1968 was the year of the pitcher. So it only makes sense that the league champions should have a team under 3.00. But so did nine other teams. So what was the formula that made Mike Vitt's Redbirds champions of the 1968 NCABL season?

For starters, Pete Rose. Rose led the Eastern League in 5 offensive categories, and was in the top five of two others. Rose was the key element of the Redbird speed machine, reaching base at a .408 clip while smashing 47 doubles and 8 triples. Sandwiched between the speedy Bert Campaneris and the powerful Tony Oliva, Rose was a terror.

Campaneris led the league with 36 steals and was 5^th in runs scored. While he didn't have the on base percentage of Rose, when Campy did reach base he usually stole 2^nd or moved to 3^rd on a Rose single. Oliva had the average and the power to drive in runs from the three hole. Oliva just missed .300 (.297) and had a slugging percentage of .502. Injuries limited Oliva to just 118 games, and he was missed when out of the lineup. Norm Cash followed Oliva, and hit 22 HR with 72 RBI. The other bats (in order) were the platoon of Ed Charles/Rick Reichardt, Cesar Tovar, Jerry Grote/Dick Dietz and Vern Fuller/Ken Boswell.

Louisville pitchers finished 2^nd in the Eastern League, but no one pitcher had an outstanding season. Larry Jackson (19) and Mel Stottlemyre (18) were the top winners, and Ray Washburn's 2.05 ERA was 4^th in the league. Balance and depth were the keys to the Redbirds' success in 68.

Pennant Races

Louisville's win in the East was by a slim 3 game margin over Chuck McMath's Creepers. The Creepers featured power - Willie Horton (42 HR) and Willie McCovey (37) together hit more homers than two NCABL teams! With Willie Mays (23) and Mickey Stanley (18) added to the mix, Virginia had a much different look than Louisville. Both Rochester (Chuck Bennett) and Mt. Holly (Carmen Zarelli) finished 7 games out of first, 4 out of the playoffs. Rochester was the former Foxboro team that had folded during the heat of the 67 pennant race. Under new manager Bennett, the Aces held on to 2^nd place until the 136 game mark when Virginia caught and passed them. Mt. Holly never really was in the race, but hovered between 5 and 10 back all year. Louisville took the Creepers in three straight to advance to the championship series. They would go on to defeat the Oak Ridge Atomics to claim title #2 in the NCABL. In the series Rose went 10 for 19 with 7 RBI over 5 games.

In the Western League, Malibu shocked the leauge when it traded future superstar Rod Carew, along with Andy Etchebarren and Grant Jackson to Snowflake for six players! Malibu added Glenn Beckert, Tim McCarver, Donn Clendenon, Don Buford and pitchers Jim Hardin and Jim Nash. Needless to say, the deal boosted Malibu to the top while Snowflake melted to the league's lower level. Malibu led the league in hitting (.255, next highest was Hannover at .233) and pitching (1.86 to Oak Ridge's 2.18!) The Waves' lineup featured top hitter Felipe Alou (.325), #2 hitter Beckert (.308) and Curt Flood, 4^th at .298. Donn Clendenon cleaned up for the waves with 20 HR and 86 RBI. But how can we get this far in a 68 league without mentioning Bob Gibson? Gibson was awesome for Malibu, going 23-10, a 1.22 ERA and 10 shutouts. How did he lose 10 games? Luis Tiant (24-5, 1.32) was 2^nd in both wins and ERA, while leading with 320 strikeouts. Short (19 wins, 1.94) and Nash (18-11, 2.02) almost gave the Waves a four man rotation with sub-2.00 ERAs!

There was no race for 1^st, and likewise, no race for 2^nd. Oak Ridge finished 6 games out, with San Diego and Hannover battling for 3^rd, 28 and 32 games behind Malibu. Oak Ridge featured Big Frank Howard (NCABL record 57 HR) and Tom Seaver (26-6, 1.37). Bill Freehan and Tommy Helms also were major contributors. In the playoffs, Oak Ridge stunned the heavy favorite Malibu with a 3 game sweep. No Carew and now no title.

So things were going smoothly, right?

Well, not exactly. You see, the Malibu manager disappeared in the middle of the season. And so did the Snowflake manager, or at least he didn't return any calls. Maybe we should have renamed ourselves The Bermuda Triangle League. Harned manager #2 also resigned near the end of the season.

