1954 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1954 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1954 in baseball.

1954 MLB season
League	American League (AL) National League (NL)
Sport	Baseball
Duration	Regular season: April 13 – September 26, 1954 World Series: September 29 – October 2, 1954
Number of games	154
Number of teams	16 (8 per league)
TV partner(s)	ABC, NBC
Regular season
Season MVP	AL: Yogi Berra (NYY) NL: Willie Mays (NYG)
AL champions	Cleveland Indians
AL runners-up	New York Yankees
NL champions	New York Giants
NL runners-up	Brooklyn Dodgers
World Series
Champions	New York Giants
Runners-up	Cleveland Indians
Finals MVP	Dusty Rhodes (NYG)
MLB seasons
← 1953 1955 →

Orioles

Red Sox

White Sox

Indians

Tigers

Athletics

Yankees

Senators

Locations of teams for the 1954 American League season
American League

Dodgers

Cubs

Redlegs

Braves

Giants

Phillies

Pirates

Cardinals

Locations of teams for the 1953–1957 National League seasons
National League

The 1954 major league baseball season began on April 13, 1954. The regular season ended on September 26, with the New York Giants and Cleveland Indians as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 51st World Series on September 29 and ended with Game 4 on October 2. The Giants swept the Indians in four games, capturing their fifth championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1933.

The 21st Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played on July 13, hosted by the Cleveland Indians in Cleveland, Ohio, with the American League winning, 11–9, ending the National League's four-win streak.

In a continuation of the relocation trend that began the previous season, the St. Louis Browns moved from St. Louis, Missouri to Baltimore, Maryland, leaving St. Louis a one-team city, and seeing the return of American League baseball to Baltimore after 52 seasons. The previous American League relocation involved the same franchise, when the Milwaukee Brewers moved to St. Louis as the Browns, 53 seasons earlier. The season would also prove to be the last season of the Athletics franchise in Philadelphia, moving to Kansas City, Missouri the following season as the Kansas City Athletics.

On Opening Day, April 13, the Pittsburgh Pirates ^[a] and St. Louis Cardinals became the ninth and tenth teams in professional baseball to break the color line when they fielded Curt Roberts and Tom Alston, respectively; the Cincinnati Redlegs became the 11th team just four days later when they fielded future Nino Escalera and Chuck Harmon, while the Washington Senators became the 12th team on September 6 when they fielded Carlos Paula. ^[2]

Schedule

See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1954 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 13, featuring all sixteen teams, the first time since 1950. The final day of the regular season was on September 26, which saw fourteen teams play, and was the first time since 1945 that the scheduled regular season didn't end with all sixteen teams. The World Series took place between September 29 and October 2.

Rule changes

The 1954 season saw the following rule changes: ^[3]

• During half innings where a team was batting, all players of that team must remove their gloves from the field. In addition, any equipment not on a player was to be removed from the field. ^[4]
• Rules regarding a defensive interference offense expanded to include all fielders on the field, not just changed from a catcher.
• Fielders who were in the batter's vision could no longer deliberately distract the batter.
• The sacrifice fly rule was brought back, having been previously used in 1939. This time, the rule was considered when a player scored after the catch only. Sacrifice bunts and flies were listed separately in official averages. ^[5]

Teams

League	Team	City	Stadium	Capacity	Manager
American League	Baltimore Orioles	Baltimore, Maryland	Baltimore Memorial Stadium	47,866	Jimmy Dykes
	Boston Red Sox	Boston, Massachusetts	Fenway Park	34,824	Lou Boudreau
	Chicago White Sox	Chicago, Illinois	Comiskey Park	46,550	Paul Richards, Marty Marion
	Cleveland Indians	Cleveland, Ohio	Cleveland Stadium	73,811	Al López
	Detroit Tigers	Detroit, Michigan	Briggs Stadium	58,000	Fred Hutchinson
	New York Yankees	New York, New York	Yankee Stadium	67,000	Casey Stengel
	Philadelphia Athletics	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Connie Mack Stadium	33,166	Eddie Joost
	Washington Senators	Washington, D.C.	Griffith Stadium	29,023	Bucky Harris
National League	Brooklyn Dodgers	New York, New York	Ebbets Field	32,111	Walter Alston
	Chicago Cubs	Chicago, Illinois	Wrigley Field	36,755	Stan Hack
	Cincinnati Redlegs	Cincinnati, Ohio	Crosley Field	29,439	Birdie Tebbetts
	Milwaukee Braves	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Milwaukee County Stadium	44,091	Charlie Grimm
	New York Giants	New York, New York	Polo Grounds	54,500	Leo Durocher
	Philadelphia Phillies	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Connie Mack Stadium	33,166	Steve O'Neill, Terry Moore
	Pittsburgh Pirates	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Forbes Field	34,249	Fred Haney
	St. Louis Cardinals	St. Louis, Missouri	Busch Stadium	30,500	Eddie Stanky

