1958 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1958 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1958 in baseball.

1958 MLB season
League	American League (AL) National League (NL)
Sport	Baseball
Duration	Regular season: April 14 – September 28, 1958 (AL) April 15 – September 28, 1958 (NL) World Series: October 1–9, 1958
Number of games	154
Number of teams	16 (8 per league)
TV partner(s)	NBC, CBS
Regular season
Season MVP	AL: Jackie Jensen (BOS) NL: Ernie Banks (CHC)
AL champions	New York Yankees
AL runners-up	Chicago White Sox
NL champions	Milwaukee Braves
NL runners-up	Pittsburgh Pirates
World Series
Champions	New York Yankees
Runners-up	Milwaukee Braves
World Series MVP	Bob Turley (NY)
MLB seasons
← 1957 1959 →

Orioles

Red Sox

White Sox   

Indians

Tigers

    Athletics

Yankees

Senators

Locations of teams for the 1955–1960 American League seasons
American League

Cubs

     Redlegs

Dodgers

Braves

      Phillies

Pirates   

   Giants

Cardinals

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Locations of teams for the 1958 National League season
National League

The 1958 major league baseball season began on April 14, 1958. The regular season ended on September 28, with the Milwaukee Braves 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 55th World Series on October 1 and ended with Game 7 on October 9. In the second iteration of this World Series matchup (and a rematch of the previous year), the Yankees defeated the Braves, four games to three, capturing their 18th championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1956.

The 25th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played on July 8, hosted by the Baltimore Orioles in Baltimore, Maryland, with the American League winning, 4–3.

Following the relocation trend that began in 1953, the National League's Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants moved from New York, New York (Brooklyn and Manhattan, respectively) to California (Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively), becoming the fourth and fifth teams to relocate in the relocation era and leaving New York a one-team city. The moves to California marked the first time major-league teams played on the West Coast. The National League exodus from New York would go on to inspire the proposed Continental League the following year, which pressured the two existing leagues to begin expansion. ^[1] New York went without a National League team for four seasons, until the expansion New York Mets began play in 1962.

On June 6, the Detroit Tigers became the 15th team in professional baseball to break the color line when they fielded Ozzie Virgil Sr.. ^[2]

Schedule

See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1958 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.

American League Opening Day took place on April 14, featuring the Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators, while National League Opening Day took place the following day, featuring all eight NL teams. This continued the trend from the previous season which saw both leagues opened on different days. The final day of the regular season was on September 28, which saw fourteen teams play. The World Series took place between October 1 and October 9.

Teams

League	Team	City	Stadium	Capacity	Manager
American League	Baltimore Orioles	Baltimore, Maryland	Baltimore Memorial Stadium	47,778	Paul Richards
	Boston Red Sox	Boston, Massachusetts	Fenway Park	34,819	Pinky Higgins
	Chicago White Sox	Chicago, Illinois	Comiskey Park	46,550	Al López
	Cleveland Indians	Cleveland, Ohio	Cleveland Stadium	73,811	Bobby Bragan, Joe Gordon
	Detroit Tigers	Detroit, Michigan	Briggs Stadium	58,000	Jack Tighe, Bill Norman
	Kansas City Athletics	Kansas City, Missouri	Municipal Stadium	30,296	Harry Craft
	New York Yankees	New York, New York	Yankee Stadium	67,205	Casey Stengel
	Washington Senators	Washington, D.C.	Griffith Stadium	28,669	Cookie Lavagetto
National League	Chicago Cubs	Chicago, Illinois	Wrigley Field	36,755	Bob Scheffing
	Cincinnati Redlegs	Cincinnati, Ohio	Crosley Field	29,584	Birdie Tebbetts, Jimmy Dykes
	Los Angeles Dodgers	Los Angeles, California	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	93,000	Walter Alston
	Milwaukee Braves	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Milwaukee County Stadium	43,768	Fred Haney
	Philadelphia Phillies	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Connie Mack Stadium	33,359	Mayo Smith, Eddie Sawyer
	Pittsburgh Pirates	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Forbes Field	34,249	Danny Murtaugh
	San Francisco Giants	San Francisco, California	Seals Stadium	22,900	Bill Rigney
	St. Louis Cardinals	St. Louis, Missouri	Busch Stadium	30,500	Fred Hutchinson, Stan Hack

