1967 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1967 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1967 in baseball.

The 1967 major league baseball season began on April 10, 1967. The regular season ended on October 1, with the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 64th 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 in 1964. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Baltimore Orioles from the 1966 season.

1967 MLB season
League	American League (AL) National League (NL)
Sport	Baseball
Duration	Regular season: April 10 – October 1, 1967 World Series: October 4–12, 1967
Number of games	162
Number of teams	20 (10 per league)
TV partner(s)	NBC
Draft
Top draft pick	Ron Blomberg
Picked by	New York Yankees
Regular season
Season MVP	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 Series MVP	Bob Gibson (STL)

Orioles

Red Sox

Angels

White Sox

Indians

Tigers

Athletics

Twins

Yankees

Senators

Locations of teams for the 1966–1967 American League seasons
American League

Braves

Cubs

Reds

Astros

Dodgers

Mets

     Phillies

Pirates  

  Giants

Cardinals

Locations of teams for the 1966–1968 National League seasons
National League

The 38th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, was held on July 11 at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California, home of California Angels. The National League won, 2–1.

It was the final season for the Kansas City Athletics, before relocating to Oakland, California and becoming the Oakland Athletics for the 1968 season.

The season was filled with historic seasons from multiple players. Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox had tied for the most home runs in MLB with Harmon 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 until Miguel Cabrera earned the triple crown in 2012 with the Detroit 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 baseman Orlando Cepeda becoming the first unanimously voted NL 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]

Schedule

See also: Major League Baseball schedule

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 the 1961 season and by the National League since the 1962 season, and would be used until 1969.

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 from 1965. The World Series took place between October 4 and October 12.

Rule changes

The 1967 season saw the following rule changes:

• Rules surrounding drafting college athletes were amended, with the adoption of the "four-year college rule". While previously, players could be drafted in the summer after their sophomore or junior years, players could now only be drafted following their senior year, with exceptions to 21-year-olds (before August 1 of their senior year), were considered to have met athletic eligibility, were dropped from their team because of academic reasons, or had spent at least 120 days out of school after quitting.^[4]
• The National League adopted the American League rule previously adopted in 1956, requiring a pitcher to be removed if the manager visited the pitcher's mound twice in the same inning.^[4][5]
• The American League adopted the National League rule that required a pitcher to be standing on the rubber to receive signs from the catcher.^[4][5]
• The minimum time a player must stay on the disabled list (now injured list) was increased from 15 to 21 days.^[4]
• If a ball is touched by a fielder, then makes contact with an umpire or a member of the offensive team, then is caught by another fielder, the result is a live ball, not a catch.^[5]
• If it is clear to the scorer, when a batter is bunting for a base hit and not for the purpose of advancing runners, the batter will be charged with a time at bat.^[5]
• Mental errors, unless specified in the rule book, or not scored as errors.^[5]

Teams

League	Team	City	Stadium	Capacity	Manager[6]
American League	Baltimore Orioles	Baltimore, Maryland	Baltimore Memorial Stadium	52,185	Hank Bauer
	Boston Red Sox	Boston, Massachusetts	Fenway Park	33,524	Dick Williams
	California Angels	Anaheim, California	Anaheim Stadium	43,202	Bill Rigney
	Chicago White Sox	Chicago, Illinois	White Sox Park	46,550	Eddie Stanky
	Cleveland Indians	Cleveland, Ohio	Cleveland Stadium	74,056	Joe Adcock
	Detroit Tigers	Detroit, Michigan	Tiger Stadium	53,089	Mayo Smith
	Kansas City Athletics	Kansas City, Missouri	Municipal Stadium	34,165	Alvin Dark
					Luke Appling
	Minnesota Twins	Bloomington, Minnesota	Metropolitan Stadium	45,182	Sam Mele
					Cal Ermer
	New York Yankees	New York, New York	Yankee Stadium	67,000	Ralph Houk
	Washington Senators	Washington, D.C.	District of Columbia Stadium	43,500	Gil Hodges
National League	Atlanta Braves	Atlanta, Georgia	Atlanta Stadium	50,893	Billy Hitchcock
					Ken Silvestri
	Chicago Cubs	Chicago, Illinois	Wrigley Field	36,644	Leo Durocher
	Cincinnati Reds	Cincinnati, Ohio	Crosley Field	29,603	Dave Bristol
	Houston Astros	Houston, Texas	Houston Astrodome	46,000	Grady Hatton
	Los Angeles Dodgers	Los Angeles, California	Dodger Stadium	56,000	Walter Alston
	New York Mets	New York, New York	Shea Stadium	55,300	Wes Westrum
					Salty Parker
	Philadelphia Phillies	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Connie Mack Stadium	33,608	Gene Mauch
	Pittsburgh Pirates	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Forbes Field	35,500	Harry Walker
					Danny Murtaugh
	San Francisco Giants	San Francisco, California	Candlestick Park	42,500	Herman Franks
	St. Louis Cardinals	St. Louis, Missouri	Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium	49,450	Red Schoendienst

