March 26, 1968: Rocky Colavito was purchased by the Dodgers from the Chicago White Sox.Rocky Colavito page at Baseball Reference Regular season Season standings Los Angeles Dodgers Record vs. opponents LAD Opening Day lineup +Opening Day startersName Position Willie Davis Center fielderZoilo Versalles ShortstopWes Parker First basemanAl Ferrara Left fielderBob Bailey Third basemanRon Fairly Right fielderPaul Popovich Second basemanTom Haller CatcherClaude Osteen Starting pitcher Notable transactions April 3, 1968: Hank Aguirre was acquired by the Dodgers from the Detroit Tigers for cash and a player to be named later. The Tigers completed the deal by sending Fred Moulder (minors) to the Dodgers on April 4.Hank Aguirre page at Baseball Reference April 23, 1968: Jim Hickman and Phil Regan were traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago Cubs for Ted Savage and Jim Ellis.Jim Hickman page at Baseball Reference July 11, 1968: Rocky Colavito was released by the Dodgers. Roster 1968 Los Angeles Dodgers Roster Pitchers 17 Hank Aguirre 38 Jack Billingham 21 Jim Brewer 53 Don Drysdale 44 Alan Foster 22 Mudcat Grant 37 Mike Kekich 27 Joe Moeller 23 Claude Osteen 35 John Purdin 27 Phil Regan 47 Vicente Romo 40 Bill Singer 20 Don Sutton Catchers 25 Jim Campanis 15 Tom Haller 10 Jeff Torborg Infielders 34 Luis Alcaraz  7 Bob Bailey 45 Ken Boyer  5 Jim Lefebvre 28 Wes Parker 26 Paul Popovich 11 Bart Shirley 16 Bill Sudakis  2 Zoilo Versalles Outfielders 16 Rocky Colavito 43,47 Willie Crawford  3 Willie Davis 12 Jim Fairey  6 Ron Fairly  9 Al Ferrara 14 Len Gabrielson 30 Cleo James 31 Ted Savage Manager 24 Walter Alston Coaches 52 Carroll Beringer 19 Jim Gilliam 18 Preston Gómez  8 Danny Ozark 36 Lefty Phillips 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 Tom Haller 144 474 135 .285 4 53 1B Wes Parker 135 468 112 .239 3 27 2B Paul Popovich 134 418 97 .232 2 25 SS Zoilo Versalles 122 403 79 .196 2 24 3B Bob Bailey 105 322 73 .227 8 39 LF Len Gabrielson 108 304 82 .270 10 35 CF Willie Davis 160 643 161 .250 7 31 RF Ron Fairly 141 441 103 .234 4 43 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 Jim Lefebvre 84 286 69 .241 5 31 Ken Boyer 83 221 60 .271 6 41 Willie Crawford 61 175 44 .251 4 14 Jim Fairey 99 156 31 .199 1 10 Ted Savage 61 126 26 .206 2 7 Rocky Colavito 40 113 23 .204 3 11 Luis Alcaraz 41 106 16 .151 2 5 Jeff Torborg 37 93 15 .161 0 4 Bill Sudakis 24 87 24 .276 3 12 Bart Shirley 39 83 15 .181 0 4 Jim Campanis 4 11 1 .091 0 0 Cleo James 10 10 2 .200 0 0 Al Ferrara 2 7 1 .143 0 0 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 Bill Singer 37 256.1 13 17 2.85 227 Claude Osteen 39 254.0 12 18 3.08 119 Don Drysdale 31 239.0 14 12 2.15 155 Don Sutton 35 207.2 11 15 2.60 162 Mike Kekich 25 115.0 2 10 3.91 84 Joe Moeller 3 16.0 1 1 5.06 11 Alan Foster 3 15.2 1 1 1.72 10 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 Jim Brewer 54 8 3 15 2.49 75 Jack Billingham 50 3 0 8 2.14 46 Mudcat Grant 37 6 4 3 2.08 35 John Purdin 35 2 3 2 3.07 38 Hank Aguirre 25 1 2 3 0.69 25 Phil Regan 5 2 0 0 3.52 7 Vicente Romo 1 0 0 0 0.00 0 Awards and honors Gold Glove Award Wes Parker TSN Fireman of the Year Award Phil Regan NL Player of the Month Don Drysdale (May 1968) All-Stars 1968 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Don Drysdale, starter Tom Haller, reserve Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Spokane Indians Pacific Coast League Roy Hartsfield