1960 Major League Baseball season

Summary

The 1960 Major League Baseball season was played from April 12 to October 13, 1960. It was the final season contested by 16 clubs and the final season that a 154-game schedule was played in both the American League and the National League. The AL began using the 162-game schedule the following season, with the NL following suit in 1962.

1960 MLB season
LeagueMajor League Baseball
SportBaseball
DurationApril 12 – October 13, 1960
Number of games154
Number of teams16
TV partner(s)NBC, CBS, ABC
Regular season
Season MVPAL: Roger Maris (NY)
NL: Dick Groat (PIT)
AL championsNew York Yankees
  AL runners-upBaltimore Orioles
NL championsPittsburgh Pirates
  NL runners-upMilwaukee Braves
World Series
ChampionsPittsburgh Pirates
  Runners-upNew York Yankees
World Series MVPBobby Richardson (NY)
MLB seasons

The season ended with the Pittsburgh Pirates, led by second baseman Bill Mazeroski, defeating the New York Yankees, led by outfield sluggers Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris in the World Series. The series ending, with Mazeroski hitting a walk-off home run in Game 7, is among the most memorable in baseball history.

Awards and honors edit

MLB statistical leaders edit

  American League National League
Type Name Stat Name Stat
AVG Pete Runnels BOS .320 Dick Groat PIT .325
HR Mickey Mantle NY 40 Ernie Banks CHC 41
RBIs Roger Maris NY 112 Hank Aaron MIL 126
Wins Chuck Estrada BAL
Jim Perry CLE
18 Ernie Broglio STL
Warren Spahn MIL
21
ERA Frank Baumann CWS 2.67 Mike McCormick SF 2.70
SO Jim Bunning DET 201 Don Drysdale LA 246
SV Mike Fornieles BAL
Johnny Klippstein CLE
14 Lindy McDaniel STL 26
SB Luis Aparicio CWS 51 Maury Wills LA 50

Standings edit

Postseason edit

Bracket edit

World Series
   
AL New York Yankees 3
NL Pittsburgh Pirates 4

Managers edit

American League edit

Team Manager Comments
Baltimore Orioles Paul Richards
Boston Red Sox Billy Jurges Replaced during the season by Pinky Higgins
Chicago White Sox Al López
Cleveland Indians Joe Gordon Traded during the season for Jimmie Dykes
Detroit Tigers Jimmie Dykes Traded during the season for Joe Gordon
Kansas City Athletics Bob Elliott
New York Yankees Casey Stengel Won the American League pennant
Washington Senators Cookie Lavagetto

National League edit

Team Manager Comments
Chicago Cubs Charlie Grimm Traded during the season for Lou Boudreau
Cincinnati Reds Fred Hutchinson
Los Angeles Dodgers Walter Alston
Milwaukee Braves Chuck Dressen
Philadelphia Phillies Eddie Sawyer Replaced during the season by Gene Mauch
Pittsburgh Pirates Danny Murtaugh Won World Series
San Francisco Giants Bill Rigney Replaced during the season by Tom Sheehan
St. Louis Cardinals Solly Hemus

Home field attendance edit

Team name Wins Home attendance Per game
Los Angeles Dodgers[1] 82 -6.8% 2,253,887 8.8% 29,271
San Francisco Giants[2] 79 -4.8% 1,795,356 26.2% 23,316
Pittsburgh Pirates[3] 95 21.8% 1,705,828 25.4% 21,870
Chicago White Sox[4] 87 -7.4% 1,644,460 15.6% 21,357
New York Yankees[5] 97 22.8% 1,627,349 4.9% 21,134
Milwaukee Braves[6] 88 2.3% 1,497,799 -14.4% 19,452
Baltimore Orioles[7] 89 20.3% 1,187,849 33.2% 15,427
Detroit Tigers[8] 71 -6.6% 1,167,669 -4.4% 15,165
Boston Red Sox[9] 65 -13.3% 1,129,866 14.8% 14,674
St. Louis Cardinals[10] 86 21.1% 1,096,632 17.9% 14,242
Cleveland Indians[11] 76 -14.6% 950,985 -36.5% 12,350
Philadelphia Phillies[12] 59 -7.8% 862,205 7.4% 11,197
Chicago Cubs[13] 60 -18.9% 809,770 -5.6% 10,250
Kansas City Athletics[14] 58 -12.1% 774,944 -19.6% 9,935
Washington Senators[15] 73 15.9% 743,404 20.8% 9,655
Cincinnati Reds[16] 67 -9.5% 663,486 -17.2% 8,617

