| 1967 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Games | 162 |
| Teams | 20 (10 per league) |
| TV partner | NBC |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Ron Blomberg |
| Picked by | New York Yankees |
| Regular season | |
| SeasonMVP | AL:Carl Yastrzemski (BOS) NL:Orlando Cepeda (STL) |
| AL champions | Boston Red Sox |
| AL runners-up | Detroit Tigers |
| NL champions | St. Louis Cardinals |
| NL runners-up | San Francisco Giants |
| World Series | |
| Champions | St. Louis Cardinals |
| Runners-up | Boston Red Sox |
| World SeriesMVP | Bob Gibson (STL) |
| MLB seasons | |
The1967 major league baseball season began on April 10, 1967. The regular season ended on October 1, with theSt. Louis Cardinals andBoston Red Sox as the regular season champions of theNational League andAmerican League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the64th World Series on October 4 and ended with Game 7 on October 12. In the second iteration of this World Series matchup, the Cardinals defeated the Red Sox, four games to three, capturing their eighth championship in franchise history, since their previous in1964. Going into the season, the defendingWorld Series champions were theBaltimore Orioles from the1966 season.
The38th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, was held on July 11 atAnaheim Stadium inAnaheim,California, home ofCalifornia Angels. TheNational League won, 2–1.
It was the final season for theKansas City Athletics, before relocating toOakland, California and becoming theOakland Athletics for the1968 season.
The season was filled with historic seasons from multiple players.Carl Yastrzemski of theBoston Red Sox had tied for the most home runs in MLB withHarmon Killebrew, giving him the elusive triple crown. He led the American League in batting average (.326), home runs due to the tie with Killebrew (44) and runs batted in (121) (This feat would not be accomplished again untilMiguel Cabrera earned the triple crown in2012 with theDetroit Tigers).[1] Yastrzemski also won the AL MVP and led the Red Sox to the AL pennant for the first time in two decades. They would ultimately lose to the St. Louis Cardinals 7–2 in Game 7 of the World Series.[2]
The Cardinals had standout players as well, with first basemanOrlando Cepeda becoming the first unanimously votedNL MVP. Cepeda finished the season with 25 home runs, 111 RBIs and a .325 batting average. He did however, struggle in the World Series, hitting only .103 with one RBI.[3]
The 1967 schedule consisted of 162 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had ten teams. Each team was scheduled to play 18 games against the other nine teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place by the American League since the1961 season and by the National League since the1962 season, and would be used until1969.
Opening Day took place on April 10, featuring two teams from each league. The final day of the regular season was on October 1, which saw all 20 teams play, continuing the trend from1965. TheWorld Series took place between October 4 and October 12.
The 1967 season saw the following rule changes:
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | 92 | 70 | .568 | — | 49–32 | 43–38 |
| Detroit Tigers | 91 | 71 | .562 | 1 | 52–29 | 39–42 |
| Minnesota Twins | 91 | 71 | .562 | 1 | 52–29 | 39–42 |
| Chicago White Sox | 89 | 73 | .549 | 3 | 49–33 | 40–40 |
| California Angels | 84 | 77 | .522 | 7½ | 53–30 | 31–47 |
| Washington Senators | 76 | 85 | .472 | 15½ | 40–40 | 36–45 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 76 | 85 | .472 | 15½ | 35–42 | 41–43 |
| Cleveland Indians | 75 | 87 | .463 | 17 | 36–45 | 39–42 |
| New York Yankees | 72 | 90 | .444 | 20 | 43–38 | 29–52 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 62 | 99 | .385 | 29½ | 37–44 | 25–55 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals | 101 | 60 | .627 | — | 49–32 | 52–28 |
| San Francisco Giants | 91 | 71 | .562 | 10½ | 51–31 | 40–40 |
| Chicago Cubs | 87 | 74 | .540 | 14 | 49–34 | 38–40 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 87 | 75 | .537 | 14½ | 49–32 | 38–43 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 82 | 80 | .506 | 19½ | 45–35 | 37–45 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 81 | 81 | .500 | 20½ | 49–32 | 32–49 |
| Atlanta Braves | 77 | 85 | .475 | 24½ | 48–33 | 29–52 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 73 | 89 | .451 | 28½ | 42–39 | 31–50 |
| Houston Astros | 69 | 93 | .426 | 32½ | 46–35 | 23–58 |
| New York Mets | 61 | 101 | .377 | 40½ | 36–42 | 25–59 |
The postseason began on October 4 and ended on October 12 with theSt. Louis Cardinals defeating theBoston Red Sox in the1967 World Series in seven games.