AA Albuquerque Dodgers Texas League Roger Craig A Bakersfield Dodgers California League Don Williams A Daytona Beach Dodgers Florida State League Bill Berrier A Tri-City Atoms Northwest League Don LeJohn Rookie Ogden Dodgers Pioneer League Tommy LasordaLEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Tri-City, Ogden 1968 Major League Baseball draft 1968 Major League Baseball draft This was the fourth year of a Major League Baseball draft. The Dodgers drafted 78 players in the June draft and 23 in the January draft, 15 of them would play in MLB. This was one of the Dodgers most successful drafts in history as they drafted Steve Garvey, Ron Cey, Davey Lopes and Bobby Valentine in this draft. 1968 draft picksJanuary draft 1968 Los Angeles Dodgers Picks in the MLB January Draft-Regular Phase RoundNamePositionSchoolSignedCareer spanHighest level 1Larry Hall1B Broward Community CollegeYes 1968–1969 A2Bonnie SmithC No 3Craig Brown1B Chipola CollegeNo 4Theodore RohdeOFFresno City College Yes 1968–1970 A5Ronnie Hilton2B Gulf Coast Community CollegeNo 6Tommy GrahamOF No 7Lynn MorrisonOF Long Beach City CollegeNo 8Gordon CrookOFArizona State University Yes 1968 A9Vernon PriceLHP Chaffey CollegeYes 1968–1970 A10Donald Pierce1B Yes 1968 A- January secondary phase 1968 Los Angeles Dodgers Picks in the MLB January Draft-Secondary Phase RoundNamePositionSchoolSignedCareer spanHighest level 1Marv GalliherINF San Diego Mesa CollegeYes1968–1976 AAA2Davey LopesOFWashburn University Yes1968–1987 MLB3Steve MooreOF Santa Barbara City CollegeNoRoyals – 1969 1969–1971 A4Randy SmithOF Lincoln Land Community CollegeYes 1968–1970 A5Geoff ZahnLHP University of MichiganYes 1968–1985 MLB6Davd Grangaard3B Arizona State UniversityNoAstros – 1968 1968–1972 AAA7Gregory WellmanLHP Palm Beach Community CollegeYes 1968–1972 AAA8James LollINF Los Angeles Pierce CollegeNoRoyals – 19691969 Rookie9Thomas JacksonSSCitrus College No 10Ed Crosby2B Long Beach City CollegeNoCardinals – 1969 1969–1979 MLB11John MarinoC Los Angeles Valley CollegeNo 12Greogory SmithRHP Rio Hondo CollegeNo 13William TempletonRHP No June draft 1968 Los Angeles Dodgers Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft RoundNamePositionSchoolSignedCareer spanHighest level 1Bobby ValentineOFRippowan High SchoolYes1968–1979MLB2Bill Buckner1BNapa High SchoolYes1968–1990MLB3Sonny JohnsonOFSouth Carolina State UniversityYes1968–1972AAA4Mike PazikLHPLynn English High SchoolNoYankees – 19711971–1979MLB5Tom PaciorekOFUniversity of HoustonYes1968–1987MLB6Bob Auger1BPutnam High SchoolNoCardinals – 1969 1969–1972 A7Joseph BarkauskasCPiscataway High SchoolNoYankees – 19721972 AA8Joe FergusonOFUniversity of the PacificYes1968–1983MLB9Doyle AlexanderRHPWoodlawn High SchoolYes 1968–1989 MLB10Rich AndersonRHPTrumbull High SchoolNoPirates – 1972 1972–1976 AAA11Robert BaxterCLower Dauphin High SchoolYes 1969Rookie12Charles LandOFMidwest City High SchoolNo 13Tom PrattLHPRighetti High SchoolNoRoyals – 19691969–1971 A14Frederick Willard3B Yes1968–1969 A15Jeff Port3BBirmingham High SchoolNo 16Artie BrownRHPNew York UniversityNo Cardinals – 1969 1969–1971 A17Bob GallagherOFStanford UniversityYes1969–1976 MLB18Fred Nelson2BArizona State UniversityYes1968–1970 AA19Jeff StoutSSLa Puente High SchoolNoRoyals – 19691969–1973 A20Theodore GiljeLHPCollege Park High SchoolYes1968–1973 AAA21James RichOFCentennial High SchoolYes1969–1975 AAA22Brooks AndersonOFCardinal McCloskey High