Summer of '68: The Season That Changed Baseball--And America--Forever (20 page)

Nolan Ryan won only six games in eighteen starts in 1968 and nearly walked away from the game for good. He, like the Tigers’ Mickey Lolich, spent time away from the game due to his National Guard commitment.

National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, N.Y.

Detroit catcher Bill Freehan was a rock behind the plate. He hit a career-high twenty-five home runs in 1968 and played his entire fifteen-year career in a Tigers’ uniform.

The Detroit News Archives

The Tigers were reminded how valuable second baseman Dick McAuliffe, shown here turning a double play against the Yankees, was when he was suspended for five days after an altercation with Chicago White Sox pitcher Tommy John. The Tigers went winless during that stretch, allowing the Baltimore Orioles to briefly climb back into the race in the American League.

National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, N.Y.

Al Kaline won the American League batting championship in 1955 at the age of 20—one day younger than Ty Cobb, who accomplished the feat in 1907—and over the course of his career he became one of the most popular Tigers of all time. But Kaline missed significant time with a broken arm in 1968. Some argued the Tigers shouldn’t upset team chemistry by trying to get him back in the everyday lineup so late in the season.

National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, N.Y.

Although Willie Horton was born in Arno, Virginia, his family soon moved to Detroit and he grew up in the local Jeffries Housing Projects. Nobody was a bigger local hero in the Motor City, then and now, than Horton.

The Detroit News Archives

In 1968,
Sports Illustrated
called the Cardinals’ Curt Flood “Baseball’s Best Centerfielder.” After he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies following the ’69 season, Flood sued Major League Baseball over its reserve clause. The case would go all the way to the Supreme Court and eventually open the door to free agency.

National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, N.Y.

Brock was at his best in World Series play. In three Fall Classics, he batted .391 with 14 stolen bases.

National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, N.Y.

Nobody was faster on the base paths than St. Louis outfielder Lou Brock. His career standard for stolen bases (938) would stand until Rickey Henderson came along.

National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, N.Y.

After a stellar season in center field for Detroit, Mickey Stanley was shifted to shortstop against the St. Louis Cardinals. Tigers’ announcer Ernie Harwell warned it could be “a bad move.”

The Detroit News Archives

In one of the boldest decisions in World Series history, before Gamer One in St. Louis, Detroit manager Mayo Smith announced that Stanley would play shortstop. The gamble opened a spot in the regular lineup for outfielder Al Kaline, which soon paid off for the Tigers.

National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, N.Y.

Ahead three games to one, the Cardinals had a great opportunity to capture their second consecutive World Series when Lou Brock headed for home in pivotal Game Five. The St. Louis speedster was thrown out, however, on a perfect peg to the plate from outfielder Willie Horton to Tigers’ catcher Bill Freehan. Brock didn’t slide, missing home plate by inches, and the Tigers later rallied on Al Kaline’s bases-loaded single.

National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, N.Y.