1959 Major League Baseball Season
The 1959 Major League Baseball season was played from April 9 to October 9, 1959.
It saw the Los Angeles Dodgers, free of the strife produced by their move from Brooklyn the previous season, rebound to win the National League pennant after a two-game playoff against the Milwaukee Braves, who themselves had moved from Boston in 1953. The Dodgers won the World Series against a Chicago White Sox team that had not played in the "Fall Classic" since 1919 and was interrupting a Yankees' dynasty that dominated the American League between 1949 and 1964.
| 1959 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | Major League Baseball |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | April 9 – October 9, 1959 |
| Number of games | 154 |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| TV partner(s) | NBC, CBS |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | AL: Nellie Fox (CWS) NL: Ernie Banks (CHC) |
| AL champions | Chicago White Sox |
| AL runners-up | Cleveland Indians |
| NL champions | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| NL runners-up | Milwaukee Braves |
| World Series | |
| Champions | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Runners-up | Chicago White Sox |
| World Series MVP | Larry Sherry (LA) |
The season is notable as the only one between 1950 and 1981 where no pitcher pitched a no-hitter.[a]
Awards and honors
- Baseball Hall of Fame
- Most Valuable Player
- Nellie Fox, Chicago White Sox (AL)
- Ernie Banks, Chicago Cubs (NL)
- Cy Young Award
- Early Wynn, Chicago White Sox (AL)
- Rookie of the Year
- Gold Glove Award
- Bobby Shantz (P) New York Yankees (AL)
- Sherm Lollar (C) Chicago White Sox (AL)
- Vic Power (1B) Cleveland Indians (AL)
- Nellie Fox (2B) Chicago White Sox (AL)
- Frank Malzone (3B) Boston Red Sox (AL)
- Luis Aparicio (SS) Chicago White Sox (AL)
- Minnie Miñoso (OF) Cleveland Indians (AL)
- Al Kaline (OF) Detroit Tigers (AL)
- Jackie Jensen (OF) Boston Red Sox (AL)
Statistical leaders
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Standings
American League
| National League
|
- The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Milwaukee Braves in best-of-three playoff series to earn the National League pennant.
Postseason
Bracket
| World Series | ||||
| AL | Chicago White Sox | 2 | ||
| NL | Los Angeles Dodgers | 4 | ||
Managers
American League
| Team | Manager | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Orioles | Paul Richards | |
| Boston Red Sox | Pinky Higgins, Rudy York and Billy Jurges | |
| Chicago White Sox | Al Lopez | Won first pennant since 1919 |
| Cleveland Indians | Joe Gordon | Finished 2nd |
| Detroit Tigers | Bill Norman and Jimmy Dykes | |
| Kansas City Athletics | Harry Craft | |
| New York Yankees | Casey Stengel | Finished 3rd |
| Washington Senators | Cookie Lavagetto |
National League
| Team | Manager | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Cubs | Bob Scheffing | |
| Cincinnati Reds | Mayo Smith and Fred Hutchinson | |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | Walter Alston | Won World Series in second year in LA |
| Milwaukee Braves | Fred Haney | Finished second, lost playoff to Dodgers |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Eddie Sawyer | |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Danny Murtaugh | |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Solly Hemus | |
| San Francisco Giants | Bill Rigney | Finished 3rd |
Home field attendance
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 88 | 23.9% | 2,071,045 | 12.2% | 26,552 |
| Milwaukee Braves | 86 | -6.5% | 1,749,112 | -11.3% | 22,141 |
| New York Yankees | 79 | -14.1% | 1,552,030 | 8.7% | 20,156 |
| Cleveland Indians | 89 | 15.6% | 1,497,976 | 125.7% | 19,454 |
| Chicago White Sox | 94 | 14.6% | 1,423,144 | 78.5% | 18,245 |
| San Francisco Giants | 83 | 3.8% | 1,422,130 | 11.7% | 18,469 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 78 | -7.1% | 1,359,917 | 3.7% | 17,661 |
| Detroit Tigers | 76 | -1.3% | 1,221,221 | 11.1% | 15,860 |
| Boston Red Sox | 75 | -5.1% | 984,102 | -8.6% | 12,781 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 66 | -9.6% | 963,683 | 4.2% | 12,515 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 71 | -1.4% | 929,953 | -12.6% | 12,077 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 74 | 0.0% | 891,926 | 7.5% | 11,435 |
| Chicago Cubs | 74 | 2.8% | 858,255 | -12.4% | 11,146 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 64 | -7.2% | 802,815 | -13.8% | 10,293 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 74 | -2.6% | 801,298 | 1.6% | 10,406 |
| Washington Senators | 63 | 3.3% | 615,372 | 29.5% | 7,992 |
Highlights
- April 22 - In the course of a 20-6 victory over the Kansas City Athletics, the Chicago White Sox scored 11 runs in the seventh inning on ten walks, a hit batter, three errors and just one hit.
Events
Television coverage
CBS and NBC aired weekend Game of the Week broadcasts. The All-Star Game and World Series also aired on NBC. The rights to air the 1959 National League tie-breaker series were awarded to ABC.
See also
Notes
a Other Major League Baseball seasons since 1901 without a no-hitter pitched are 1909, 1913, 1921, 1927–1928, 1932–1933, 1936, 1939, 1942–1943, 1949, 1982, 1985, 1989, 2000 and 2005.
References
External links
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