The 1968 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 87th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 77th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 97–65 during the season, winning their second consecutive NL pennant, this time by nine games over the San Francisco Giants. They lost in 7 games to the Detroit Tigers in the 1968 World Series. The Cardinals would not return to postseason until 1982. Following the season, Major League Baseball announced plans to split both the National and American Leagues into East and West divisions starting with the 1969 season in order to accommodate the inclusion of two new franchises to each league. The Cardinals were assigned to the new National League East division. Originally, the Cardinals were placed in the National League West division. However, the New York Mets, wanting to compensate for the loss of home games against the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, desired three extra games against the Cardinals, the two-time defending NL champions. The Cardinals were thus moved to the National League East division along with the Chicago Cubs, who wished to maintain their long-standing rivalry with the Cardinals. The Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds were correspondingly shifted to the National League West despite both being east of St. Louis and Chicago, a configuration maintained until 1993.
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player
G
IP
W
L
ERA
SO
25
63.2
2
2
3.53
49
18
52.2
2
1
2.91
16
5
19
2
1
2.84
6
5
16
0
0
1.13
8
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
47
8
2
17
1.47
42
48
2
3
4
3.39
39
34
4
2
4
2.25
27
13
0
2
2
4.57
19
1968 World Series
Although essentially the same team as the previous year, they faced a tougher American League opponent in the Detroit Tigers, who had also won their pennant easily, behind the 31-win season of Denny McLain. Even though both Gibson and McLain were league MVPs that season, another Tigers starter, Mickey Lolich, stole the show, becoming the last pitcher to date to win three complete games in a single Series. Gibson excelled again in this World Series, winning Games 1 and 4. He had 17 strikeouts in Game 1 and totaled 35 strikeouts in the Series, both still World Series records. The Cardinals advanced to a 3–1 series lead, but the Tigers completed an improbable comeback by winning the final three games of the series to claim the championship, 4 games to 3. It was St. Louis' last Series appearance until 1982, and their last Series before MLB adopted its divisional format.
