1959 in baseball

Last updated September 18, 2025

The following are the baseball events of the year 1959 throughout the world.

Champions

Major League Baseball

World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Chicago White Sox (4–2); Larry Sherry, MVP
All-Star Game (#1), July 7 at Forbes Field: National League, 5–4
All-Star Game (#2), August 3 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: American League, 5–3

Other champions

College World Series: Oklahoma State
Japan Series: Nankai Hawks over Yomiuri Giants (4–0)
Little League World Series: Hamtramck National, Hamtramck, Michigan
Pan American Games: Venezuela over Puerto Rico

Winter Leagues

Awards and honors

Baseball Hall of Fame
- Zack Wheat

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award	National League	American League
Rookie of the Year	Willie McCovey (SF)	Bob Allison (WSH)
Cy Young Award	—	Early Wynn (CWS)
Most Valuable Player	Ernie Banks (CHC)	Nellie Fox (CWS)
Gold Glove Awards
Position	National League	American League
Pitcher	Harvey Haddix (PIT)	Bobby Shantz (NY)
Catcher	Del Crandall (MIL)	Sherm Lollar (CWS)
1st Base	Gil Hodges (LA)	Vic Power (CLE)
2nd Base	Charlie Neal (LA)	Nellie Fox (CWS)
3rd Base	Ken Boyer (STL)	Frank Malzone (BOS)
Shortstop	Roy McMillan (CIN)	Luis Aparicio (CWS)
Left field	Jackie Brandt (SF)	Minnie Miñoso (CLE)
Center field	Willie Mays (SF)	Al Kaline (DET)
Right field	Hank Aaron (MIL)	Jackie Jensen (BOS)

Statistical leaders

	American League		National League
Stat	Player	Total	Player	Total
AVG	Harvey Kuenn (DET)	.353	Hank Aaron (MIL)	.355
HR	Rocky Colavito (CLE) Harmon Killebrew (WSH)	42	Eddie Mathews (MIL)	46
RBI	Jackie Jensen (BOS)	112	Ernie Banks (CHC)	143
W	Early Wynn (CWS)	22	Lew Burdette (MIL) Sam Jones (SF) Warren Spahn (MIL)	21
ERA	Hoyt Wilhelm (BAL)	2.19	Sam Jones (SF)	2.83
K	Jim Bunning (DET)	201	Don Drysdale (LA)	242

Major league baseball final standings

American League final standings

v
t
e
American League
Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Chicago White Sox	94	60	.610	—	47‍–‍30	47‍–‍30
Cleveland Indians	89	65	.578	5	43‍–‍34	46‍–‍31
New York Yankees	79	75	.513	15	40‍–‍37	39‍–‍38
Detroit Tigers	76	78	.494	18	41‍–‍36	35‍–‍42
Boston Red Sox	75	79	.487	19	43‍–‍34	32‍–‍45
Baltimore Orioles	74	80	.481	20	38‍–‍39	36‍–‍41
Kansas City Athletics	66	88	.429	28	37‍–‍40	29‍–‍48
Washington Senators	63	91	.409	31	34‍–‍43	29‍–‍48

Orioles

Red Sox

White Sox

Indians

Tigers

Athletics

Yankees

Senators

Locations of teams for the 1955–1960 American League seasons

American League

National League final standings

v
t
e
National League
Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Los Angeles Dodgers	88	68	.564	—	46‍–‍32	42‍–‍36
Milwaukee Braves	86	70	.551	2	49‍–‍29	37‍–‍41
San Francisco Giants	83	71	.539	4	42‍–‍35	41‍–‍36
Pittsburgh Pirates	78	76	.506	9	47‍–‍30	31‍–‍46
Chicago Cubs	74	80	.481	13	38‍–‍39	36‍–‍41
Cincinnati Reds	74	80	.481	13	43‍–‍34	31‍–‍46
St. Louis Cardinals	71	83	.461	16	42‍–‍35	29‍–‍48
Philadelphia Phillies	64	90	.416	23	37‍–‍40	27‍–‍50

Cubs

Reds

Dodgers

Braves

Phillies

Pirates

Giants

Cardinals

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Locations of teams for the 1959 National League season

National League

Nippon Professional Baseball final standings

Central League final standings

Central League	G	W	L	T	Pct.	GB
Yomiuri Giants	130	77	48	5	.612	—
Osaka Tigers	130	62	59	9	.512	13.0
Chunichi Dragons	130	64	61	5	.512	13.0
Kokutetsu Swallows	130	63	65	2	.492	15.5
Hiroshima Carp	130	59	64	7	.481	17.0
Taiyo Whales	130	49	77	4	.392	28.5

