1952 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1952 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1952 in baseball.

1952 MLB season
League	American League (AL) National League (NL)
Sport	Baseball
Duration	Regular season: April 15 – September 28, 1952 World Series: October 1–7, 1952
Number of games	154
Number of teams	16 (8 per league)
Regular season
Season MVP	AL: Bobby Shantz (PHA) NL: Hank Sauer (CHC)
AL champions	New York Yankees
AL runners-up	Cleveland Indians
NL champions	Brooklyn Dodgers
NL runners-up	New York Giants
World Series
Champions	New York Yankees
Runners-up	Brooklyn Dodgers
Finals MVP	Johnny Mize (NYY)
MLB seasons
← 1951 1953 →

Red Sox

White Sox   

Indians

Tigers

Athletics

Browns

Yankees

Senators

Locations of teams for the 1942–1953 American League seasons
American League

Braves

Dodgers

Cubs

Reds

Giants

Phillies

Pirates

Cardinals

Locations of teams for the 1943–1952 National League seasons
National League

The 1952 major league baseball season began on April 15, 1952. The regular season ended on September 28, with the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 49th World Series on October 1 and ended with Game 7 on October 7. In the fourth iteration of this Subway Series World Series matchup, the Yankees defeated the Dodgers, four games to three, capturing their 15th championship in franchise history, and their fourth in a five-run World Series. This was the fourth World Series between the two teams.

The 19th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 8 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, hosted by the Philadelphia Phillies. The National League won, 3–2. To date, it was the only All-Star Game to be called early due to rain.

The 1952 season would prove to be the final season of a 50-season run which saw no team relocate from one city to another, as the Boston Braves would move to Milwaukee, Wisconsin the following year as the Milwaukee Braves. 1952 would also be Ford Frick's first full year as commissioner.

Schedule

See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1952 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 15, featuring 12 teams. The final day of the scheduled regular season was on September 28, which saw all sixteen teams play, continuing the trend from 1946. The World Series took place between October 1 and October 7.

Teams

League	Team	City	Stadium	Capacity	Manager [1]
American League	Boston Red Sox	Boston, Massachusetts	Fenway Park	35,200	Lou Boudreau
	Chicago White Sox	Chicago, Illinois	Comiskey Park	47,400	Paul Richards
	Cleveland Indians	Cleveland, Ohio	Cleveland Stadium	73,811	Al López
	Detroit Tigers	Detroit, Michigan	Briggs Stadium	58,000	Red Rolfe
					Fred Hutchinson
	New York Yankees	New York, New York	Yankee Stadium	67,000	Casey Stengel
	Philadelphia Athletics	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Shibe Park	33,166	Jimmy Dykes
	St. Louis Browns	St. Louis, Missouri	Sportsman's Park	34,000	Rogers Hornsby
					Marty Marion
	Washington Senators	Washington, D.C.	Griffith Stadium	29,731	Bucky Walters
National League	Boston Braves	Boston, Massachusetts	Braves Field	37,106	Tommy Holmes
					Charlie Grimm
	Brooklyn Dodgers	New York, New York	Ebbets Field	32,111	Chuck Dressen
	Chicago Cubs	Chicago, Illinois	Wrigley Field	36,755	Phil Cavarretta
	Cincinnati Reds	Cincinnati, Ohio	Crosley Field	29,980	Luke Sewell
					Rogers Hornsby
	New York Giants	New York, New York	Polo Grounds	54,500	Leo Durocher
	Philadelphia Phillies	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Shibe Park	33,166	Eddie Sawyer
					Steve O'Neill
	Pittsburgh Pirates	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Forbes Field	33,730	Billy Meyer
	St. Louis Cardinals	St. Louis, Missouri	Sportsman's Park	34,000	Eddie Stanky

