1951 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1951 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1951 in baseball.

Sports season

1951 MLB season

League| Major League Baseball
Sport| Baseball
Duration| April 16 – October 12, 1951
Number of games| 154
Number of teams| 16
Regular season
Season MVP| AL: Yogi Berra (NYY)
NL: Roy Campanella (BKN)
AL champions| New York Yankees
AL runners-up| Cleveland Indians
NL champions| New York Giants
NL runners-up| Brooklyn Dodgers
World Series
Champions| New York Yankees
Runners-up| New York Giants
Finals MVP| Phil Rizzuto (NYY)
MLB seasons

← 1950

1952 →

Red Sox

White Sox

Indians

Tigers

Athletics

Browns

Yankees

Senators

Locations of teams for the 1942–1953 American League seasons
American League

Braves

Dodgers

Cubs

Reds

Giants

Phillies

Pirates

Cardinals

Locations of teams for the 1943–1952 National League seasons
National League

The 1951 Major League Baseball season opened on April 16 and finished on October 12, 1951. Teams from both leagues played a 154-game regular season schedule. At the end of the regular season, the National League pennant was still undecided, resulting in a best-of-three tiebreaker between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers. After splitting the first two games, the stage was set for a decisive third game, won in dramatic fashion on a walk-off home run from the bat of Giant Bobby Thomson, one of the most famous moments in the history of baseball, commemorated as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" and "The Miracle at Coogan's Bluff". The Giants lost the World Series to defending champion New York Yankees, who were in the midst of a 5-year World Series winning streak.

## Awards and honors

[edit]

* Baseball Hall of Fame
* Mel Ott
* Jimmie Foxx
* MLB Most Valuable Player Award
* Yogi Berra, New York Yankees, C
* Roy Campanella, Brooklyn Dodgers, C
* MLB Rookie of the Year Award
* Gil McDougald, New York Yankees, 3B
* Willie Mays, New York Giants, OF
* The Sporting News Player of the Year Award
* Stan Musial St. Louis Cardinals
* The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award
* Leo Durocher New York Giants

## Statistical leaders

[edit]

|  |  | American League | National League

|
|

Type | Name | Stat | Name | Stat
AVG | Ferris Fain PHA | .344 | Stan Musial SLC | .355
HR | Gus Zernial CWS/PHA | 33 | Ralph Kiner PIT | 42
RBIs | Gus Zernial CWS/PHA | 129 | Monte Irvin NYG | 121
Wins | Bob Feller CLE | 22 | Larry Jansen NYG
Sal Maglie NYG | 23
ERA | Saul Rogovin CWS | 2.78 | Chet Nichols Jr. BSB | 2.88
SO | Vic Raschi NYY | 164 | Don Newcombe BKN
Warren Spahn BSB | 164
SV | Ellis Kinder BSR | 14 | Ted Wilks SLC/PIT | 13
SB | Minnie Miñoso CLE/CWS | 31 | Sam Jethroe BSB | 35

## Standings

[edit]

### American League

[edit]

* v
* t
* e

American League Team  | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road

|
|
|
|
|
|

New York Yankees | 98 | 56  | .636  | —  | 56‍–‍22  | 42‍–‍34
Cleveland Indians | 93 | 61  | .604  | 5  | 53‍–‍24  | 40‍–‍37
Boston Red Sox | 87 | 67  | .565  | 11  | 50‍–‍25  | 37‍–‍42
Chicago White Sox | 81 | 73  | .526  | 17  | 39‍–‍38  | 42‍–‍35
Detroit Tigers | 73 | 81  | .474  | 25  | 36‍–‍41  | 37‍–‍40
Philadelphia Athletics | 70 | 84  | .455  | 28  | 38‍–‍41  | 32‍–‍43
Washington Senators | 62 | 92  | .403  | 36  | 32‍–‍44  | 30‍–‍48
St. Louis Browns | 52 | 102  | .338  | 46  | 24‍–‍53  | 28‍–‍49

### National League

[edit]