Pacific League final standings

Pacific League	G	W	L	T	Pct.	GB
Nankai Hawks	134	88	42	4	.677	—
Daimai Orions	136	82	48	6	.631	6.0
Toei Flyers	135	67	63	5	.515	21.0
Nishitetsu Lions	144	66	64	14	.508	22.0
Hankyu Braves	134	48	82	4	.369	40.0
Kintetsu Buffaloes	133	39	91	3	.300	49.0

Events

January

January 13 – John J. Quinn, 50, general manager of the defending National League champion Milwaukee Braves, resigns to become GM of the cellar-dwelling Philadelphia Phillies, replacing Roy Hamey. Quinn has headed the Braves' front office since 1945, when they played in Boston. Hamey rejoins the New York Yankees as assistant to GM George Weiss.
January 14 – Baseball Hall of Fame former shortstop Joe Cronin, 52, succeeds Will Harridge and becomes the fourth president of the American League. Harridge, who had spent 28 years as the AL's chief executive, becomes board chairman. One day later, Hall of Fame field manager Bucky Harris, 62, succeeds Cronin as general manager of the Boston Red Sox.
January 25 – MLB front-office shuffles continue as John McHale, 37, general manager of the Detroit Tigers since April 1957, resigns to take a similar post with the Milwaukee Braves. Former catcher and future Hall-of-Famer Rick Ferrell takes over Detroit's GM job.
January 30 – The Cincinnati Redlegs trade catcher Smoky Burgess, pitcher Harvey Haddix, and third baseman Don Hoak to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for third baseman Frank Thomas, pitcher Whammy Douglas, outfielders Jim Pendleton and Johnny Powers, and cash considerations.

Nap Lajoie Lajoie Nap 3.jpg — Nap Lajoie

February

February 7 – Baseball mourns all-time great Nap Lajoie upon his death from pneumonia in Daytona Beach, Florida at 84. Second baseman Lajoie, the third man to exceed 3,000 career hits, was so famous that the Cleveland American League club was known as the "Naps" during his 1902–1914 tenure. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1937. (See Deaths entry for this date below.)
February 11 – Although Cold War tensions remain high, Cincinnati's MLB franchise decides to return to its traditional identity, the Cincinnati Reds. The club had changed its official moniker to Cincinnati Redlegs in April 1953 to disassociate itself from Communism. Fans and media will intermittently refer to the team as the "Redlegs" into the early 1960s, however, and the word "Reds" will not return to the team's logo until a uniform makeover in 1961.^[1]
February 14 – The San Francisco Giants sell the contract of Whitey Lockman to the Baltimore Orioles.
February 15:
- Cuba wins its fourth straight Caribbean Series, defeating second-place Venezuela, 8–2, behind Camilo Pascual. Represented by its league champions, Almendares, Cuba wins five of the six games they play. The MVP is future MLB All-Star Norm Cash, a member of Venezuela's representative.
- An important upper-level minor league closes its doors forever when the Western League announces it will not operate in 1959. Since 1955, the Western circuit has lost markets like Denver, Omaha, Wichita and Amarillo to higher-classification loops. Four of its eight clubs stay afloat by joining the lower-classification Three–I League.
February 28 – Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees ends his holdout after one day. Mantle agrees to a salary of $72,000 and a bonus of $2,000. He had been asking the Yankees for $85,000 after batting .304 with 42 home runs and 97 RBI in 1958.

March

March 10 – After five years out of the spotlight, Bill Veeck returns to baseball, purchasing 54 percent majority interest in the Chicago White Sox from Dorothy Comiskey Rigney. The transaction caps the long-running feud between Dorothy and her brother Chuck, who owns the remaining 46%. It also marks the end of the Comiskey family's nearly six-decade-long control of the Pale Hose franchise.
March 21 – Larry Doby, future Hall of Famer and the first African-American to play in the American League, is traded by the Cleveland Indians to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Tito Francona.
March 24 – Milwaukee Braves second baseman Red Schoendienst, hospitalized for four months with tuberculosis, is released from a St. Louis sanatorium and will continue his recovery at home. Schoendienst, 36, underwent lung surgery in February as part of his treatment. He was diagnosed with the ailment last November after he started all seven games of the 1958 World Series; playing in all 63 innings, he had batted .300 and made only one error in 38 total chances on defense.^[2]
March 25 – In a trade that benefits both clubs, the St. Louis Cardinals obtain Bill White and Ray Jablonski from the San Francisco Giants for "Toothpick" Sam Jones and Don Choate. Veteran hurler Jones, 33, will lead the National League in games won (21), shutouts (four) and earned run average (2.83) in 1959. White, a 25-year-old first baseman who as a Giant was caught between incumbent Orlando Cepeda and prospect Willie McCovey — both future Hall of Famers — becomes a regular and team leader with the Cardinals, who is selected for eight All-Star Games, wins six Gold Glove Awards, and plays a prominent role in the Redbirds' 1964 world-championship season and the racial integration of their spring training living quarters. After his playing days, White achieves further prominence as a broadcaster for the New York Yankees (1971–1988), then president of the National League (1989–1994).
March 31 – The Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Braves pull off a six-man trade, with the Phils exchanging catcher Stan Lopata and infielders Ted Kazanski and Johnny O'Brien for pitcher Gene Conley and infielders Harry Hanebrink and Joe Koppe.

