[Vigilanteman]

Born in Baltimore, but he was a Detroit Tiger through and through. I wonder how many people remember that the 1968 World Champion team had a combined batting average of under .200 at third base and shortstop?

Manager Mayo Smith took a major gamble in teaching regular center fielder Mickey Stanley to play shortstop in the closing days of the 1968 season, a gamble which paid off handsomely in that world series.

[ScottinVA]

I wonder how many people remember that the 1968 World Champion team had a combined batting average of under .200 at third base and shortstop?

Yep. That year MLB shortened the distance from the mound to home plate -- batting averages and pitcher ERAs dropped like a rock. The top batter in the AL that year had a .301 average.