Wikipedia

1956 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1956 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1956 in baseball.

The 1956 major league baseball season began on April 17, 1956. The regular season ended on September 30, with the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. In a rematch of the previous season, the postseason began with Game 1 of the 53rd World Series on October 3 and ended with Game 7 on October 10. The series is notable for Yankees pitcher Don Larsen's perfect game in Game 5. The Yankees defeated the Dodgers, four games to three, capturing the 17th championship in franchise history. This was the seventh World Series between the two teams.

1956 MLB season
LeagueAmerican League (AL)
National League (NL)
SportBaseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 17 – September 30, 1956
World Series:
  • October 3–10, 1956
Number of games154
Number of teams16 (8 per league)
TV partner(s)NBC, CBS
Regular season
Season MVPAL: Mickey Mantle (NYY)
NL: Don Newcombe (BKN)
AL championsNew York Yankees
  AL runners-upCleveland Indians
NL championsBrooklyn Dodgers
  NL runners-upMilwaukee Braves
World Series
ChampionsNew York Yankees
  Runners-upBrooklyn Dodgers
World Series MVPDon Larsen (NYY)
MLB seasons
Locations of teams for the 1955–1960 American League seasons
American League
Locations of teams for the 1953–1957 National League seasons
National League

The 23rd Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played on July 10, hosted by the Washington Senators in Washington, D.C., with the National League winning, 7–3.

Schedule

edit
See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1956 schedule consisted of 154 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 22 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place since the 1904 season (except for 1919) and would be used until 1961 in the American League and 1962 in the National League.

Opening Day took place on April 17, featuring all sixteen teams, the first time since 1954. The final day of the regular season was on September 30, which also saw all sixteen teams play, continuing the trend from the previous season. This was the first time since 1950 that all sixteen teams played their first and last games on the same days. The World Series took place between October 3 and October 10.

Teams

edit
League Team City Stadium Capacity Manager
American League Baltimore Orioles Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore Memorial Stadium 47,866 Paul Richards
Boston Red Sox Boston, Massachusetts Fenway Park 34,824 Pinky Higgins
Chicago White Sox Chicago, Illinois Comiskey Park 46,550 Marty Marion
Cleveland Indians Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland Stadium 73,811 Al López
Detroit Tigers Detroit, Michigan Briggs Stadium 58,000 Bucky Harris
Kansas City Athletics Kansas City, Missouri Municipal Stadium 30,296 Lou Boudreau
New York Yankees New York, New York Yankee Stadium 67,000 Casey Stengel
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. Griffith Stadium 29,023 Chuck Dressen
National League Brooklyn Dodgers New York, New York Ebbets Field 31,902 Walter Alston
Chicago Cubs Chicago, Illinois Wrigley Field 36,755 Stan Hack
Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati, Ohio Crosley Field 29,584 Birdie Tebbetts
Milwaukee Braves Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee County Stadium 43,117 Charlie Grimm, Fred Haney
New York Giants New York, New York Polo Grounds 54,500 Bill Rigney
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Connie Mack Stadium 33,359 Mayo Smith
Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Forbes Field 34,249 Bobby Bragan
St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri Busch Stadium 30,500 Fred Hutchinson

Standings

edit

American League

edit
American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 97 57 .630 — 49‍–‍28 48‍–‍29
Cleveland Indians 88 66 .571 9 46‍–‍31 42‍–‍35
Chicago White Sox 85 69 .552 12 46‍–‍31 39‍–‍38
Boston Red Sox 84 70 .545 13 43‍–‍34 41‍–‍36
Detroit Tigers 82 72 .532 15 37‍–‍40 45‍–‍32
Baltimore Orioles 69 85 .448 28 41‍–‍36 28‍–‍49
Washington Senators 59 95 .383 38 32‍–‍45 27‍–‍50
Kansas City Athletics 52 102 .338 45 22‍–‍55 30‍–‍47

National League

edit
National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Brooklyn Dodgers 93 61 .604 — 52‍–‍25 41‍–‍36
Milwaukee Braves 92 62 .597 1 47‍–‍29 45‍–‍33
Cincinnati Redlegs 91 63 .591 2 51‍–‍26 40‍–‍37
St. Louis Cardinals 76 78 .494 17 43‍–‍34 33‍–‍44
Philadelphia Phillies 71 83 .461 22 40‍–‍37 31‍–‍46
New York Giants 67 87 .435 26 37‍–‍40 30‍–‍47
Pittsburgh Pirates 66 88 .429 27 35‍–‍43 31‍–‍45
Chicago Cubs 60 94 .390 33 39‍–‍38 21‍–‍56

Postseason

edit

Bracket

edit
World Series
         
AL New York Yankees 3 8 5 6 2 0 9
NL Brooklyn Dodgers 6 13 3 2 0 110* 0

*Denotes walk-off

Managerial changes

edit

Off-season

edit
Team Former Manager New Manager
New York Giants Leo Durocher Bill Rigney
Pittsburgh Pirates Fred Haney Bobby Bragan
St. Louis Cardinals Harry Walker Fred Hutchinson

In-season

edit
Team Former Manager New Manager
Milwaukee Braves Charlie Grimm Fred Haney

League leaders

edit

American League

edit
Hitting leaders
Stat Player Total
AVG Mickey Mantle1 (NYY) .353
HR Mickey Mantle1 (NYY) 52
RBI Mickey Mantle1 (NYY) 130
R Mickey Mantle (NYY) 132
H Harvey Kuenn (DET) 196
SB Luis Aparicio (CWS) 21

