1957 Major League Baseball season

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}

{{MLBseason|year=1957}}

{{Infobox sports season

| title = 1957 MLB season

| league = American League (AL)
National League (NL)

| sport = Baseball

| duration = Regular season:{{Bulleted list

| {{nowrap|April 15 – September 29, 1957 (AL)}}

| {{nowrap|April 16 – September 29, 1957 (NL)}}}}World Series:{{Bulleted list

| {{nowrap|October 2–10, 1957}}}}

| no_of_games = 154

| no_of_teams = 16 (8 per league)

| TV = NBC, CBS

| season = Regular season

| season_champs =

| MVP = AL: Mickey Mantle (NYY)
NL: Hank Aaron (MIL)

| MVP_link = Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award

| conf1 = AL

| conf1_link =

| conf1_champ = New York Yankees

| conf1_runner-up = Chicago White Sox

| conf2 = NL

| conf2_link =

| conf2_champ = Milwaukee Braves

| conf2_runner-up = St. Louis Cardinals

| finals = World Series

| finals_link = 1957 World Series

| finals_champ = Milwaukee Braves

| finals_runner-up = New York Yankees

| World_Series_MVP = Lew Burdette (MIL)

| World_Series_MVP_link = World Series Most Valuable Player Award

| seasonslist = List of MLB seasons

| seasonslistnames = MLB

| prevseason_link = 1956 Major League Baseball season

| prevseason_year = 1956

| nextseason_link = 1958 Major League Baseball season

| nextseason_year = 1958

}}

{{MLB Team Maps (1955–1957)}}

The 1957 major league baseball season began on April 15, 1957. The regular season ended on September 29, with the Milwaukee Braves 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 54th World Series on October 2 and ended with Game 7 on October 10. The Braves defeated the Yankees, four games to three, capturing their second championship in franchise history, their first since {{mlby|1914}}, and first in Milwaukee. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the New York Yankees from the {{mlby|1956}} season.

The 24th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 9 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. The American League won, 6–5.

The National League's Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants played their final seasons as New York City-based franchises before their moves to California for the {{mlby|1958}} season, leaving New York City without a National League team until the founding of the expansion New York Mets in 1962.

On April 22, the Philadelphia Phillies became the 14th team in professional baseball to break the color line when they fielded John Kennedy.{{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}}

Schedule

{{See also|Major League Baseball schedule}}

The 1957 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.

American League Opening Day took place on April 15, featuring the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Senators, while National League Opening Day took place the following day, featuring all eight NL teams. This was the first season since {{mlby|1953}} that both leagues opened on different days. The final day of the regular season was on September 29, which saw all sixteen teams play, continuing the trend from {{mlby|1955}}. The World Series took place between October 2 and October 10.

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=1957 Major League Managers |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/1957-managers.shtml |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

rowspan="10" style="{{Baseball primary style|American League}};" |{{Baseball secondary link|American League|American League}}

! scope="row" |Baltimore Orioles

|Baltimore, Maryland

|Baltimore Memorial Stadium

|47,778

|{{sortname|Paul|Richards|dab=baseball}}

scope="row" |Boston Red Sox

|Boston, Massachusetts

|Fenway Park

|34,824

|{{sortname|Pinky|Higgins}}

scope="row" |Chicago White Sox

|Chicago, Illinois

|Comiskey Park

|46,550

|{{sortname|Marty|Marion}}

scope="row" |Cleveland Indians

|Cleveland, Ohio

|Cleveland Stadium

|73,811

|{{sortname|Kerby|Farrell}}

scope="row" |Detroit Tigers

|Detroit, Michigan

|Briggs Stadium

|58,000

|{{sortname|Jack|Tighe}}

rowspan="2" scope="row" |Kansas City Athletics

| rowspan="2" |Kansas City, Missouri

| rowspan="2" |Municipal Stadium

| rowspan="2" |30,296

|{{sortname|Lou|Boudreau}}

{{sortname|Harry|Craft}}
scope="row" |New York Yankees

|New York, New York

|Yankee Stadium

|67,000

|{{sortname|Casey|Stengel}}

rowspan="2" scope="row" |Washington Senators

| rowspan="2" |Washington, D.C.

| rowspan="2" |Griffith Stadium

| rowspan="2" |29,023

|{{sortname|Chuck|Dressen}}

{{sortname|Cookie|Lavagetto}}
rowspan="9" style="{{Baseball primary style|National League}};" |{{Baseball secondary link|National League|National League (baseball)|National League}}

