# 1968 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1968 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 87th season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; the 82nd in the National League. The Pirates finished sixth in the league standings with a record of 80–82.

## Offseason

* October 3, 1967: Billy O'Dell was released by the Pirates.
* October 13, 1967: Larry Shepard named manager of the Pirates.
* November 28, 1967: Dennis Ribant was traded by the Pirates to the Detroit Tigers for Dave Wickersham.
* November 28, 1967: Chuck Hiller was selected by Pirates from Philadelphia Phillies in the Rule 5 major league draft.
* November 29, 1967: Bill Short was sold by Pirates to the New York Mets.
* December 2, 1967: Bob Oliver was traded by the Pirates to the Minnesota Twins for Ron Kline.
* December 3, 1967: Jim Pagliaroni was sold by the Pirates to the Oakland Athletics.
* December 15, 1967: Woodie Fryman, Bill Laxton, Don Money and Harold Clem (minors) were traded by the Pirates to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jim Bunning.
* January 8, 1968: Frank Taveras was signed by the Pirates as a non-drafted free agent.
* January 27, 1968: Tom Dettore was drafted by the Pirates in the 3rd round of the 1968 Major League Baseball draft (secondary phase). Player signed March 29, 1968.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 97 | 65 | .599 | — | 47‍–‍34 | 50‍–‍31 |
| San Francisco Giants | 88 | 74 | .543 | 9 | 42‍–‍39 | 46‍–‍35 |
| Chicago Cubs | 84 | 78 | .519 | 13 | 47‍–‍34 | 37‍–‍44 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 83 | 79 | .512 | 14 | 40‍–‍41 | 43‍–‍38 |
| Atlanta Braves | 81 | 81 | .500 | 16 | 41‍–‍40 | 40‍–‍41 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 80 | 82 | .494 | 17 | 40‍–‍41 | 40‍–‍41 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 76 | 86 | .469 | 21 | 41‍–‍40 | 35‍–‍46 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 76 | 86 | .469 | 21 | 38‍–‍43 | 38‍–‍43 |
| New York Mets | 73 | 89 | .451 | 24 | 32‍–‍49 | 41‍–‍40 |
| Houston Astros | 72 | 90 | .444 | 25 | 42‍–‍39 | 30‍–‍51 |

### Record vs. opponents

1968 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | NYM | PHI | PIT | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 8–10 | 10–8 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 12–6–1 | 11–7 | 6–12 | 9–9 | 5–13 |
| Chicago | 10–8 | — | 7–11 | 10–8 | 12–6 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 10–8 | 9–9–1 | 9–9 |
| Cincinnati | 8–10 | 11–7 | — | 9–9 | 9–9 | 10–8 | 11–7 | 10–8–1 | 8–10 | 7–11 |
| Houston | 7–11 | 8–10 | 9–9 | — | 11–7 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 5–13 |
| Los Angeles | 9–9 | 6–12 | 9–9 | 7–11 | — | 7–11 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 9–9 |
| New York | 6–12–1 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 11–7 | — | 8–10 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 6–12 |
| Philadelphia | 7–11 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 10–8 | — | 9–9 | 9–9 | 8–10 |
| Pittsburgh | 12–6 | 8–10 | 8–10–1 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 9–9 | — | 7–11 | 6–12 |
| San Francisco | 9–9 | 9–9–1 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 11–7 | — | 10–8 |
| St. Louis | 13–5 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 12–6 | 8–10 | — |

