| 1956 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:Mickey Mantle (NYY) NL:Don Newcombe (BRO) |
| AL champions | New York Yankees |
| AL runners-up | Cleveland Indians |
| NL champions | Brooklyn Dodgers |
| NL runners-up | Milwaukee Braves |
| World Series | |
| Champions | New York Yankees |
| Runners-up | Brooklyn Dodgers |
| World SeriesMVP | Don Larsen (NYY) |
| MLB seasons | |
The1956 major league baseball season began on April 17, 1956. The regular season ended on September 30, with theBrooklyn Dodgers andNew York Yankees as the regular season champions of theNational League andAmerican League, respectively. In a rematch of the previous season, the postseason began with Game 1 of the53rd World Series on October 3 and ended with Game 7 on October 10. The series is notable for Yankees pitcherDon Larsen's perfect game in Game 5. In the seventh iteration of thisSubway Series World Series matchup (and a rematch of theprevious year), the Yankees defeated the Dodgers, four games to three, capturing their 17th championship in franchise history, since their previous in1953. This would be the final Subway Series matchup between the two teams, as the next World Series between the two in1963 would see arelocated Dodgers franchise inLos Angeles, California. Going into the season, the defendingWorld Series champions were theBrooklyn Dodgers from the1955 season.
The23rd Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 10 atGriffith Stadium inWashington, D.C., home of theWashington Senators. TheNational League won, 7–3.
The 1956 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.
Opening Day took place on April 17, featuring all sixteen teams, the first time since1954. The final day of the regular season was on September 30, which also saw all sixteen teams play, continuing the trend from theprevious season. This was the first time since1950 that all sixteen teams played their first and last games on the same days. TheWorld Series took place between October 3 and October 10.
The 1956 season saw the following rule changes:
An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 97 | 57 | .630 | — | 49–28 | 48–29 |
| Cleveland Indians | 88 | 66 | .571 | 9 | 46–31 | 42–35 |
| Chicago White Sox | 85 | 69 | .552 | 12 | 46–31 | 39–38 |
| Boston Red Sox | 84 | 70 | .545 | 13 | 43–34 | 41–36 |
| Detroit Tigers | 82 | 72 | .532 | 15 | 37–40 | 45–32 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 69 | 85 | .448 | 28 | 41–36 | 28–49 |
| Washington Senators | 59 | 95 | .383 | 38 | 32–45 | 27–50 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 52 | 102 | .338 | 45 | 22–55 | 30–47 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 93 | 61 | .604 | — | 52–25 | 41–36 |
| Milwaukee Braves | 92 | 62 | .597 | 1 | 47–29 | 45–33 |
| Cincinnati Redlegs | 91 | 63 | .591 | 2 | 51–26 | 40–37 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 76 | 78 | .494 | 17 | 43–34 | 33–44 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 71 | 83 | .461 | 22 | 40–37 | 31–46 |
| New York Giants | 67 | 87 | .435 | 26 | 37–40 | 30–47 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 66 | 88 | .429 | 27 | 35–43 | 31–45 |
| Chicago Cubs | 60 | 94 | .390 | 33 | 39–38 | 21–56 |
7 tie games (2 in AL, 5 in NL), which are not factored intowinning percentage orgames behind (and were often replayed again) occurred throughout the season.
The Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, and Washington Senators had one tie game each.
The Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates had three tie games each. The St. Louis Cardinals had two tie games. The Cincinnati Redlegs and Milwaukee Braves had one tie game each.