Standings

American League

• v
• t
• e

American League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	95	59	.617	—	49‍–‍28	46‍–‍31
Cleveland Indians	93	61	.604	2	49‍–‍28	44‍–‍33
Chicago White Sox	81	73	.526	14	44‍–‍33	37‍–‍40
Philadelphia Athletics	79	75	.513	16	45‍–‍32	34‍–‍43
Washington Senators	78	76	.506	17	42‍–‍35	36‍–‍41
Boston Red Sox	76	78	.494	19	50‍–‍27	26‍–‍51
St. Louis Browns	64	90	.416	31	42‍–‍35	22‍–‍55
Detroit Tigers	50	104	.325	45	32‍–‍45	18‍–‍59

National League

• v
• t
• e

National League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Brooklyn Dodgers	96	57	.627	—	45‍–‍33	51‍–‍24
New York Giants	92	62	.597	4½	50‍–‍27	42‍–‍35
St. Louis Cardinals	88	66	.571	8½	48‍–‍29	40‍–‍37
Philadelphia Phillies	87	67	.565	9½	47‍–‍29	40‍–‍38
Chicago Cubs	77	77	.500	19½	42‍–‍35	35‍–‍42
Cincinnati Reds	69	85	.448	27½	38‍–‍39	31‍–‍46
Boston Braves	64	89	.418	32	31‍–‍45	33‍–‍44
Pittsburgh Pirates	42	112	.273	54½	23‍–‍54	19‍–‍58

Postseason

The postseason began on October 1 and ended on October 7 with the New York Yankees defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1952 World Series in seven games.

Bracket

	World Series
	AL	New York Yankees	4
	NL	Brooklyn Dodgers	3

Managerial changes

Off-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Boston Red Sox	Steve O'Neill	Lou Boudreau
St. Louis Browns	Zack Taylor	Rogers Hornsby
St. Louis Cardinals	Marty Marion	Eddie Stanky

In-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Boston Braves	Tommy Holmes	Charlie Grimm
Cincinnati Reds	Luke Sewell	Rogers Hornsby
Detroit Tigers	Red Rolfe	Fred Hutchinson
Philadelphia Phillies	Eddie Sawyer	Steve O'Neill
St. Louis Browns	Rogers Hornsby	Marty Marion

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders ^[2]

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Ferris Fain (PHA)	.327
OPS	Mickey Mantle (NYY)	.924
HR	Larry Doby (CLE)	32
RBI	Al Rosen (CLE)	105
R	Larry Doby (CLE)	104
H	Nellie Fox (CWS)	192
SB	Minnie Miñoso (CWS)	22

Pitching leaders ^[3]

Stat	Player	Total
W	Bobby Shantz (PHA)	24
L	Art Houtteman (DET)	20
ERA	Allie Reynolds (NYY)	2.06
K	Allie Reynolds (NYY)	160
IP	Bob Lemon (CLE)	309.2
SV	Harry Dorish (CWS)	11
WHIP	Bobby Shantz (PHA)	1.048

National League

Hitting leaders ^[4]

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Stan Musial (SLC)	.336
OPS	Stan Musial (SLC)	.970
HR	Ralph Kiner (PIT) Hank Sauer (CHC)	37
RBI	Hank Sauer (CHC)	121
R	Solly Hemus (SLC) Stan Musial (SLC)	105
H	Stan Musial (SLC)	194
SB	Pee Wee Reese (BKN)	30

Pitching leaders ^[5]

Stat	Player	Total
W	Robin Roberts (PHP)	28
L	Murry Dickson (PIT)	21
ERA	Hoyt Wilhelm (NYG)	2.43
K	Warren Spahn (BSB)	183
IP	Robin Roberts (PHP)	330.0
SV	Al Brazle (SLC)	16
WHIP	Warren Hacker (CHC)	0.946

Awards and honors

Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award	National League	American League
Rookie of the Year	Joe Black (BKN)	Harry Byrd (PHA)
Most Valuable Player	Hank Sauer (CHC)	Bobby Shantz (PHA)
Babe Ruth Award (World Series MVP)	—	Johnny Mize (NYY)