Standings

American League

• v
• t
• e

American League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Cleveland Indians	111	43	.721	—	59‍–‍18	52‍–‍25
New York Yankees	103	51	.669	8	54‍–‍23	49‍–‍28
Chicago White Sox	94	60	.610	17	45‍–‍32	49‍–‍28
Boston Red Sox	69	85	.448	42	38‍–‍39	31‍–‍46
Detroit Tigers	68	86	.442	43	35‍–‍42	33‍–‍44
Washington Senators	66	88	.429	45	37‍–‍41	29‍–‍47
Baltimore Orioles	54	100	.351	57	32‍–‍45	22‍–‍55
Philadelphia Athletics	51	103	.331	60	29‍–‍47	22‍–‍56

National League

• v
• t
• e

National League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Giants	97	57	.630	—	53‍–‍23	44‍–‍34
Brooklyn Dodgers	92	62	.597	5	45‍–‍32	47‍–‍30
Milwaukee Braves	89	65	.578	8	43‍–‍34	46‍–‍31
Philadelphia Phillies	75	79	.487	22	39‍–‍39	36‍–‍40
Cincinnati Redlegs	74	80	.481	23	41‍–‍36	33‍–‍44
St. Louis Cardinals	72	82	.468	25	33‍–‍44	39‍–‍38
Chicago Cubs	64	90	.416	33	40‍–‍37	24‍–‍53
Pittsburgh Pirates	53	101	.344	44	31‍–‍46	22‍–‍55

Postseason

Bracket

	World Series
	AL	Cleveland Indians	0
	NL	New York Giants	4

Managerial changes

Off-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Baltimore Orioles	Marty Marion (St. Louis Browns)	Jimmy Dykes
Brooklyn Dodgers	Chuck Dressen	Walter Alston
Chicago Cubs	Phil Cavarretta	Stan Hack
Cincinnati Redlegs	Buster Mills	Birdie Tebbetts
Philadelphia Athletics	Jimmy Dykes	Eddie Joost

In-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Chicago White Sox	Paul Richards	Marty Marion
Philadelphia Phillies	Steve O'Neill	Terry Moore

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Bobby Ávila (CLE)	.341
OPS	Ted Williams (BOS)	1.148
HR	Larry Doby (CLE)	32
RBI	Larry Doby (CLE)	126
R	Mickey Mantle (NYY)	129
H	Nellie Fox (CWS) Harvey Kuenn (DET)	201
SB	Jackie Jensen (BOS)	22

Pitching leaders

Stat	Player	Total
W	Bob Lemon (CLE) Early Wynn (CLE)	23
L	Don Larsen (BAL)	21
ERA	Mike Garcia (CLE)	2.64
K	Bob Turley (BAL)	185
IP	Early Wynn (CLE)	270.2
SV	Johnny Sain (NYY)	26
WHIP	Mike Garcia (CLE)	1.125

National League

Hitting leaders

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Willie Mays (NYG)	.345
OPS	Willie Mays (NYG)	1.078
HR	Ted Kluszewski (CIN)	49
RBI	Ted Kluszewski (CIN)	141
R	Stan Musial (STL) Duke Snider (BKN)	120
H	Don Mueller (NYG)	212
SB	Bill Bruton (MIL)	34