The postseason began on October 3 and ended on October 10 with theNew York Yankees defeating theBrooklyn Dodgers in the1956 World Series in seven games.
| World Series | ||||
| AL | New York Yankees | 4 | ||
| NL | Brooklyn Dodgers | 3 | ||
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| New York Giants | Leo Durocher | Bill Rigney |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Fred Haney | Bobby Bragan |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Harry Walker | Fred Hutchinson |
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Braves | Charlie Grimm | Fred Haney |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Mickey Mantle1 (NYY) | .353 |
| OPS | Mickey Mantle (NYY) | 1.169 |
| HR | Mickey Mantle1 (NYY) | 52 |
| RBI | Mickey Mantle1 (NYY) | 130 |
| R | Mickey Mantle (NYY) | 132 |
| H | Harvey Kuenn (DET) | 196 |
| SB | Luis Aparicio (CWS) | 21 |
1 American LeagueTriple Crown batting winner
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Frank Lary (DET) | 21 |
| L | Art Ditmar (KCA) | 22 |
| ERA | Whitey Ford (NYY) | 2.47 |
| K | Herb Score (CLE) | 263 |
| IP | Frank Lary (DET) | 294.0 |
| SV | George Zuverink (BAL) | 16 |
| WHIP | Dick Donovan (CWS) | 1.155 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Hank Aaron (MIL) | .328 |
| OPS | Duke Snider (BRO) | .997 |
| HR | Duke Snider (BRO) | 43 |
| RBI | Stan Musial (STL) | 109 |
| R | Frank Robinson (CIN) | 122 |
| H | Hank Aaron (MIL) | 200 |
| SB | Willie Mays (NYG) | 40 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Don Newcombe (BRO) | 27 |
| L | Ron Kline (PIT) Robin Roberts (PHI) | 18 |
| ERA | Lew Burdette (MIL) | 2.70 |
| K | Sam Jones (CHC) | 176 |
| IP | Bob Friend (PIT) | 314.1 |
| SV | Clem Labine (BRO) | 19 |
| WHIP | Don Newcombe (BRO) | 0.989 |
| Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Rookie of the Year | Frank Robinson (CIN) | Luis Aparicio (CWS) |
| Cy Young Award | — | Don Newcombe (BRO) |
| Most Valuable Player | Don Newcombe (BRO) | Mickey Mantle (NYY) |
| Babe Ruth Award (World Series MVP) | — | Don Larsen (NYY) |
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Braves[26] | 92 | 8.2% | 2,046,331 | 2.0% | 26,576 |
| New York Yankees[27] | 97 | 1.0% | 1,491,784 | 0.1% | 19,374 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers[28] | 93 | −5.1% | 1,213,562 | 17.4% | 15,761 |
| Boston Red Sox[29] | 84 | 0.0% | 1,137,158 | −5.5% | 14,579 |
| Cincinnati Redlegs[30] | 91 | 21.3% | 1,125,928 | 62.3% | 14,622 |
| Detroit Tigers[31] | 82 | 3.8% | 1,051,182 | −11.1% | 13,477 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[32] | 76 | 11.8% | 1,029,773 | 21.3% | 13,202 |
| Kansas City Athletics[33] | 52 | −17.5% | 1,015,154 | −27.1% | 13,184 |
| Chicago White Sox[34] | 85 | −6.6% | 1,000,090 | −14.9% | 12,988 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[35] | 66 | 10.0% | 949,878 | 102.4% | 12,178 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[36] | 71 | −7.8% | 934,798 | 1.3% | 12,140 |
| Baltimore Orioles[37] | 69 | 21.1% | 901,201 | 5.8% | 11,704 |
| Cleveland Indians[38] | 88 | −5.4% | 865,467 | −29.2% | 11,240 |
| Chicago Cubs[39] | 60 | −16.7% | 720,118 | −17.8% | 9,001 |
| New York Giants[40] | 67 | −16.3% | 629,179 | −23.7% | 8,171 |
| Washington Senators[41] | 59 | 11.3% | 431,647 | 1.5% | 5,606 |
TheBrooklyn Dodgers began playing several home games inJersey City,New Jersey, playing seven games.[42]
CBS aired the SaturdayGame of the Week for the second consecutive year. TheAll-Star Game andWorld Series aired onNBC.
