The 1968 Los Angeles Dodgers had a 76–86 record and finished in seventh place in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

standings, 21 games behind the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. After the season, the Dodgers underwent some changes among the team management when long time

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Buzzie Bavasi Emil Joseph "Buzzie" Bavasi (; December 12, 1914 – May 1, 2008) was an American executive in Major League Baseball who played a major role in the operation of three franchises from the late 1940s through the mid-1980s. He was best known as the ...

resigned to take over the expansion

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

. He was replaced by team vice-president

Fresco Thompson Lafayette Fresco Thompson Jr. (June 6, 1902 – November 20, 1968) was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and executive. Thompson was born in Centreville, Alabama. In 1916, when he was 14, his family moved to New York City, where T ...

. However, Thompson was diagnosed with cancer weeks after taking the job and died in November.

Al Campanis Alexander Sebastian Campanis (Greek: Αλέξανδρος Σεβαστιανός Καμπάνης; November 2, 1916 – June 21, 1998) was an American executive in Major League Baseball (MLB). He had a brief major league playing career, as a ...

became the new general manager for the following season.

Offseason

* November 28, 1967:

John Roseboro John Junior Roseboro (May 13, 1933 – August 16, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1957 until 1970, most prominently as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. A four ...

Ron Perranoski Ronald Peter Perranoski (April 1, 1936 – October 2, 2020) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed relief pitcher from to , most prominently as a member of the Los Angeles Dodg ...

and Bob Miller were traded by the Dodgers to the Minnesota Twins for

Mudcat Grant James Timothy "Mudcat" Grant Jr. (August 13, 1935 – June 11, 2021) was an American baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos ...

and

Zoilo Versalles Zoilo Casanova Versalles Rodriguez (; December 18, 1939 – June 9, 1995), nicknamed "Zorro", was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played as a shortstop in Major League Baseball, most notably for the Minnesota Twins. He was the catalyst wh ...

. * November 30, 1967:

Gene Michael Eugene Richard Michael (June 2, 1938 – September 7, 2017), known as Stick, was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout, manager and team executive. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1966 to 1975, most promine ...

was purchased from the Dodgers by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

. * November 30, 1967: Lou Johnson was traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago Cubs for Paul Popovich. * 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). * March 26, 1968: Rocky Colavito was purchased by the Dodgers from the Chicago White Sox.Rocky Colavito page at Baseball Reference
/ref>

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day lineup

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. * April 23, 1968: Jim Hickman (1960s outfielder), Jim Hickman and Phil Regan (baseball), Phil Regan were traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago Cubs for Ted Savage and Jim Ellis (baseball), Jim Ellis.Jim Hickman page at Baseball Reference
/ref> * July 11, 1968: Rocky Colavito was released by the Dodgers.

Roster

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''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Awards and honors

*Gold Glove Award **Wes Parker *The Sporting News Reliever of the Year Award, TSN Fireman of the Year Award **Phil Regan (baseball), Phil Regan *Major League Baseball Player of the Month Award, 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

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Tri-City, Ogden

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. 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.

Notes

References

Baseball-Reference season pageBaseball Almanac season page

External links

1968 Los Angeles Dodgers uniformLos Angeles Dodgers official web site
{{Los Angeles Dodgers Los Angeles Dodgers seasons 1968 Major League Baseball season, Los Angeles Dodgers season 1968 in sports in California, Los Angel