1957
Changes- Rename team - The Portland Beavers change their mind, and call themselves the Portland Pioneers instead.
- Suspend random 4*+ - Third baseman Al Rosen (NY Yankees) is suspended for the entire season.
- 10 more fan interest - Cleveland fan interest is increased to 92.
Off-Season
- Hal Gregg moved to Boston in free agency.
- Ace Johnny Podgajny moved from the Blue Jays to the Cubs.
- Howie Pollet moved from San Francisco to St. Louis
- Ted Williams signed with the Baltimore Orioles.
American League East
Boston Red Sox (93-61)
Philadelphia Athletics (79-75)
Baltimore Orioles (78-76)
New York Yankees (72-82)
American League Central
Toronto Blue Jays (97-57)
Chicago White Sox (90-64)
Cleveland Indians (81-74)
Detroit Tigers (80-75)
Washington Senators (71-83)
American League West
Kansas City Royals (87-67)
Minnesota Twins (76-78)
Portland Pioneers (65-89)
California Angels (64-90)
Houston Astros (46-108)
AL MVP: Willie Mays (Baltimore)
AL CYA: Sandy Koufax (Chicago)
AL ROY: Roger Maris (Portland)
AL RMA: Hank Behrman (Kansas City)
AL MOY: Jimmy Welsh (Chicago)
National League East
Philadelphia Phillies (86-68)
Montreal Expos (76-78)
New York Giants (70-84)
Brooklyn Dodgers (60-94)
National League Central
Pittsburgh Pirates (87-68)
Cincinnati Reds (86-69)
Atlanta Braves (75-79)
Durham Bulls (64-90)
Louisville Colonels (59-95)
National League West
Chicago Cubs (92-62)
Milwaukee Brewers (89-65)
San Francisco Seals (89-65)
San Diego Padres (74-80)
St. Louis Cardinals (72-82)
NL MVP: Mickey Mantle (San Francisco) (3rd award, 2nd in NL)
NL MOP: Ray Herbert (San Francisco)
NL ROY: Gene Green (Milwaukee)
NL RMA: Don Kaiser (Pittsburgh)
NL MOY: Joe Kiefer (Philadelphia)
Statistical Leaders
Batting Average: Willie Mays (Baltimore) .198, Mickey Mantle (San Francisco) .185
Home Runs: Willie Mays (Baltimore) 54, Mickey Mantle (San Francisco) 53
Runs Batted In: Willie Mays (Baltimore) 106, Duke Snider (Philadelphia) 100
Stolen Bases: Ken Boyer (Toronto) 25, Luis Aparicio (Philadelphia) 27
WAR: Willie Mays (Baltimore) 17.2, Eddie Mathews (Atlanta) 13.4
Wins:
4 AL Pitchers 19, Ray Herbert (San Francisco) 26
ERA: Ewell Blackwell (Chicago) 0.96, Camilo Pascual (Cincinnati) 1.01
Strikeouts: Herb Score (Minnesota) 245, Camilo Pascual (Cincinnati) 218
Saves: Hersh Freeman (Toronto) 47, Glenn Gardner (Milwaukee) 43
WAR: Ewell Blackwell (Chicago) 15.0, Camilo Pascual (Cincinnati) 15.1
Notes
- Cleveland defeated Detroit 2-1 to make the AL Wildcard game.
- Johnny Schmitz (Pittsburgh) threw a two-hit shutout to win the NL Central, a 1-0 Pirates win. Randy Jackson (Pittsburgh) hit a solo home run, Camilo Pascual's (Cincinnati) only mistake in the game.
- Ken Boyer, Jim King, Chet Nichols, and closer Hersh Freeman led the Blue Jays to the best record in baseball.
- Snider finished third in the NL in average, and second in homers, as he drove the Phillies to the top of the NL East.
Achievements & Milestones
- Roy Campanella (San Francisco), Rocky Colavito (Cubs), Gene Freese (White Sox), Pat Seerey (St. Louis), and Harry Anderson (Cleveland) all hit three home runs in a game.
