1957 Major League Baseball season

The 1957 Major League Baseball season was played from April 15 to October 10, 1957. The National League's Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants played their final seasons as New York City-based franchises before their moves to California for the 1958 season, leaving New York City without a National League team until the birth of the Mets in 1962.

1957 MLB season
LeagueMajor League Baseball
SportBaseball
DurationApril 15 – October 10, 1957
Number of games154
Number of teams16
TV partner(s)NBC, CBS
Regular season
Season MVPAL: Mickey Mantle (NYY)
NL: Hank Aaron (MIL)
AL championsNew York Yankees
  AL runners-upChicago White Sox
NL championsMilwaukee Braves
  NL runners-upSt. Louis Cardinals
World Series
ChampionsMilwaukee Braves
  Runners-upNew York Yankees
World Series MVPLew Burdette (MIL)
MLB seasons

Awards and honors

Statistical leaders

 American LeagueNational League
TypeNameStatNameStat
AVGTed Williams BOS.388Stan Musial STL.351
HRRoy Sievers WSH42Hank Aaron MIL44
RBIRoy Sievers WSH114Hank Aaron MIL132
WinsJim Bunning DET
Billy Pierce CWS
20Warren Spahn MIL21
ERABobby Shantz NYY2.45Johnny Podres BKN2.66
SOEarly Wynn CLE184Jack Sanford PHI188
SVBob Grim NYY19Clem Labine BKN17
SBLuis Aparicio CWS28Willie Mays NYG38

Standings

National League

National League
TeamWLPct.GBHomeRoad
Milwaukee Braves9559.61745‍–‍3250‍–‍27
St. Louis Cardinals8767.565842‍–‍3545‍–‍32
Brooklyn Dodgers8470.5451143‍–‍3441‍–‍36
Cincinnati Redlegs8074.5191545‍–‍3235‍–‍42
Philadelphia Phillies7777.5001838‍–‍3939‍–‍38
New York Giants6985.4482637‍–‍4032‍–‍45
Pittsburgh Pirates6292.4033336‍–‍4126‍–‍51
Chicago Cubs6292.4033331‍–‍4631‍–‍46

Postseason

Bracket

World Series
   
ALNew York Yankees3
NLMilwaukee Braves4

Managers

American League

TeamManagerComments
Baltimore OriolesPaul Richards
Boston Red SoxPinky HigginsFinished 3rd
Chicago White SoxMarty MarionFinished 2nd
Cleveland IndiansKerby Farrell
Detroit TigersJack Tighe
Kansas City AthleticsLou Boudreau and Harry Craft
New York YankeesCasey StengelWon Pennant
Washington SenatorsChuck Dressen and Cookie Lavagetto

National League

TeamManagerComments
Brooklyn DodgersWalter AlstonFinished 3rd in last season in Brooklyn
Chicago CubsBob Scheffing
Cincinnati RedsBirdie Tebbetts
Milwaukee BravesCharlie Grimm and Fred HaneyWon World Series
New York GiantsBill Rigney
Philadelphia PhilliesMayo Smith
Pittsburgh PiratesBobby Bragan and Danny Murtaugh
St. Louis CardinalsFred HutchinsonFinished 2nd

Records and notable events

  • The 1957 season marked the first time that both the American and National League leader in Complete Games had less than 20 Complete Games to lead their league.[1]

Home field attendance

Team nameWinsHome attendancePer game
Milwaukee Braves[2]953.3%2,215,4048.3%28,403
New York Yankees[3]981.0%1,497,1340.4%19,443
Detroit Tigers[4]78-4.9%1,272,34621.0%16,524
St. Louis Cardinals[5]8714.5%1,183,57514.9%15,371
Boston Red Sox[6]82-2.4%1,181,0873.9%15,339
Philadelphia Phillies[7]778.5%1,146,23022.6%14,695
Chicago White Sox[8]905.9%1,135,66813.6%14,749
Cincinnati Redlegs[9]80-12.1%1,070,850-4.9%13,907
Baltimore Orioles[10]7610.1%1,029,58114.2%13,371
Brooklyn Dodgers[11]84-9.7%1,028,258-15.3%13,354
Kansas City Athletics[12]5913.5%901,067-11.2%11,702
Pittsburgh Pirates[13]62-6.1%850,732-10.4%11,048
Cleveland Indians[14]76-13.6%722,256-16.5%9,380
Chicago Cubs[15]623.3%670,629-6.9%8,598
New York Giants[16]693.0%653,9233.9%8,493
Washington Senators[17]55-6.8%457,0795.9%5,936

Events

January–March

April–June

  • April 18 – New York City Parks Commissioner Robert Moses proposes a new 78-acre (320,000 m2) tract in Flushing Meadows as a site for a new National League baseball stadium. The plan, submitted to mayor Robert Wagner, includes a 50,000-seat stadium with a plastic dome to be built by the Parks Department.
  • April 21 – The Cincinnati Redlegs are involved in a bizarre play in a game against the host Milwaukee Braves. With Don Hoak on second and Gus Bell on first, Wally Post hits a ground ball to Milwaukee shortstop Johnny Logan. Hoak breaks up a potential double play by fielding the ball himself and flipping it to Logan. Hoak is called out for interference (contact with batted ball before a fielder touched it), but Post is given a single on the play. The day before, Johnny Temple let Bell's ground ball hit him with the same result, Temple being called out for interference and Bell being awarded a single. The two incidents prompt league presidents Warren Giles and Will Harridge to jointly announce a rule change that declared both the runner and batter out if the runner intentionally interfered with a batted ball, with no runners allowed to advance.
  • April 22 – John Irvin Kennedy becomes the first black player in Philadelphia Phillies history, entering the game in the top of the 8th inning as a pinch runner for Solly Hemus.
  • April 24 – The New York City Board Of Estimates fails to act on the Moses plan as outlined by Mayor Wagner.
  • May 7 – Cleveland Indian pitcher Herb Score is hit in the face by a line drive by New York Yankee Gil McDougald, the ball breaking numerous bones in Score's face and leaving him quite bloodied. McDougald vows to quit if Score is blinded as a result. Score regains his 20/20 vision, but will miss the remainder of the 1957 season.
  • May 10 – San Francisco mayor George Christopher confers with Giants owner Horace Stoneham on a possible move of the New York Giants franchise to the West Coast.
  • May 28 – The National League approves the proposed moves of the Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers to the West Coast, provided both clubs make their request before October 1 and move at the same time.
  • May 29 – New York City mayor Robert Wagner says he plans to confer with the Giants and Dodgers about the proposed move, but that the city will not be "blackjacked" into anything.
  • May 30 – Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley rejects an offer from a Queens group to buy the team.
  • June 9 – Ernie Banks hits 100th career home run helping Chicago Cubs beat Philadelphia Phillies 7–3.

July–September

October–December

Television coverage

CBS aired the Game of the Week for the third consecutive year, and began to air games on Sunday as well as Saturday.[19][20][21]

NBC also started to air weekend games, purchasing the rights to broadcast 11 Milwaukee Braves games, 11 Pittsburgh Pirates games, two Washington Senators games, and two Chicago Cubs games. The All-Star Game and World Series also aired on NBC.

See also

References