1955 Major League Baseball season

Last updated

1955 MLB season
League American League (AL)
National League (NL)
Sport Baseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 11 – September 25, 1955
World Series:
  • September 28 – October 4, 1955
Number of games154
Number of teams16 (8 per league)
TV partner(s) NBC, CBS
Regular season
Season MVP AL: Yogi Berra (NYY)
NL: Roy Campanella (BKN)
AL champions New York Yankees
  AL runners-up Cleveland Indians
NL champions Brooklyn Dodgers
  NL runners-up Milwaukee Braves
World Series
Champions Brooklyn Dodgers
  Runners-up New York Yankees
World Series MVP Johnny Podres (BKN)
MLB seasons
Locations of teams for the 1955–1960 American League seasons
ButtonRed.svg American League
Locations of teams for the 1953–1957 National League seasons
ButtonBlue.svg National League
Kansas City Athletics first game in Municipal Stadium, 1955. Kansas City Municipal Stadium 1955.jpg
Kansas City Athletics first game in Municipal Stadium, 1955.

The 1955 major league baseball season began on April 11, 1955. The regular season ended on September 25, 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 52nd World Series on September 28 and ended with Game 7 on October 4. In the sixth iteration of this Subway Series World Series matchup, The Dodgers defeated the Yankees, four games to three, capturing their first championship in franchise history. This was the first World Series between the two teams to see the Dodgers win over the Yankees.

Contents

The 22nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played on July 12, hosted by the Milwaukee Braves in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with the National League winning, 6–5.

In a continuation of the relocation trend that began in 1953, a team relocated in the third year in a row; the American League's Philadelphia Athletics moved from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Kansas City, Missouri, leaving Philadelphia a one-team city.

On April 14, the New York Yankees became the 13th team in professional baseball to break the color line when they fielded Elston Howard. [1]

Schedule

The 1955 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 11, featuring four teams. The final day of the regular season was on September 25, which saw all sixteen teams play, the first time since 1953. The World Series took place between September 28 and October 4.

Teams

LeagueTeamCityStadiumCapacityManager
American League Baltimore Orioles Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore Memorial Stadium 47,866 Paul Richards
Boston Red Sox Boston, Massachusetts Fenway Park 34,824 Pinky Higgins
Chicago White Sox Chicago, Illinois Comiskey Park 46,550 Marty Marion
Cleveland Indians Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland Stadium 73,811 Al López
Detroit Tigers Detroit, Michigan Briggs Stadium 58,000 Bucky Harris
Kansas City Athletics Kansas City, Missouri Municipal Stadium 30,296 Lou Boudreau
New York Yankees New York, New York Yankee Stadium 67,000 Casey Stengel
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. Griffith Stadium 29,023 Chuck Dressen
National League Brooklyn Dodgers New York, New York Ebbets Field 31,902 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 Mayo Smith
Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Forbes Field 34,249 Fred Haney
St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri Busch Stadium 30,500 Eddie Stanky,
Harry Walker

Standings

American League

American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 9658.623—52‍–‍2544‍–‍33
Cleveland Indians 9361.604349‍–‍2844‍–‍33
Chicago White Sox 9163.591549‍–‍2842‍–‍35
Boston Red Sox 8470.5451247‍–‍3137‍–‍39
Detroit Tigers 7975.5131746‍–‍3133‍–‍44
Kansas City Athletics 6391.4093333‍–‍4330‍–‍48
Baltimore Orioles 5797.3703930‍–‍4727‍–‍50
Washington Senators 53101.3444328‍–‍4925‍–‍52

National League

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Brooklyn Dodgers 9855.641—56‍–‍2142‍–‍34
Milwaukee Braves 8569.55213½46‍–‍3139‍–‍38
New York Giants 8074.51918½44‍–‍3536‍–‍39
Philadelphia Phillies 7777.50021½46‍–‍3131‍–‍46
Cincinnati Redlegs 7579.48723½46‍–‍3129‍–‍48
Chicago Cubs 7281.4712643‍–‍3329‍–‍48
St. Louis Cardinals 6886.44230½41‍–‍3627‍–‍50
Pittsburgh Pirates 6094.39038½36‍–‍3924‍–‍55

Postseason

Bracket

World Series
   
AL New York Yankees 3
NL Brooklyn Dodgers 4

Managerial changes

Off-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
Baltimore Orioles Jimmy Dykes Paul Richards
Boston Red Sox Lou Boudreau Pinky Higgins
Detroit Tigers Fred Hutchinson Bucky Harris
Kansas City Athletics Eddie Joost Lou Boudreau
Philadelphia Phillies Terry Moore Mayo Smith
Washington Senators Bucky Harris Chuck Dressen