April

April 2 – As spring training draws to an end, the Detroit Tigers return minor-league shortstop Maury Wills to the Los Angeles Dodgers' organization. Wills, 26, had been acquired "conditionally" in October 1958. Assigned to Triple-A Spokane to begin 1959, Wills will become a switch-hitter, hit .313 in 48 games, then be promoted to the Dodgers and make his debut on June 6, 1959; by 1962 he will set a new MLB season record for stolen bases and win the National League Most Valuable Player Award.
April 10 – Sal Maglie's major league career comes to an end as the St. Louis Cardinals release the former 20-game winner right before the start of the season.
April 11 – On Opening Day, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale hits a home run, becoming the only pitcher to hit more than one career homer in opening games. (He will hit 29 long balls over his 14-year career.) Drysdale's historic blast doesn't prevent the Dodgers from losing their game, 6–1, to the Chicago Cubs.
April 17 – Detroit Tigers' Al Kaline belts his 100th career home run.
April 22 – The Chicago White Sox defeat the Kansas City Athletics 20–6 at Municipal Stadium. The White Sox score 11 of those runs on only one hit in a wild seventh inning. Ray Boone and Al Smith lead off the seventh by reaching on errors. Johnny Callison then collects the hit, a single that scores Boone; on the play, Smith scores and Callison reaches third on a Roger Maris error. Eight of the next nine runs score on ten bases on balls; Callison is hit by a pitch to force in the remaining run. The KC "wild men" are relievers Tom Gorman, Mark Freeman and George Brunet.^[3]^[4]^[5]

May

May 2 – Frank Robinson of the Cincinnati Reds hits for the cycle, drives in five runs and scores twice in today's 16–4 triumph over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Crosley Field.^[6] Lead-off man Johnny Temple, #2 hitter Vada Pinson and third-place hitter Robinson go a combined nine-for-13, with eight runs scored and 12 runs batted in.^[7]
May 3 – The Detroit Tigers, losers of 15 of their first 17 games, replace manager Bill Norman with Jimmy Dykes. For the veteran Dykes, the Tigers are the fourth big-league team he's managed since 1951. In his first day with the Tigers, his club sweeps a doubleheader from the New York Yankees at Briggs Stadium, with renowned "Sunday slugger" Charlie Maxwell belting four home runs. Under Dykes, Detroit will perk up to go 74–63 for the rest of 1959.
May 7 – An all-time MLB record crowd of 93,103 gathers at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for "Roy Campanella Night", honoring the former Brooklyn Dodger catcher who was paralyzed in a January 1958 car accident on the eve of his team's move to Los Angeles. In the exhibition game that follows, the visiting New York Yankees defeat the Dodgers, 6–2. The event raises $60,000 to help defray Campanella's medical expenses. The attendance record will stand for almost 49 years until 115,300 witness the March 29, 2008, exhibition contest at the Coliseum between the Dodgers and Boston Red Sox that marks the home side's 50th anniversary in Los Angeles.^[8]^[9]
May 10 – At Forbes Field, Jim Hearn of the Philadelphia Phillies gives up two runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates before the second game of a Sunday doubleheader is suspended by curfew. On May 22, the Phillies release Hearn, ending the pitcher's 13-year MLB career. The suspended game is completed July 21, with the Pirates winning 6–4, and Hearn is tagged with the loss almost two months after he retired from baseball.
May 12 – Yogi Berra of the New York Yankees commits an error, as his errorless streak of 148 games for a catcher comes to an end in a New York 7–6 loss to the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium.

