1964 MLB season | |
---|---|
League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
Sport | Baseball |
Duration | Regular season:
|
Number of games | 162 |
Number of teams | 20 (10 per league) |
TV partner(s) | NBC, CBS |
Regular season | |
Season MVP | AL: Brooks Robinson (BAL) NL: Ken Boyer (STL) |
AL champions | New York Yankees |
AL runners-up | Chicago White Sox |
NL champions | St. Louis Cardinals |
NL runners-up | Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds |
World Series | |
Champions | St. Louis Cardinals |
Runners-up | New York Yankees |
World Series MVP | Bob Gibson (STL) |
The 1964 major league baseball season began on April 13, 1964. The regular season ended on October 4, with the St. Louis Cardinals 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 60th World Series on October 7 and ended with Game 7 on October 15. In the fifth iteration of this World Series matchup, the Cardinals defeated the Yankees, four games to three, capturing their seventh championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1946. As of 2024, the Cardinals are the only National League team to have an edge over the Yankees in series played (3–2), despite holding a losing record in World Series games against them (13–15).
The 5th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, was played on July 7, hosted by the New York Mets in Queens New York, New York, with the National League winning, 7–4.
This season is often remembered for the end of the New York Yankees' third dynasty, as they won their 29th American League Championship in 44 seasons.
The 1964 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. This continued the format put in place by the American League since the 1961 season and by the National League since the 1962 season, and would be used until 1969.
Opening Day took place on April 13, featuring the four teams. The final day of the regular season was on October 4, which saw 18 teams play. The World Series took place between October 7 and October 15.
Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New York Yankees | 99 | 63 | .611 | — | 50–31 | 49–32 |
Chicago White Sox | 98 | 64 | .605 | 1 | 52–29 | 46–35 |
Baltimore Orioles | 97 | 65 | .599 | 2 | 49–32 | 48–33 |
Detroit Tigers | 85 | 77 | .525 | 14 | 46–35 | 39–42 |
Los Angeles Angels | 82 | 80 | .506 | 17 | 45–36 | 37–44 |
Cleveland Indians | 79 | 83 | .488 | 20 | 41–40 | 38–43 |
Minnesota Twins | 79 | 83 | .488 | 20 | 40–41 | 39–42 |
Boston Red Sox | 72 | 90 | .444 | 27 | 45–36 | 27–54 |
Washington Senators | 62 | 100 | .383 | 37 | 31–50 | 31–50 |
Kansas City Athletics | 57 | 105 | .352 | 42 | 26–55 | 31–50 |
Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Louis Cardinals | 93 | 69 | .574 | — | 48–33 | 45–36 |
Philadelphia Phillies | 92 | 70 | .568 | 1 | 46–35 | 46–35 |
Cincinnati Reds | 92 | 70 | .568 | 1 | 47–34 | 45–36 |
San Francisco Giants | 90 | 72 | .556 | 3 | 44–37 | 46–35 |
Milwaukee Braves | 88 | 74 | .543 | 5 | 45–36 | 43–38 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 80 | 82 | .494 | 13 | 42–39 | 38–43 |
Los Angeles Dodgers | 80 | 82 | .494 | 13 | 41–40 | 39–42 |
Chicago Cubs | 76 | 86 | .469 | 17 | 40–41 | 36–45 |
Houston Colt .45s | 66 | 96 | .407 | 27 | 41–40 | 25–56 |
New York Mets | 53 | 109 | .327 | 40 | 33–48 | 20–61 |
World Series | ||||||||||
AL | New York Yankees | 5 | 8 | 2* | 3 | 2 | 8 | 5 | ||
NL | St. Louis Cardinals | 9 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 510 | 3 | 7 |
*Denotes walk-off
Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
---|---|---|
Baltimore Orioles | Billy Hitchcock | Hank Bauer |
New York Yankees | Ralph Houk | Yogi Berra |
Stat | Player | Total |
---|---|---|
AVG | Tony Oliva (MIN) | .323 |
OPS | Mickey Mantle (NYY) | 1.015 |
HR | Harmon Killebrew (MIN) | 49 |
RBI | Brooks Robinson (BAL) | 118 |
R | Tony Oliva (MIN) | 109 |
H | Tony Oliva (MIN) | 217 |
SB | Luis Aparicio (BAL) | 57 |
Stat | Player | Total |
---|---|---|
W | Dean Chance (LAA) Gary Peters (CWS) | 20 |
L | Diego Seguí (KC) | 17 |
ERA | Dean Chance (LAA) | 1.65 |
K | Al Downing (NYY) | 217 |
IP | Dean Chance (LAA) | 278.1 |
SV | Dick Radatz (BOS) | 29 |