- Herb Score (Minnesota) and Johnny Antonelli (Cubs) became the third and fourth men to strikeout at least 15 batters in a game. Score set a record by striking out sixteen across twelve innings against the Angels, while Antonelli struck out 15 Phillies. Noodles Hahn and David Price were the only previous pitchers to reach the mark.
- Don Mossi (Phillies), Don Liddle (Milwaukee), and Larry Jensen (Kansas City) threw perfect games.
(NOTE: The list of no-hitters has now gotten so long that it won't even load them all in the in-game HTML window, and I have to open it in browser.)
- Bobby Thomson (NY Yankees, 33), Joe Adcock (Milwaukee, 29), and Mickey Mantle (San Francisco, 25) hit their 300th home runs.
- Eddie Robinson (California, 36) and Duke Snider (Phillies, 30) hit home run #400.
- Cal McLish (Kansas City, 31) and Victor Starffin (White Sox, 41) won their 200th games.
- Fred Hutchinson (Brooklyn, 38) and Harry Feldman (Toronto, 37) moved past 250 wins.
- Hersh Freeman (Toronto) set a record by saving 47 games.
- Ted Abernathy (Cleveland) appeared in 122 games, the most ever for a pitcher.
Wildcard Game
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Chicago defeated Cleveland, 5-2.
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San Francisco defeated Milwaukee, 1-0.
- Ray Herbert (San Francisco) threw a three-hitter, after Harvey Kuenn hit a first-inning homer.
Division Series
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Chicago defeated Toronto, 3 games to 2.
- Ewell Blackwell (Chicago) threw a shutout in Game Four to extend the series.
- Sandy Koufax (Chicago) won Games One and Five.
- Joe Cunningham (Toronto) drove in five runs.
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Kansas City defeated Boston, 3 games to 1.
- Dick Williams (Boston) hit two homers in Game Two, a 3-1 win for the Red Sox.
- In Game Three, Ted Kluszewski (Kansas City) hit a two-out homer in the ninth inning to keep the game alive for the Royals, then Eddie Kasko (Kansas City) won the game in the tenth, 2-1.
- Williams drove in five runs in the series.
- Larry Jansen (Kansas City) won Games One and Four.
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San Francisco defeated Chicago, 3 games to 0.
- Warren Spahn (San Francisco) threw a one-hitter in Game One, and Wally Westlake's three-run homer gave the Seals the win.
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Philadelphia defeated Pittsburgh, 3 games to 0.
- It took sixteen innings to end Game Two. Don Lenhardt (Philadelphia) drove in Luis Aparicio, to give the Phils a 3-2 win.
- Aparicio hit a walk-off homer to win the series, 2-1 for Philadelphia in Game Three.
- Hank Aaron (Pittsburgh) hit two home runs.
ALCS
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Chicago defeated Kansas City, 4 games to 1.
- Bobby Shantz was the MVP. The lefty was the winning pitcher in Games One and Five.
- Lou Boudreau (Chicago) hit two homers in the White Sox's 4-3 Game Five win.
- The White Sox last won the pennant in 1946.
NLCS
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Philadelphia defeated San Francisco, 4 games to 3.
- Mickey Mantle was the MVP despite being on the losing side. The Seals slugger had six hits and four home runs in the series.
- Marv Breuer (San Francisco) threw a one-hitter in Game Three, and Mickey Mantle hit a home run for a 1-0 Seals win.
- Mantle hit two more homers in Game Six, just enough for the Seals to win 4-3.
- Duke Snider (Philadelphia) drove in six runs in the series.
- Bob Buhl (Philadelphia) won Games One and Five.
- The first pennant for the Phillies since 1913. They lost to the White Sox in the World Series that year.
World Series
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Chicago defeated Philadelphia, 5 games to 3.
- Sandy Koufax was the MVP, pitching well for a no-decision in Game One, and winning Game Five.
- Don Lenhardt (Philadelphia) hit a walk-off grand slam home run in the bottom of the tenth inning of Game Four, to give the Phils a 7-3 win.