Standings

American League

• v
• t
• e

American League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	92	62	.597	—	44‍–‍33	48‍–‍29
Chicago White Sox	82	72	.532	10	47‍–‍30	35‍–‍42
Boston Red Sox	79	75	.513	13	49‍–‍28	30‍–‍47
Cleveland Indians	77	76	.503	14½	42‍–‍34	35‍–‍42
Detroit Tigers	77	77	.500	15	43‍–‍34	34‍–‍43
Baltimore Orioles	74	79	.484	17½	46‍–‍31	28‍–‍48
Kansas City Athletics	73	81	.474	19	43‍–‍34	30‍–‍47
Washington Senators	61	93	.396	31	33‍–‍44	28‍–‍49

National League

• v
• t
• e

National League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Milwaukee Braves	92	62	.597	—	48‍–‍29	44‍–‍33
Pittsburgh Pirates	84	70	.545	8	49‍–‍28	35‍–‍42
San Francisco Giants	80	74	.519	12	44‍–‍33	36‍–‍41
Cincinnati Redlegs	76	78	.494	16	40‍–‍37	36‍–‍41
Chicago Cubs	72	82	.468	20	35‍–‍42	37‍–‍40
St. Louis Cardinals	72	82	.468	20	39‍–‍38	33‍–‍44
Los Angeles Dodgers	71	83	.461	21	39‍–‍38	32‍–‍45
Philadelphia Phillies	69	85	.448	23	35‍–‍42	34‍–‍43

Postseason

Bracket

	World Series
	AL	New York Yankees	3	5	4	0	7	410	6
	NL	Milwaukee Braves	410*	13	0	3	0	3	2

*Denotes walk-off

Managerial changes

Off-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Chicago White Sox	Marty Marion	Al López
Cleveland Indians	Kerby Farrell	Bobby Bragan

In-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Cincinnati Redlegs	Birdie Tebbetts	Jimmy Dykes
Cleveland Indians	Bobby Bragan	Joe Gordon
Detroit Tigers	Jack Tighe	Bill Norman
Philadelphia Phillies	Mayo Smith	Eddie Sawyer
St. Louis Cardinals	Fred Hutchinson	Stan Hack

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Ted Williams (BOS)	.328
OPS	Ted Williams (BOS)	1.042
HR	Mickey Mantle (NY)	42
RBI	Jackie Jensen (BOS)	122
R	Mickey Mantle (NYY)	127
H	Nellie Fox (CWS)	187
SB	Luis Aparicio (CWS)	29

Pitching leaders

Stat	Player	Total
W	Bob Turley (NY)	21
L	Pedro Ramos (WSH)	18
ERA	Whitey Ford (NY)	2.01
K	Early Wynn (CWS)	179
IP	Frank Lary (DET)	260.1
SV	Ryne Duren (NY) Dick Hyde (WSH)	19
WHIP	Whitey Ford (NY)	1.076

National League

Hitting leaders

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Richie Ashburn (PHI)	.350
OPS	Willie Mays (SF)	1.002
HR	Ernie Banks (CHC)	47
RBI	Ernie Banks (CHC)	129
R	Willie Mays (SF)	121
H	Richie Ashburn (PHI)	215
SB	Willie Mays (SF)	31

Pitching leaders

Stat	Player	Total
W	Bob Friend (PIT) Warren Spahn (MIL)	22
L	Ron Kline (PIT)	16
ERA	Stu Miller (SF)	2.47
K	Sam Jones (STL)	225
IP	Warren Spahn (MIL)	290.0
SV	Roy Face (PIT)	20
WHIP	Warren Spahn (MIL)	1.148