May 20 – The New York Yankees' 13–6 loss to the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium drops the New Yorkers to last place in the American League—their first time in the cellar since May 23, 1940. The Yankees had won nine pennants over the previous ten years, only missing out in 1954 when they finished second but won 103 games. They will battle back in 1959 but finish third, 15 lengths behind the pennant-winning White Sox.
May 26:
- At County Stadium, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Harvey Haddix carries a perfect game into the 13th inning against the Milwaukee Braves, retiring 36 consecutive batters before Félix Mantilla reaches on a Don Hoak error. Haddix then loses the no-hitter and the game on the Braves' only hit when Joe Adcock slugs what appears to be a home run, but is later ruled a double when Adcock passes Mantilla on the bases. The final score is Milwaukee 1, Pittsburgh 0. Winning pitcher Lew Burdette goes all the way and allows 12 Pirate hits.^[10]
- The New York Yankees acquire right-handed pitcher Ralph Terry, 23, and infielder-outfielder Héctor López, 29, from the Kansas City Athletics for pitchers Johnny Kucks, 26, and Tom Sturdivant, 29, and second baseman Jerry Lumpe, 25. Both Terry and López will contribute to the Bombers' early 1960s AL pennants: former Yankee Terry overcomes a crushing defeat in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series to become a 23-game winner and World Series MVP two years later; López will be a key platoon outfielder. Lumpe, meanwhile, will be Kansas City's regular second baseman through 1963.
- The Washington Senators trade Albie Pearson, 24, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, to the Baltimore Orioles for fellow outfielder Lenny Green, 26.

June

June 8 – The St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds exchange right-handed pitchers, with Cincinnati obtaining Jim Brosnan for Hal Jeffcoat. The trade occurs as aspiring writer Brosnan, 29, is working on a breakthrough memoir, The Long Season, the first account of a baseball season as seen through the eyes of a player. Upon publication in 1960, the book is denounced by the baseball establishment, but well-received by critics.^[11]
June 10 – Cleveland Indians right-fielder Rocky Colavito becomes the eighth player in Major League history to hit four home runs in a game. He hits all four in consecutive at-bats, scoring five runs and knocking in six, as the Indians top the Baltimore Orioles, 11–8, at Memorial Stadium.^[6]^[12]
June 12 – The Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame opens in Tokyo.
June 14 – Ernie Banks hits 200th career home run helping Chicago Cubs beat Milwaukee Braves 6–0.
June 18 – At Memorial Stadium‚ Alfonso "Chico" Carrasquel drives in two runs in both the eighth and ninth innings to give the Baltimore Orioles a 7–6 win over the visiting Detroit Tigers.
June 21 – At Seals Stadium, Hank Aaron hits three home runs in the Milwaukee Braves' 13–3 victory over the San Francisco Giants. For Aaron, Major League Baseball's future home run king, it will be the only three-home run game of his career.
June 30 – The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs are involved in a bizarre play at Wrigley Field in which two balls are in play at the same time. With one out in the fourth inning, Stan Musial is at the plate with a 3–1 count. The next pitch from the Cubs' Bob Anderson evades catcher Sammy Taylor and rolls to the backstop. Home plate umpire Vic Delmore calls ball four on Musial, much to the chagrin of Anderson and Taylor, both of whom argue that Musial had foul tipped the ball. With the ball still in play and Delmore arguing with both Anderson and Taylor, Musial attempts to run for second. Meanwhile, Cubs third baseman Alvin Dark runs to the backstop and retrieves the ball despite it having ended up in the hands of field announcer Pat Pieper. However, Delmore unknowingly pulls out a new ball and gives it to Taylor. Anderson sees Musial attempting to advance to second and throws the ball to second baseman Tony Taylor, only for it to sail into the outfield. At the same time, Dark throws the original ball to shortstop Ernie Banks. Musial sees Anderson's ball go over Tony Taylor's head and attempts to advance to third, unaware that Dark's throw has reached Banks, who tags Musial. After a delay, Musial is declared out. Both teams play the game under protest; the Cardinals drop theirs after defeating the Cubs 4–1.