- Koufax pitched a dominating no-hitter in Game Five, allowing just two walks, and striking out eleven Phillies. Jim Busby (Chicago) hit a homer for a 1-0 win.
- Walt Moryn (Chicago) hit an RBI double in the top of the eleventh inning of Game Eight, setting the White Sox ahead 2-1, which would be the final score.
- 19-year-old Bob Aspromonte (Chicago) drove in four runs.
- Lou Sleater (Chicago) had two wins and a save out of the bullpen.
- Don Lenhardt drove in eight runs in the series.
- Chicago went from the Wildcard game to the world championship.
- The White Sox won their sixth World Series.
Retirements
- Roy Cullenbine. Patient hitter who led his league in walks nine times. Nine-time All-Star first baseman who won four Silver Sluggers and two rings. 172 career OPS+.
- Fred Hutchinson. 1952 NL MOP. Fine ace for Cleveland, Houston, and Brooklyn. 253-207, and 139 ERA+. ERA of 0.72 in 1952. Eight All-Star games.
- Ken Keltner. Excellent third baseman who won two rings with the Senators. Eight All-Stars, six Silver Sluggers, three Gold Gloves, and a 139 OPS+. 464 career homers.
- Snuffy Stirnweiss. Third baseman on Cardinals teams that won two titles. Three All-Star games, a Gold Glove, and a Silver Slugger. Led NL in triples four times and steals twice. 126 OPS+.
- Jim Tobin. 276-213 record with a 123 ERA+. Two Gold Gloves, three Silver Sluggers, and an All-Star game for workhorse.
Hall of Fame
LEON KESSLING "RED" AMES
Starting Pitcher
Boston Braves 1903-1916, Kansas City Athletics 1917-1918, New York Yankees 1919, Milwaukee Brewers 1920, Chicago White Sox 1921, Chicago Cubs 1921, New York Giants 1922-1923, Brooklyn Dodgers 1924, Cincinnati Reds 1925, New York Yankees 1926
NL MOP, WS, 5x AS
326-280, 18 SV, 2.88 ERA, 5677.1 IP, 3052 K, 116 ERA+, 110.7 WAR
NAPOLEON LAJOIE
Second Baseman
Philadelphia Athletics 1901-1908, New York Giants 1909-1915, Philadelphia Quakers 1916
4x AL MVP, 9x AS, GG, 5x SS
.347/.395/.490, 1998 H, 429 2B, 94 3B, 67 HR, 844 RBI, 341 BB, 311 SB, 166 OPS+, 78.2 WAR
JOHN ROBERT "JOHNNY" MIZE
First Baseman
Minnesota Twins 1936-1951, Milwaukee Brewers 1952, Baltimore Orioles 1953
WS, AL ROY, 7x AS, 5x SS
.231/.356/.515, 1855 H, 417 2B, 44 3B, 594 HR, 1474 RBI, 1549 BB, 34 SB, 187 OPS+, 99.0 WAR
CLARENCE DOUGLAS PICKREL
Relief Pitcher
Kansas City Royals 1933, Texas Rangers 1934, Chicago White Sox 1935-1948, Durham Bulls 1949, St. Louis Cardinals 1949, Boston Red Sox 1950-1951, Philadelphia Phillies 1952, Boston Braves 1952, Brooklyn Dodgers 1953
WS, 3x AL RMA, 13x AS
115-84, 466 SV, 1.72 ERA, 1725.2 IP, 679 K, 181 ERA+, 50.4 ERA
Draft
- The Astros chose pitcher Jim O'Toole with the first pick.
- Norm Cash went second overall to Louisville.
- Brooklyn picked Orlando Cepeda at #3.
- Durham picked catcher John Romano fourth.
- Frank Howard was the Angels' pick, fifth overall.
- Portland picked Bob Allison at six.
- The Yankees picked up Vada Pinson with the tenth pick.
- Felipe Alou went to Baltimore at fifteen.
Sandy Koufax was National League MOP.
Red Ames was elected to the Hall of Fame.