1966 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1966 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1966 in baseball.

1966 MLB season
League	American League (AL) National League (NL)
Sport	Baseball
Duration	Regular season: April 11 – October 2, 1966 (AL) April 12 – October 2, 1966 (NL) World Series: October 5–9, 1966
Number of games	162
Number of teams	20 (10 per league)
TV partner(s)	NBC
Draft
Top draft pick	Steve Chilcott
Picked by	New York Mets
Regular season
Season MVP	AL: Frank Robinson (BAL) NL: Roberto Clemente (PIT)
AL champions	Baltimore Orioles
AL runners-up	Minnesota Twins
NL champions	Los Angeles Dodgers
NL runners-up	San Francisco Giants
World Series
Champions	Baltimore Orioles
Runners-up	Los Angeles Dodgers
World Series MVP	Frank Robinson (BAL)
MLB seasons
← 1965 1967 →

Orioles

Red Sox

Angels

White Sox

Indians

Tigers

Athletics

Twins

Yankees

Senators

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Locations of teams for the 1966–1967 American League seasons
American League

Braves

Cubs

Reds

Astros

Dodgers

Mets

      Phillies

Pirates   

   Giants

Cardinals

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Locations of teams for the 1966–1968 National League seasons
National League

The 1966 major league baseball season began on April 11, 1966. The regular season ended on October 2, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 63rd World Series on October 5 and ended with Game 4 on October 9. The Orioles swept the Dodgers in four games, capturing their first championship in franchise history. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Los Angeles Dodgers from the 1965 season.

The 37th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, was held on July 12 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. The National League won, 2–1.

The Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta, Georgia as the Atlanta Braves, being the seventh team since 1953 to relocate, and the fourth of National League teams since then. The move from Milwaukee was the second time in modern-era baseball (since 1901) that the city was left without a team. Previously, the 1901 Milwaukee Brewers moved to St. Louis following the 1901 season (the team, the St. Louis Browns, went on to relocate to Baltimore as the Baltimore Orioles in 1953). Major league baseball would return to Milwaukee in 1970 with the relocation of the American League Seattle Pilots as the Milwaukee Brewers. The National League would see its return in 1998 when the Brewers transferred in to the league.

Three teams played the 1966 season in new stadiums. On April 12, the Braves ushered in Atlanta Stadium with the Pittsburgh Pirates taking a 3–2 win in 13 innings. One week later, Anaheim Stadium opened with the California Angels losing to the Chicago White Sox, 3–1 in the Angels' debut following their move from Los Angeles to nearby Orange County. On May 8, the St. Louis Cardinals closed out old Sportsman's Park/Busch Stadium I with a 10–5 loss to the San Francisco Giants before opening the new Busch Memorial Stadium four days later with a 4–3 win in 12 innings over the Atlanta Braves.

1966 would be William Eckert's first season as commissioner.

Schedule

See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1966 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.

American League Opening Day took place on April 11, featuring a game between the Cleveland Indians and Washington Senators, while National League Opening Day took place the following day, featuring six teams. The final day of the regular season was on October 2, which saw all 20 teams play, continuing the trend from the previous season. The World Series took place between October 5 and October 9.

Rule change

The 1966 season would see the following rule change:

• The 15-day disabled list (now called injured list) was introduced, reducing the minimum time a player remained on the list from 30 to 15 days. ^[1]