! scope="row" |Brooklyn Dodgers

|New York, New York

|Ebbets Field

|31,902

|{{sortname|Walter|Alston}}

scope="row" |Chicago Cubs

|Chicago, Illinois

|Wrigley Field

|36,755

|{{sortname|Bob|Scheffing}}

scope="row" |Cincinnati Redlegs

|Cincinnati, Ohio

|Crosley Field

|29,584

|{{sortname|Birdie|Tebbetts}}

scope="row" |Milwaukee Braves

|Milwaukee, Wisconsin

|Milwaukee County Stadium

|43,768

|{{sortname|Fred|Haney}}

scope="row" |New York Giants

|New York, New York

|Polo Grounds

|54,500

|{{sortname|Bill|Rigney}}

scope="row" |Philadelphia Phillies

|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

|Connie Mack Stadium

|33,359

|{{sortname|Mayo|Smith}}

rowspan="2" scope="row" |Pittsburgh Pirates

| rowspan="2" |Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

| rowspan="2" |Forbes Field

| rowspan="2" |34,249

|{{sortname|Bobby|Bragan}}

{{sortname|Danny|Murtaugh}}
scope="row" |St. Louis Cardinals

|St. Louis, Missouri

|Busch Stadium

|30,500

|{{sortname|Fred|Hutchinson}}

Standings

{{Flexbox wrap|start}}

=American League=

{{1957 American League standings|highlight=New York Yankees}}

{{Flexbox wrap|break}}

=National League=

{{1957 National League standings|highlight=Milwaukee Braves}}

{{Flexbox wrap|end}}

Postseason

The postseason began on October 2 and ended on October 10 with the Milwaukee Braves defeating the New York Yankees in the 1957 World Series in seven games.

=Bracket=

{{2TeamBracket

| RD1=World Series

| RD1-seed1=AL

| RD1-team1=New York Yankees

| RD1-score1=3

| RD1-seed2=NL

| RD1-team2=Milwaukee Braves

| RD1-score2=4

}}

Managerial changes

=Off-season=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
Team

! Former Manager

! New Manager

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Chicago Cubs

|Stan Hack

|Bob Scheffing

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Cleveland Indians

|Al López

|Kerby Farrell

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Detroit Tigers

|Bucky Harris

|Jack Tighe

=In-season=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
Team

! Former Manager

! New Manager

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Kansas City Athletics

|Lou Boudreau

|Harry Craft

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Pittsburgh Pirates

|Bobby Bragan

|Danny Murtaugh

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Washington Senators

|Chuck Dressen

|Cookie Lavagetto

League leaders

Any team shown in {{small|small text}} indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.

=American League=

{{Flexbox wrap|start}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+ Hitting leaders{{Cite web |title=1957 American League Batting Leaders |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1957-batting-leaders.shtml |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

style="width:15%;"| Stat

! Player

! style="width:15%;"| Total

AVG

| Ted Williams (BOS)

| .388

OPS

| Ted Williams (BOS)

| 1.257

HR

| Roy Sievers (WSH)

| 42

RBI

| Roy Sievers (WSH)

| 114

R

| Mickey Mantle (NYY)

| 121

H

| Nellie Fox (CWS)

| 196

SB

| Luis Aparicio (CWS)

| 28

{{Flexbox wrap|break}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+ Pitching leaders{{Cite web |title=1957 American League Pitching Leaders |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1957-pitching-leaders.shtml |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

style="width:15%;"| Stat

! Player

! style="width:15%;"| Total

W

| Jim Bunning (DET)
Billy Pierce (CWS)

| 20

L

| Chuck Stobbs (WSH)

| 20

ERA

| Bobby Shantz (NYY)

| 2.45

K

| Early Wynn (CLE)

| 184

IP

| Jim Bunning (DET)

| 267.1

SV

| Bob Grim (NYY)

| 19

WHIP

| Frank Sullivan (BOS)

| 1.055

{{Flexbox wrap|end}}

=National League=

{{Flexbox wrap|start}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+ Hitting leaders{{Cite web |title=1957 National League Batting Leaders |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/1957-batting-leaders.shtml |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

style="width:15%;"| Stat

! Player

! style="width:15%;"| Total

AVG

| Stan Musial (STL)

| .351

OPS

| Stan Musial (STL)

| 1.034

HR

| Hank Aaron (MIL)

| 44

RBI

| Hank Aaron (MIL)

| 132

R

| Hank Aaron (MIL)

| 118

H

| Red Schoendienst (MIL/{{small|NYG}})

