1957 in baseball

The following are the baseball events of the year 1957 throughout the world.

Champions

Major League Baseball

• World Series: Milwaukee Braves over New York Yankees (4-3); Lew Burdette, MVP
• All-Star Game, July 9 at Busch Stadium: American League, 6-5

Other champions

• College World Series: California
• Japan Series: Nishitetsu Lions over Yomiuri Giants (4-0-1)
• Little League World Series: Monterrey Industrial, Monterrey, Mexico

Winter Leagues

• 1957 Caribbean Series: Tigres de Marianao
• Cuban League: Tigres de Marianao
• Dominican Republic League: Leones del Escogido
• Mexican Pacific League: Naranjeros de Hermosillo
• Panamanian League: Cerveza Balboa
• Puerto Rican League: Indios de Mayagüez
• Venezuelan League: Leones del Caracas

Awards and honors

• MLB Most Valuable Player Award
  • American League: Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees, OF
  • National League: Hank Aaron, Milwaukee Braves, OF
• MLB Rookie of the Year Award
  • American League: Tony Kubek, New York Yankees, SS
  • National League: Jack Sanford, Philadelphia Phillies, P
• Cy Young Award
  • Warren Spahn, Milwaukee Braves (NL)
• The Sporting News Player of the Year Award
  • Ted Williams, Boston Red Sox
• The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Award
  • American League: Billy Pierce, Chicago White Sox
  • National League: Warren Spahn, Milwaukee Braves
• The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award
  • Fred Hutchinson, St. Louis Cardinals

MLB statistical leaders

Major league baseball final standings

Events

April–June

• April 18 – New York City Parks Commissioner Robert Aaron proposes a new 78-acre (320,000 m²) tract in Flushing Meadows as a site for a new National League baseball stadium. The plan, submitted to mayor Robert Wagner, includes a 50,000-seat stadium with a plastic dome to be built by the Parks Department.
• April 21 – In the first inning of a 3-1 loss to the Milwaukee Braves at Milwaukee County Stadium, the Cincinnati Redlegs are involved in a bizarre play. With Don Hoak on second and Gus Bell on first, Wally Post hits a ground ball to Milwaukee shortstop Johnny Logan. Hoak breaks up a potential double play by fielding the ball himself and flipping it to Logan. Hoak is called out for interference (contact with a batted ball before a fielder touched it), but Post is given a single on the play. The day before, Johnny Temple let Bell's ground ball hit him with the same result, Temple being called out for interference and Bell being awarded a single. The two incidents prompt league presidents Warren Giles and Will Harridge to jointly announce a rule change that declared both the runner and batter out if the runner intentionally interfered with a batted ball, with no runners allowed to advance.
• April 22 – John Irvin Kennedy becomes the first black player in Philadelphia Phillies history, entering the game in the top of the 8th inning as a pinch runner for Solly Hemus.
• April 24
  • The New York City Board Of Estimates fails to act on the Moses plan as outlined by Mayor Wagner.
  • The Chicago Cubs are involved in a bizarre play in their 9-5 loss to the Cincinnati Redlegs at Crosley Field. In the fourth inning, pitcher Moe Drabowsky claims to be hit on the foot by a Joe Nuxhall pitch. Teammate Dick Drott borrows a wheelchair from a crippled fan and wheels Drabowsky to first—and is ejected by home plate umpire Stan Landes. Drabowsky is eventually called out on strikes.
• May 7 – Two batters into the game at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland Indian pitcher Herb Score is hit in the face by a line drive by New York Yankee Gil McDougald, the ball breaking numerous bones in Score's face and leaving him quite bloodied. McDougald vows to quit if Score is blinded as a result. Score regains his 20/20 vision, but will miss the remainder of the 1957 season. With Bob Lemon pitching the rest of the way, the Indians defeat the Yankees 2-1.
• May 10 – Mayor George Christopher of San Francisco confers with Horace Stoneham on a possible shift of the New York Giants franchise to the West Coast.
• May 28 – The National League approves the proposed moves of the Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers to the West Coast, provided both clubs make their request before October 1 and move at the same time.
• May 29 – New York City mayor Robert Wagner says he plans to confer with the Giants and Dodgers about the proposed move, but that the city will not be "blackjacked" into anything.
• May 30 – Walter O'Malley rejects an offer from a Queens group to buy the Dodgers.
• June 9 – Ernie Banks hits 100th career home run helping Chicago Cubs beat Philadelphia Phillies 7-3.