Teams

An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at

League	Team	City	Stadium	Capacity	Manager [2]
American League	Baltimore Orioles	Baltimore, Maryland	Baltimore Memorial Stadium	52,185	Hank Bauer
	Boston Red Sox	Boston, Massachusetts	Fenway Park	33,524	Billy Herman
					Pete Runnels
	California Angels	Anaheim, California	Anaheim Stadium	43,202	Bill Rigney
	Chicago White Sox	Chicago, Illinois	White Sox Park	46,550	Eddie Stanky
	Cleveland Indians	Cleveland, Ohio	Cleveland Stadium	73,811	Birdie Tebbetts
					George Strickland
	Detroit Tigers	Detroit, Michigan	Tiger Stadium	53,089	Chuck Dressen
					Bob Swift
					Frank Skaff
	Kansas City Athletics	Kansas City, Missouri	Municipal Stadium	34,165	Alvin Dark
	Minnesota Twins	Bloomington, Minnesota	Metropolitan Stadium	45,182	Sam Mele
	New York Yankees	New York, New York	Yankee Stadium	67,000	Johnny Keane
					Ralph Houk
	Washington Senators	Washington, D.C.	District of Columbia Stadium	43,500	Gil Hodges
National League	Atlanta Braves	Atlanta, Georgia	Atlanta Stadium	50,893	Bobby Bragan
					Billy Hitchcock
	Chicago Cubs	Chicago, Illinois	Wrigley Field	36,644	Leo Durocher
	Cincinnati Reds	Cincinnati, Ohio	Crosley Field	29,603	Don Heffner
					Dave Bristol
	Houston Astros	Houston, Texas	Houston Astrodome	46,000	Grady Hatton
	Los Angeles Dodgers	Los Angeles, California	Dodger Stadium	56,000	Walter Alston
	New York Mets	New York, New York	Shea Stadium	55,300	Wes Westrum
	Philadelphia Phillies	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Connie Mack Stadium	33,608	Gene Mauch
	Pittsburgh Pirates	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Forbes Field	35,500	Harry Walker
	San Francisco Giants	San Francisco, California	Candlestick Park	42,500	Herman Franks
	St. Louis Cardinals	St. Louis, Missouri	Busch Stadium*	30,500*	Red Schoendienst
			Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium	49,275

Standings

American League

• v
• t
• e

American League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Baltimore Orioles	97	63	.606	—	48‍–‍31	49‍–‍32
Minnesota Twins	89	73	.549	9	49‍–‍32	40‍–‍41
Detroit Tigers	88	74	.543	10	42‍–‍39	46‍–‍35
Chicago White Sox	83	79	.512	15	45‍–‍36	38‍–‍43
Cleveland Indians	81	81	.500	17	41‍–‍40	40‍–‍41
California Angels	80	82	.494	18	42‍–‍39	38‍–‍43
Kansas City Athletics	74	86	.463	23	42‍–‍39	32‍–‍47
Washington Senators	71	88	.447	25½	42‍–‍36	29‍–‍52
Boston Red Sox	72	90	.444	26	40‍–‍41	32‍–‍49
New York Yankees	70	89	.440	26½	35‍–‍46	35‍–‍43

National League

• v
• t
• e

National League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Los Angeles Dodgers	95	67	.586	—	53‍–‍28	42‍–‍39
San Francisco Giants	93	68	.578	1½	47‍–‍34	46‍–‍34
Pittsburgh Pirates	92	70	.568	3	46‍–‍35	46‍–‍35
Philadelphia Phillies	87	75	.537	8	48‍–‍33	39‍–‍42
Atlanta Braves	85	77	.525	10	43‍–‍38	42‍–‍39
St. Louis Cardinals	83	79	.512	12	43‍–‍38	40‍–‍41
Cincinnati Reds	76	84	.475	18	46‍–‍33	30‍–‍51
Houston Astros	72	90	.444	23	45‍–‍36	27‍–‍54
New York Mets	66	95	.410	28½	32‍–‍49	34‍–‍46
Chicago Cubs	59	103	.364	36	32‍–‍49	27‍–‍54

Postseason

The postseason began on October 5 and ended on October 9 with the Baltimore Orioles sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1966 World Series in four games.