SchoolNo 23Daniel CopelandOFWest Newton High SchoolYes1968–1969 A24Milton Guggia2BSanta Maria High SchoolNo 25Thomas SowinskiRHPSt. John's UniversityYes1968–1970 AA26Robert BaxterOFSouthampton High SchoolNo 27Albert StraneSSSanta Clara UniversityNoPilots – 1969 1969 A28Alvin Strane2BSanta Clara UniversityYes 1969 A29Bob WisslerOFCalifornia Polytechnic State University, Pomona NoTwins – 1969 1969–1972 AAA30Roy NelsonPVigor High School SELECTION VOIDED 31Richard BreeseRHPPort Chester High SchoolNoMets – 1969 1969–1971 A32Dennis Major1BLaney CollegeNo 33Michael St. JohnRHPWest Valley CollegeYes 1968–1970 A34Alan BlairSSLeeds High SchoolNo 35William EsteySSUniversity of New HampshireYes1968–1969A36Roger WallaceRHPEnglewood Senior High SchoolYes 1968–1969 A37Danny Nichols3BKansas State UniversityYes 1968 Rookie38James CurnowCMorristown High SchoolNo 39Thomas JoyceSSSolano Community CollegeNo Royals – 1969 1969–1974 AAA40Jim MuellerSSArkansas State UniversityNoWhite Sox – 1969 1969–1972 AA41Samuel PasquatonioCFranklin High SchoolNo 42Richard DorschRHPValparaiso UniversityYes 1968–1972 A43Peter BrownRHPHayward High SchoolNo 44Johnny RushingLHPTuscaloosa County High SchoolNo 45Kenneth Van BellRHPRichmond Hill High SchoolYes 1968–1969 46Gary WhitmoreLHPUniversity of New MexicoNo 47Gary WeeseRHPMidwest City High SchoolNoIndians – 1972 1972–1976 AA48John Fargnoci1BBryant High SchoolNo 49Edgar OttLHPRutgers, the State University of New JerseyYes 1968 A-50Kenneth PlauRHPEl Camino CollegeNo 51Robert WoodruffOFPort Chester High SchoolYes 1969 A52Bob SheldonSSMontebello High SchoolNoBrewers – 19721972–1977 MLB53Charles ElwisLHPMarshall High SchoolNo Angels −1969 1969 A54Beau Robinson1BCentral High SchoolNoYankees – 19691969–1971 A55Tod RushLHPMontebello High SchoolNo 56Anthony EmbessiRHPBristol Jr./Sr. High SchoolNo 57Steve AngeloINFMontebello High SchoolNoExpos – 1969 1969–1971 AA58Douglas BlakeOFHackettstown High SchoolNo 59Jeff PaquetteCLincoln High SchoolNo 60Gary WelchOFSan Rafael High SchoolNoMets – 19701970 Rookie61Merritt BarnesSSUniversity of San FranciscoYes 1968–1969 Rookie62Chester TeklinskiRHPTarentum High SchoolNo 63Lee DriggersOFColonial High SchoolYes1969 A64Jeffrey BurnsCRollins CollegeNoTwins – 1969 1969 A65Charles CochraneSSLincoln High SchoolYes 1969 A66William HomikCUniversity of Southern CaliforniaYes 1968–1971 AAA67Charles CalverRHP California Polytechnic State University, PomonaYes 1968–1969 A-68Peter ScarpatiRHPSt. Francis UniversityYes 1968–1971 AAA69Stephen Krines3BVillanova UniversityYes 1968–1970 A-70John DeBrinoRHPNotre Dame-Bishop Gibbons High SchoolNo 71Carl AmendolaCPlainedge High SchoolNo June secondary phase 1968 Los Angeles Dodgers Picks in the MLB June Draft-Secondary Phase RoundNamePositionSchoolSignedCareer spanHighest level 1Steve Garvey3B Michigan State UniversityYes 1968–1987 MLB2Sandy VanceRHPStanford University Yes 1968–1973 MLB3Ron Cey3B Washington State UniversityYes 1968–1987 MLB4Bruce KinderSS Florida Southern CollegeNoPilots – 1969 1969–1970 A5Bill Seinsoth1B University of Southern CaliforniaNoDodgers – 1969 1969 A6Ellsworth JonesLHP New York UniversityNo 7Bob RandallSSKansas State University NoDodgers – 1969 1969–1980 MLB Notes 2 References Baseball-Reference season page Baseball Almanac season page External links 1968 Los Angeles Dodgers uniform Los Angeles Dodgers official web site Category:Los Angeles Dodgers seasons Los Angeles Dodgers season Los Angel