| 200

SB

| Willie Mays (NYG)

| 38

{{Flexbox wrap|break}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+ Pitching leaders{{Cite web |title=1957 National League Pitching Leaders |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/1957-pitching-leaders.shtml |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}

style="width:15%;"| Stat

! Player

! style="width:15%;"| Total

W

| Warren Spahn (MIL)

| 21

L

| Robin Roberts (PHI)

| 22

ERA

| Johnny Podres (BKN)

| 2.66

K

| Jack Sanford (PHI)

| 188

IP

| Bob Friend (PIT)

| 277.0

SV

| Clem Labine (BKN)

| 17

WHIP

| Johnny Podres (BKN)

| 1.082

{{Flexbox wrap|end}}

Records and notable events

  • The 1957 season marked the first time that both the American and National League leader in Complete Games had less than 20 Complete Games to lead their league.Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.106, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, {{ISBN|978-0-451-22363-0}}

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

| Jack Sanford (PHI)

| Tony Kubek (NYY)

Cy Young Award

| Warren Spahn (MIL)

| —

Most Valuable Player

| Hank Aaron (MIL)

| Mickey Mantle (NYY)

Babe Ruth Award
(World Series MVP)

| Lew Burdette (MIL)

| —

colspan="3"|Gold Glove Awards{{efn|In 1957, Gold Gloves were given to the top fielders across Major League Baseball, instead of separate awards for each league.}}{{Cite web |title=1957 Major League Baseball Awards, All-Stars, & More Leaders |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/1957-other-leaders.shtml |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}
Position

!National League

!American League

Pitcher

| —

| Bobby Shantz (NYY)

Catcher

| —

| Sherm Lollar (CWS)

1st Base

| Gil Hodges (BKN)

| —

2nd Base

| —

| Nellie Fox (CWS)

3rd Base

| —

| Frank Malzone (BOS)

Shortstop

| Roy McMillan (CIN)

| —

Left field

| —

| Minnie Miñoso (CWS)

Center field

| Willie Mays (NYG)

| —

Right field

| —

| Al Kaline (DET)

=Other awards=

class="wikitable"
colspan="3" |The Sporting News Awards
Award

! National League

! American League

Player of the Year{{Cite web |title=Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News {{!}} Baseball Almanac |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/aw_snml.shtml |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=www.baseball-almanac.com}}

| —

| Ted Williams (BOS)

Pitcher of the Year{{Cite web |title=Pitcher of the Year Award by The Sporting News {{!}} Baseball Almanac |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/aw_snpy2.shtml |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=www.baseball-almanac.com}}

| Warren Spahn (MIL)

| Billy Pierce (CWS

Rookie of the Year{{Cite web |title=Rookie of the Year Award by The Sporting News {{!}} Baseball Almanac |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/aw_snrp3.shtml |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=www.baseball-almanac.com}}
(Player)

| Ed Bouchee (PHI)

| Tony Kubek (NYY)

Rookie of the Year
(Pitcher)

| Jack Sanford (PHI)

| —

Manager of the Year{{Cite web |title=Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News {{!}} Baseball Almanac |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/aw_snmy.shtml |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=www.baseball-almanac.com}}

| Fred Hutchinson (STL)

| —

Executive of the Year{{Cite web |title=MLB Executive of the Year Award {{!}} Baseball Almanac |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/aw_sney.shtml |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=www.baseball-almanac.com}}

| Frank Lane (STL)

| —

=Baseball Hall of Fame=

{{main|National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum}}

{{further|1957 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting}}

Home field attendance

class="wikitable sortable"
style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;"
Team name

!Wins

!{{abbr|%±|Percent change}}

!Home attendance

!{{abbr|%±|Percent change}}

!{{abbr|Per game|Average home attendance per game}}

Milwaukee Braves{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/ATL/attend.shtml|title=Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|95

|3.3%

|2,215,404

|8.3%

|28,403

New York Yankees{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYY/attend.shtml|title=New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|98

|1.0%

|1,497,134

|0.4%

|19,443

Detroit Tigers{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/DET/attend.shtml|title=Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|78

| −4.9%

|1,272,346

|21.0%

|16,524

St. Louis Cardinals{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/STL/attend.shtml|title=St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|87

|14.5%

|1,183,575

|14.9%

|15,371

Boston Red Sox{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/attend.shtml|title=Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|82

| −2.4%

|1,181,087

|3.9%

|15,339

Philadelphia Phillies{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/PHI/attend.shtml|title=Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|77