Bracket

	World Series
	AL	Baltimore Orioles	4
	NL	Los Angeles Dodgers	0

Managerial changes

Off-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Chicago Cubs	Lou Klein	Leo Durocher
Chicago White Sox	Al López	Eddie Stanky
Cincinnati Reds	Dick Sisler	Don Heffner
Houston Astros	Lum Harris	Grady Hatton
Kansas City Athletics	Haywood Sullivan	Alvin Dark

In-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Atlanta Braves	Bobby Bragan	Billy Hitchcock
Boston Red Sox	Billy Herman	Pete Runnels
Cincinnati Reds	Don Heffner	Dave Bristol
Cleveland Indians	Birdie Tebbetts	George Strickland
Detroit Tigers	Chuck Dressen	Bob Swift
	Bob Swift	Frank Skaff
New York Yankees	Johnny Keane	Ralph Houk

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders ^[3]

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Frank Robinson 1 (BAL)	.316
OPS	Frank Robinson (BAL)	1.047
HR	Frank Robinson 1 (BAL)	49
RBI	Frank Robinson 1 (BAL)	122
R	Frank Robinson (BAL)	122
H	Tony Oliva (MIN)	191
SB	Bert Campaneris (KC)	52

¹ American League Triple Crown batting winner

Pitching leaders ^[4]

Stat	Player	Total
W	Jim Kaat (MIN)	25
L	Mel Stottlemyre (NYY)	20
ERA	Gary Peters (CWS)	1.98
K	Sam McDowell (CLE)	225
IP	Jim Kaat (MIN)	304.2
SV	Jack Aker (KC)	32
WHIP	Gary Peters (CWS)	0.982

Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax

National League

Hitting leaders ^[5]

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Matty Alou (PIT)	.342
OPS	Dick Allen (PHI)	1.027
HR	Hank Aaron (ATL)	44
RBI	Hank Aaron (ATL)	127
R	Felipe Alou (ATL)	122
H	Felipe Alou (ATL)	218
SB	Lou Brock (STL)	74

Pitching leaders ^[6]

Stat	Player	Total
W	Sandy Koufax 2 (LA)	27
L	Dick Ellsworth (CHC)	22
ERA	Sandy Koufax 2 (LA)	1.73
K	Sandy Koufax 2 (LA)	317
IP	Sandy Koufax (LA)	323.0
SV	Phil Regan (LA)	21
WHIP	Juan Marichal (SF)	0.859

² National League Triple Crown pitching winner

Awards and honors

Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award	National League	American League
Rookie of the Year	Tommy Helms (CIN)	Tommie Agee (CWS)
Cy Young Award	Sandy Koufax (LA)	—
Most Valuable Player	Roberto Clemente (PIT)	Frank Robinson (BAL)
Babe Ruth Award (World Series MVP)	—	Frank Robinson (BAL)
Gold Glove Awards
Position	National League	American League
Pitcher	Bob Gibson (STL)	Jim Kaat (MIN)
Catcher	John Roseboro (LA)	Bill Freehan (DET)
1st Base	Bill White (PHI)	Joe Pepitone (NYY)
2nd Base	Bill Mazeroski (PIT)	Bobby Knoop (CAL)
3rd Base	Ron Santo (CHC)	Brooks Robinson (BAL)
Shortstop	Gene Alley (PIT)	Luis Aparicio (BAL)
Outfield	Roberto Clemente (PIT)	Tommie Agee (CWS)
	Curt Flood (STL)	Al Kaline (DET)
	Willie Mays (SF)	Tony Oliva (MIN)

Other awards

• Hutch Award: Sandy Koufax (LA)
• Sport Magazine's World Series Most Valuable Player Award: Frank Robinson (BAL)

The Sporting News Awards
Award	National League	American League
Player of the Year [7]	—	Frank Robinson (BAL)
Pitcher of the Year [8]	Sandy Koufax (LA)	Jim Kaat (MIN)
Fireman of the Year [9] (Relief pitcher)	Phil Regan (LA)	Jack Aker (KC)
Rookie Player of the Year [10]	Tommy Helms (CHC)	Tommie Agee (CWS)
Rookie Pitcher of the Year [11]	Don Sutton (LA)	Jim Nash (KC)
Comeback Player of the Year [12]	Phil Regan (LA)	Boog Powell (BAL)
Manager of the Year [13]	—	Hank Bauer (BAL)
Executive of the Year [14]	Lee MacPhail (MLB Chief Assistant)

Monthly awards

Player of the Month

Main article: Major League Baseball Player of the Month Award

Month	National League
May	Juan Marichal (SF)
June	Gaylord Perry (SF)
July	Mike Shannon (STL)
August	Pete Rose (CIN)

