1962 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1962 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1962 in baseball.

1962 MLB season
League	American League (AL) National League (NL)
Sport	Baseball
Duration	Regular season: April 9 – September 30, 1962 (AL) April 9 – October 3, 1962 (NL) World Series: October 4–16, 1962
Number of games	162
Number of teams	20 (10 per league)
TV partner(s)	NBC, CBS
Regular season
Season MVP	AL: Mickey Mantle (NYY) NL: Maury Wills (LAD)
AL champions	New York Yankees
AL runners-up	Minnesota Twins
NL champions	San Francisco Giants
NL runners-up	Los Angeles Dodgers
World Series
Champions	New York Yankees
Runners-up	San Francisco Giants
World Series MVP	Ralph Terry (NYY)
MLB seasons
← 1961 1963 →

Orioles

Red Sox

White Sox

Indians

Tigers

Athletics

Angels

Twins

Yankees

Senators

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Locations of teams for the 1962–1964 American League seasons
American League

Cubs

Reds

Colt .45s

Dodgers

Braves

Mets

      Phillies

Pirates   

   Giants

Cardinals

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Locations of teams for the 1962–1963 National League seasons
National League

The 1962 major league baseball season began on April 9, 1962. The regular season ended on October 3, with the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The Giants defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in a regular season best-of-three tiebreaker, for the National League title in three games, after both teams finished their 162-game schedules with identical 101–61 records. This was the fifth regular season tie-breaker. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 59th World Series on October 4 and ended with Game 7 on October 16. In the seventh iteration of this World Series matchup, and their first since the Giants relocated to San Francisco from New York, the Yankees defeated the Giants, four games to three, capturing their 20th championship in franchise history, winning back-to-back World Series.

For the fourth and final year, there were two separate All-Star Games played. The first, the 32nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game, was held on July 11 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington, D.C., home of the Washington Senators. The National League won, 3–1. The second, the 33rd Major League Baseball All-Star Game, was held on July 31 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, home of the Chicago Cubs. The American League won, 9–4.

In response to the proposed Continental League, the National League announced expansion during the 1960 World Series, with a new team in Houston, Texas and a new team in New York, New York. The 1962 season would see the Houston Colt .45s and New York Mets enfranchised, the latter being the National League's return to New York City after a four-year absence.

Schedule

See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1962 schedule consisted of 162 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had ten teams. Each team was scheduled to play 18 games against the other nine teams of their respective league. The 162-game, 18 games per team format had previously been used by the American League since the previous season due to expansion and was the first season that the National League used it due to their own expansion. The format would be used until 1969.

Opening Day took place on April 9, featuring four teams. The final day of the scheduled regular season was on October 1, which saw all 20 teams play, the first time all existing teams played on the final day since 1960. Due to the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants finishing with the same record of 101–61, a best-of-three tie-breaker was scheduled, to be considered an extension of the regular season, and took place between October 1 and October 3. The World Series took place between October 4 and October 16.

Rule change

The 1962 season saw the following rule change:

• The bonus rule, previously implemented from 1947–1950 and 1953–1957, was implemented for the third and final time (to be permanently rescinded in June 1965). This version of the rule was slightly different, allowing teams to only option to the minor leagues one first-year player. Additional players would be required to stay in the major leagues or pass through waivers. To claim a bonus player on waivers, a team must spend $8,000 (equivalent to $83,200in 2024). ^[1]

