The 1968 New York Yankees season was the 66th season for the team. The team finished above .500 for the first time since 1964, with a record of 83–79, finishing 20 games behind the Detroit Tigers. New York was managed by Ralph Houk. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium. The 1968 season was notable for being Mickey Mantle's final season before he announced his retirement the following spring. The Yankees batted .214 as a team, the lowest total ever for a team in a full season in the live-ball era (as of 2025).

Offseason November 28, 1967: Andy Kosco was drafted by the Yankees from the Oakland Athletics in the 1967 rule 5 draft.Andy Kosco page at Baseball Reference November 30, 1967: Gene Michael was purchased by the Yankees from the Los Angeles Dodgers.Gene Michael page at Baseball Reference December 7, 1967: Bob Tillman and Dale Roberts were traded by the Yankees to the Atlanta Braves for Bobby Cox.Bobby Cox page at Baseball Reference Prior to 1968 season: Merritt Ranew was acquired by the Yankees from the California Angels.Merritt Ranew page at Baseball Reference

Regular season In 1968, Yankees executive E. Michael Burke was a candidate to become Commissioner of Baseball. Bowie Kuhn would eventually get the appointment.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions June 7, 1968: 1968 Major League Baseball draft Thurman Munson was drafted by the Yankees in the 1st round (4th pick).Thurman Munson page at Baseball Reference Wayne Nordhagen was drafted by the Yankees in the 7th round.Wayne Nordhagen page at Baseball Reference July 15, 1968: Rocky Colavito was signed as a free agent by the Yankees.Rocky Colavito page at Baseball Reference September 30, 1968: Rocky Colavito was released by the Yankees.

Roster 1968 New York Yankees Roster Pitchers Catchers

Infielders Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats = Indicates team leader

Batting

Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R= Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases Pos Player G AB R H Avg. HR RBI SB C 124 423 31 90 .213 3 29 9 1B 144 435 57 103 .237 18 54 6 2B 148 579 52 133 .230 2 26 20 3B 135 437 33 100 .229 7 41 3 SS 152 507 60 99 .195 11 52 10 LF 159 577 89 154 .267 17 62 20 CF 108 380 41 93 .245 15 56 8 RF 131 466 47 112 .240 15 59 2

Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R= Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases Player G AB R H Avg. HR RBI SB 107 342 34 82 .240 6 40 7 85 150 24 23 .153 0 3 0 51 135 15 23 .170 7 30 1 61 116 8 23 .198 1 8 3 39 91 13 20 .220 5 13 0 23 87 5 14 .161 0 1 0 46 70 2 16 .229 1 7 0 28 60 3 7 .117 0 3 0 47 41 3 5 .122 0 0 0 9 24 1 5 .208 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 .000 0 0 0

Pitching

Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 36 278.2 21 12 2.45 140 37 267.1 17 12 2.05 162 36 212.1 12 11 2.63 115 20 128.1 6 5 3.23 87 17 89.1 5 7 4.43 32 15 61.1 3 3 3.52 40

Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 29 99.0 1 9 3.36 67 40 97.0 6 7 3.15 40 12 44.0 1 1 3.68 24

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 40 2 2 11 2.13 42 45 3 7 2 3.21 27 24 4 1 10 1.75 43 7 1 0 0 4.35 1 7 0 2 0 2.16 6 1 0 0 0 0.00 3 1 1 0 0 0.00 1 1 0 0 0 9.00 1

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: OneontaJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

Notes

References 1968 New York Yankees at Baseball Reference 1968 New York Yankees team page at www.baseball-almanac.com