Baseball Hall of Fame

Main article: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

• Ted Williams
• Casey Stengel (manager)

Further information: 1966 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting

Home field attendance

Team name	Wins	%±	Home attendance	%±	Per game
Los Angeles Dodgers [15]	95	−2.1%	2,617,029	2.5%	32,309
New York Mets [16]	66	32.0%	1,932,693	9.3%	23,860
Houston Astros [17]	72	10.8%	1,872,108	−13.0%	23,112
St. Louis Cardinals [18]	83	3.8%	1,712,980	38.0%	21,148
San Francisco Giants [19]	93	−2.1%	1,657,192	7.2%	20,459
Atlanta Braves [20]	85	−1.2%	1,539,801	177.1%	18,778
California Angels [21]	80	6.7%	1,400,321	147.1%	17,288
Minnesota Twins [22]	89	−12.7%	1,259,374	−13.9%	15,548
Baltimore Orioles [23]	97	3.2%	1,203,366	54.0%	15,232
Pittsburgh Pirates [24]	92	2.2%	1,196,618	31.6%	14,773
New York Yankees [25]	70	−9.1%	1,124,648	−7.3%	13,715
Detroit Tigers [26]	88	−1.1%	1,124,293	9.2%	13,880
Philadelphia Phillies [27]	87	2.4%	1,108,201	−5.0%	13,681
Chicago White Sox [28]	83	−12.6%	990,016	−12.4%	12,222
Cleveland Indians [29]	81	−6.9%	903,359	−3.4%	11,153
Boston Red Sox [30]	72	16.1%	811,172	24.4%	10,014
Kansas City Athletics [31]	74	25.4%	773,929	46.5%	9,555
Cincinnati Reds [32]	76	−14.6%	742,958	−29.1%	9,405
Chicago Cubs [33]	59	−18.1%	635,891	−0.9%	7,851
Washington Senators [34]	71	1.4%	576,260	2.9%	7,388

Venues

The 1966 season saw three teams move to three new venues.

• With the relocation of the Milwaukee Braves from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Atlanta, Georgia as the Atlanta Braves, they leave Milwaukee County Stadium (where they played 13 seasons) and move into Atlanta Stadium. They would go on to play there for 31 seasons through 1996.
• The California Angels leave Chavez Ravine Stadium (Dodger Stadium) and Los Angeles, California (where they played four season), and opened Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California, where they remain to this day.
• The St. Louis Cardinals would play their last game at Busch Stadium on May 8, having played 58 seasons there going back to 1882 (with a gap between 1893 and part of 1920), and opened Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium (with the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals) on May 12, where they would go on to play for 40 seasons through 2005.

Television coverage

For the first time, NBC became exclusive national TV broadcaster of MLB. The network replaced ABC as the holder of the Games of the Week package. The New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies, which had instead sold their TV rights to CBS in prior seasons, also joined NBC's package. The new package under NBC called for 28 games, as compared to the 123 combined among three networks during the 1960s. NBC also continued to air the All-Star Game and World Series.

See also

• 1966 in baseball (Events, Births, Deaths)
• 1966 Nippon Professional Baseball season

References

1. Bokser, Andy. "1965 Winter Meetings: Exit the Sportswriter and Enter the General – Society for American Baseball Research" . Retrieved July 16, 2025.
2. "1966 Major League Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
3. "1966 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
4. "1966 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
5. "1966 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
6. "1966 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
7. "Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
8. "Pitcher of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
9. "Fireman of the Year Award / Reliever of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
10. "Rookie Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
11. "Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
12. "The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
13. "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
14. "MLB Executive of the Year Award | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
15. "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
16. "New York Mets Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
17. "Houston Astros 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. "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
21. "Los Angeles Angels 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. "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
24. "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
25. "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
26. "Detroit Tigers 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. "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
29. "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
30. "Boston Red Sox 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. "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
33. "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
34. "Texas Rangers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.

External links

• 1966 Major League Schedule at Baseball Reference