WHIP | Joe Horlen (CWS) | 0.935 |
Stat | Player | Total |
---|---|---|
AVG | Roberto Clemente (PIT) | .339 |
OPS | Willie Mays (SF) | .990 |
HR | Willie Mays (SF) | 47 |
RBI | Ken Boyer (STL) | 119 |
R | Hank Aaron (MIL) | 125 |
H | Roberto Clemente (PIT) Curt Flood (STL) | 211 |
SB | Maury Wills (LAD) | 53 |
Stat | Player | Total |
---|---|---|
W | Larry Jackson (CHC) | 24 |
L | Tracy Stallard (NYM) | 20 |
ERA | Sandy Koufax (LAD) | 1.74 |
K | Bob Veale (PIT) | 250 |
IP | Juan Marichal (SF) | 321.1 |
SV | Hal Woodeshick (HOU) | 23 |
WHIP | Sandy Koufax (LAD) | 0.928 |
Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards | ||
---|---|---|
BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
Rookie of the Year | Dick Allen (PHI) | Tony Oliva (MIN) |
Cy Young Award | — | Dean Chance (LAA) |
Most Valuable Player | Ken Boyer (STL) | Brooks Robinson (BAL) |
Gold Glove Awards | ||
Position | National League | American League |
Pitcher | Bobby Shantz (PHI/ CHC/STL ) | Jim Kaat (MIN) |
Catcher | Johnny Edwards (CIN) | Elston Howard (NYY) |
1st Base | Bill White (STL) | Vic Power ( PHI [b] / LAA/MIN ) |
2nd Base | Bill Mazeroski (PIT) | Bobby Richardson (NYY) |
3rd Base | Ron Santo (CHC) | Brooks Robinson (BAL) |
Shortstop | Rubén Amaro (PHI) | Luis Aparicio (BAL) |
Outfield | Roberto Clemente (PIT) | Vic Davalillo (CLE) |
Curt Flood (STL) | Al Kaline (DET) | |
Willie Mays (SF) | Jim Landis (CWS) |
The Sporting News Awards | ||
---|---|---|
Award | National League | American League |
Player of the Year [2] | Ken Boyer (STL) | — |
Pitcher of the Year [3] | Sandy Koufax (LAD) | Dean Chance (LAA) |
Fireman of the Year [4] (Relief pitcher) | Al McBean (PIT) | Dick Radatz (BOS) |
Rookie Player of the Year [5] | Dick Allen PHI) | Tony Oliva (MIN) |
Rookie Pitcher of the Year [6] | Billy McCool (CIN) | Wally Bunker (BAL) |
Manager of the Year [7] | Johnny Keane (STL) | — |
Executive of the Year [8] | Bing Devine (STL) | — |
Month | National League |
---|---|
May | Billy Williams (CHC) |
June | Jim Bunning (PHI) |
July | Ron Santo (CHC) |
August | Frank Robinson (CIN) |
September | Bob Gibson (STL) |
Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Los Angeles Dodgers [9] | 80 | −19.2% | 2,228,751 | −12.2% | 27,515 |
New York Mets [10] | 53 | 3.9% | 1,732,597 | 60.4% | 21,129 |
San Francisco Giants [11] | 90 | 2.3% | 1,504,364 | −4.3% | 18,572 |
Philadelphia Phillies [12] | 92 | 5.7% | 1,425,891 | 57.2% | 17,604 |
New York Yankees [13] | 99 | −4.8% | 1,305,638 | −0.3% | 16,119 |
Chicago White Sox [14] | 98 | 4.3% | 1,250,053 | 7.9% | 15,433 |
Minnesota Twins [15] | 79 | −13.2% | 1,207,514 | −14.2% | 14,726 |
St. Louis Cardinals [16] | 93 | 0.0% | 1,143,294 | −2.3% | 14,115 |
Baltimore Orioles [17] | 97 | 12.8% | 1,116,215 | 44.1% | 13,612 |
Milwaukee Braves [18] | 88 | 4.8% | 910,911 | 17.8% | 11,246 |
Boston Red Sox [19] | 72 | −5.3% | 883,276 | −6.3% | 10,905 |
Cincinnati Reds [20] | 92 | 7.0% | 862,466 | 0.4% | 10,518 |
Detroit Tigers [21] | 85 | 7.6% | 816,139 | −0.7% | 9,953 |
Los Angeles Angels [22] | 82 | 17.1% | 760,439 | −7.4% | 9,388 |
Pittsburgh Pirates [23] | 80 | 8.1% | 759,496 | −3.1% | 9,376 |
Chicago Cubs [24] | 76 | −7.3% | 751,647 | −23.3% | 9,280 |
Houston Colt .45s [25] | 66 | 0.0% | 725,773 | 0.9% | 8,960 |
Cleveland Indians [26] | 79 | 0.0% | 653,293 | 16.1% | 7,967 |
Kansas City Athletics [27] | 57 | −21.9% | 642,478 | −15.7% | 7,932 |
Washington Senators [28] | 62 | 10.7% | 600,106 | 12.0% | 7,409 |
CBS and NBC aired weekend Game of the Week broadcasts. Although it had been three years since the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 was passed to authorize sports leagues to enter into television contracts that "pooled" the TV rights of all their teams, MLB still operated under the older system where the networks purchased the regular season rights to individual clubs. By 1964, CBS paid $895,000 total for the rights to six teams, with the New York Yankees getting a $550,000 share. The six clubs that exclusively played nationally televised games on NBC were paid $1.2 million total. [31]
The All-Star Game and World Series aired on NBC.
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