* v
* t
* e

National League Team  | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road

|
|
|
|
|
|

New York Giants | 98 | 59  | .624  | —  | 50‍–‍28  | 48‍–‍31
Brooklyn Dodgers | 97 | 60  | .618  | 1  | 49‍–‍29  | 48‍–‍31
St. Louis Cardinals | 81 | 73  | .526  | 15½  | 44‍–‍34  | 37‍–‍39
Boston Braves | 76 | 78  | .494  | 20½  | 42‍–‍35  | 34‍–‍43
Philadelphia Phillies | 73 | 81  | .474  | 23½  | 38‍–‍39  | 35‍–‍42
Cincinnati Reds | 68 | 86  | .442  | 28½  | 35‍–‍42  | 33‍–‍44
Pittsburgh Pirates | 64 | 90  | .416  | 32½  | 32‍–‍45  | 32‍–‍45
Chicago Cubs | 62 | 92  | .403  | 34½  | 32‍–‍45  | 30‍–‍47

* The New York Giants defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers in best-of-three playoff series to earn the National League pennant.

## Postseason

[edit]

### Bracket

[edit]

| World Series |

|
|

|  |  |  |
| AL | New York Yankees | 4 |
| NL | New York Giants | 2 |

## Managers

[edit]

### American League

[edit]

Team  | Manager  | Comments

|
|

Boston Red Sox | Steve O'Neill | Finished 3rd
Chicago White Sox | Paul Richards |
Cleveland Indians | Al López | Finished 2nd
Detroit Tigers | Red Rolfe |
New York Yankees | Casey Stengel | Won 3rd World Series in row
Philadelphia Athletics | Connie Mack |
St. Louis Browns | Zack Taylor |
Washington Senators | Bucky Harris |

### National League

[edit]

Team  | Manager  | Comments

|
|

Boston Braves | Billy Southworth and Tommy Holmes |
Brooklyn Dodgers | Chuck Dressen | Finished 2nd, lost playoff to NYG
Chicago Cubs | Frankie Frisch and Phil Cavarretta |
Cincinnati Reds | Luke Sewell |
New York Giants | Leo Durocher | Won Pennant in 3 game playoff with Brooklyn
Philadelphia Phillies | Eddie Sawyer |
Pittsburgh Pirates | Billy Meyer |
St. Louis Cardinals | Marty Marion | Finished 3rd

## Home field attendance

[edit]

Team name  | Wins  | %± | Home attendance  | %± | Per game

|
|
|
|
|

New York Yankees[1] | 98  | 0.0%  | 1,950,107  | −6.3%  | 25,001
Cleveland Indians[2] | 93  | 1.1%  | 1,704,984  | −1.3%  | 22,143
Chicago White Sox[3] | 81  | 35.0%  | 1,328,234  | 70.0%  | 17,029
Boston Red Sox[4] | 87  | −7.4%  | 1,312,282  | −2.4%  | 17,497
Brooklyn Dodgers[5] | 97  | 9.0%  | 1,282,628  | 8.2%  | 16,444
Detroit Tigers[6] | 73  | −23.2%  | 1,132,641  | −42.0%  | 14,710
New York Giants[7] | 98  | 14.0%  | 1,059,539  | 5.0%  | 13,584
St. Louis Cardinals[8] | 81  | 3.8%  | 1,013,429  | −7.3%  | 12,828
Pittsburgh Pirates[9] | 64  | 12.3%  | 980,590  | −15.9%  | 12,572
Philadelphia Phillies[10] | 73  | −19.8%  | 937,658  | −23.0%  | 12,177
Chicago Cubs[11] | 62  | −3.1%  | 894,415  | −23.3%  | 11,616
Washington Senators[12] | 62  | −7.5%  | 695,167  | −0.6%  | 9,147
Cincinnati Reds[13] | 68  | 3.0%  | 588,268  | 9.2%  | 7,640
Boston Braves[14] | 76  | −8.4%  | 487,475  | −48.4%  | 6,250
Philadelphia Athletics[10] | 70  | 34.6%  | 465,469  | 50.2%  | 5,892
St. Louis Browns[15] | 52  | −10.3%  | 293,790  | 18.9%  | 3,815

## Events

[edit]

