:1953 Major League Baseball season
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{MLBseason|year=1953}}
{{Infobox sports season
| title = 1953 MLB season
| league = American League (AL)
National League (NL)
| sport = Baseball
| duration = Regular season:{{Bulleted list
| {{nowrap|April 14 – September 27, 1953 (AL)}}
| {{nowrap|April 13 – September 27, 1953 (NL)}}}}World Series:{{Bulleted list
| {{nowrap|September 30 – October 5, 1953}}}}
| no_of_games = 154
| no_of_teams = 16 (8 per league)
| season = Regular season
| season_champs =
| MVP = AL: Al Rosen (CLE)
NL: Roy Campanella (BKN)
| MVP_link = Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award
| conf1 = AL
| conf1_link =
| conf1_champ = New York Yankees
| conf1_runner-up = Cleveland Indians
| conf2 = NL
| conf2_link =
| conf2_champ = Brooklyn Dodgers
| conf2_runner-up = Milwaukee Braves
| finals = World Series
| finals_link = 1953 World Series
| finals_champ = New York Yankees
| finals_runner-up = Brooklyn Dodgers
| finals_MVP = Billy Martin (NYY)
| finals_MVP_link = Babe Ruth Award
| seasonslist = List of MLB seasons
| seasonslistnames = MLB
| prevseason_link = 1952 Major League Baseball season
| prevseason_year = 1952
| nextseason_link = 1954 Major League Baseball season
| nextseason_year = 1954
}}
{{MLB Team Maps (1953)}}
The 1953 major league baseball season began on April 13, 1953. The regular season ended on September 27, with the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. In a rematch of the previous season, the postseason began with Game 1 of the 50th World Series on September 30 and ended with Game 6 on October 5. In the fifth iteration of this Subway Series World Series matchup (and a rematch of the previous year), the Yankees defeated the Dodgers, four games to two, capturing their 16th championship in franchise history, concluding their 5-year World Series winning streak, an all-time record.
The 20th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 14 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio, home of the Cincinnati Reds. The National League won, 5–1.
The Cincinnati Reds changed their name to the Cincinnati Redlegs due to the escalating Cold War and resulting red scare; as Cincinnati's general manager, Gabe Paul, noted later, "We wanted to be certain we weren't confused with the 'Russian Reds'."{{cite web |last=Lamb |first=Chris |date=April 7, 2021 |title=From 'Redlegs' to 'Red Scare' to 'Twilight Zone:' The Strange Trip of the Cincinnati Reds' Nickname |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2021/04/07/cincinnati-reds-nickname-redlegs-twlight-zone/4836559001/ |access-date=March 23, 2024 |website=USA Today |publisher=USA Today}}
The 1953 season would see the first relocation in professional baseball since the Milwaukee Brewers moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to St. Louis, Missouri, as the St. Louis Browns, with the Boston Braves, coincidentally, relocating to Milwaukee as the Milwaukee Braves. It would be the first National League relocation since the St. Louis Maroons moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, and became the Indianapolis Hoosiers. This season began a trend of relocation which would occur several times throughout the 1950s and 1960s. The season would also prove to be the last season of the Browns franchise in St. Louis, moving to Baltimore, Maryland, the following season as the Baltimore Orioles.
On September 13, the Philadelphia Athletics became the seventh team in professional baseball to break the color line when they fielded Bob Trice; the Chicago Cubs became the eighth team just four days later when they fielded future Hall-of-Famer Ernie Banks.{{Cite web |title=These players integrated each MLB team |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/players-who-broke-color-barrier-for-every-team |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=MLB.com |language=en}}
This was also the first regular season of the televised Major League Baseball Game of the Week, originally broadcast on ABC.
Schedule
{{See also|Major League Baseball schedule}}
The 1953 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 {{mlby|1904}} season (except for {{mlby|1919}}) and would be used until {{mlby|1961}} in the American League and {{mlby|1962}} in the National League.