1 American League Triple Crown batting winner

Pitching leaders
Stat Player Total
W Frank Lary (DET) 21
L Art Ditmar (KC) 22
ERA Whitey Ford (NYY) 2.47
K Herb Score (CLE) 263
IP Frank Lary (DET) 294.0
SV George Zuverink (BAL) 16

National League

edit
Hitting leaders
Stat Player Total
AVG Hank Aaron (MIL) .328
HR Duke Snider (BKN) 43
RBI Stan Musial (STL) 109
R Frank Robinson (CIN) 122
H Hank Aaron (MIL) 200
SB Willie Mays (NYG) 40
Pitching leaders
Stat Player Total
W Don Newcombe (BKN) 27
L Ron Kline (PIT)
Robin Roberts (PHI)		 18
ERA Lew Burdette (MIL) 2.70
K Sam Jones (CHC) 176
IP Bob Friend (PIT) 314.1
SV Clem Labine (BKN) 19

Milestones

edit

Batters

edit

Pitchers

edit

Perfect games

edit
See also: List of Major League Baseball perfect games
  • Don Larsen (NYY)
    • Pitched the sixth perfect game in Major League history and the first in franchise history on October 8, in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers. It remains the only perfect game in World Series history. Larsen threw 97 pitches, 71 for strikes, and struck out seven in the 2–0 victory.

No-hitters

edit
See also: List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
  • Carl Erskine (BKN):
    • Erskine threw the 12th no-hitter in franchise history, and the first since 1952 (when Erskine threw his first no-hitter), by defeating the New York Giants 3–0 on May 12. Erskine threw 102 pitches, 66 of them for strikes, while walking two and striking out three.[1]
  • Mel Parnell (BOS):
    • Parnell threw the 11th no-hitter in franchise history, and the first since 1923, by defeating the Chicago White Sox 4–0 on July 14. Parnell walked two and struck out 4.[2]
  • Sal Maglie (BKN):
    • Maglie threw the 13th no-hitter in franchise history, and the Dodgers' second of the season, by defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 5–0 on September 25. Maglie threw 110 pitches, 71 of them for strikes, while walking two and striking out three.[3]

Other pitching accomplishments

edit

Miscellaneous

edit
  • Umpire Ed Rommel was the first umpire to wear glasses in a Major League game on April 18. The game was played between the New York Yankees and the Washington Senators.[6]

Awards and honors

edit

Regular season

edit
Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award National League American League
Rookie of the Year Frank Robinson (CIN) Luis Aparicio (CWS)
Cy Young Award — Don Newcombe (BKN)
Most Valuable Player Don Newcombe (BKN) Mickey Mantle (NYY)

Other awards

edit

The Sporting News awards

edit

Baseball Hall of Fame

edit
Main article: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Further information: 1956 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting

Home field attendance

edit
Team name Wins %± Home attendance %± Per game
Milwaukee Braves[12] 92 8.2% 2,046,331 2.0% 26,576
New York Yankees[13] 97 1.0% 1,491,784 0.1% 19,374
Brooklyn Dodgers[14] 93 −5.1% 1,213,562 17.4% 15,761
Boston Red Sox[15] 84 0.0% 1,137,158 −5.5% 14,579
Cincinnati Redlegs[16] 91 21.3% 1,125,928 62.3% 14,622
Detroit Tigers[17] 82 3.8% 1,051,182 −11.1% 13,477
St. Louis Cardinals[18] 76 11.8% 1,029,773 21.3% 13,202
Kansas City Athletics[19] 52 −17.5% 1,015,154 −27.1% 13,184
Chicago White Sox[20] 85 −6.6% 1,000,090 −14.9% 12,988
Pittsburgh Pirates[21] 66 10.0% 949,878 102.4% 12,178
Philadelphia Phillies[22] 71 −7.8% 934,798 1.3% 12,140
Baltimore Orioles[23] 69 21.1% 901,201 5.8% 11,704
Cleveland Indians[24] 88 −5.4% 865,467 −29.2% 11,240
Chicago Cubs[25] 60 −16.7% 720,118 −17.8% 9,001
New York Giants[26] 67 −16.3% 629,179 −23.7% 8,171
Washington Senators[27] 59 11.3% 431,647 1.5% 5,606

Television coverage

edit

CBS aired the Saturday Game of the Week for the second consecutive year. The All-Star Game and World Series aired on NBC.

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "New York Giants vs Brooklyn Dodgers Box Score: May 12, 1956". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  2. ^ "Chicago White Sox vs Boston Red Sox Box Score: July 14, 1956". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  3. ^ "Philadelphia Phillies vs Brooklyn Dodgers Box Score: September 25, 1956". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  4. ^ "June 21, 1956 boxscore of double one-hitter from Baseball Reference". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  5. ^ "Left on Base – Team Records in a Game". baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  6. ^ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.43, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
  7. ^ "Mickey Mantle Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
  8. ^ "Don Newcombe Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  9. ^ "Don Newcombe Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
  10. ^ "Billy Pierce Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  11. ^ "Billy Pierce Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
  12. ^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  13. ^ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  14. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  15. ^ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  16. ^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  17. ^ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  18. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  19. ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  20. ^ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  21. ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  22. ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  23. ^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  24. ^ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  25. ^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  26. ^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  27. ^ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1956_Major_League_Baseball_season&oldid=1263863865"