Teams

League	Team	City	Stadium	Capacity	Manager [2]
American League	Baltimore Orioles	Baltimore, Maryland	Baltimore Memorial Stadium	49,373	Billy Hitchcock
	Boston Red Sox	Boston, Massachusetts	Fenway Park	33,357	Pinky Higgins
	Chicago White Sox	Chicago, Illinois	White Sox Park	46,550	Al López
	Cleveland Indians	Cleveland, Ohio	Cleveland Stadium	73,811	Mel McGaha
					Mel Harder
	Detroit Tigers	Detroit, Michigan	Tiger Stadium	52,850	Bob Scheffing
	Kansas City Athletics	Kansas City, Missouri	Municipal Stadium	34,165	Hank Bauer
	Los Angeles Angels	Los Angeles, California	Dodger Stadium [a]	56,000	Bill Rigney
	Minnesota Twins	Bloomington, Minnesota	Metropolitan Stadium	39,525	Sam Mele
	New York Yankees	New York, New York	Yankee Stadium	67,337	Ralph Houk
	Washington Senators	Washington, D.C.	District of Columbia Stadium	43,500	Mickey Vernon
National League	Chicago Cubs	Chicago, Illinois	Wrigley Field	36,755	College of Coaches
	Cincinnati Reds	Cincinnati, Ohio	Crosley Field	30,322	Fred Hutchinson
	Houston Colt .45s	Houston, Texas	Colt Stadium	32,601	Harry Craft
	Los Angeles Dodgers	Los Angeles, California	Dodger Stadium	56,000	Walter Alston
	Milwaukee Braves	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Milwaukee County Stadium	43,768	Birdie Tebbetts
	New York Mets	New York, New York	Polo Grounds	56,000	Casey Stengel
	Philadelphia Phillies	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Connie Mack Stadium	33,608	Gene Mauch
	Pittsburgh Pirates	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Forbes Field	35,500	Danny Murtaugh
	San Francisco Giants	San Francisco, California	Candlestick Park	42,553	Alvin Dark
	St. Louis Cardinals	St. Louis, Missouri	Busch Stadium	30,500	Johnny Keane

Standings

American League

• v
• t
• e

American League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	96	66	.593	—	50‍–‍30	46‍–‍36
Minnesota Twins	91	71	.562	5	45‍–‍36	46‍–‍35
Los Angeles Angels	86	76	.531	10	40‍–‍41	46‍–‍35
Detroit Tigers	85	76	.528	10½	49‍–‍33	36‍–‍43
Chicago White Sox	85	77	.525	11	43‍–‍38	42‍–‍39
Cleveland Indians	80	82	.494	16	43‍–‍38	37‍–‍44
Baltimore Orioles	77	85	.475	19	44‍–‍38	33‍–‍47
Boston Red Sox	76	84	.475	19	39‍–‍40	37‍–‍44
Kansas City Athletics	72	90	.444	24	39‍–‍42	33‍–‍48
Washington Senators	60	101	.373	35½	27‍–‍53	33‍–‍48

National League

• v
• t
• e

National League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
San Francisco Giants	103	62	.624	—	61‍–‍21	42‍–‍41
Los Angeles Dodgers	102	63	.618	1	54‍–‍29	48‍–‍34
Cincinnati Reds	98	64	.605	3½	58‍–‍23	40‍–‍41
Pittsburgh Pirates	93	68	.578	8	51‍–‍30	42‍–‍38
Milwaukee Braves	86	76	.531	15½	49‍–‍32	37‍–‍44
St. Louis Cardinals	84	78	.519	17½	44‍–‍37	40‍–‍41
Philadelphia Phillies	81	80	.503	20	46‍–‍34	35‍–‍46
Houston Colt .45s	64	96	.400	36½	32‍–‍48	32‍–‍48
Chicago Cubs	59	103	.364	42½	32‍–‍49	27‍–‍54
New York Mets	40	120	.250	60½	22‍–‍58	18‍–‍62

• The San Francisco Giants defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in a best-of-three tie-breaker series to earn the National League pennant.

Postseason

The postseason began on October 4 and ended on October 16 with the New York Yankees defeating the San Francisco Giants in the 1962 World Series in seven games.