### Game log

1968 game log: 80–82 (home: 40–41; Away: 40–41) :
April: 8–8 (home: 5–3; Away: 3–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 10@ Astros4–5DierkerPizarro (0–1)—21,3200–1
2April 11@ Giants3–1 (15)Face (1–0)LinzyMoose (1)7,8441–1
3April 13@ Giants2–1McBean (1–0)Perry—11,4882–1
4April 14@ Dodgers3–0Bunning (1–0)Osteen—27,1363–1
5April 15@ Dodgers2–3SingerVeale (0–1)—16,2143–2
6April 17Astros13–4McBean (2–0)Lemaster—30,7794–2
7April 19Giants2–5MarichalBunning (1–1)—24,2244–3
8April 20Giants0–1SadeckiVeale (0–2)—8,1564–4
9April 21Giants10–0McBean (3–0)McCormick—17,3375–4
10April 22Dodgers3–5BrewerMoose (0–1)Billingham7,9635–5
11April 24Dodgers4–3Bunning (2–1)OsteenFace (1)4,9386–5
12April 26@ Cardinals1–2GibsonVeale (0–3)—39,8666–6
13April 27@ Cardinals5–7BrilesMcBean (3–1)Hoerner20,8636–7
14April 28@ Cardinals2–4CarltonSisk (0–1)—20,5626–8
15April 29Cubs7–4Blass (1–0)JenkinsMoose (2)5,6037–8
16April 30Cubs4–3Pizarro (1–1)Hartenstein—3,7108–8 :
May: 10–15 (home: 4–9; Away: 6–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
17May 1Cubs4–0McBean (4–1)Nye—5,4499–8
18May 2Cubs0–1NiekroBunning (2–2)—7,2499–9
19May 3@ Phillies2–3FarrellKline (0–1)—9,4339–10
20May 4@ Phillies2–3HallFace (1–1)—15,8349–11
21May 5@ Phillies5–2Wickersham (1–0)JacksonMoose (3)9,40710–11
22May 6@ Braves2–1Bunning (3–2)JarvisKline (1)9,13111–11
23May 7@ Braves1–2UpshawMcBean (4–2)—6,61011–12
24May 8@ Braves4–3 (14)Kline (1–1)UpshawFace (2)7,03512–12
25May 9@ Braves2–4ReedMoose (0–2)Britton5,70412–13
26May 10Phillies2–1Veale (1–3)FrymanFace (3)9,39713–13
27May 12Phillies2–1McBean (5–2)James—12,20314–13
28May 13Cardinals0–1BrilesBunning (3–3)—10,08214–14
29May 15Cardinals0–1CarltonBlass (1–1)—9,46114–15
30May 16Cardinals3–0Veale (2–3)Washburn—9,59515–15
31May 17Reds2–3MaloneyMcBean (5–3)Abernathy13,49915–16
32May 18Reds3–8McCoolBunning (3–4)—3,67015–17
33May 19Reds3–9CulverBlass (1–2)Kelso9,45815–18
34May 20@ Mets1–2KoosmanVeale (2–4)—12,22115–19
35May 21@ Mets3–4 (17)TaylorMoose (0–3)—8,18815–20
36May 22@ Cubs13–6Sisk (1–1)NiekroWickersham (1)5,07516–20
37May 24@ Reds8–5Kline (2–1)Culver—9,37917–20
38May 25@ Reds5–4 (12)Sisk (2–1)McCool—12,15318–20
39May 26@ Reds8–8 (7)—9,67218–20
40May 30Mets3–6KoosmanBunning (3–5)Koonce18–21
41May 30Mets4–5SelmaVeale (2–5)Jackson19,77918–22
42May 31Braves2–5NiekroMcBean (5–4)—7,30118–23 :
June: 18–13 (home: 9–5; Away: 9–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
43June 2Braves8–4Kline (3–1)Cloninger—19–23
44June 2Braves5–10JarvisMoose (0–4)Niekro21,49119–24
45June 3@ Dodgers0–2OsteenVeale (2–6)—14,56819–25
46June 4@ Dodgers0–5DrysdaleBunning (3–6)—30,42219–26
47June 5@ Dodgers1–2 (10)SingerMcBean (5–5)—14,66019–27
48June 6@ Dodgers2–4SuttonSisk (2–2)—14,11219–28
49June 7@ Astros5–0Blass (2–2)Giusti—14,57820–28
50June 8@ Astros2–3LemasterBunning (3–7)Buzhardt21,44720–29
51June 9@ Astros3–1Moose (1–4)CuellarKline (2)12,86221–29
52June 10@ Giants0–8MarichalVeale (2–7)—4,35621–30
53June 11@ Giants7–4Kline (4–1)SadeckiFace (4)7,80722–30
54June 12@ Giants2–4BolinBunning (3–8)Linzy4,77122–31
