BALTIMORE
"Brooks Robinson, the Baltimore Orioles' great third baseman, has won seven straight Gold Glove awards as the league's best defensive man at the hot corner. The Most Valuable Player in 1964 and the outstanding player in the '66 All-Star Game is in his tenth year with the Orioles.
Frank Robinson, the Orioles' slugging outfielder, was runner-up for the A.L. batting championship last season with .311. He was second in slugging with a .576 mark. In '66, Frank was Most Valuable Player and Triple Crown winner with a percentage of .316, 49 homers and 122 RBIs. In seven of his 12 years in the major leagues, he has been a .300 plus hitter."
-The New York Yankees Official 1968 Yearbook
BOSTON
"Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox led the league in batting in '67 with a .326 average, tied for home run honors with 44 and had 121 RBIs to become the league's second consecutive Triple Crown winner. Yaz also captured the slugging championship for the second time with a .622 mark. He had 360 total bases in 570 times at bat. In World Series play, Yaz hit three homers and had five RBIs for a .400 mark. In addition, he captured virtually every honor available to a national sports figure.
Jim Lonborg, ace right-hander, who won the pennant-clinching game for the Red Sox, was the A.L. strikeout king with 246 and tied for the most games won (22) and most games started (39)."
-The New York Yankees Official 1968 Yearbook
CALIFORNIA
"Jim Fregosi, the California Angels' brilliant shortstop, is considered one of the best clutch hitters in the league and a mainstay of the California club. Three times named to the All-Star team, Jim was seventh in the league in hitting last year with a .290 mark.
Jim McGlothlin, the Angels' most promising young (24) pitcher, tied with the league's leading pitchers for most shutouts (6) in '67. He was among the top 15 qualifiers for ERA leadership with 2.97. Only in his second year in the majors, he made the All-Star team last year."
-The New York Yankees Official 1968 Yearbook
CHICAGO
"Gary Peters, the Chicago White Sox' southpaw pitcher, was A.L. Rookie of the Year in '63 with a 2.33 ERA. A 20-game winner in '64, Peters was the league's ERA winner in '66 with 1.98. He took runner-up honors in '67 with a 2.28 figure. He's a better than average hitter.
Teammate Joel Horlen realized his potential and traded places with Peters to become the '67 ERA leader with 2.06. In '66 he had been runner-up with 2.43."
-The New York Yankees Official 1968 Yearbook
CLEVELAND
"The Cleveland Indians' great hustler at third base is Max Alvis, who has been the club's solid performer since he took over the job in '63. An All-Star squad member in '65 and '67, he hit 21 homers last year. He has hit 99 home runs in his five years in the majors - almost 20 per year.
First baseman Tony Horton and pitchers Sudden Sam McDowell and Sonny Siebert are highly regarded Indians."
-The New York Yankees Official 1968 Yearbook
DETROIT
"Al Kaline, the Detroit Tigers' league-leading glove man, has won nine of ten possible Gold Glove fielding awards. In 1955, at the age of 20, Al was the youngest in A.L. history to win a batting championship (.340). A .308 hitter last year, he started the '68 season with a career total of 304 home runs.
Bill Freehan led A.L. catchers in '64 with only four errors in 958 chances. In his second season he became the regular catcher and hit .300, the first Tiger backstop to bat that high since Mickey Cochrane. Last season he hit 20 homers, batted .282 and was named to the All-Star squad."
-The New York Yankees Official 1968 Yearbook
MINNESOTA
"The Minnesota Twins' Harmon Killebrew was four times A.L. home run champion. Last year he shared home run honors with Carl Yastrzemski with 44. His 113 RBIs made him runner-up to Yaz's league-leading 121. Harm, with a 46-homer year for the Twins in 1961, is a first baseman.
Tony Oliva, the Twins' great defensive right-fielder, is the only player to win batting championships in his first two seasons (1964-65) in the majors. In each of his first four years he has been named to the All-Star team. Last year he led the league in two-base hits (34) for the second time."
-The New York Yankees Official 1968 Yearbook
OAKLAND
"Rick Monday of the Oakland A's was the first free agent draft pick in baseball. Rick is one of Oakland's fine young defensive outfielders. He indicated his potential last year with a .251 average and 14 homers.
Bert Campaneris, the Athletics' speedy shortstop, batted only .248 last year but made up for it by leading the league in stolen bases for the third straight year with a career high of 55. In '65, Campy stole 51; in '66 he pilfered 52."
-The New York Yankees Official 1968 Yearbook
WASHINGTON
"The Washington Senators' Frank Howard, the biggest man in the league at 6 foot 7 and 255 lbs., started the '68 season with a career total of 198 homers. The good-natured outfielder, who's the only player to homer into the upper deck in center field at D.C. Stadium, hit 36 home runs last year for a career high.
Paul Casanova was brought up by the Senators in '66 and amazed the league with his extraordinary throwing arm. He had a record of 70 assists last year and was named to the All-Star team."
-The New York Yankees Official 1968 Yearbook
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