| World Series | ||||
| AL | Boston Red Sox | 3 | ||
| NL | St. Louis Cardinals | 4 | ||
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | Pete Runnels | Dick Williams |
| Cleveland Indians | George Strickland | Joe Adcock |
| Detroit Tigers | Frank Skaff | Mayo Smith |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Carl Yastrzemski1 (BOS) | .326 |
| OPS | Carl Yastrzemski (BOS) | 1.040 |
| HR | Harmon Killebrew (MIN) Carl Yastrzemski1 (BOS) | 44 |
| RBI | Carl Yastrzemski1 (BOS) | 121 |
| R | Carl Yastrzemski (BOS) | 112 |
| H | Carl Yastrzemski (BOS) | 189 |
| SB | Bert Campaneris (KCA) | 55 |
1 American LeagueTriple Crown batting winner
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Jim Lonborg (BOS) Earl Wilson (DET) | 22 |
| L | George Brunet (CAL) | 19 |
| ERA | Joe Horlen (CWS) | 2.06 |
| K | Jim Lonborg (BOS) | 246 |
| IP | Dean Chance (MIN) | 283.2 |
| SV | Minnie Rojas (CAL) | 27 |
| WHIP | Joe Horlen (CWS) | 0.953 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Roberto Clemente (PIT) | .357 |
| OPS | Dick Allen (PHI) | .970 |
| HR | Hank Aaron (ATL) | 39 |
| RBI | Orlando Cepeda (STL) | 111 |
| R | Hank Aaron (ATL) Lou Brock (STL) | 113 |
| H | Roberto Clemente (PIT) | 209 |
| SB | Lou Brock (STL) | 52 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Mike McCormick (SF) | 22 |
| L | Jack Fisher (NYM) | 18 |
| ERA | Phil Niekro (ATL) | 1.87 |
| K | Jim Bunning (PHI) | 253 |
| IP | Jim Bunning (PHI) | 302.1 |
| SV | Ted Abernathy (CIN) | 28 |
| WHIP | Dick Hughes (STL) | 0.954 |
| Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Rookie of the Year | Tom Seaver (NYM) | Rod Carew (MIN) |
| Cy Young Award | Mike McCormick (SF) | Jim Lonborg (BOS) |
| Most Valuable Player | Orlando Cepeda (STL) | Carl Yastrzemski (BOS) |
| Babe Ruth Award (World Series MVP) | Lou Brock (STL) | — |
| Gold Glove Awards | ||
| Position | National League | American League |
| Pitcher | Bob Gibson (STL) | Jim Kaat (MIN) |
| Catcher | Randy Hundley (CHC) | Bill Freehan (DET) |
| 1st Base | Wes Parker (LAD) | George Scott (BOS) |
| 2nd Base | Bill Mazeroski (PIT) | Bobby Knoop (CAL) |
| 3rd Base | Ron Santo (CHC) | Brooks Robinson (BAL) |
| Shortstop | Gene Alley (PIT) | Jim Fregosi (CAL) |
| Outfield | Roberto Clemente (PIT) | Paul Blair (BAL) |
| Curt Flood (STL) | Al Kaline (DET) | |
| Willie Mays (SF) | Carl Yastrzemski (BOS) | |
| Month | National League |
|---|---|
| May | Roberto Clemente (PIT) |
| June | Hank Aaron (ATL) |
| July | Jim Ray Hart (SF) |
| August | Orlando Cepeda (STL) |
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals[19] | 101 | 21.7% | 2,090,145 | 22.0% | 25,804 |
| Boston Red Sox[20] | 92 | 27.8% | 1,727,832 | 113.0% | 21,331 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers[21] | 73 | −23.2% | 1,664,362 | −36.4% | 20,548 |
| New York Mets[22] | 61 | −7.6% | 1,565,492 | −19.0% | 20,070 |
| Minnesota Twins[23] | 91 | 2.2% | 1,483,547 | 17.8% | 18,315 |
| Detroit Tigers[24] | 91 | 3.4% | 1,447,143 | 28.7% | 17,648 |
| Atlanta Braves[25] | 77 | −9.4% | 1,389,222 | −9.8% | 17,151 |
| Houston Astros[26] | 69 | −4.2% | 1,348,303 | −28.0% | 16,646 |
| California Angels[27] | 84 | 5.0% | 1,317,713 | −5.9% | 15,876 |
| New York Yankees[28] | 72 | 2.9% | 1,259,514 | 12.0% | 15,360 |
| San Francisco Giants[29] | 91 | −2.2% | 1,242,480 | −25.0% | 15,152 |
| Chicago White Sox[30] | 89 | 7.2% | 985,634 | −0.4% | 12,020 |
| Chicago Cubs[31] | 87 | 47.5% | 977,226 | 53.7% | 11,634 |
| Cincinnati Reds[32] | 87 | 14.5% | 958,300 | 29.0% | 11,831 |
| Baltimore Orioles[33] | 76 | −21.6% | 955,053 | −20.6% | 12,403 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[34] | 81 | −12.0% | 907,012 | −24.2% | 11,198 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[35] | 82 | −5.7% | 828,888 | −25.2% | 10,361 |
| Washington Senators[36] | 76 | 7.0% | 770,868 | 33.8% | 9,636 |
| Kansas City Athletics[37] | 62 | −16.2% | 726,639 | −6.1% | 8,971 |
| Cleveland Indians[38] | 75 | −7.4% | 662,980 | −26.6% | 8,185 |
TheKansas City Athletics would play their final two games atMunicipal Stadium on September 27 in adoubleheader against theChicago White Sox, relocating toOakland,California atOakland–Alameda County Coliseum for the start of the1968 season.
NBC was the exclusive national TV broadcaster of MLB, airing the weekendGame of the Week, theAll-Star Game, and theWorld Series.