55June 13@ Giants8–7Sisk (3–2)LinzyFace (5)6,02823–31
56June 14Astros3–0Moose (2–4)Lemaster—8,60324–31
57June 15Astros13–2Veale (3–7)Wilson—5,00525–31
58June 16Astros3–1Blass (3–2)CuellarFace (6)26–31
59June 16Astros11–2Sisk (4–2)DierkerKline (3)8,44827–31
60June 17Astros4–3McBean (6–5)GiustiFace (7)5,88728–31
61June 18Dodgers3–2 (10)Ellis (1–0)Aguirre—13,72129–31
62June 19Dodgers2–1Veale (4–7)Singer—10,79930–31
63June 20Dodgers7–3Blass (4–2)Sutton—31–31
64June 20Dodgers2–3 (10)BillinghamFace (1–2)Purdin19,83831–32
65June 21Giants0–3BolinMcBean (6–6)—16,22231–33
66June 22Giants3–10McCormickMoose (2–5)—15,61731–34
67June 23Giants1–2MarichalBunning (3–9)—16,84331–35
68June 25@ Cardinals3–2Veale (5–7)CarltonWalker (1)26,92732–35
69June 26@ Cardinals0–3GibsonMcBean (6–7)—32–36
70June 26@ Cardinals3–1Blass (5–2)JasterKline (4)30,64133–36
71June 28@ Phillies10–1Bunning (4–9)Fryman—18,99434–36
72June 29@ Phillies1–0Moose (3–5)Jackson—17,05235–36
73June 30@ Phillies5–2Veale (6–7)Farrell—8,88436–36 :
July: 15–18 (home: 7–12; Away: 8–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
74July 2@ Mets2–1McBean (7–7)SelmaFace (8)27,35037–36
75July 3@ Mets8–1Blass (6–2)Ryan—14,90938–36
76July 4@ Mets3–2Kline (5–1)Koosman—39–36
77July 4@ Mets3–4CardwellBunning (4–10)Taylor29,58739–37
78July 5@ Cubs4–0Veale (7–7)Nye—16,04040–37
79July 6@ Cubs1–6JenkinsWalker (0–1)—40–38
80July 6@ Cubs2–10RossSisk (4–3)—30,79440–39
81July 7@ Cubs4–5ReganVeale (7–8)—40–40
82July 7@ Cubs3–4ReganFace (1–3)—32,44740–41
83July 11Phillies0–5JacksonVeale (7–9)—40–42
84July 11Phillies1–4ShortMoose (3–6)Boozer15,37140–43
85July 12Phillies2–3JamesBunning (4–11)Boozer9,20640–44
86July 13Phillies2–3 (16)ShortEllis (1–1)—6,86940–45
87July 14Cubs2–6NiekroMcBean (7–8)—19,33540–46
88July 15Cubs1–2 (10)JenkinsWalker (0–2)—6,64840–47
89July 16Mets3–2Kline (6–1)Selma—6,12341–47
90July 17Mets8–2Blass (7–2)Koosman—42–47
91July 17Mets4–5KoonceWalker (0–3)Taylor8,97442–48
92July 18Mets0–3SeaverMcBean (7–9)—6,23442–49
93July 19@ Braves2–0Moose (4–6)Reed—17,28643–49
94July 20@ Braves2–1Veale (8–9)Niekro—20,77144–49
95July 21@ Braves6–0Blass (8–2)Pappas—25,10945–49
96July 23Reds6–7 (12)ArrigoFace (1–4)Lee8,73945–50
97July 25Reds0–2CulverVeale (8–10)Carroll5,79745–51
98July 26Cardinals1–9BrilesBlass (8–3)—45–52
99July 26Cardinals5–4 (10)Kline (7–1)Granger—23,51546–52
100July 27Cardinals0–4CarltonMoose (4–7)—12,14746–53
101July 28Cardinals7–1McBean (8–9)Jaster—14,92647–53
102July 29Braves3–2Veale (9–10)Reed—7,35748–53
103July 30Braves8–5Blass (9–3)JohnsonSisk (1)49–53
104July 30Braves5–4 (10)Kline (8–1)Niekro—11,62450–53
105July 31@ Reds2–8ArrigoMoose (4–8)—50–54
106July 31@ Reds10–1Ellis (2–1)RitchieFace (9)14,78051–54 :
August: 14–17 (home: 4–6; Away: 10–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
107August 1@ Reds6–1Sisk (5–3)MaloneyFace (10)10,92652–54
108August 2@ Giants3–1McBean (9–9)Perry—6,42353–54
109August 3@ Giants0–7SadeckiVeale (9–11)—9,25153–55
110August 4@ Giants0–2BolinBunning (4–12)—18,15153–56
111August 5@ Dodgers0–1 (10)BrewerBlass (9–4)—17,85153–57
112August 6@ Dodgers4–1Moose (5–8)DrysdaleKline (5)15,73254–57