July

July 2 – Pinky Higgins, manager of the Boston Red Sox since 1955, is fired with his club 31–42 and ensconced in the American League basement. After coach Rudy York handles the club July 3 in Baltimore, Washington Senators coach Billy Jurges, the former standout National League shortstop, is named Higgins' replacement.
July 4 – After today's holiday action, which often marks the midpoint of an MLB season, there are pennant races in each major league. In the National, the San Francisco Giants (45–34) lead the Milwaukee Braves (43–33–1) by a half game and Los Angeles Dodgers (45–37) by 1½ lengths. In the American, five games separate the top five teams, with Cleveland (43–32) leading Chicago (42–35) by two, followed by Baltimore (41–36), New York (40–37) and Detroit (40–39).
July 7 – In the season's first All-Star Game, held at Forbes Field, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the National League tops the American League 5–4. The NL rallies for two eighth-inning runs, with key hits from Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, to defeat Whitey Ford.
July 8 – The Cincinnati Reds fire manager Mayo Smith only 80 games into his first year, and replace him with former Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals skipper Fred Hutchinson, who had been managing the Reds' Triple-A Seattle affiliate.
July 16 – Fireballing relief pitcher Ryne Duren of the New York Yankees gives up a run for the first time in 2½ months in the eighth inning of today's 7–5 win over the Cleveland Indians in the Bronx. Duren's scoreless string—longest in the majors this season—began May 10 and encompassed 18 appearances and 312⁄3 innings pitched.^[6]
July 21 – In his MLB debut, Pumpsie Green pinch-runs for veteran Vic Wertz during the eighth inning of a Boston Red Sox 2–1 loss at Comiskey Park, Chicago. Green is left stranded at first, then stays in the game and plays an inning of defense at shortstop. He becomes the first Black player to appear in an official game for the Red Sox, the last of the 16 big-league clubs prior to expansion to break the color barrier.
July 27 – New York attorney William Shea announces the formation of a third major league, the Continental League, to begin play in 1961. One of the charter teams for the league would be placed in New York. The Continental League will disband August 2, 1960 on promises that four of its franchises would be accepted to the National League and American League as expansion franchises.
July 28:
- The Chicago White Sox defeat the New York Yankees 4–3 behind southpaw Billy Pierce at Comiskey Park, enabling them to leapfrog the Cleveland Indians into first place in the American League standings. Although Cleveland will challenge them into late September, the White Sox hold on to take their first pennant in 40 years.
- The Antitrust and Monopoly Subcommittee of the United States Senate, headed by Sen. Estes Kefauver of Tennessee, holds hearings in Washington, D.C., for two bills that would change or codify baseball's anti-trust exemption. It is the fifth time in nine years that baseball has been investigated by the U.S. Congress.
July 30 – The red-hot Kansas City Athletics win their tenth straight game—and 14th out of their last 16—by defeating the Washington Senators, 4–1. The streak, which began July 14, enables the chronic second-division ball club to climb above .500 at 50–49 and will represent a rare high point in its dismal, 13-season tenure in Kansas City.

August

August 3 – At the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the American League defeats the National League 5–3 in the second All-Star Game of 1959. The Junior Circuit is powered by home runs from Frank Malzone, Yogi Berra and Rocky Colavito, while Frank Robinson and Jim Gilliam homer for the Nationals. The winning pitcher is 20-year-old Jerry Walker.
August 5 – The Washington Senators lose their 18th straight game, 7–3, in the first game of a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians at Griffith Stadium. The Senators rebound to take the nightcap, 9–0, behind Tex Clevenger's seven-hitter, but they will drop four more games in a row. Washington is in the midst of a calamitous midsummer collapse that sees them lose 22 of 24 games and plunge from fifth place (July 17) to the basement of the eight-team American League (August 9).
August 6:
- In the third marathon contest between the two teams in 1959—and what will be the longest game of the season in MLB—the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles battle for 18 innings to a 1–1 stalemate at Memorial Stadium before a 12 midnight curfew halts proceedings.^[4] Billy Pierce allows one run over 16 innings for the visitors before Turk Lown records two scoreless frames in relief. Billy O'Dell starts for Baltimore and lasts eight innings before turning matters over to knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm, who preserves the 1–1 tie with ten innings of scoreless relief.^[13] While all statistics from tonight will go into the books, the game will be re-played "from scratch" on September 11.^[14]
- The Pittsburgh Pirates amass 23 hits against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Veteran catcher Smoky Burgess goes five-for-six and knocks in six runs as the Pirates turn an 8–2 rout into an 18–2 "laugher" with ten ninth-inning tallies.^[4]
August 13 – Led by George Altman's five hits (including two homers) and five runs batted in, the Chicago Cubs batter the San Francisco Giants at Wrigley Field, 20–9.^[4]^[15]
August 14 – At Connie Mack Stadium, the Cincinnati Reds battle back from a second-inning 8–0 deficit to defeat the home-standing Philadelphia Phillies, 15–13, on the strength of 23 hits. Vada Pinson and Frank Robinson each go five-for-six; they score a combined seven runs and drive in five. Ex-"Whiz Kid" Willie "Puddin' Head" Jones goes four-for-five and knocks in three runs against his former team.^[4]^[16]
August 18 – Hall of Fame executive Branch Rickey, 77, in semi-retirement since October 1955, sells his minority interest in and resigns as chairman of the Pittsburgh Pirates to become president of William Shea's Continental League. The new loop already has granted franchises to Denver, Houston, Minneapolis–Saint Paul and Toronto, as well as New York City. Rickey and a committee of CL owners hold a summit meeting in New York with Commissioner of Baseball Ford Frick, the AL and NL presidents, and a delegation of MLB owners to discuss the possible entry of the Continental circuit into Organized Baseball as a third major league.^[17]
August 25 – The first-place Chicago White Sox add left-handed power to their batting order by acquiring first baseman Ted Kluszewski from the Pittsburgh Pirates for outfielder Harry Simpson and a minor leaguer. The trade will enable Kluszewski, nearly 35, to play in his first World Series—in which he will star (.391, 3 HR, 10 RBI in six games) in a losing cause.
August 30 – In his 50th appearance of the season, Pittsburgh Pirates relief ace Roy Face wins his 17th consecutive decision—without a loss—in a 7–6 triumph over the Philadelphia Phillies at Forbes Field. Face finally loses a game in his 54th outing, against the Los Angeles Dodgers September 11, but logs his 18th and final victory of 1959 on the 19th. His 18–1 mark yields a .947 winning percentage, which still stands as the best among hurlers with 13 or more decisions.
August 31 – Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers equals Bob Feller's record of 18 strikeouts in a nine-inning game during a 5–2 triumph over the San Francisco Giants at the LA Coliseum.^[18] Koufax also breaks Dizzy Dean's National League standard of 17 Ks, set in 1933. Earlier in 1959, on June 22, Koufax had fanned 16 Philadelphia Phillies in a 6–2 triumph at the Coliseum.^[6]