Bracket

	World Series
	AL	New York Yankees	4
	NL	San Francisco Giants	3

Managerial changes

Off-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Baltimore Orioles	Lum Harris	Billy Hitchcock
Cleveland Indians	Mel Harder	Mel McGaha
Houston Colt .45s	Team enfranchised	Harry Craft
New York Mets	Team enfranchised	Casey Stengel

In-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Cleveland Indians	Mel McGaha	Mel Harder

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders ^[3]

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Pete Runnels (BOS)	.326
OPS	Mickey Mantle (NYY)	1.091
HR	Harmon Killebrew (MIN)	48
RBI	Harmon Killebrew (MIN)	126
R	Albie Pearson (LAA)	115
H	Bobby Richardson (NYY)	209
SB	Luis Aparicio (CWS)	31

Pitching leaders ^[4]

Stat	Player	Total
W	Ralph Terry (NYY)	23
L	Chuck Estrada (BAL) Ed Rakow (KC)	17
ERA	Hank Aguirre (DET)	2.21
K	Camilo Pascual (MIN)	206
IP	Ralph Terry (NYY)	298.2
SV	Dick Radatz (BOS)	24
WHIP	Hank Aguirre (DET)	1.051

National League

Hitting leaders ^[5]

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Tommy Davis (LAD)	.346
OPS	Frank Robinson (CIN)	1.045
HR	Willie Mays (SF)	49
RBI	Tommy Davis (LAD)	153
R	Frank Robinson (CIN)	134
H	Tommy Davis (LAD)	230
SB	Maury Wills (LAD)	104

Pitching leaders ^[6]

Stat	Player	Total
W	Don Drysdale (LAD)	25
L	Roger Craig (NYM)	24
ERA	Sandy Koufax (LAD)	2.54
K	Don Drysdale (LAD)	232
IP	Don Drysdale (LAD)	314.1
SV	Roy Face (PIT)	28
WHIP	Sandy Koufax (LAD)	1.036

Awards and honors

National League MVP Maury Wills

Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award	National League	American League
Rookie of the Year	Ken Hubbs (CHC)	Tom Tresh (NYY)
Cy Young Award	Don Drysdale (LAD)	—
Most Valuable Player	Maury Wills (LAD)	Mickey Mantle (NYY)
Babe Ruth Award (World Series MVP)	—	Ralph Terry (NYY)
Gold Glove Awards
Position	National League	American League
Pitcher	Bobby Shantz (STL/ HOU )	Jim Kaat (MIN)
Catcher	Del Crandall (MIL)	Earl Battey (MIN)
1st Base	Bill White (STL)	Vic Power (MIN)
2nd Base	Ken Hubbs (CHC)	Bobby Richardson (NYY)
3rd Base	Jim Davenport (SF)	Brooks Robinson (BAL)
Shortstop	Maury Wills (LAD)	Luis Aparicio (CWS)
Outfield	Bill Virdon (PIT)	Jim Landis (CWS)
	Roberto Clemente (PIT)	Al Kaline (DET)
	Willie Mays (SF)	Mickey Mantle (NYY)

Other awards

• Sport Magazine's World Series Most Valuable Player Award: Ralph Terry (NYY)

The Sporting News Awards
Award	National League	American League
Player of the Year [7]	Don Drysdale (LAD) Maury Wills (LAD)	—
Pitcher of the Year [8]	Don Drysdale (LAD)	Dick Donovan (CLE)
Fireman of the Year [9] (Relief pitcher)	Roy Face (PIT)	Dick Radatz (BOS)
Rookie of the Year [10]	Ken Hubbs (CHC)	Tom Tresh (NYY)
Manager of the Year [11]	—	Bill Rigney (LAA)
Executive of the Year [12]	—	Fred Haney (LAA)

Monthly awards

Player of the Month

Main article: Major League Baseball Player of the Month Award

Month	National League
May	Bob Purkey (CIN)
June	Sandy Koufax (LAD)
July	Frank Howard (LAD)
August	Jack Sanford (SF)

Baseball Hall of Fame

Main article: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

• Bob Feller
• Jackie Robinson
• Edd Roush
• Bill McKechnie (manager)

Further information: 1962 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting

Home field attendance

Team name	Wins	%±	Home attendance	%±	Per game
Los Angeles Dodgers [13]	102	14.6%	2,755,184	52.7%	33,195
San Francisco Giants [14]	103	21.2%	1,592,594	14.5%	19,422
New York Yankees [15]	96	−11.9%	1,493,574	−14.5%	18,670
Minnesota Twins [16]	91	30.0%	1,433,116	14.0%	17,477
Detroit Tigers [17]	85	−15.8%	1,207,881	−24.5%	14,730
Los Angeles Angels [18]	86	22.9%	1,144,063	89.6%	14,124
Chicago White Sox [19]	85	−1.2%	1,131,562	−1.3%	13,970
Pittsburgh Pirates [20]	93	24.0%	1,090,648	−9.0%	13,465
Cincinnati Reds [21]	98	5.4%	982,095	−12.1%	12,125
St. Louis Cardinals [22]	84	5.0%	953,895	11.5%	11,776
Houston Colt .45s [23]	64		924,456		11,274
New York Mets [24]	40		922,530		11,532
Baltimore Orioles [25]	77	−18.9%	790,254	−16.9%	9,637
Milwaukee Braves [26]	86	3.6%	766,921	−30.4%	9,468
Philadelphia Phillies [27]	81	72.3%	762,034	29.1%	9,525
Boston Red Sox [28]	76	0.0%	733,080	−13.8%	9,279
Washington Senators [29]	60	−1.6%	729,775	22.2%	9,122
Cleveland Indians [30]	80	2.6%	716,076	−1.3%	8,840
Kansas City Athletics [31]	72	18.0%	635,675	−7.0%	7,848
Chicago Cubs [32]	59	−7.8%	609,802	−9.4%	7,528

Venues

The 1962 season saw two new teams in the National League, and with it, one new venue and one returning venue:

• The Houston Colt .45s played at Colt Stadium, where they would play for three seasons through 1964.
• The New York Mets played at the Polo Grounds, where they would play for two seasons through 1963. The Polo Grounds (in all its iterations) were previously occupied by the New York Giants from 1891 through 1957 before their relocation to San Francisco, California as the San Francisco Giants.

The 1962 season also saw three teams move into new venues:

• The Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers each moved into Dodger Stadium. ^[a] The Angels, who previously played at Wrigley Field during their inaugural season the previous year, would play at Dodger Stadium for four seasons through 1965. The Dodgers, who previously played at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for four seasons, continue to play at Dodger Stadium to the present day.
• The Washington Senators open District of Columbia Stadium after playing at Griffith Stadium for their inaugural season the previous year. The team would play at District of Columbia Stadium for 10 seasons through 1971.

Comiskey Park, home of the Chicago White Sox, renamed to White Sox Park.

Television coverage

CBS and NBC continued to air weekend Game of the Week broadcasts. CBS dropped its Sunday broadcasts once the NFL season started in mid-September, dropping the option clause for affiliates to carry baseball or football in place since 1957. ^[33]

The All-Star Game, the National League tie-breaker series, and the World Series aired on NBC.

Retired numbers

• Robin Roberts had his No. 36 retired by the Philadelphia Phillies on March 21. This was the first number retired by the team.

See also

• 1962 in baseball (Events, Movies, Births, Deaths)
• 1962 Nippon Professional Baseball season

Notes

1. Dodger Stadium was referred to as "Chavez Ravine Stadium" by the Angels during their tenure.

References

1. Matthews, Christopher. "1961 Winter Meetings: The Mets, the Colt .45s, and Debating the Return of the Spitball – Society for American Baseball Research" . Retrieved July 16, 2025.
2. "1962 Major League Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
3. "1962 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
4. "1962 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
5. "1962 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
6. "1962 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
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. "Fireman of the Year Award / Reliever of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
10. "Rookie of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
11. "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
12. "MLB Executive of the Year Award | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
13. "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
14. "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
15. "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
16. "Minnesota Twins 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. "Los Angeles Angels Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
19. "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
20. "Pittsburgh Pirates 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. "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
23. "Houston Astros Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
24. "New York Mets 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. "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
28. "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
29. "Texas Rangers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
30. "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
31. "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
32. "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
33. Brulia, Tim. "A CHRONOLOGY OF PRO FOOTBALL ON TELEVISION: Part 1" (PDF). Pro Football Researchers.

External links

• 1962 Major League Schedule at Baseball Reference