Events edit

January–February edit

March–April edit

May edit

June edit

  • June 12 – In a record-tying three-hour-and-52-minute, 9-inning game, Willie McCovey's pinch-hit grand slam, the first slam of his career, and Orlando Cepeda's three-run double pace the Giants to a 16–7 rout of the Braves.
  • June 19 – In a brilliant pair of pitching performances, Orioles pitchers Hoyt Wilhelm and Milt Pappas throw shutouts to beat the host Detroit Tigers. Wilhelm allows two hits in winning the opener, 2–0, over Jim Bunning, and Pappas allows three hits in winning the nightcap, 1–0, over Don Mossi. Jim Gentile and Ron Hansen collect home runs as catcher Clint Courtney, using the big glove designed by manager Paul Richards, is twice charged with batter interference, the first loading the bases in the 4th inning.
  • June 24 – Willie Mays belts two home runs and makes 10 putouts to lead the Giants in a 5–3 win at Cincinnati. Mays adds three RBI, three runs scored, a single and a steal of home.
  • June 26 – Hoping to speed up the election process, the Hall of Fame changes its voting procedures. The new rules allow the Special Veterans Committee to vote annually, rather than every other year, and to induct up to two players a year. The BBWAA is authorized to hold a runoff election of the top 30 vote getters if no one is elected in the first ballot.
  • June 30 – Dick Stuart blasts three consecutive home runs, as the Pirates split with the Giants. Stuart drives in seven runs and joins Ralph Kiner as the second Pirates player to hit three home runs in a game at Forbes Field.

July edit

August edit

  • August 2 – In an agreement with the major leagues, the Continental League abandons plans to join the American League and National League. Walter O'Malley, chairman of the NL Expansion Committee, says, "We immediately will recommend expansion and that we would like to do it in 1961." Milwaukee Braves owner Lou Perini proposes a compromise that four of the CL territories be admitted to the current majors in orderly expansion. Branch Rickey's group quickly accepts. The Continental League ends without playing a game.
  • August 3 – In an unusual move, Cleveland Indians GM Frank Lane trades managers with Detroit Tigers GM Bill DeWitt. The Indians' Joe Gordon (49–46) is dealt to the Tigers for Jimmy Dykes (44–52). For one game, until the pair can change places, Jo-Jo White pilots the Indians and Billy Hitchcock guides the Tigers.
  • August 7 – The Chicago White Sox win a pair from the Washington Senators, with reliever Gerry Staley picking up two victories. Staley will be 13–8, all in relief, with both wins and losses topping the American League relievers.
  • August 8 – Before a day crowd of 48,323, the largest day crowd ever at Comiskey Park, cheer White Sox pitcher Billy Pierce four-hit victory over the Yankees, 9–1. Pierce faces just 31 batters.
  • August 9 – With fine relief pitching of Lindy McDaniel in the opener and a five-hitter by Curt Simmons in the nightcap, the St. Louis Cardinals sweep the Philadelphia Phillies, 5–4 and 6–0. Phillies' Tony Taylor ties a major league record for a second baseman by going the entire doubleheader (18 innings) without a putout – the first to achieve the feat since Connie Ryan, also of the Phillies, on June 14, 1953.
  • August 10 – Ted Williams blasts a pair of home runs and a double to pace the Red Sox to a 6–1 win over the Cleveland Indians. Williams has 21 homers for the season. The first of the two today, #512, moves him past Mel Ott into fourth place on the all-time list. After the game, Williams announces that he will retire at the end of the season.
  • August 18 – Facing just the minimum 27 batters, Lew Burdette of the Milwaukee Braves almost pitches a perfect game, instead settling for a 1–0 no-hitter against the Phillies. Tony González, the only Phillies base runner, reached first base in the fifth inning after being hit by a pitch and was wiped out in a double play. The Milwaukee pitcher also scores the only run of the game.
  • August 20 – Ted Williams draws the 2,000th walk of his career in the Red Sox' split of a twi-night doubleheader with the Orioles. Williams joins Babe Ruth as the only major leaguers to collect 2,000 walks. Rickey Henderson in 2000, and Barry Bonds in 2003, will join the select 2,000 walks group.
  • August 23 – Following up his no-hitter, Lew Burdette fires his third shutout in a row, pitching the Milwaukee Braves to a 7–0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
  • August 27 – After pitching 3223 shutout innings, Braves pitcher Lew Burdette gives up a Felipe Alou home run as San Francisco defeats the Braves 3–1.
  • August 30 – Boston Red Sox second baseman Pete Runnels goes 6-for-7, as Boston edge the Tigers in the 15-inning opener of a twin bill. Runnels' 15th-inning double brings Frank Malzone home with the winning run to win, 5–4. Runnels has three more hits in the nightcap victory, 3–2 in 10 innings. His six hits are the most in an American League game since July 8, 1955. With 9-for-11 in the doubleheader, Runnels ties the major league record.