September

September 2 – Future Hall-of-Fame second baseman Red Schoendienst of the Milwaukee Braves makes his first appearance of the season after recovering from tuberculosis and lung surgery. Pinch-hitting for Juan Pizarro at County Stadium, he grounds out, pitcher (future Hall of Famer Robin Roberts) to first. Schoendienst, 36, will play in only five games this year, but he'll recover fully and appear in 234 more MLB contests before his 1963 playing retirement.
September 7:
- At Cleveland Stadium on Labor Day, Jimmy Piersall's two-run, ninth-inning single scores the tying and winning tallies in the Indians' 15–14 come-from-behind victory over the Detroit Tigers in the opening game of a doubleheader. Then, in the nightcap, the Indians stage another ninth-inning, three-run rally to erase a 5–3 deficit and sweep the twin bill, 6–5. Cleveland's two victories enable the Indians (80–56) to keep pace with the Chicago White Sox (85–52–2) and remain 4½ games behind in the American League race; Chicago also sweeps today, taking two from the Kansas City Athletics at Comiskey Park.
- The three National League contenders all take care of business: the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers each win single contests, while the Milwaukee Braves sweep their doubleheader. The Giants (77–60) lead the Dodgers (74–63) and Braves (74–63–1) by three with 17 contests remaining to play.
September 11 – Brooks Robinson's 16th-inning single plates Al Pilarcik with the game's only run, enabling the host Baltimore Orioles to sweep the visiting Chicago White Sox, 3–0 and 1–0, in a doubleheader.^[19] The marathon, a complete-game shutout for Jerry Walker, the Orioles' 20-year-old right-hander, is the nightcap of a twin bill scheduled to replay a game in early August that ended in an 18-inning, 1–1 tie; today also marks the fourth time in 1959 that the White Sox and Orioles have needed more than 15 frames to decide a contest.^[4]
September 12 – Ken Boyer of the St. Louis Cardinals triples and homers in a 6–4 victory over the Chicago Cubs, extending his hitting streak to 29 games, longest in the majors since 1950. The streak ends the next day.
September 18 – A season-long feud with general manager "Frantic" Frank Lane spurs Cleveland Indians manager Joe Gordon to announce that he will quit his post after the 1959 season ends.^[20] The Indians are still mathematically in pennant contention, although 51⁄2 games behind the Chicago White Sox.
September 22:
- At Cleveland Stadium, the White Sox defeat the Indians 4–2 to clinch the American League pennant. Back-to-back home runs from Al Smith and Jim Rivera in the sixth inning give eventual Cy Young Award winner Early Wynn his 21st victory. The pennant is the first for the White Sox since 1919; that team went on to throw the World Series in what would come to be known as the Black Sox Scandal.
- With Cleveland now eliminated from the race, Frank Lane fires Joe Gordon immediately. It's revealed the Lane has offered the Indians' 1960 managerial job to Leo Durocher, former skipper of the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants who recently quit as a "color commentator" on "Game of the Week" telecasts.^[21]
September 23 – When contract negotiations break down between Lane and Durocher, the Indians' general manager reverses course and rehires Joe Gordon as his manager, giving him a two-year contract and a raise in salary.^[22] "I made a mistake," Lane tells the press. Gordon returns to the Tribe helm for 1960, but on August 3, Lane will fire Gordon again — part of a bizarre "trade" of managers with the Detroit Tigers.
September 27 – A wild National League pennant race comes down to the final day with three teams—the Milwaukee Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers (each 85–68), and the San Francisco Giants (83–69)—within reach of the championship. A three-way tie is possible, should the Giants win their doubleheader and their foes lose their single games.^[23] But the Giants' hopes are crushed when the Braves and Dodgers win and they're swept by the St. Louis Cardinals. Los Angeles and Milwaukee will continue their regular season with the third NL tie-breaker series in 14 years, all of them involving the Dodgers.
September 28 – Charlie Grimm, known as "Jolly Cholly," is named to replace Bob Scheffing, whose nickname is "Grump," as manager of the Chicago Cubs for 1960. For the affable, 61-year-old Grimm, the appointment represents his third term as skipper of the Cubs, for whom he piloted NL champions in 1932, 1935 and 1945.
September 28–29 – The Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Milwaukee Braves in two straight games in a best-of-three playoff series, 3–2 and 6–5, to reach the World Series. In the clinching contest, played in Los Angeles, the Dodgers stage a stirring three-run, ninth-inning rally to tie the score at five, then plate the winning tally in the 12th on a single by Carl Furillo and an error by Braves' shortstop Félix Mantilla.^[24]
September 30 – Bill DeWitt, 57, former owner and general manager of the St. Louis Browns and currently a senior member of the Commissioner of Baseball's staff, becomes president and de facto GM of the Detroit Tigers.^[25]

