| 1958 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Games | 154 |
| Teams | 16 (8 per league) |
| TV partner(s) | NBC,CBS |
| Regular season | |
| SeasonMVP | AL:Jackie Jensen (BOS) NL:Ernie Banks (CHC) |
| AL champions | New York Yankees |
| AL runners-up | Chicago White Sox |
| NL champions | Milwaukee Braves |
| NL runners-up | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| World Series | |
| Champions | New York Yankees |
| Runners-up | Milwaukee Braves |
| World SeriesMVP | Bob Turley (NYY) |
| MLB seasons | |
The1958 major league baseball season began on April 14, 1958. The regular season ended on September 28, with theMilwaukee Braves andNew York Yankees as the regular season champions of theNational League andAmerican League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the55th World Series on October 1 and ended with Game 7 on October 9. In the second iteration of this World Series matchup (and a rematch of theprevious year), the Yankees defeated the Braves, four games to three, capturing their 18th championship in franchise history, since their previous in1956. Going into the season, the defendingWorld Series champions were theMilwaukee Braves from the1957 season.
The25th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 8 atBaltimore Memorial Stadium inBaltimore,Maryland, home of theBaltimore Orioles. TheAmerican League won, 4–3.
Following therelocation trend that began in1953, the National League'sBrooklyn Dodgers andNew York Giants moved fromNew York, New York (Brooklyn andManhattan, respectively) toCalifornia (Los Angeles andSan Francisco, respectively), becoming the fourth and fifth teams to relocate in the relocation era and leaving New York a one-team city. The moves to California marked the first time major-league teams played on theWest Coast. The National League exodus from New York would go on to inspire the proposedContinental League thefollowing year, which pressured the two existing leagues to beginexpansion.[1] New York went without aNational League team for four seasons, until theexpansionNew York Mets began play in1962.
On June 6, theDetroit Tigers became the 15th team in professional baseball tobreak the color line when they fieldedOzzie Virgil Sr.[2]
The 1958 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 the1904 season (except for1919) and would be used until1961 in the American League and1962 in the National League.
American League Opening Day took place on April 14, featuring theBoston Red Sox andWashington Senators, while National League Opening Day took place the following day, featuring all eight NL teams. This continued the trend from theprevious season which saw both leagues opened on different days. The final day of the regular season was on September 28, which saw fourteen teams play. TheWorld Series took place between October 1 and October 9.
The 1958 season saw the following rule changes:
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 92 | 62 | .597 | — | 44–33 | 48–29 |
| Chicago White Sox | 82 | 72 | .532 | 10 | 47–30 | 35–42 |
| Boston Red Sox | 79 | 75 | .513 | 13 | 49–28 | 30–47 |
| Cleveland Indians | 77 | 76 | .503 | 14½ | 42–34 | 35–42 |
| Detroit Tigers | 77 | 77 | .500 | 15 | 43–34 | 34–43 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 74 | 79 | .484 | 17½ | 46–31 | 28–48 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 73 | 81 | .474 | 19 | 43–34 | 30–47 |
| Washington Senators | 61 | 93 | .396 | 31 | 33–44 | 28–49 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Braves | 92 | 62 | .597 | — | 48–29 | 44–33 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 84 | 70 | .545 | 8 | 49–28 | 35–42 |
| San Francisco Giants | 80 | 74 | .519 | 12 | 44–33 | 36–41 |
| Cincinnati Redlegs | 76 | 78 | .494 | 16 | 40–37 | 36–41 |
| Chicago Cubs | 72 | 82 | .468 | 20 | 35–42 | 37–40 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 72 | 82 | .468 | 20 | 39–38 | 33–44 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 71 | 83 | .461 | 21 | 39–38 | 32–45 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 69 | 85 | .448 | 23 | 35–42 | 34–43 |
The postseason began on October 1 and ended on October 9 with theNew York Yankees defeating theMilwaukee Braves in the1958 World Series in seven games.