September edit

  • September 2 – Boston's Ted Williams hits a home run off Don Lee of the Senators. Williams had homered against Lee's father, Thornton, 20 years earlier.
  • September 3:
  • September 10 – In Detroit, Yankees Mickey Mantle hit a home run in the sixth inning, the ball clearing the right field roof and landing in the Brooks Lumber Yard across Trumbull Avenue. In June 1985, Mantle's blow was retroactively measured at 643 feet, and will be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records at that distance.
  • September 13–18-year-old outfielder Danny Murphy becomes the youngest Chicago Cubs player to hit a home run when he clouts a three-run homer off Bob Purkey of the Cincinnati Reds, as the Reds win 8–6 at home. Murphy will play just 49 games for the Cubs from 1960–62. He will come back as a pitcher for the Chicago White Sox in 1969–70.
  • September 15 – Willie Mays ties the modern major league record with three triples in a game against the Phillies. The last National League player to hit three triples in a game was Roberto Clemente, in 1958.
  • September 16:
    • At the age of 39, Warren Spahn notches his 11th 20-win season with a 4–0 no-hitter against the Phillies. Spahn also sets a Milwaukee club record with 15 strikeouts in handing the last-place Phils their 90th loss of the year.
    • The Baltimore Orioles (83–58) and New York Yankees (82–57) open a crucial four games series with the Orioles just .002 in back of New York. Three days later, during a doubleheader, the Yankees will sweep Baltimore. The faltering Birds, now four back, will end up in second place, eight games back.
  • September 18 – At Wrigley Field, Ernie Banks sets a record by drawing his 27th intentional walk of the season.
  • September 19 – The Chicago White Sox' pennant hopes are damaged with a nightcap 7–6 loss to the Detroit Tigers, after they win the opener, 8–4. Pinch hitter Norm Cash scores the decisive run in the second game; he thus ends the season by grounding into no double plays, becoming the first American League player since league records on this were started in 1940. Teammates Dick McAuliffe and Roger Repoz will duplicate this in 1968.
  • September 20 – Boston Red Sox outfielder Carroll Hardy pinch-hits for Ted Williams, who is forced to leave the game after fouling a ball off his ankle, and grounds into a double play. On May 31, 1961, Hardy will pinch hit for rookie Carl Yastrzemski, making him the only player to go to bat for both future Hall of Famers. Hardy also hit his first major league home run pinch-hitting for Roger Maris when both were at Cleveland (May 18, 1958).
  • September 25:
  • September 28 – In his last major league at bat, Ted Williams picks out a 1–1 pitch by Baltimore's Jack Fisher and drives it 450 feet into the right-center field seats behind the Boston bullpen. It is Williams' 521st and last career home run, putting him third on the all-time list. Williams stays in the dugout, ignoring the thunderous ovation at Fenway Park and refusing to tip his hat to the hometown fans.

October edit

November–December edit

Television coverage edit

CBS and NBC continued to air weekend Game of the Week broadcasts. ABC also returned to MLB broadcasting with a series of afternoon Saturday games. ABC typically did three regional games a week. Two of ABC's games were always from the Eastern or Central Time Zone, while the late game was usually a San Francisco Giants[19] or Los Angeles Dodgers home game.

The All-Star Game and World Series aired on NBC.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  2. ^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  3. ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  4. ^ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  5. ^ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  6. ^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  7. ^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  8. ^ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  9. ^ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  10. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  11. ^ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  12. ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  13. ^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  14. ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  15. ^ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  16. ^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  17. ^ "Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score, April 12, 1960".
  18. ^ Mackin, Bob (2004). The Unofficial Guide to Baseball's Most Unusual Records. Canada: Greystone Books. p. 240. ISBN 9781553650386.
  19. ^ "ABC Adds Saturday Fights, Fifth Game". Prescott Evening Courier. Associated Press. March 17, 1960. p. 13.

External links edit

  • 1960 Major League Baseball season schedule