Other awards

The Sporting News Awards
Award	National League	American League
Player of the Year [6]	Robin Roberts (PHP)	—
Pitcher of the Year [7]	Robin Roberts (PHP)	Bobby Shantz (CLE)
Rookie of the Year [8]	Joe Black (BKN)	Clint Courtney (SLB)
Manager of the Year [9]	Eddie Stanky (SLC)	—
Executive of the Year [10]	—	George Weiss (NYY)

Baseball Hall of Fame

Main article: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

• Harry Heilmann
• Paul Waner

Further information: 1952 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting

Home field attendance

Team name	Wins	%±	Home attendance	%±	Per game
New York Yankees [11]	95	−3.1%	1,629,665	−16.4%	21,164
Cleveland Indians [12]	93	0.0%	1,444,607	−15.3%	18,761
Chicago White Sox [13]	81	0.0%	1,231,675	−7.3%	15,591
Boston Red Sox [14]	76	−12.6%	1,115,750	−15.0%	14,490
Brooklyn Dodgers [15]	96	−1.0%	1,088,704	−15.1%	13,609
Detroit Tigers [16]	50	−31.5%	1,026,846	−9.3%	13,336
Chicago Cubs [17]	77	24.2%	1,024,826	14.6%	13,309
New York Giants [18]	92	−6.1%	984,940	−7.0%	12,791
St. Louis Cardinals [19]	88	8.6%	913,113	−9.9%	11,859
Philadelphia Phillies [20]	87	19.2%	755,417	−19.4%	9,940
Washington Senators [21]	78	25.8%	699,457	0.6%	8,967
Pittsburgh Pirates [22]	42	−34.4%	686,673	−30.0%	8,918
Philadelphia Athletics [23]	79	12.9%	627,100	34.7%	8,040
Cincinnati Reds [24]	69	1.5%	604,197	2.7%	7,847
St. Louis Browns [25]	64	23.1%	518,796	76.6%	6,651
Boston Braves [26]	64	−15.8%	281,278	−42.3%	3,653

Retired numbers

• Honus Wagner had his No. 33 retired by the Pittsburgh Pirates on February 16. This was the first number retired by the team.
• Joe DiMaggio had his No. 5 retired by the New York Yankees on April 18. This was the third number retired by the team.

Events

• April 23 – Bob Cain of the St. Louis Browns bested Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians in matching one-hitters, 1–0, at Sportsman's Park. This was only the second double one-hitter in the modern era (since 1901). ^[27]
• June 22 – Boston Braves player Sid Gordon hits a two-run homer over the left field fence at Braves Field. His homer won Gordon the prize of a 100-pound bear cub for being the first Braves player to homer on "State of Maine Day". After the game, Gordon was presented with the animal in the Braves clubhouse. ^[28]
• August 23 – Bob Elliott of the New York Giants is ejected for arguing a strike call during an at-bat against the St. Louis Cardinals at Sportsman's Park. Bobby Hofman completes Elliott's at-bat. Hofman strikes out and is also ejected for arguing. ^[29]

See also

• 1952 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season
• 1952 Nippon Professional Baseball season

References

1. "1952 Major League Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
2. "1952 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
3. "1952 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
4. "1952 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
5. "1952 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
6. "Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
7. "Pitcher of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
8. "Rookie of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
9. "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
10. "MLB Executive of the Year Award | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
11. "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
12. "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
13. "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
14. "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
15. "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
16. "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
17. "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
18. "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
19. "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
20. "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
21. "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
22. "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
23. "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
24. "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
25. "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
26. "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
27. "April 23, 1952 boxscore from Baseball Reference". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
28. "Strange and Unusual Plays". www.retrosheet.org. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
29. "Odd Baseball Facts Archive – II: One At-Bat, Two Ejections". goldenrankings.com. Retrieved November 29, 2014.

External links

• 1952 Major League Baseball season schedule at Baseball Reference