| World Series | ||||
| AL | New York Yankees | 4 | ||
| NL | Milwaukee Braves | 3 | ||
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox | Marty Marion | Al López |
| Cleveland Indians | Kerby Farrell | Bobby Bragan |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Ted Williams (BOS) | .328 |
| OPS | Ted Williams (BOS) | 1.042 |
| HR | Mickey Mantle (NYY) | 42 |
| RBI | Jackie Jensen (BOS) | 122 |
| R | Mickey Mantle (NYY) | 127 |
| H | Nellie Fox (CWS) | 187 |
| SB | Luis Aparicio (CWS) | 29 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Bob Turley (NYY) | 21 |
| L | Pedro Ramos (WSH) | 18 |
| ERA | Whitey Ford (NYY) | 2.01 |
| K | Early Wynn (CWS) | 179 |
| IP | Frank Lary (DET) | 260.1 |
| SV | Ryne Duren (NYY) Dick Hyde (WSH) | 19 |
| WHIP | Whitey Ford (NYY) | 1.076 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Richie Ashburn (PHI) | .350 |
| OPS | Willie Mays (SF) | 1.002 |
| HR | Ernie Banks (CHC) | 47 |
| RBI | Ernie Banks (CHC) | 129 |
| R | Willie Mays (SF) | 121 |
| H | Richie Ashburn (PHI) | 215 |
| SB | Willie Mays (SF) | 31 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Bob Friend (PIT) Warren Spahn (MIL) | 22 |
| L | Ron Kline (PIT) | 16 |
| ERA | Stu Miller (SF) | 2.47 |
| K | Sam Jones (STL) | 225 |
| IP | Warren Spahn (MIL) | 290.0 |
| SV | Roy Face (PIT) | 20 |
| WHIP | Warren Spahn (MIL) | 1.148 |
| Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Rookie of the Year | Orlando Cepeda (SF) | Albie Pearson (WSH) |
| Cy Young Award | — | Bob Turley (NYY) |
| Most Valuable Player | Ernie Banks (CHC) | Jackie Jensen (BOS) |
| Babe Ruth Award (World Series MVP) | — | Elston Howard (NYY) |
| Gold Glove Awards | ||
| Position | National League | American League |
| Pitcher | Harvey Haddix (CIN) | Bobby Shantz (NYY) |
| Catcher | Del Crandall (MIL) | Sherm Lollar (CWS) |
| 1st Base | Gil Hodges (LAD) | Vic Power (CLE/KCA) |
| 2nd Base | Bill Mazeroski (PIT) | Frank Bolling (DET) |
| 3rd Base | Ken Boyer (STL) | Frank Malzone (BOS) |
| Shortstop | Roy McMillan (CIN) | Luis Aparicio (CWS) |
| Left field | Frank Robinson (CIN) | Norm Siebern (NYY) |
| Center field | Willie Mays (SF) | Jimmy Piersall (BOS) |
| Right field | Hank Aaron (MIL) | Al Kaline (DET) |
| The Sporting NewsAwards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Award | National League | American League |
| Player of the Year[10] | — | Bob Turley (NYY) |
| Pitcher of the Year[11] | Warren Spahn (MIL) | Bob Turley (NYY) |
| Rookie of the Year[12] (Player) | Orlando Cepeda (SF) | Albie Pearson (WSH) |
| Rookie of the Year[12] (Pitcher) | Carl Willey (MIL) | Ryne Duren (NYY) |
| Manager of the Year[13] | — | Casey Stengel (NYY) |
| Executive of the Year[14] | Joe L. Brown (PIT) | — |
| Month | National League |
|---|---|
| May | Willie Mays (SF) Stan Musial (STL) |
| June | Frank Thomas (PIT) |
| July | Joey Jay (MIL) |
| August | Lew Burdette (MIL) |
| September | Willie Mays (SF) |
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Braves[15] | 92 | −3.2% | 1,971,101 | −11.0% | 25,599 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers[16] | 71 | −15.5% | 1,845,556 | 79.5% | 23,968 |
| New York Yankees[17] | 92 | −6.1% | 1,428,438 | −4.6% | 18,313 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[18] | 84 | 35.5% | 1,311,988 | 54.2% | 17,039 |
| San Francisco Giants[19] | 80 | 15.9% | 1,272,625 | 94.6% | 16,528 |
| Detroit Tigers[20] | 77 | −1.3% | 1,098,924 | −13.6% | 14,272 |
| Boston Red Sox[21] | 79 | −3.7% | 1,077,047 | −8.8% | 13,988 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[22] | 72 | −17.2% | 1,063,730 | −10.1% | 13,815 |
| Chicago Cubs[23] | 72 | 16.1% | 979,904 | 46.1% | 12,726 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[24] | 69 | −10.4% | 931,110 | −18.8% | 12,092 |
| Kansas City Athletics[25] | 73 | 23.7% | 925,090 | 2.7% | 11,860 |
| Baltimore Orioles[26] | 74 | −2.6% | 829,991 | −19.4% | 10,641 |
| Chicago White Sox[27] | 82 | −8.9% | 797,451 | −29.8% | 10,357 |
| Cincinnati Redlegs[28] | 76 | −5.0% | 788,582 | −26.4% | 10,241 |
| Cleveland Indians[29] | 77 | 1.3% | 663,805 | −8.1% | 8,734 |
| Washington Senators[30] | 61 | 10.9% | 475,288 | 4.0% | 6,093 |
TheLos Angeles Dodgers, newly relocated from their long-time home inBrooklyn as theBrooklyn Dodgers, leaveEbbets Field after playing there for 45 seasons, moving intoLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum where they would play for four seasons through1961.
TheSan Francisco Giants, newly relocated from their long-time home inNew York City as theNew York Giants, leave the then-current iteration of thePolo Grounds after playing there for 67 seasons (75 seasons including previous iterations of the Polo Grounds,) moving intoSeals Stadium where they would play for two seasons through the following season,1959.
CBS andNBC aired weekendGame of the Week broadcasts. NBC began airing a special regional feed of its games in thesoutheast. TheAll-Star Game andWorld Series also aired on NBC.