Awards and honors

Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award	National League	American League
Rookie of the Year	Orlando Cepeda (SF)	Albie Pearson (WSH)
Cy Young Award	—	Bob Turley (NY)
Most Valuable Player	Ernie Banks (CHC)	Jackie Jensen (BOS)
Gold Glove Awards
Position	National League	American League
Pitcher	Harvey Haddix (CIN)	Bobby Shantz (NY)
Catcher	Del Crandall (MIL)	Sherm Lollar (CWS)
1st Base	Gil Hodges (LA)	Vic Power (CLE/ KC )
2nd Base	Bill Mazeroski (PIT)	Frank Bolling (DET)
3rd Base	Ken Boyer (STL)	Frank Malzone (BOS)
Shortstop	Roy McMillan (CIN)	Luis Aparicio (CWS)
Left field	Frank Robinson (CIN)	Norm Siebern (NY)
Center field	Willie Mays (SF)	Jimmy Piersall (BOS)
Right field	Hank Aaron (MIL)	Al Kaline (DET)

Other awards

• Sport Magazine's World Series Most Valuable Player Award: Bob Turley (NY)
• Babe Ruth Award (BBWAA World Series MVP): Elston Howard (NY)

The Sporting News Awards
Award	National League	American League
Player of the Year [3]	—	Bob Turley (NY)
Pitcher of the Year [4]	Warren Spahn (MIL)	Bob Turley (NY)
Rookie of the Year [5] (Player)	Orlando Cepeda (SF)	Albie Pearson (WSH)
Rookie of the Year [5] (Pitcher)	Carl Willey (MIL)	Ryne Duren (NY)
Manager of the Year [6]	—	Casey Stengel (NY)
Executive of the Year [7]	Joe L. Brown (PIT)	—

Monthly awards

Player of the Month

Main article: Major League Baseball Player of the Month Award

Month	National League
May	Willie Mays (SF) Stan Musial (STL)
June	Frank Thomas (PIT)
July	Joey Jay (MIL)
August	Lew Burdette (MIL)
September	Willie Mays (SF)

Home field attendance

Team name	Wins	%±	Home attendance	%±	Per game
Milwaukee Braves [8]	92	−3.2%	1,971,101	−11.0%	25,599
Los Angeles Dodgers [9]	71	−15.5%	1,845,556	79.5%	23,968
New York Yankees [10]	92	−6.1%	1,428,438	−4.6%	18,313
Pittsburgh Pirates [11]	84	35.5%	1,311,988	54.2%	17,039
San Francisco Giants [12]	80	15.9%	1,272,625	94.6%	16,528
Detroit Tigers [13]	77	−1.3%	1,098,924	−13.6%	14,272
Boston Red Sox [14]	79	−3.7%	1,077,047	−8.8%	13,988
St. Louis Cardinals [15]	72	−17.2%	1,063,730	−10.1%	13,815
Chicago Cubs [16]	72	16.1%	979,904	46.1%	12,726
Philadelphia Phillies [17]	69	−10.4%	931,110	−18.8%	12,092
Kansas City Athletics [18]	73	23.7%	925,090	2.7%	11,860
Baltimore Orioles [19]	74	−2.6%	829,991	−19.4%	10,641
Chicago White Sox [20]	82	−8.9%	797,451	−29.8%	10,357
Cincinnati Redlegs [21]	76	−5.0%	788,582	−26.4%	10,241
Cleveland Indians [22]	77	1.3%	663,805	−8.1%	8,734
Washington Senators [23]	61	10.9%	475,288	4.0%	6,093

Events

January–March

• January 29 – Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella suffers a broken neck in an early morning auto accident on Long Island. His spinal column is nearly severed and his legs are permanently paralyzed. Campanella will never play for the Dodgers after their move to Los Angeles, although a newspaper story (showing a picture of him wearing a Brooklyn cap) describes him as being of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• February 4 – The Baseball Hall of Fame fails to elect any new members for the first time since 1950.

April–June

• April 15 – In the first Major League Baseball game played on the West Coast, Rubén Gómez of the San Francisco Giants hurls an 8–0 shutout against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Giants' shortstop Daryl Spencer hits the first Major League home run on the Pacific Coast. A park-record 23,192 fans pack San Francisco's Seals Stadium to witness the historic game.
• April 25 – The Dodgers set a record for the most fans at a regular season night game as 60,635 fans are on hand to see the Dodgers defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 5–3.
• May 13 – Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals gets his 3,000th career hit, a pinch-hit double off Moe Drabowsky in the sixth inning of a 5–3 Cardinals victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
• May 23 – Willie Mays hits his 200th career home run, a two-run shot off Warren Spahn in the ninth inning of a game against the Milwaukee Braves at County Stadium. The home run drives in the decisive runs of the game, as the San Francisco Giants down the Braves, 5–3.

