| 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.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 |
The 1991 Major League Baseball season saw the Minnesota Twins defeat the Atlanta Braves for the World Series title, in a series where every game was won by the home team.
The 1989 Major League Baseball season saw the Oakland Athletics win their first World Series title since 1974.
The 1980 Major League Baseball season concluded with the Philadelphia Phillies winning their first World Series championship.
The 1979 Major League Baseball season concluded with the Pittsburgh Pirates defeating the Baltimore Orioles in seven games in the 1979 World Series. None of the post-season teams of 1977 or 1978 returned to this year's postseason.
The 1959 Major League Baseball season was played from April 9 to October 9, 1959. It saw the Los Angeles Dodgers, free of the strife produced by their move from Brooklyn the previous season, rebound to win the National League pennant after a two-game playoff against the Milwaukee Braves, who themselves had moved from Boston in 1953. The Dodgers won the World Series against a Chicago White Sox team that had not played in the "Fall Classic" since 1919 and was interrupting a Yankees' dynasty that dominated the American League between 1949 and 1964.
The 1949 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 18 through October 15, 1949. Both the American League (AL) and National League (NL) had eight teams, with each team playing a 154-game schedule. The New York Yankees won the World Series over the Brooklyn Dodgers in five games. Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox and Jackie Robinson of the Dodgers won the Most Valuable Player Award in the AL and NL, respectively.
The 1939 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 17 to October 8, 1939. The Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees were the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The Yankees then defeated the Reds in the World Series, four games to none. The Yankees became the first team to win the World Series four years in a row.
The 1929 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 16 to October 14, 1929. The Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Athletics were the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The Athletics then defeated the Cubs in the World Series, four games to one.
In the 1978 Major League Baseball season, the New York Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers to win their second consecutive World Series, and 22nd overall, in a rematch of the prior season's Fall Classic. The Yankees overcame clubhouse turmoil, a mid-season managerial change, and a 14-game mid-July deficit in the American League East en route to the championship. All four teams that made the playoffs in 1977 returned for this postseason; none of the four returned to the postseason in 1979.
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.
The 1962 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 9 to October 16, 1962. The National League (NL) added two teams via expansion, the Houston Colt .45s and New York Mets. This marked the return of the NL to New York City after a four-year absence, although the Mets would lose 120 games and finish in last place. All major league teams now played 162-game schedules, which had been adopted by the American League (AL) the prior season, with each team facing the nine other clubs in the same league 18 times during the season.
The 1963 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 8 to October 6, 1963. The American League and National League both featured ten teams, with each team playing a 162-game schedule.
The 1964 Major League Baseball season was played from April 13 to October 15, 1964. This season is often remembered for the end of the New York Yankees' third dynasty, as they won their 29th American League Championship in 44 seasons. However, the Yankees lost the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. As of 2023, the Cardinals are the only National League team to have an edge over the Yankees in series played (3–2), amongst the non-expansion teams, despite holding a losing record in World Series games against them (13–15).
The 1965 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 12 to October 14, 1965. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins were the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The Dodgers then defeated the Twins in the World Series, four games to three.
The 1972 Major League Baseball season was the first to have games cancelled by a player strike. It was also the last season in which American League pitchers would hit for themselves on a regular basis; the designated hitter rule would go into effect the following season.
The 1934 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 17 to October 9, 1934. The St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers were the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The Cardinals then defeated the Tigers in the World Series, four games to three.
The 1958 Major League Baseball season was played from April 14 to October 15, 1958. It was the first season of play in California for both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants ; in turn, this marked the first teams to ever play on the West Coast. Three teams had relocated earlier in the decade: the Milwaukee Braves, Baltimore Orioles, and Kansas City Athletics. New York went without a National League team for four seasons, until the expansion New York Mets began play in 1962.
The 1936 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 14 to October 6, 1936. The New York Giants and New York Yankees were the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The Yankees then defeated the Giants in the World Series, four games to two.
The 1946 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 16 to October 15, 1946. The St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox were the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The Cardinals defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers in a best-of-three series, for the National League title. It was Major League Baseball's first-ever regular season tie-breaker. The Cardinals then defeated the Red Sox in the World Series, four games to three.
The 1961 Major League Baseball season was played from April 10 to October 12, 1961. That season saw the New York Yankees defeat the Cincinnati Reds in five games in the World Series. The season is best known for Yankee teammates Roger Maris' and Mickey Mantle's pursuit of Babe Ruth's prestigious 34-year-old single-season home run record of 60. Maris ultimately broke the record when he hit his 61st home run on the final day of the regular season, while Mantle was forced out of the lineup in late September due to a hip infection and finished with 54 home runs.