October

October 1 – The Go-Go Chicago White Sox change character at home and hammer the Los Angeles Dodgers 11–0 in the first game of the 1959 World Series, as Ted Kluszewski slugs two home runs and drives home five runs. Chicago's Early Wynn and Gerry Staley combine for the shutout. New York Yankees manager Casey Stengel, sitting out only his second World Series since 1949, covers the game as a reporter.
October 8 – The Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Chicago White Sox, 9–3, in Game 6 of the World Series to win the franchise's second world championship — and first since moving from Brooklyn in 1958 — four games to two. The Dodgers build an 8–0 lead after four innings and hold on despite Ted Kluszewski's three-run home run. The round-tripper gives the slugger a new six-game RBI record of ten.
- The Dodgers' Chuck Essegian hits his second pinch homer to establish a new record, later equalled by Bernie Carbo of the Boston Red Sox in 1975.
- It's the first World Series in which no pitcher for either team pitches a complete game. Dodgers' reliever Larry Sherry—who wins two games (including today's), saves two others, and allows only one run in 122⁄3 innings of work—is named MVP.
October 19 – The Baltimore Orioles acquire first baseman Jim Gentile from the Los Angeles Dodgers for $50,000 and two players to be named later—shortstop Willy Miranda and outfielder Bill Lajoie. Gentile, 25, had struggled in two brief stints (1957–1958) as a Dodger, but as an Oriole he will be named to six consecutive AL All-Star teams between 1960 and 1962 and tie Roger Maris for the Junior Circuit's RBI crown (1961).
October 21 – The Players Association approves two All-Star Games in 1960, to be held at Kansas City Municipal Stadium and Yankee Stadium.
October 24 – The Milwaukee Braves appoint Chuck Dressen, 64, their manager for 1960. He replaces another veteran pilot, 63-year-old Fred Haney, who stepped down October 4 after leading the Braves to a World Series title (1957), National League pennant (1958), and a flat-footed tie with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1959) in successive seasons. Haney returns to Los Angeles, where a year later he becomes the first general manager and chief architect of the expansion Angels.