|8.5%

|1,146,230

|22.6%

|14,695

Chicago White Sox{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHW/attend.shtml|title=Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|90

|5.9%

|1,135,668

|13.6%

|14,749

Cincinnati Redlegs{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CIN/attend.shtml|title=Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|80

| −12.1%

|1,070,850

| −4.9%

|13,907

Baltimore Orioles{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BAL/attend.shtml|title=Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|76

|10.1%

|1,029,581

|14.2%

|13,371

Brooklyn Dodgers{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/LAD/attend.shtml|title=Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|84

| −9.7%

|1,028,258

| −15.3%

|13,354

Kansas City Athletics{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/OAK/attend.shtml|title=Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|59

|13.5%

|901,067

| −11.2%

|11,702

Pittsburgh Pirates{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/PIT/attend.shtml|title=Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|62

| −6.1%

|850,732

| −10.4%

|11,048

Cleveland Indians{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CLE/attend.shtml|title=Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|76

| −13.6%

|722,256

| −16.5%

|9,380

Chicago Cubs{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHC/attend.shtml|title=Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|62

|3.3%

|670,629

| −6.9%

|8,598

New York Giants{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/SFG/attend.shtml|title=San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|69

|3.0%

|653,923

|3.9%

|8,493

Washington Senators{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIN/attend.shtml|title=Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com}}

|55

| −6.8%

|457,079

|5.9%

|5,936

Events

=January–March=

=April–June=

  • April 18 – New York City Parks Commissioner Robert Moses proposes a new {{convert|78|acre|m2|adj=on}} tract in Flushing Meadows as a site for a new National League baseball stadium. The plan, submitted to mayor Robert Wagner, includes a 50,000-seat stadium with a plastic dome to be built by the Parks Department.
  • April 21 – The Cincinnati Redlegs are involved in a bizarre play in a game against the host Milwaukee Braves. With Don Hoak on second and Gus Bell on first, Wally Post hits a ground ball to Milwaukee shortstop Johnny Logan. Hoak breaks up a potential double play by fielding the ball himself and flipping it to Logan. Hoak is called out for interference (contact with batted ball before a fielder touched it), but Post is given a single on the play. The day before, Johnny Temple let Bell's ground ball hit him with the same result, Temple being called out for interference and Bell being awarded a single. The two incidents prompt league presidents Warren Giles and Will Harridge to jointly announce a rule change that declared both the runner and batter out if the runner intentionally interfered with a batted ball, with no runners allowed to advance.
  • April 22 – John Irvin Kennedy becomes the first black player in Philadelphia Phillies history, entering the game in the top of the 8th inning as a pinch runner for Solly Hemus.
  • April 24 – The New York City Board Of Estimates fails to act on the Moses plan as outlined by Mayor Wagner.
  • May 7 – Cleveland Indian pitcher Herb Score is hit in the face by a line drive by New York Yankee Gil McDougald, the ball breaking numerous bones in Score's face and leaving him quite bloodied. McDougald vows to quit if Score is blinded as a result. Score regains his 20/20 vision, but will miss the remainder of the 1957 season.
  • May 10 – San Francisco mayor George Christopher confers with Giants owner Horace Stoneham on a possible move of the New York Giants franchise to the West Coast.
  • May 28 – The National League approves the proposed moves of the Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers to the West Coast, provided both clubs make their request before October 1 and move at the same time.
  • May 29 – New York City mayor Robert Wagner says he plans to confer with the Giants and Dodgers about the proposed move, but that the city will not be "blackjacked" into anything.
  • May 30 – Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley rejects an offer from a Queens group to buy the team.
  • June 9 – Ernie Banks hits 100th career home run helping Chicago Cubs beat Philadelphia Phillies 7–3.

=July–September=

=October=

Television coverage

CBS aired the Game of the Week for the third consecutive year, and began to air games on Sunday as well as Saturday.{{cite news|title=Sunday Baseball TV Plan Proceeds Despite Minors' Pleas|newspaper=The New York Times|page=61|date=December 17, 1957}}{{cite news|title=Major League Sunday Game of the Week TV Problems Rages|newspaper=Hartford Courant|date=December 22, 1957}}{{cite news|title=Minor Prexy Raps CBS for Sunday TV Plans|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|page=C5|date=December 26, 1957}}

NBC also started to air weekend games, purchasing the rights to broadcast 11 Milwaukee Braves games, 11 Pittsburgh Pirates games, two Washington Senators games, and two Chicago Cubs games. The All-Star Game and World Series also aired on NBC.

See also

Notes

{{noteslist}}

References

{{reflist}}