July–September

• July 9 – At Sportsman's Park, home of the St. Louis Cardinals, the American League defeats the National League, 6-5, in the All-Star Game. Seven Cincinnati Redlegs—Ed Bailey, Gus Bell, Don Hoak, Roy McMillan, Wally Post, Frank Robinson and Johnny Temple—had been "voted" as starters for the National League, the result of a ballot stuffing campaign by Redlegs fans. First baseman George Crowe was the only Redleg not voted in as a starter; he was beaten out in the final vote tally by hometown favorite Stan Musial. Commissioner Ford Frick removed Bell and Post from the starting lineup and replaced them with Hank Aaron and Willie Mays; Bell remained on the team as a reserve, while Post was injured and would have been unable to play.
• July 18 – Stoneham says the Giants will quit New York after the season. He says he has not heard anything more from San Francisco and that his move is not contingent on that of the Dodgers. He sees a new stadium or joint occupancy with the New York Yankees as the only reason for the Giants to stay in New York.
• July 26 – Mickey Mantle hits 200th career home run.
• August 19 – As Stoneham cites poor attendance as the reason for the Giants' move, the team's board of directors votes 8-1 to move to California in 1958, as San Francisco promises a new stadium in the Bayview area. The only dissenting vote is by M. Donald Grant, who would go on to be one of the founders of the New York Mets.
• August 20 – Bob Keegan of the Chicago White Sox no-hits the Washington Senators 6-0 in the second game of a doubleheader at Comiskey Park. The no-hitter is the first by a White Sox pitcher since Bill Dietrich in 1937.
• September 2 – In the first game of a doubleheader at Wrigley Field, Frank Torre of the Milwaukee Braves ties a National League record by scoring six runs in the Braves' 23-10 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
• September 14 – Ernie Banks hits 3 home runs helping Chicago Cubs beat Pittsburgh Pirates 7-3.
• September 23 – The Milwaukee Braves clinch the National League pennant at Milwaukee County Stadium after Braves slugger (and eventual 1957 National League MVP) Hank Aaron clubs a two-run walk-off home run off of Billy Muffett in the bottom of the 11th inning to give Milwaukee a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
• September 24 – In the last game at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field in a night game, 6,702 fans watch Dodgers lefty Danny McDevitt prevail over the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-0. Brooklyn's Gil Hodges has the last RBI.
• September 29 – With 1895 Giants manager Jack Doyle among the 11,606 looking on, the Giants lose their last game at the Polo Grounds 9-1 to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pirates pitcher Bob Friend defeats Johnny Antonelli in the historic contest, and fans storm the field for souvenirs as soon as Dusty Rhodes grounds to Pittsburgh shortstop Dick Groat for the final out.

October–December

• October 7 – The Los Angeles City Council approves the Chavez Ravine site for Dodger Stadium by a vote of 10 to 4. It would not be until 1962 that a New York team will again represent the National League.
• October 8 – Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley announces that the Dodgers will be moving to Los Angeles for the 1958 season.
• October 10 – The Milwaukee Braves defeat the New York Yankees, 5-0, in Game 7 the World Series to win the franchise's second World Series, and only title in the city of Milwaukee, four games to three. This was the Braves' first pennant since moving to Milwaukee and the organization's first World Series since the Miracle Braves of 1914. Milwaukee became the first team to win a title after relocating. Braves pitcher Lew Burdette was named World Series Most Valuable Player with three complete games, including two shutouts. He was the first pitcher to pitch two shutouts in the World Series since Christy Mathewson in the 1905 World Series.
• November 12 – Frank Lane resigns as general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals and is replaced by Bing Devine.
• November 20 – Shigeo Nagashima, a slugger star at Rikkyo University, signs with the Yomiuri Giants for a record bonus of $69,000. He will go on to have one of the great careers in Nippon Pro Baseball.
• November 22:
  • In a controversial vote, Mickey Mantle barely edges Ted Williams, 233 to 209, to win the American League MVP Award. Mantle batted .365 with 34 home runs for the first-place New York Yankees, while Williams, of the third-place Boston Red Sox, led the AL with a .388 average and 38 home runs, as well as a stunning .731 slugging percentage. Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey fumes at the news, noting that two Chicago writers listed Williams in the ninth and tenth places on their ballots.
  • After 22 seasons of work, Larry Goetz is unwillingly 'retired' as a National League umpire by league's president Warren Giles. The discharged arbitrator had been critical of the Senior Circuit because of the league's refusal to include umpires in the players' pension fund.
• November 26 – Yoshio Tanaka, an American citizen of Japanese descent, is named manager of the Hanshin Tigers. Tanaka is the first American to manage a Japanese ML team.
• November 28 – Milwaukee Braves pitcher Warren Spahn, who posted a 21-11 record with 111 strikeouts and a 3.49 ERA, wins the MLB Cy Young Award almost unanimously. His only competition for the title is Dick Donovan of the Chicago White Sox (16-6, 88, 3.35), who receives one vote. Only one pitcher is selected each season for this prestigious pitching award until 1967, when each league will name a winner.
• November 29 – New York City Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr. forms a four-member committee to find a replacement team for the Dodgers and Giants in NYC.
• December 2 – Three Pacific Coast League franchises are forced to relocate when the Brooklyn Dodgers confirmed their long-rumored move to Los Angeles for the 1958 season and the New York Giants announced their move to San Francisco. The Hollywood Stars move from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City; the Los Angeles Angels transfer to Spokane, Washington, and the San Francisco Seals move to Phoenix, Arizona.