1968 featured the league's first All Star Game, played at the end of the season. Teams are determined by league vote, and played by a manager selected by the commissioner. The NCABL's inaugural showcase was played in Mechanicsburg, with the Eastern League winning 4-2 on a pair of 8^th inning solo HRs by Harned's Richie Allen and the home town's Johnny Bench, both off Hannover's Dave McNally. The game's most tense moment was in the bottom of the 7^th when Carl Yastrzemski doubled in Mike Andrews to tie the game. In my mind I could see Lee Young (Knarro manager) spilling his popcorn as Yaz' hit went to the wall.

The 1968 season also featured the first NCABL rookie draft. Jerry Koosman was selected by San Diego in hopes that the rookie could lead his team to the playoffs. Louisville followed with the selection of Andy Messersmith, followed by Columbus choose Nolan Ryan. Four dead seasons until Nolan goes to the Angels. Rounding out the top four was outfielder Bobby Bonds to Mechancisburg.

Finally, Montgomery set a new standard for losing with a 47-115 mark. Rico Carty and Manny Sanguillen both missed the entire season, leaving the Fire Ants with little offense.

Individual Stars

Eastern League - The ranting and raving about Rose above indicates that he was the league's top batter in regards to average, scoring, etc. But Rose didn't win the MVP. Harned's Richie Allen took top honors with his 43 HR and 116 RBI, both league highs. Allen was 10^th with a .286 average and finished one run behind Rose with 98. Other top offensive years came from Virginia's Willie Horton (.313, 42, 113) and Willie McCovey (.309, 37, 102), Hawk Harrelson of Rochester (mentioned above) and Henry Aaron (.308, 30, 92) of Mt. Holly. Cy Young winner Denny McLain, Mt. Holly, didn't quite get 30 wins, but did lead the league at 27-12, 1.60 ERA, 322 strikeouts. Tom Phoebus was the only other 20 game winner (20-7), surely odd for a year like 68.

Western League - The league hit just .219 and had a 2.78 ERA, so there wasn't much to cheer about in the hitter's list. Malibu had three top hitters in Felipe Alou, Glenn Beckert and Curt Flood and their fantastic four of Gibson, Tiant, Short and Nash (see above). Maury Wills was 10^th in the league in batting with a measly .263 average. Frank Howard (above), Tommy Helms (.303) and Bill Freehan (.270, near perfect defense) were the cornerstones for the Atomics. As for the rest of the league, well…A young man named Reggie Jackson pounded out 39 HR and had 100 RBI for San Diego, but he also struck out 198 times and only hit .210. Billy Williams did quite well for Houston, batting .290 with 80 extra base hits and 98 RBI. Even Roberto Clemente fell to the pitching glut of 68. Roberto ended up at .291, but 24-17-23 power. Ernie Banks led the league in RBI (113), mostly due to Clemente. 1967 MVP Lou Brock fell drastically, hitting just .235.

Gaylord Perry of Houston (21-15, 1.89) was the only 20 game winner not from Malibu or Oak Ridge. Joining Perry was San Diego's Jerry Koosman (18-13, 1.34) and Hannover's Dave McNally (19-15, 1.94) as the "outsiders" to the sub-2.00 club.

All League Teams

The Eastern Leauge featured a balanced team with two starters each from Louisville, Virginia, Rochester and Mt. Holly. Malibu had 6 of the 10 starters in the Western Leauge while Oak Ridge had 3. Henry Aaron, Hoyt Wilhelm and Maury Wills were the only three players to repeat as all star starters from 1967. The best of 1968:

Other notes

• APBA had not yet published the 1968 disk, so a wizardized disk was created. Lee Young and Jesse Elicker assisted Carmen Zarrelli in reviewing/adjusting the pitching grades.
• Nine no hitters were tossed in 1968, four by Malibu pitchers, two by Chris Short.
• The Eastern League batting and pitching marks were .235 and 2.91 while in the Western League they were .219 and 2.78. In the majors the 1968 marks were .237 and 2.98. Perhaps our pitching grades were a bit too high and/or the better starting pitchers threw more innings than in real life.
• For the second year in a row the NCABL had a sub-.500 (.498) home winning percentage.
  

Standings

Statistics, Leaders