| 1951 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | Major League Baseball |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | April 16 – October 12, 1951 |
| Number of games | 154 |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | AL: Yogi Berra (NYY) NL: Roy Campanella (BKN) |
| AL champions | New York Yankees |
| AL runners-up | Cleveland Indians |
| NL champions | New York Giants |
| NL runners-up | Brooklyn Dodgers |
| World Series | |
| Champions | New York Yankees |
| Runners-up | New York Giants |
| Finals MVP | Phil Rizzuto (NYY) |
The 1951 Major League Baseball season opened on April 16 and finished on October 12, 1951. Teams from both leagues played a 154-game regular season schedule. At the end of the regular season, the National League pennant was still undecided, resulting in a three-game playoff between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers. After splitting the first two games, the stage was set for a decisive third game, won in dramatic fashion on a walk-off home run from the bat of Giant Bobby Thomson, one of the most famous moments in the history of baseball, commemorated as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" and "The Miracle at Coogan's Bluff". The Giants lost the World Series to defending champion New York Yankees, who were in the midst of a 5-year World Series winning streak.
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American League
| National League
|
| World Series | ||||
| AL | New York Yankees | 4 | ||
| NL | New York Giants | 2 | ||
| Team | Manager | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | Steve O'Neill | Finished 3rd |
| Chicago White Sox | Paul Richards | |
| Cleveland Indians | Al López | Finished 2nd |
| Detroit Tigers | Red Rolfe | |
| New York Yankees | Casey Stengel | Won 3rd World Series in row |
| Philadelphia Athletics | Connie Mack | |
| St. Louis Browns | Zack Taylor | |
| Washington Senators | Bucky Harris |
| Team | Manager | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Braves | Billy Southworth and Tommy Holmes | |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | Chuck Dressen | Finished 2nd, lost playoff to NYG |
| Chicago Cubs | Frankie Frisch and Phil Cavarretta | |
| Cincinnati Reds | Luke Sewell | |
| New York Giants | Leo Durocher | Won Pennant in 3 game playoff with Brooklyn |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Eddie Sawyer | |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Billy Meyer | |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Marty Marion | Finished 3rd |
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees [1] | 98 | 0.0% | 1,950,107 | -6.3% | 25,001 |
| Cleveland Indians [2] | 93 | 1.1% | 1,704,984 | -1.3% | 22,143 |
| Chicago White Sox [3] | 81 | 35.0% | 1,328,234 | 70.0% | 17,029 |
| Boston Red Sox [4] | 87 | -7.4% | 1,312,282 | -2.4% | 17,497 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers [5] | 97 | 9.0% | 1,282,628 | 8.2% | 16,444 |
| Detroit Tigers [6] | 73 | -23.2% | 1,132,641 | -42.0% | 14,710 |
| New York Giants [7] | 98 | 14.0% | 1,059,539 | 5.0% | 13,584 |
| St. Louis Cardinals [8] | 81 | 3.8% | 1,013,429 | -7.3% | 12,828 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates [9] | 64 | 12.3% | 980,590 | -15.9% | 12,572 |
| Philadelphia Phillies [10] | 73 | -19.8% | 937,658 | -23.0% | 12,177 |
| Chicago Cubs [11] | 62 | -3.1% | 894,415 | -23.3% | 11,616 |
| Washington Senators [12] | 62 | -7.5% | 695,167 | -0.6% | 9,147 |
| Cincinnati Reds [13] | 68 | 3.0% | 588,268 | 9.2% | 7,640 |
| Boston Braves [14] | 76 | -8.4% | 487,475 | -48.4% | 6,250 |
| Philadelphia Athletics [10] | 70 | 34.6% | 465,469 | 50.2% | 5,892 |
| St. Louis Browns [15] | 52 | -10.3% | 293,790 | 18.9% | 3,815 |
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