Orioles

Red Sox

White Sox  

Indians

Tigers

   Athletics

Yankees

Senators

Locations of teams for the 1955–1960American League seasons
American League

Cubs

Reds

Dodgers

Braves

     Phillies

Pirates  

  Giants

Cardinals

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Locations of teams for the 1959National League season
National League

The1959 major league baseball season began on April 9, 1959. The regular season ended on September 29, with theLos Angeles Dodgers andChicago White Sox as the regular season champions of theNational League andAmerican League, respectively. The Dodgers swept theMilwaukee Braves ina regular season best-of-three tiebreaker, for the National League title, after both teams finished their 154-game schedules with identical 86–68 records. This was the fourth regular season tie-breaker. The postseason began with Game 1 of the56th World Series on October 1 and ended with Game 6 on October 8. The Dodgers defeated the White Sox, four games to two, capturing their second championship in franchise history, their first since in1955, and first in Los Angeles. This was the first appearance of the White Sox in the "Fall Classic" since the infamousBlack Sox Scandal of the1919 World Series and interrupted aYankees'dynasty that dominated the American League between 1949 and 1964. Going into the season, the defendingWorld Series champions were theNew York Yankees from the1958 season.

For the first time in professional baseball history, there were two separate All-Star Games played. The first, the26th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, was held on July 7 atForbes Field inPittsburgh,Pennsylvania, home of thePittsburgh Pirates. TheNational League won, 5–1. The second, the27th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, was held on August 3 atLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum inLos Angeles,California, home of theLos Angeles Dodgers. TheAmerican League won, 5–3.

In the National League, theCincinnati Redlegs reverted to their1890–1952 name, theCincinnati Reds.

On July 21, theBoston Red Sox became the 16th and final team in professional baseball tobreak the color line when they fieldedPumpsie Green, 12 years afterJackie Robinson of theBrooklyn Dodgers broke the professional baseball color line in 1947.^[1] The Red Sox werenotably resistant to integration due to team ownerTom Yawkey, and only did so following a lawsuit charging Yawkey andgeneral managerBucky Harris with discrimination and the deliberate barring of black players from the Red Sox.^[2] TheNAACP issued charges of "following an anti-Negro policy", and theMassachusetts Commission Against Discrimination announced a public hearing on racial bias against the Red Sox.^[3]

The season is notable as the only one between 1950 and 1981 where no pitcher pitcheda no-hitter.^[4][a]

The 1959 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 9, featuring four teams. The final day of the scheduled regular season was on September 27, which saw all sixteen teams play, the first time since1957. Due to theLos Angeles Dodgers andMilwaukee Braves finishing with the same record of 86–68, abest-of-three tie-breaker was scheduled, to be considered an extension of the regular season. TheWorld Series took place between October 1 and October 8.

The 1959 season saw the following rule changes:

• The minimum outfield dimensions for all newballparks are to be 325 feet down the left and right field foul lines, and 400 feet in center field.^[5][6]
• Traditionalwaivers are to now be suspended from November 21 to December 15 every year. This was to enable trades between the American and National Leagues, without the usual requirement that players were to be waived out of their respective leagues.^[7]
• Though not approved in time for the fall 1958 draft, the selection prices for players drafted by major-league team was reduced from $25,000 (equivalent to $270,000 in 2024) to $15,000 (equivalent to $162,000 in 2024).^[7]
• Rule 5 drafts were amended to allow teams to draft first year pro players, who were not on a team's 40-man major-league roster.^[8]
  • Given that a player was drafted under the now ceasedbonus rule, the team which originally drafted a player must still cover the bonus money. For the entire season, the team that drafted said player must keep said player in the majors, or else be forced to return the player to his pre-Rule 5 draft team at the cost of $7,500 (equivalent to $80,900 in 2024).^[8]

• TheLos Angeles Dodgers defeated theMilwaukee Braves in a regular seasonbest-of-three tie-breaker series to earn the National League pennant.

The postseason began on October 1 and ended on October 8 with theLos Angeles Dodgers defeating theChicago White Sox in the1959 World Series in six games.

• Sport Magazine'sWorld Series Most Valuable Player Award:Larry Sherry (LAD)

• Zack Wheat

TheSan Francisco Giants would play their final game atSeals Stadium on September 20 against theLos Angeles Dodgers, moving intoCandlestick Park for the start of the1960 season.

CBS andNBC aired weekendGame of the Week broadcasts. TheAll-Star Game andWorld Series also aired on NBC. The rights to air the1959 National League tie-breaker series were awarded toABC.^[35][36]

• 1959 in baseball (Events,Births,Deaths)
• 1959 Nippon Professional Baseball season

^a Other Major League Baseball seasons since 1901 without a no-hitter pitched are1909,1913,1921,1927–1928,1932–1933,1936,1939,1942–1943,1949,1982,1985,1989,2000, and2005.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to1959 in Major League Baseball.

• 1959 Major League Schedule atBaseball Reference

• 1959 Major League Baseball season
• Major League Baseball seasons
• 1959 in baseball

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