| 1966 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Games | 162 |
| Teams | 20 (10 per league) |
| TV partner | NBC |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Steve Chilcott |
| Picked by | New York Mets |
| Regular season | |
| SeasonMVP | AL:Frank Robinson (BAL) NL:Roberto Clemente (PIT) |
| AL champions | Baltimore Orioles |
| AL runners-up | Minnesota Twins |
| NL champions | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| NL runners-up | San Francisco Giants |
| World Series | |
| Champions | Baltimore Orioles |
| Runners-up | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| World SeriesMVP | Frank Robinson (BAL) |
| MLB seasons | |
The1966 major league baseball season began on April 11, 1966. The regular season ended on October 2, with theLos Angeles Dodgers andBaltimore Orioles as the regular season champions of theNational League andAmerican League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the63rd World Series on October 5 and ended with Game 4 on October 9. The Orioles swept the Dodgers in four games, capturing their first championship in franchise history. Going into the season, the defendingWorld Series champions were theLos Angeles Dodgers from the1965 season.
The37th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, was held on July 12 atBusch Memorial Stadium inSt. Louis,Missouri, home of theSt. Louis Cardinals. TheNational League won, 2–1.
TheMilwaukee Braves moved toAtlanta,Georgia as theAtlanta Braves, being the seventh teamsince 1953 to relocate, and the fourth of National League teams since then. The move fromMilwaukee was the second time in modern-era baseball (since 1901) that the city was left without a team. Previously, the1901 Milwaukee Brewers moved to St. Louis following the1901 season (the team, theSt. Louis Browns, went on to relocate toBaltimore as theBaltimore Orioles in1953). Major league baseball would return to Milwaukee in1970 with the relocation of the American LeagueSeattle Pilots as theMilwaukee Brewers. The National League would see its return in1998 when the Brewers transferred in to the league.
Three teams played the 1966 season in new stadiums. On April 12, the Braves ushered inAtlanta Stadium with thePittsburgh Pirates taking a 3–2 win in 13 innings. One week later,Anaheim Stadium opened with theCalifornia Angels losing to theChicago White Sox, 3–1 in the Angels' debut following their move fromLos Angeles to nearbyOrange County. On May 8, theSt. Louis Cardinals closed out oldSportsman's Park/Busch Stadium I with a 10–5 loss to theSan Francisco Giants before opening the newBusch Memorial Stadium four days later with a 4–3 win in 12 innings over theAtlanta Braves.
1966 would beWilliam Eckert's first season as commissioner.
The 1966 schedule consisted of 162 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had ten teams. Each team was scheduled to play 18 games against the other nine teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place by the American League since the1961 season and by the National League since the1962 season, and would be used until1969.
American League Opening Day took place on April 11, featuring a game between theCleveland Indians andWashington Senators, while National League Opening Day took place the following day, featuring six teams. The final day of the regular season was on October 2, which saw all 20 teams play, continuing the trend from theprevious season. TheWorld Series took place between October 5 and October 9.
The 1966 season would see the following rule change:
An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Orioles | 97 | 63 | .606 | — | 48–31 | 49–32 |
| Minnesota Twins | 89 | 73 | .549 | 9 | 49–32 | 40–41 |
| Detroit Tigers | 88 | 74 | .543 | 10 | 42–39 | 46–35 |
| Chicago White Sox | 83 | 79 | .512 | 15 | 45–36 | 38–43 |
| Cleveland Indians | 81 | 81 | .500 | 17 | 41–40 | 40–41 |
| California Angels | 80 | 82 | .494 | 18 | 42–39 | 38–43 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 74 | 86 | .463 | 23 | 42–39 | 32–47 |
| Washington Senators | 71 | 88 | .447 | 25½ | 42–36 | 29–52 |
| Boston Red Sox | 72 | 90 | .444 | 26 | 40–41 | 32–49 |
| New York Yankees | 70 | 89 | .440 | 26½ | 35–46 | 35–43 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 95 | 67 | .586 | — | 53–28 | 42–39 |
| San Francisco Giants | 93 | 68 | .578 | 1½ | 47–34 | 46–34 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 92 | 70 | .568 | 3 | 46–35 | 46–35 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 87 | 75 | .537 | 8 | 48–33 | 39–42 |
| Atlanta Braves | 85 | 77 | .525 | 10 | 43–38 | 42–39 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 83 | 79 | .512 | 12 | 43–38 | 40–41 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 76 | 84 | .475 | 18 | 46–33 | 30–51 |
| Houston Astros | 72 | 90 | .444 | 23 | 45–36 | 27–54 |
| New York Mets | 66 | 95 | .410 | 28½ | 32–49 | 34–46 |
| Chicago Cubs | 59 | 103 | .364 | 36 | 32–49 | 27–54 |
The postseason began on October 5 and ended on October 9 with theBaltimore Orioles sweeping theLos Angeles Dodgers in the1966 World Series in four games.
