Earl Weaver, Expansion and Vest are the big stories of this year.
Earl Weaver 1968 mid season picture. The only manager to have his number retired by the Orioles, Earl Weaver came to Baltimore to replace Hank Bauer after a 43-37 start to the season. Earl would lead the team the rest of the way to a 48-34 record and 91 wins overall. Weaver would guide the Orioles to nearly 1500 wins over 17 seasons for a .583 winning percentage. The fun thing about Earl is that his hotheaded persona would not take shape until almost the 1970s. Weaver’s hire was also only the 2nd time the Orioles have made a swap mid season at mamanger. Earl Weaver in 1968 was just starting a journey that would end with him being a beloved Baltimore Sports hero.
Action Shots from the 1968 season. These various shots are hard to source to the correct game and context, but they are all definitely from 1968. The most notable thing about this season is the best the team is wearing. The best we’re a short lived addition to the Orioles uniform. In 1968 the uniform kept it’s same design for lettering but with the final retirement of the block Oriole lettering uniforms came the vest. Throughout Orioles history a sleeveless vest is a very unique look that defines the shots of this era. In the shot with Orioles Hall of Famer Davey Johnson you can see some players preferred long sleeves with the vest. The vest is a very unique part of the Orioles marketing and branding history.
Larry Haney baseball card. the backup catcher to Andy Etchebarren, Larry Haney debuted for the Orioles in 1966. In 1967 he would appear in 58 games for the Birds. He was never a barn burner and would not have a clear path to playing time with fan favorite and consistent player Etchebarren in front of him. To alleviate the log jam of talented catchers, the Orioles left Haney exposed during the Seattle Pilots expansion draft. Making Haney the first Oriole in team history to be lost in an expansion draft.
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One note about the managerial change this year. While Hank Bauer was the Manager of the start of the dynasty and the first World Series win in Orioles history, he did not have an infinity long leash from the ownership. After a lackluster 1967 that saw several key players miss time due to injury and several players have down years leading to a losing record, ownership agreed that Bauer had to perform in 1968 or he would be gone at the all star break. The Orioles were over 10 games back of the eventual AL champ Tigers at the break so Bauer was out the door and Earl Weaver came in to replace him. Earl Weaver was not some random pick or an outsider, he was the 1st base coach under Bauer and had been with the team in some capacity in the minors since the early 60s, starting the groundwork for the Oriole Way. Weaver would take over the 1st base coaching job after a mid season change in 1967 and then jump to manager a year later in the same fashion. So in two years he gained two promotions during the middle of the season. In those same 2 years Hank Bauer went from World Series Champ to unemployed.