Pitching leaders

Stat	Player	Total
W	Robin Roberts (PHP)	23
L	Murry Dickson (PHP)	20
ERA	Johnny Antonelli (NYG)	2.30
K	Robin Roberts (PHP)	185
IP	Robin Roberts (PHP)	336.2
SV	Jim Hughes (BKN)	24
WHIP	Robin Roberts (PHP)	1.025

Milestones

• Umpire Bill McGowan set a Major League record by officiating in his 2,541st consecutive game. ^[6]

Awards and honors

Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award	National League	American League
Rookie of the Year	Wally Moon (STL)	Billy Martin (NYY)
Most Valuable Player	Willie Mays (NYG)	Yogi Berra (NYY)

Other awards

• Babe Ruth Award (World Series MVP): Dusty Rhodes (NYG)

The Sporting News Awards
Award	National League	American League
Player of the Year [7]	Willie Mays (NYG)	—
Pitcher of the Year [8]	Johnny Antonelli (NYG)	Bob Lemon (CLE)
Rookie of the Year [9]	Wally Moon (STL)	Bob Grim (NYY)
Manager of the Year [10]	Leo Durocher (NYG)	—
Executive of the Year [11]	Horace Stoneham (NYG)	—

Baseball Hall of Fame

Main article: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

• Rabbit Maranville
• Bill Dickey
• Bill Terry

Further information: 1954 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting

Home field attendance

Team name	Wins	%±	Home attendance	%±	Per game
Milwaukee Braves [12]	89	−3.3%	2,131,388	16.7%	27,680
New York Yankees [13]	103	4.0%	1,475,171	−4.1%	18,912
Cleveland Indians [14]	111	20.7%	1,335,472	24.9%	17,344
Chicago White Sox [15]	94	5.6%	1,231,629	3.4%	15,790
New York Giants [16]	97	38.6%	1,155,067	42.3%	15,198
Detroit Tigers [17]	68	13.3%	1,079,847	22.1%	14,024
Baltimore Orioles [18]	54	0.0%	1,060,910	256.9%	13,778
St. Louis Cardinals [19]	72	−13.3%	1,039,698	18.1%	13,503
Brooklyn Dodgers [20]	92	−12.4%	1,020,531	−12.3%	13,254
Boston Red Sox [21]	69	−17.9%	931,127	−9.3%	11,786
Chicago Cubs [22]	64	−1.5%	748,183	−2.0%	9,717
Philadelphia Phillies [23]	75	−9.6%	738,991	−13.4%	9,474
Cincinnati Redlegs [24]	74	8.8%	704,167	28.5%	9,145
Washington Senators [25]	66	−13.2%	503,542	−15.5%	6,456
Pittsburgh Pirates [26]	53	6.0%	475,494	−17.0%	6,175
Philadelphia Athletics [27]	51	−13.6%	304,666	−15.9%	3,957

Television coverage

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

Retired numbers

• Billy Meyer had his No. 1 retired by the Pittsburgh Pirates. This was the second number retired by the team.

See also

• 1954 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season
• 1954 Nippon Professional Baseball season

Notes

1. Major League Baseball recognizes Curt Roberts as the Pirates' first Black player; however, Carlos Bernier of Puerto Rico, also a Black man, debuted on April 22, 1953. ^[1]

References

1. Guzzardi, Joe (April 14, 2013). "Carlos Bernier, more than a footnote". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
2. "These players integrated each MLB team". MLB.com. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
3. "MLB Rule Changes | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
4. Bass, Mike. "Mike Bass column: Hate MLB's changes? You ain't seen nothing yet ... I hope". The Enquirer. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
5. admin. "The Sacrifice Fly – Society for American Baseball Research" . Retrieved May 28, 2024.
6. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.42, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN   978-0-451-22363-0
7. "Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
8. "Pitcher of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
9. "Rookie of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
10. "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
11. "MLB Executive of the Year Award | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
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. "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
15. "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
16. "San Francisco Giants 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. "Baltimore Orioles 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. "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
21. "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
22. "Chicago Cubs 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. "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
26. "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
27. "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.

External links

• 1954 Major League Baseball season schedule at Baseball Reference