| World Series | ||||
| AL | Baltimore Orioles | 4 | ||
| NL | Los Angeles Dodgers | 0 | ||
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Frank Robinson1 (BAL) | .316 |
| OPS | Frank Robinson (BAL) | 1.047 |
| HR | Frank Robinson1 (BAL) | 49 |
| RBI | Frank Robinson1 (BAL) | 122 |
| R | Frank Robinson (BAL) | 122 |
| H | Tony Oliva (MIN) | 191 |
| SB | Bert Campaneris (KCA) | 52 |
1 American LeagueTriple Crown batting winner
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Jim Kaat (MIN) | 25 |
| L | Mel Stottlemyre (NYY) | 20 |
| ERA | Gary Peters (CWS) | 1.98 |
| K | Sam McDowell (CLE) | 225 |
| IP | Jim Kaat (MIN) | 304.2 |
| SV | Jack Aker (KCA) | 32 |
| WHIP | Gary Peters (CWS) | 0.982 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Matty Alou (PIT) | .342 |
| OPS | Dick Allen (PHI) | 1.027 |
| HR | Hank Aaron (ATL) | 44 |
| RBI | Hank Aaron (ATL) | 127 |
| R | Felipe Alou (ATL) | 122 |
| H | Felipe Alou (ATL) | 218 |
| SB | Lou Brock (STL) | 74 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Sandy Koufax2 (LAD) | 27 |
| L | Dick Ellsworth (CHC) | 22 |
| ERA | Sandy Koufax2 (LAD) | 1.73 |
| K | Sandy Koufax2 (LAD) | 317 |
| IP | Sandy Koufax (LAD) | 323.0 |
| SV | Phil Regan (LAD) | 21 |
| WHIP | Juan Marichal (SF) | 0.859 |
2 National LeagueTriple Crown pitching winner
| Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Rookie of the Year | Tommy Helms (CIN) | Tommie Agee (CWS) |
| Cy Young Award | Sandy Koufax (LAD) | — |
| Most Valuable Player | Roberto Clemente (PIT) | Frank Robinson (BAL) |
| Babe Ruth Award (World Series MVP) | — | Frank Robinson (BAL) |
| Gold Glove Awards | ||
| Position | National League | American League |
| Pitcher | Bob Gibson (STL) | Jim Kaat (MIN) |
| Catcher | John Roseboro (LAD) | Bill Freehan (DET) |
| 1st Base | Bill White (PHI) | Joe Pepitone (NYY) |
| 2nd Base | Bill Mazeroski (PIT) | Bobby Knoop (CAL) |
| 3rd Base | Ron Santo (CHC) | Brooks Robinson (BAL) |
| Shortstop | Gene Alley (PIT) | Luis Aparicio (BAL) |
| Outfield | Roberto Clemente (PIT) | Tommie Agee (CWS) |
| Curt Flood (STL) | Al Kaline (DET) | |
| Willie Mays (SF) | Tony Oliva (MIN) | |
| Month | National League |
|---|---|
| May | Juan Marichal (SF) |
| June | Gaylord Perry (SF) |
| July | Mike Shannon (STL) |
| August | Pete Rose (CIN) |
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers[15] | 95 | −2.1% | 2,617,029 | 2.5% | 32,309 |
| New York Mets[16] | 66 | 32.0% | 1,932,693 | 9.3% | 23,860 |
| Houston Astros[17] | 72 | 10.8% | 1,872,108 | −13.0% | 23,112 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[18] | 83 | 3.8% | 1,712,980 | 38.0% | 21,148 |
| San Francisco Giants[19] | 93 | −2.1% | 1,657,192 | 7.2% | 20,459 |
| Atlanta Braves[20] | 85 | −1.2% | 1,539,801 | 177.1% | 18,778 |
| California Angels[21] | 80 | 6.7% | 1,400,321 | 147.1% | 17,288 |
| Minnesota Twins[22] | 89 | −12.7% | 1,259,374 | −13.9% | 15,548 |
| Baltimore Orioles[23] | 97 | 3.2% | 1,203,366 | 54.0% | 15,232 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[24] | 92 | 2.2% | 1,196,618 | 31.6% | 14,773 |
| New York Yankees[25] | 70 | −9.1% | 1,124,648 | −7.3% | 13,715 |
| Detroit Tigers[26] | 88 | −1.1% | 1,124,293 | 9.2% | 13,880 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[27] | 87 | 2.4% | 1,108,201 | −5.0% | 13,681 |
| Chicago White Sox[28] | 83 | −12.6% | 990,016 | −12.4% | 12,222 |
| Cleveland Indians[29] | 81 | −6.9% | 903,359 | −3.4% | 11,153 |
| Boston Red Sox[30] | 72 | 16.1% | 811,172 | 24.4% | 10,014 |
| Kansas City Athletics[31] | 74 | 25.4% | 773,929 | 46.5% | 9,555 |
| Cincinnati Reds[32] | 76 | −14.6% | 742,958 | −29.1% | 9,405 |
| Chicago Cubs[33] | 59 | −18.1% | 635,891 | −0.9% | 7,851 |
| Washington Senators[34] | 71 | 1.4% | 576,260 | 2.9% | 7,388 |
The 1966 season saw three teams move to three new venues.
For the first time,NBC became exclusive national TV broadcaster of MLB. The network replacedABC as the holder of theGames of the Week package. TheNew York Yankees andPhiladelphia Phillies, which had instead sold their TV rights toCBS in prior seasons, also joined NBC's package. The new package under NBC called for 28 games, as compared to the 123 combined among three networks during the 1960s. NBC also continued to air theAll-Star Game andWorld Series.