Standings

American League

• v
• t
• e

American League

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

National League

• v
• t
• e

National League

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

Postseason

The postseason began on October 4 and ended on October 12 with the St. Louis Cardinals defeating the Boston Red Sox in the 1967 World Series in seven games.

Bracket

	World Series
	AL	Boston Red Sox	3
	NL	St. Louis Cardinals	4

Managerial changes

Off-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Boston Red Sox	Pete Runnels	Dick Williams
Cleveland Indians	George Strickland	Joe Adcock
Detroit Tigers	Frank Skaff	Mayo Smith

In-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Atlanta Braves	Billy Hitchcock	Ken Silvestri
Kansas City Athletics	Alvin Dark	Luke Appling
Minnesota Twins	Sam Mele	Cal Ermer
New York Mets	Wes Westrum	Salty Parker
Pittsburgh Pirates	Harry Walker	Danny Murtaugh

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders^[7]

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 (KC)	55

¹ American League Triple Crown batting winner

Pitching leaders^[8]

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

National League

Hitting leaders^[9]

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

Pitching leaders^[10]

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

Awards and honors

Dodgers vs. Reds at Dodger Stadium, June 1967

Regular season

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 (LA)	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)

Other awards

• Hutch Award: Carl Yastrzemski (BOS)
• Sport Magazine's World Series Most Valuable Player Award: Bob Gibson (STL)

The Sporting News Awards
Award	National League	American League
Player of the Year[11]	—	Carl Yastrzemski (BOS)
Pitcher of the Year[12]	Mike McCormick (SF)	Jim Lonborg (BOS)
Fireman of the Year[13] (Relief pitcher)	Ted Abernathy (CIN)	Minnie Rojas (CAL)
Rookie Player of the Year[14]	Lee May (CIN)	Rod Carew (MIN)
Rookie Pitcher of the Year[15]	Dick Hughes (STL)	Tom Phoebus (BAL)
Comeback Player of the Year[16]	Mike McCormick (SF)	Dean Chance (MIN)
Manager of the Year[17]	—	Dick Williams (BOS)
Executive of the Year[18]	—	Dick O'Connell (BOS)

Monthly awards

Player of the Month

Main article: Major League Baseball Player of the Month Award

Month	National League
May	Roberto Clemente (PIT)
June	Hank Aaron (ATL)
July	Jim Ray Hart (SF)
August	Orlando Cepeda (STL)

Baseball Hall of Fame

Main article: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

• Red Ruffing
• Lloyd Waner
• Branch Rickey (executive)

Further information: 1967 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting

Home field attendance

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

Other

• April 21 – The Los Angeles Dodgers run of 737 consecutive games without a game being rained out ends.^[39]
• May 14 – Mickey Mantle hit his 500th home run at Yankee Stadium.
• October 18 – City officials from Kansas City, Oakland, and Seattle were invited by Joe Cronin to discuss the A's relocation plans. United States Senator Stuart Symington attended the meeting and discussed the possibility of revoking baseball's antitrust exemption if the A's were allowed to leave Kansas City. The owners began deliberation and after the first ballot, only six owners were in favor of relocation. The owner of Baltimore voted against, while the ownership for Cleveland, New York and Washington had abstained.^[40] In the second ballot, the New York Yankees voted in favor of the Athletics relocation to Oakland. To appease all interested parties, the Athletics announced that MLB would expand to Kansas City and Seattle no later than the 1971 MLB season.^[41] MLB owners, bowing to Symington's threat, awarded Kansas City and Seattle expansion American League franchises for the 1969 season.

Television coverage

NBC was the exclusive national TV broadcaster of MLB, airing the weekend Game of the Week, the All-Star Game, and the World Series.

See also

• 1967 in baseball (Events, Births, Deaths)
• 1967 Nippon Professional Baseball season