113August 7@ Dodgers2–6SuttonMcBean (9–10)—13,84854–58
114August 8@ Astros4–3Kline (9–1)CuellarFace (11)14,85155–58
115August 9@ Astros1–2SheaEllis (2–2)—15,27055–59
116August 10@ Astros3–16CoombsBlass (9–5)—12,81455–60
117August 10@ Astros7–4Kline (10–1)House—25,81456–60
118August 11@ Astros1–5DierkerSisk (5–4)Giusti16,89256–61
119August 13Giants0–3MarichalVeale (9–12)—9,13556–62
120August 14Giants1–2 (10)PerryKline (10–2)—6,92656–63
121August 15Giants2–0Blass (10–5)Bolin—6,85957–63
122August 16Dodgers4–8DrysdaleMcBean (9–11)Billingham8,22157–64
123August 17Dodgers3–0Moose (6–8)KekichKline (6)8,18158–64
124August 18Dodgers5–1Veale (10–12)Sutton—17,42359–64
125August 19@ Reds3–8ArrigoBunning (4–13)—6,65959–65
126August 20@ Reds8–3Ellis (3–2)RitchieKline (7)8,10360–65
127August 21@ Reds19–1Blass (11–5)MaloneyFace (12)8,15561–65
128August 22@ Reds5–7AbernathySisk (5–5)—7,19561–66
129August 23@ Cardinals2–3 (11)HoernerKline (10–3)—34,84561–67
130August 24@ Cardinals6–4Face (2–4)Gibson—31,01962–67
131August 25@ Cardinals2–4BrilesEllis (3–3)Hoerner26,75662–68
132August 26@ Braves4–0Blass (12–5)Pappas—7,49163–68
133August 27@ Braves4–3 (11)Kline (11–3)BrittonFace (13)6,63364–68
134August 28Cardinals0–8GibsonVeale (10–13)—11,19764–69
135August 29Cardinals0–5WashburnMoose (6–9)—7,68164–70
136August 30Braves0–2PappasEllis (3–4)Raymond5,89664–71
137August 31Braves8–0Blass (13–5)Reed—4,67165–71 :
September: 15–11 (home: 11–6; Away: 4–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
138September 1Braves7–8 (11)RaymondKline (11–4)Britton5,65065–72
139September 2Astros6–1Veale (11–13)Cuellar—66–72
140September 2Astros4–3 (10)Dal Canton (1–0)Ray—6,22567–72
141September 3Astros3–2Ellis (4–4)DierkerWalker (2)3,00368–72
142September 6Mets2–1Blass (14–5)McAndrew—4,08269–72
143September 7Mets3–4KoosmanBunning (4–14)Taylor4,00269–73
144September 8Mets3–0Veale (12–13)Seaver—5,42470–73
145September 9Phillies7–8 (15)ShortDal Canton (1–1)—2,66470–74
146September 11Phillies6–8 (12)WagnerMcBean (9–12)Farrell70–75
147September 11Phillies6–4Blass (15–5)WiseWalker (3)2,78971–75
148September 13@ Mets0–2KoosmanMoose (6–10)—17,24571–76
149September 14@ Mets6–0Veale (13–13)Seaver—15,67672–76
150September 15@ Mets3–0Blass (16–5)Cardwell—33,83873–76
151September 16@ Phillies6–1Ellis (5–4)Wise—2,08774–76
152September 17@ Phillies4–2Moose (7–10)ShortDal Canton (1)2,57675–76
153September 18@ Phillies1–2JohnsonVeale (13–14)Wagner2,46375–77
154September 20Cubs5–0Blass (17–5)Jenkins—4,47876–77
155September 21Cubs5–1Ellis (6–4)Niekro—3,42977–77
156September 22Cubs5–1Moose (8–10)HoltzmanDal Canton (2)27,40578–77
157September 23Reds6–9KelsoKline (11–5)Carroll78–78
158September 23Reds2–1 (10)Kline (12–5)Kelso—4,23279–78
159September 24Reds2–0Blass (18–5)Nolan—4,04480–78
160September 25Reds0–3MaloneyEllis (6–5)—4,57780–79
161September 27@ Cubs1–4HoltzmanMoose (8–11)Regan2,38480–80
162September 28@ Cubs3–4JenkinsBlass (18–6)—10,94080–81
163September 29@ Cubs4–5ReganMoose (8–12)—16,86080–82 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie Bold = Pirates team member :

### Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters :
| # | Name | Position |
| 30 | Maury Wills | 3B |
| 22 | Gene Alley | SS |
| 21 | Roberto Clemente | RF |
| 8 | Willie Stargell | LF |
| 17 | Donn Clendenon | 1B |
| 9 | Bill Mazeroski | 2B |
| 18 | Matty Alou | CF |
| 12 | Jerry May | C |
| 14 | Jim Bunning | SP |

### Notable transactions

* June 7, 1968: 1968 Major League Baseball draft
** Milt May was drafted by the Pirates in the 11th round of the 1968 Major League draft.
** Bruce Kison was drafted by the Pirates in the 14th round of the 1968 Major League draft.
* June 27, 1968: Juan Pizarro sold by the Pirates to the Boston Red Sox.
* July 15, 1968: Bill Virdon was signed as a free agent by the Pirates (Virdon, who was on the coaching staff, was activated as a player-coach while Freddie Patek was on the DL).
* August 13, 1968: Bill Virdon was released by the Pirates.
* August 19, 1968: Bill Henry was released by the Pirates.

### Roster
## Statistics
### Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Regular Season :
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Chuck Hiller | 11 | 13 | 5 | 0.385 | 0 | 1 |
| Bill Virdon | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0.333 | 1 | 2 |
| Dave Wickersham | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0.333 | 0 | 2 |
| Matty Alou | 146 | 558 | 185 | 0.332 | 0 | 52 |
| Manny Jimenez | 66 | 66 | 20 | 0.303 | 1 | 11 |
| Roberto Clemente | 132 | 502 | 146 | 0.291 | 18 | 57 |
| Manny Mota | 111 | 331 | 93 | 0.281 | 1 | 33 |
| Maury Wills | 153 | 627 | 174 | 0.278 | 0 | 31 |
| Donn Clendenon | 158 | 584 | 150 | 0.257 | 17 | 87 |
| Freddie Patek | 61 | 208 | 53 | 0.255 | 2 | 18 |
| Bill Mazeroski | 143 | 506 | 127 | 0.251 | 3 | 42 |
| Gene Alley | 133 | 474 | 116 | 0.245 | 4 | 39 |
| Chris Cannizzaro | 25 | 58 | 14 | 0.241 | 1 | 7 |
| Willie Stargell | 128 | 435 | 103 | 0.237 | 24 | 67 |
| Jose Pagan | 80 | 163 | 36 | 0.221 | 4 | 21 |
| Jerry May | 137 | 416 | 91 | 0.219 | 1 | 33 |
| Gary Kolb | 74 | 119 | 26 | 0.218 | 2 | 6 |
| Carl Taylor | 44 | 71 | 15 | 0.211 | 0 | 7 |
| Al McBean | 43 | 67 | 13 | 0.194 | 1 | 8 |
| Steve Blass | 35 | 80 | 11 | 0.138 | 0 | 8 |
| Al Oliver | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0.125 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Veale | 36 | 82 | 9 | 0.110 | 0 | 1 |
| Jim Bunning | 27 | 51 | 5 | 0.098 | 0 | 3 |
| Bob Moose | 38 | 54 | 5 | 0.093 | 0 | 0 |
| Tommie Sisk | 33 | 24 | 2 | 0.083 | 0 | 0 |
| Dock Ellis | 27 | 29 | 2 | 0.069 | 0 | 2 |
| Bruce Dal Canton | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Roy Face | 43 | 4 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Richie Hebner | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Henry | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Kline | 56 | 16 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Juan Pizarro | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Luke Walker | 39 | 8 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 163 | 5,569 | 1,404 | 0.252 | 80 | 538 |

### Pitching

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Regular Season :
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Ron Kline | 56 | 1122⁄3 | 12 | 5 | 1.68 | 48 |
| Luke Walker | 39 | 612⁄3 | 0 | 3 | 2.04 | 66 |
| Bob Veale | 36 | 2451⁄3 | 13 | 14 | 2.05 | 171 |
| Bruce Dal Canton | 7 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 2.12 | 8 |
| Steve Blass | 33 | 2201⁄3 | 18 | 6 | 2.12 | 132 |
| Dock Ellis | 26 | 104 | 6 | 5 | 2.51 | 52 |
| Roy Face | 43 | 52 | 2 | 4 | 2.60 | 34 |
| Bob Moose | 38 | 1711⁄3 | 8 | 12 | 2.73 | 126 |
| Juan Pizarro | 12 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 3.27 | 6 |
| Tommie Sisk | 33 | 96 | 5 | 5 | 3.28 | 41 |
| Dave Wickersham | 11 | 202⁄3 | 1 | 0 | 3.48 | 9 |
| Al McBean | 36 | 1981⁄3 | 9 | 12 | 3.58 | 100 |
| Jim Bunning | 27 | 160 | 4 | 14 | 3.88 | 95 |
| Bill Henry | 10 | 162⁄3 | 0 | 0 | 8.10 | 9 |
| Team Totals | 163 | 1,4871⁄3 | 80 | 82 | 2.74 | 897 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Columbus Jets | International League | Johnny Pesky |
| AA | York Pirates | Eastern League | Joe Morgan |
| A | Salem Rebels | Carolina League | Don Hoak |
| A | Clinton Pilots | Midwest League | Bob Clear |
| A | Gastonia Pirates | Western Carolinas League | Frank Oceak |
| Rookie | GCL Pirates | Gulf Coast League | Buddy Pritchard |