Movies

• Fear Strikes Out

Births

January–March

• January 5 – Bob Dernier
• January 16 – Steve Balboni
• January 22 – Brian Dayett
• February 3 – Larry Poncino
• February 7 – Carney Lansford
• February 9 – Pat Underwood
• February 19 – Dave Stewart
• February 23 – Jim Anderson
• March 1 – Johnny Ray
• March 8 – John Butcher
• March 8 – Bob Stoddard
• March 12 – Mike Quade
• March 14 – Steve Lake
• March 21 – Luis Leal

April–June

• April 21 – Jesse Orosco
• April 22 – Dave Schmidt
• April 27 – Willie Upshaw
• May 4 – Rick Leach
• May 9 – John Stuper
• May 12 – Lou Whitaker
• May 17 – Pascual Pérez
• May 28 – Kirk Gibson
• June 4 – Tony Peña
• June 6 – Max Venable
• June 7 – Marty Decker
• June 8 – Don Robinson
• June 14 – Greg Brock
• June 24 – Doug Jones
• June 30 – Bud Black

July–September

• July 3 – Danny Heep
• July 7 – Dan Gladden
• July 13 – Chris Jones
• June 15 – Brett Butler
• July 22 – Dave Stieb
• July 27 – Floyd Rayford
• July 30 – Clint Hurdle
• July 30 – Steve Trout
• July 31 – Leon Durham
• August 6 – Bob Horner
• August 8 – Ray Fontenot
• August 17 – Bill Landrum
• August 21 – Frank Pastore
• August 23 – Mike Boddicker
• August 23 – Tim Welke
• August 31 – Tom Candiotti
• September 1 – Dave Rucker
• September 12 – Mario Ramírez
• September 14 – Jerry Don Gleaton
• September 14 – Tim Wallach
• September 23 – Tony Fossas
• September 25 – Glenn Hubbard
• September 26 – Kelvin Moore
• September 26 – Doug Sisk
• September 29 – Tim Flannery
• September 29 – Craig Lefferts
• September 30 – Ed Rapuano

October–December

• October 5 – Onix Concepción
• October 6 – Alfredo Griffin
• October 19 – David Palmer
• October 24 – Ron Gardenhire
• December 4 – Pat Sheridan
• December 4 – Lee Smith
• December 6 – Steve Bedrosian
• December 9 – Ed Romero
• December 17 – Bob Ojeda
• December 20 – Bill Laskey
• December 21 – Tom Henke

Deaths

• January 31 – Chick Maynard, 60, shortstop for the 1922 Boston Red Sox
• March 2 – Frank Hafner, 89, pitched two games for the 1888 Kansas City Cowboys of the American Association.
• April 15 – Jack Coombs, 74, pitcher with 158 career victories including a 31-9 campaign for the 1910 Athletics; pitched a complete 24-inning game on September 1, 1906, winning 4-1; later the baseball coach at Duke University from 1929 to 1952
• April 18 – Bill Sweeney, 52, manager of the Portland Beavers and former MLB first baseman and coach
• May 20 – Roy Hutson, 55, outfielder for the 1925 Brooklyn Dodgers
• July 3 – Dolf Luque, 66, Cuban pitcher who won 194 games in the National League
• July 25 – Frank Welch, 59, outfielder who hit .274 in 738 games for the Athletics and Red Sox from 1919 to 1927
• August 14 – Tim Hendryx, 86, outfielder for the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns and Boston Red Sox, between the 1911 and 1921 seasons
• October 9 – Butch Henline, 62, catcher for four teams from 1921 to 1931 who went on to umpire in the NL from 1945 to 1948, working the 1947 All-Star Game
• November 19 – Frank Foreman, 94, pitched for 11 different clubs in five different leagues from 1884 to 1902, while recording 96 wins with a 3.97 ERA