* May 1 – Umpire Frank Dascoli banishes all 11 players on the Chicago Cubs bench during the fourth inning of the game against the New York Giants, after the Cubs players allegedly call Dascoli "Rabbit Ears". Bill Serena and Smoky Burgess are later allowed to return to the game to pinch hit for the Cubs.[16]
* May 15 – At Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox celebrated the franchise's 50th anniversary and honored members of the 1901 Boston Americans. Overall, 29 old-timers who played, managed, or umpired in the American League in that first year attended, including Bill Bradley, Tom Connolly, Wid Conroy, Hugh Duffy, Clark Griffith, Dummy Hoy, Connie Mack, Ollie Pickering, Billy Sullivan and Cy Young.[17][18] Eight of them participated in the first-ever game of the American League, played in Chicago on April 24, 1901. The regular game that followed the ceremony featured the 300th career home run of Ted Williams[17] in the 4th inning off Chicago White Sox pitcher Howie Judson. With the game tied at 7–7 in the top of the 11th inning, Nellie Fox hit the first homer of his six-year career[17] against reliever Ray Scarborough, to give the White Sox and reliever Harry Dorish a 9–7 victory.[19]
* July 7 – The Cincinnati Reds defeat the Chicago Cubs 8–6 - every scoring half-inning featured two runs.[20]
* September 13 – The St. Louis Cardinals become the first team in Major League history to play two different teams on the same day. Due to a rained out game, the Cardinals are forced to play the New York Giants in an afternoon game prior to their scheduled night game against the Boston Braves.[21]
* September 14 – Bob Nieman of the St. Louis Browns becomes the first player to hit two home runs in his first two at-bats.[22]
* October 1–3 – The Giants and Dodgers meet in a special three-game playoff to decide the National League pennant. Bobby Thomson's walk-off homerun at the bottom of the ninth in the third game becomes known as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World"

## See also

[edit]

* 1951 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season
* 1951 Nippon Professional Baseball season

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
2. ^ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
3. ^ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
4. ^ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
5. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
6. ^ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
7. ^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
8. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
9. ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
10. ^ a b "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
11. ^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
12. ^ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
13. ^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
14. ^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
15. ^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
16. ^ "Charlton's Baseball Chronology". www.baseballlibrary.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
17. ^ a b c May 15 in Baseball History[permanent dead link‍]. Know More About Baseball]. Retrieved on May 15, 2019.
18. ^ Fenway Park Timeline. MLB.com. Retrieved on May 15, 2019.
19. ^ Chicago White Sox at Boston Red Sox Box Score, May 15, 1951. Baseball Reference. Retrieved on May 15, 2019.
20. ^ Firstman, Diane (May 16, 2016). "And all the Runs were Scored 2 by 2". valueoverreplacementgrit.com. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
21. ^ "Strange and Unusual Plays". www.retrosheet.org. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
22. ^ Mackin, Bob (2004). The Unofficial Guide to Baseball's Most Unusual Records. Canada: Greystone Books. p. 240\. ISBN 9781553650386.

## External links

[edit]

* 1951 Major League Baseball season schedule at Baseball Reference

* v
* t
* e

1951 MLB season by team

American League|

* Boston
* Chicago
* Cleveland
* Detroit
* New York
* Philadelphia
* St. Louis
* Washington

National League|

* Boston
* Brooklyn
* Chicago
* Cincinnati
* New York
* Philadelphia
* Pittsburgh
* St. Louis

* 1951 All-Star Game
* 1951 World Series

* v
* t
* e

Major League Baseball seasons

Pre-modern era|

| Beginnings|

* 1876
* 1877
* 1878
* 1879
* 1880
* 1881

|

Competition|

* 1882
* 1883
* 1884
* 1885
* 1886
* 1887
* 1888
* 1889
* 1890
* 1891

NL monopoly|

* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900

Modern era|

| Dead-ball era|

* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920

|

Live-ball era|

* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941

World War II|

* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945

Post-war and integration|

* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960

First expansion|

* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968

Birth of division play|

* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993

Wild Card begins|

* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011

Wild Card expansion|

* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022

Pitch clock era|

* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

See also|

* Major League Baseball schedule
* Major League Baseball

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[%±]: Percent change
*[Per game]: Average home attendance per game