July–September

• September 14 – The New York Yankees sweep a doubleheader against the Kansas City Athletics, 5–3 and 12–7 (14 innings), clinching their fourth straight American League pennant.
• September 20 – Hoyt Wilhelm of the Baltimore Orioles strikes out eight while throwing a no-hitter against the New York Yankees.
• September 21 – The Milwaukee Braves clinch their second consecutive National League pennant with a 6–5 victory over the Cincinnati Redlegs, thus ensuring a Yankees–Braves World Series for the second straight year.

October–December

• October 8 – The New York Yankees win the 1958 World Series handily as Moose Skowron's 3-run home run off Milwaukee Braves pitcher Lew Burdette in the 8th inning puts Game 7 on ice, 6–2. The Yankees became only the second team to come back from a 3–1 deficit to win a best-of-seven World Series, joining the Pittsburgh Pirates, who did it in the 1925 World Series. (The Boston Americans/Red Sox came back from a 3–1 deficit to win the first World Series in 1903, a best-of-nine series.) Milwaukee's Eddie Mathews strikes out for the 11th time, a record that will stand until 1980, when broken by Willie Wilson of the Kansas City Royals. The Braves' 53 strikeouts are also a new World Series record. This is Casey Stengel's 7th world championship, tying him with Joe McCarthy for the most Series won.

Television coverage

CBS and NBC aired weekend Game of the Week broadcasts. NBC began airing a special regional feed of its games in the southeast. The All-Star Game and World Series also aired on NBC.

Movies

• Damn Yankees

Births

• January 20 – Bill Scherrer
• February 21 – Alan Trammell
• April 29 – Steve Crawford
• June 15 – Wade Boggs
• August 19 – Gary Gaetti
• August 23 – Julio Franco
• September 16 – Orel Hershiser
• November 28 – Dave Righetti
• December 25 – Rickey Henderson

Deaths

• January 23 – Walter Lonergan, 72, shortstop for the 1911 Boston Red Sox
• March 28 – Chuck Klein, 53, slugging right fielder, primarily with the Philadelphia Phillies, who was named the NL's MVP in 1932 and won the Triple Crown one year later; the 7th player to hit 300 home runs, winning four league titles
• April 14 – John Freeman, 57, outfielder for the 1927 Boston Red Sox
• June 9 – John Fick, 37, pitcher for the 1944 Philadelphia Blue Jays
• August 1 – Ike Boone, 61, an outfielder for the New York Giants, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, and Brooklyn Dodgers between 1922 and 1932, who posted an ML career average of .321, compiled a .370 BA for the highest minor league all-time, and set a professional baseball record in 1929 collecting 553 total bases while playing in the Pacific Coast League
• November 21 – Mel Ott, 49, Hall of Fame outfielder and 12-time All-Star for the New York Giants who held National League career record for home runs (511), leading league 6 times
• November 27 – Harry G. Salsinger, 71, sportswriter for the Detroit News for over 50 years
• December 8 – Tris Speaker, 70, Hall of Fame center fielder known for spectacular defense as well as superlative batting, becoming the second player to compile over 3,500 hits and posting a .345 career average
• December 31 – Jack Doyle, 89, 17 year playing career includes a one time stint as manager of the New York Giants.

See also

• 1958 Nippon Professional Baseball season

References

1. Longley, Neil (December 12, 2013). An Absence of Competition: The Sustained Competitive Advantage of the Monopoly Sports Leagues. New York: Springer Publishing. p. 50. ISBN   9781461494850.
2. "These players integrated each MLB team". MLB.com. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
3. "Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
4. "Pitcher of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
5. "Rookie of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
6. "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
7. "MLB Executive of the Year Award | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
8. "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
9. "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
10. "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
11. "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
12. "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
13. "Detroit Tigers 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. "St. Louis Cardinals 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. "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
18. "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
19. "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
20. "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
21. "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
22. "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
23. "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.

External links

• 1958 Major League Baseball season schedule