National League Opening Day took place on April 13, featuring the newly relocated Milwaukee Braves and Cincinnati Reds, while American League Opening Day took place the following day, featuring six teams. This was the first season since {{mlby|1951}} that both leagues opened on different days. The final day of the scheduled regular season was on September 27, which saw all sixteen teams play, continuing the trend from {{mlby|1946}}. The World Series took place between September 30 and October 5.
Teams
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
! scope="col" |League ! scope="col" |Team ! scope="col" |City ! scope="col" |Stadium ! scope="col" |Capacity ! scope="col" |Manager{{Cite web |title=1953 Major League Managers |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/1953-managers.shtml |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}} |
| rowspan="8" style="{{Baseball primary style|American League}};" |{{Baseball secondary link|American League|American League}}
! scope="row" |Boston Red Sox |34,824 |{{sortname|Lou|Boudreau}} |
|---|
| scope="row" |Chicago White Sox
|47,400 |{{sortname|Paul|Richards|dab=baseball}} |
| scope="row" |Cleveland Indians
|73,811 |{{sortname|Al|López}} |
| scope="row" |Detroit Tigers
|58,000 |{{sortname|Fred|Hutchinson}} |
| scope="row" |New York Yankees
|67,000 |{{sortname|Casey|Stengel}} |
| scope="row" |Philadelphia Athletics
|33,166 |{{sortname|Jimmy|Dykes}} |
| scope="row" |St. Louis Browns
|30,500 |{{sortname|Marty|Marion}} |
| scope="row" |Washington Senators
|29,731 |{{sortname|Bucky|Walters}} |
| rowspan="9" style="{{Baseball primary style|National League}};" |{{Baseball secondary link|National League|National League (baseball)|National League}}
! scope="row" |Brooklyn Dodgers |32,111 |{{sortname|Chuck|Dressen}} |
| scope="row" |Chicago Cubs
|36,755 |{{sortname|Phil|Cavarretta}} |
| rowspan="2" scope="row" |Cincinnati Redlegs
| rowspan="2" |Cincinnati, Ohio | rowspan="2" |Crosley Field | rowspan="2" |29,439 |{{sortname|Rogers|Hornsby}} |
| {{sortname|Buster|Mills}} |
| scope="row" |Milwaukee Braves
|36,011 |{{sortname|Charlie|Grimm}} |
| scope="row" |New York Giants
|54,500 |{{sortname|Leo|Durocher}} |
| scope="row" |Philadelphia Phillies
|33,166 |{{sortname|Steve|O'Neill}} |
| scope="row" |Pittsburgh Pirates
|34,249 |{{sortname|Fred|Haney}} |
| scope="row" |St. Louis Cardinals
|30,500 |{{sortname|Eddie|Stanky}} |
Standings
{{Flexbox wrap|start}}
=American League=
{{1953 American League standings|highlight=New York Yankees}}
{{Flexbox wrap|break}}
=National League=
{{1953 National League standings|highlight=Brooklyn Dodgers}}
{{Flexbox wrap|end}}
Postseason
The postseason began on September 30 and ended on October 5 with the New York Yankees defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1953 World Series in six games.