In-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
St. Louis Cardinals Eddie Stanky Harry Walker

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Al Kaline (DET).340
OPS Mickey Mantle (NYY)1.042
HR Mickey Mantle (NYY)37
RBI Ray Boone (DET)
Jackie Jensen (BOS)		116
R Al Smith (CLE)123
H Al Kaline (DET)200
SB Jim Rivera (CWS)25
Pitching leaders
StatPlayerTotal
W Whitey Ford (NYY)
Bob Lemon (CLE)
Frank Sullivan (BOS)		18
L Jim Wilson (BAL)18
ERA Billy Pierce (CWS)1.97
K Herb Score (CLE)245
IP Frank Sullivan (BOS)260.0
SV Ray Narleski (CLE)19
WHIP Billy Pierce (CWS)1.099

National League

Hitting leaders
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Richie Ashburn (PHI).338
OPS Willie Mays (NYG)1.059
HR Willie Mays (NYG)51
RBI Duke Snider (BKN)136
R Duke Snider (BKN)126
H Ted Kluszewski (CIN)192
SB Bill Bruton (MIL)25
Pitching leaders
StatPlayerTotal
W Robin Roberts (PHI)23
L Sam Jones (CHC)20
ERA Bob Friend (PIT)2.83
K Sam Jones (CHC)198
IP Robin Roberts (PHI)305.0
SV Jack Meyer (PHI)16
WHIP Don Newcombe (BKN)1.113

Awards and honors

Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA AwardNational LeagueAmerican League
Rookie of the Year Bill Virdon (STL) Herb Score (CLE)
Most Valuable Player Roy Campanella (BKN) Yogi Berra (NYY)

Other awards

The Sporting News Awards
AwardNational LeagueAmerican League
Player of the Year [2] Duke Snider (BKN)—
Pitcher of the Year [3] Robin Roberts (PHI) Whitey Ford (NYY)
Rookie of the Year [4] Bill Virdon (STL) Herb Score (CLE)
Manager of the Year [5] Walter Alston (BKN)—
Executive of the Year [6] Walter O'Malley (BKN)—

Baseball Hall of Fame

Home field attendance

Team nameWins%±Home attendance%±Per game
Milwaukee Braves [7] 85−4.5%2,005,836−5.9%26,050
New York Yankees [8] 96−6.8%1,490,1381.0%19,352
Kansas City Athletics [9] 6323.5%1,393,054357.2%18,330
Cleveland Indians [10] 93−16.2%1,221,780−8.5%15,867
Boston Red Sox [11] 8421.7%1,203,20029.2%15,426
Detroit Tigers [12] 7916.2%1,181,8389.4%15,349
Chicago White Sox [13] 91−3.2%1,175,684−4.5%15,269
Brooklyn Dodgers [14] 986.5%1,033,5891.3%13,423
Philadelphia Phillies [15] 772.7%922,88624.9%11,986
Chicago Cubs [16] 7212.5%875,80017.1%11,374
Baltimore Orioles [17] 575.6%852,039−19.7%10,785
St. Louis Cardinals [18] 68−5.6%849,130−18.3%11,028
New York Giants [19] 80−17.5%824,112−28.7%10,432
Cincinnati Redlegs [20] 751.4%693,662−1.5%9,009
Pittsburgh Pirates [21] 6013.2%469,397−1.3%6,259
Washington Senators [22] 53−19.7%425,238−15.6%5,523

Television coverage

The Game of the Week moved from ABC to CBS [23] (the rights were actually set up through the Falstaff Brewing Corporation [24] [25] [26] ).

The All-Star Game and World Series aired on NBC.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "These players integrated each MLB team". MLB.com. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Pitcher of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Rookie of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  6. ↑ "MLB Executive of the Year Award | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  8. ↑ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Detroit Tigers 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. ↑ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  18. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  19. ↑ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  23. ↑ Walker, James R.; Bellamy, Robert V. (2008). Center field shot: a history of baseball on television. University of Nebraska Press. p. 103. ISBN   978-0803248250.
  24. ↑ "Falstaff Newspaper Ads 1950-60's". A Falstaff Collector.
  25. ↑ "SPORTS BRIEFS". Los Angeles Times . March 6, 1954. p. B3.
  26. ↑ Sieler, Pete (May 8, 2015). "TV Radio Movies 1/16/15". TRM – TVRadioMovies.com. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015.
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