November

November 3 – Exchanging a pair of 26-year-old former top prospects, the Boston Red Sox trade left-handed pitcher Frank Baumann to the Chicago White Sox for 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) right-handed-hitting first baseman Ron Jackson. Baumann will post the American League's best earned run average in 1960, while Jackson will play only ten early-season games for Boston and be traded away in mid-May.
November 4 – Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs wins the National League Most Valuable Player Award for the second straight year with 232 points. Eddie Mathews (189) and Hank Aaron (174) of the Milwaukee Braves finish second and third respectively.
November 12 – Nellie Fox of the Chicago White Sox wins the American League MVP Award with 295 points. Teammates Luis Aparicio (255) and Early Wynn (123) finish second and third respectively.
November 18 – The Kansas City Athletics change managers, replacing Harry Craft with Bob Elliott, 43, remembered as "Mister Team" and 1947 National League MVP as the third baseman of the Boston Braves.
November 21 – In the first inter-league trade without waivers, the NL Chicago Cubs send first baseman Jim Marshall and pitcher Dave Hillman to the AL Boston Red Sox in exchange for first baseman Dick Gernert. Also today, the Kansas City Athletics deal catcher Frank House to the Cincinnati Reds for pitcher Tom Acker. The new, annual inter-league trading period lasts from November 21 through December 15, parallel to the winter meetings, and it will be the only means for teams to trade players to the other major league without exposing them to waivers until 1973.
November 30 – The San Francisco Giants acquire left-hander Billy O'Dell, along with veteran righty Billy Loes, from the Baltimore Orioles for right-hander Gordon Jones, catcher Roger McCardell and outfielder Jackie Brandt.

December

December 1 – Another interleague trade sends career National Leaguer Bobby Thomson, 36, from the Chicago Cubs to the Boston Red Sox for pitcher Al Schroll.
December 2 – The Baltimore Orioles deal veteran outfielder Bob Nieman to the St. Louis Cardinals for catcher/oufielder Gene Green and minor-league catcher Chuck Staniland.
December 4 – The Cardinals pick up left-handed-swinging backup catcher Carl Sawatski from the Philadelphia Phillies for two "Smiths"—southpaw pitcher Bill Smith and outfielder Bobby Gene Smith.
December 5 – The Phillies trade their former starting shortstop, Humberto "Chico" Fernández, along with pitcher Ray Semproch, to the Detroit Tigers for infielders Ted Lepcio and Alex Cosmidis and outfielder Ken Walters.
December 6:
- The Chicago White Sox reacquire Comiskey Park favorite and future Hall-of-Fame outfielder Minnie Miñoso, 36, as part of a seven-player trade with the Cleveland Indians. In addition to Miñoso, the AL champion White Sox receive pitchers Don Ferrarese and Jake Striker and catcher Dick Brown and send catcher Johnny Romano, first baseman Norm Cash and third baseman Bubba Phillips to Cleveland.
- The Cincinnati Reds trade third baseman/outfielder Frank Thomas, a three-time NL All-Star, to the Chicago Cubs for left-hander Bill Henry and outfielders Lou Jackson and Lee Walls.
December 9:
- The Pittsburgh Pirates trade pitcher Dick Hall, catcher Hank Foiles and infielder Ken Hamlin to the Kansas City Athletics for catcher/utilityman Hal Smith, who will play a key supporting role in the Bucs' 1960 world championship season and its Game 7 win.
- In an effort to shore up their third base position, the defending AL champion Chicago White Sox trade 20-year-old top prospect Johnny Callison to the Philadelphia Phillies for veteran Gene Freese. Outfielder Callison will blossom into a four-time National League All-Star; Freese spends only one season on the South Side before being traded away.
December 11 – In a seven-player transaction, the New York Yankees trade outfielders Hank Bauer and Norm Siebern, pitcher Don Larsen and first baseman Marv Throneberry to the Kansas City Athletics in exchange for outfielder Roger Maris, shortstop Joe DeMaestri and first baseman Kent Hadley. Maris proceeds to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award in both 1960 and 1961, breaking Babe Ruth's 60-home-run record in the latter year. Maris' acquisition helps the Yankees win the next five AL pennants in a row.
December 15 – During the final day of the new interleague trading period, the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians complete a trade headlined by two veteran second basemen. The Reds send four-time National League All-Star Johnny Temple to Cleveland for second-sacker Billy Martin, pitcher Cal McLish and first baseman Gordy Coleman. The Reds become Martin's fourth team since he was banished from the New York Yankees on June 15, 1957.
December 21 – The St. Louis Cardinals trade pitcher Tom Cheney and outfielder Gino Cimoli to the Pittsburgh Pirates for pitcher Ron Kline.
December 22 – The Continental League grows to seven teams with the admission of Dallas–Fort Worth; two weeks earlier, Atlanta had become the CL's sixth franchise.