=Bracket=
{{2TeamBracket
| RD1=World Series
| RD1-seed1=AL
| RD1-team1=New York Yankees
| RD1-score1=4
| RD1-seed2=NL
| RD1-team2=Brooklyn Dodgers
| RD1-score2=2
}}
Managerial changes
=Off-season=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| Team
! Former Manager ! New Manager |
|---|
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Pittsburgh Pirates |
=In-season=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| Team
! Former Manager ! New Manager |
|---|
| scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Cincinnati Reds |
League leaders
=American League=
{{Flexbox wrap|start}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |
| style="width:15%;"| Stat
! Player ! style="width:15%;"| Total |
|---|
| AVG
| Mickey Vernon (WSH) | .337 |
| OPS
| 1.034 |
| HR
| 43 |
| RBI
| 145 |
| R
| 115 |
| H
| Harvey Kuenn (DET) | 209 |
| SB
| Minnie Minoso (CWS) | 25 |
{{Flexbox wrap|break}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |
| style="width:15%;"| Stat
! Player ! style="width:15%;"| Total |
|---|
| W
| Bob Porterfield (WSH) | 22 |
| L
| Harry Byrd (PHA) | 20 |
| ERA
| Eddie Lopat (NYY) | 2.42 |
| K
| Billy Pierce (CWS) | 186 |
| IP
| 286.2 |
| SV
| Ellis Kinder (BOS) | 27 |
| WHIP
| Eddie Lopat (NYY) | 1.127 |
{{Flexbox wrap|end}}
=National League=
{{Flexbox wrap|start}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |
| style="width:15%;"| Stat
! Player ! style="width:15%;"| Total |
|---|
| AVG
| Carl Furillo (BKN) | .344 |
| OPS
| Duke Snider (BKN) | 1.046 |
| HR
| Eddie Mathews (MIL) | 47 |
| RBI
| Roy Campanella (BKN) | 142 |
| R
| Duke Snider (BKN) | 132 |
| H
| Richie Ashburn (PHP) | 205 |
| SB
| Bill Bruton (MIL) | 26 |
{{Flexbox wrap|break}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |
| style="width:15%;"| Stat
! Player ! style="width:15%;"| Total |
|---|
| W
| Robin Roberts (PHP) | 23 |
| L
| Murry Dickson (PIT) | 19 |
| ERA
| Warren Spahn (MIL) | 2.10 |
| K
| Robin Roberts (PHP) | 198 |
| IP
| Robin Roberts (PHP) | 346.2 |
| SV
| 18 |
| WHIP
| Warren Spahn (MIL) | 1.058 |
{{Flexbox wrap|end}}
Awards and honors
=Regular season=
| class="wikitable" |
| colspan="3"|Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards |
|---|
| BBWAA Award
!National League !American League |
| Rookie of the Year
| Jim Gilliam (BKN) | Harvey Kuenn (DET) |
| Most Valuable Player
| Roy Campanella (BKN) |
| Babe Ruth Award (World Series MVP) | — | Billy Martin (NYY) |
=Other awards=
=Baseball Hall of Fame=
{{main|National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum}}
- Chief Bender
- Dizzy Dean
- Al Simmons
- Bobby Wallace
- Ed Barrow (executive)
- Harry Wright (executive)
- Tom Connolly (umpire)
- Bill Klem (umpire)
{{further|1953 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting}}
Home field attendance
Television coverage
ABC executive Edgar J. Scherick approached MLB with a Saturday Game of the Week. With fewer outlets than CBS or NBC, ABC needed paid programming (or "anything for bills" as Scherick put it). At first, ABC hesitated at the idea of a nationally televised regular season baseball program, but gave Scherick the green light to sign up teams. Prior to the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, antitrust laws only allowed the networks to make deals with individual teams instead of pooling rights directly from a central league authority. Unfortunately, only three (the Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Indians,{{cite news|title=Major League Ball Game on KECA-TV; Topper Series Set as 'Irma' Replacement|date=June 13, 1953|first=Walter|last=Ames|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|page=A5}} and Chicago White Sox{{cite news|title=Albany Club Owner Asks for Video Of Major League Games in His Area|date=June 6, 1953|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=Hartford Courant}}{{cite news|title=L.A.-Las Vegas Relay Ready by Fall; Lamenting Berle Seeks New Home|date=May 8, 1954|first=Walter|last=Ames|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|page=A5}} were interested.{{cite news|date=March 11, 1954|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=The Daily Reporter|title=TV Baseball Ban Denied By Official|page=1}} To make matters worse, Major League Baseball barred the Game of the Week from airing within fifty miles of any big-league city.{{cite news|date=March 14, 1954|title=Club Owners Veto Television of Spring Games|newspaper=The Spokane-Review|agency=Associated Press|page=1}}
The All-Star Game and World Series aired exclusively on NBC.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/1953-schedule.shtml 1953 Major League Baseball season schedule at Baseball Reference]
{{1953 MLB season by team}}
{{MLB seasons}}