1957 Major League Baseball season
The 1957 major league baseball season began on April 15, 1957. The regular season ended on September 29, with the Milwaukee Braves and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 54th World Series on October 2 and ended with Game 7 on October 10. The Braves defeated the Yankees, four games to three, capturing their second championship in franchise history, their first since, and first in Milwaukee. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the New York Yankees from the season.
The 24th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 9 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. The American League won, 6–5.
The National League's Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants played their final seasons as New York City-based franchises before their moves to California for the season, leaving New York City without a National League team until the founding of the expansion New York Mets in.
On April 22, the Philadelphia Phillies became the 14th team in professional baseball to break the color line when they fielded John Kennedy.
Schedule
The 1957 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 the season and would be used until in the American League and in the National League.American League Opening Day took place on April 15, featuring the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Senators, while National League Opening Day took place the following day, featuring all eight NL teams. This was the first season since that both leagues opened on different days. The final day of the regular season was on September 29, which saw all sixteen teams play, continuing the trend from. The World Series took place between October 2 and October 10.
Rule changes
The 1957 season saw the following rule changes:- The American League changed its rules involving a first-place tie at the end of the season. Matching the system already in place by the National League, there would be a best-of-three series to determine the winner of the pennant. This was to be considered an extension to the regular season. Previously, there would be a one-game extension to the regular season to decide who won the pennant.
- If a postponed game was necessary to play to determine the pennant winner, the final game were to be played in the opposing city.
- The 30-player roster which was permitted from Opening Day until June 15 was cut to 28-players.
- The rule restricting teams from signing a college player, who at a minimum started sophomore year, was under 21, and whose class hadn't yet graduated, was lifted. Now, any college player could be signed.
- If an infield fly rule was declared, and the ball bounced foul and was untouched, it was a foul ball.
- Regarding end-of-game situations where the runner on third refuses to come home in a timely manner, the umpire can call said runner out, and the same goes for the batter-runner getting to first base. In the case of the batter-runner, if there are less than two outs and a run scores, that run will count. If there are two outs, a run home will not count.
- Any pitcher using a foreign substance on a ball will result in a 10-day suspension. Previously, the league president would impose fines and the suspension to his discretion.
- Originally introduced in, the rule that when a bases on balls occurs due to a wild pitch, where baserunners took at least one additional base than what was already guaranteed by a bases on balls, was changed. Now, instead of the pitcher an error, the pitcher is charged with a wild pitch.
Teams
An asterisk denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games atStandings
Tie games
5 tie games, which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind occurred throughout the season.American League
The Baltimore Orioles had two tie games. The Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Athletics had one each.- May 18, Chicago White Sox vs. Baltimore Orioles, tied at 4 after 9 innings.
- May 19, Kansas City Athletics vs. Baltimore Orioles, scoreless after only the top of the 6th inning.
National League
The Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies had two tie games each. The Milwaukee Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates had one each.- May 21, Philadelphia Phillies vs. Milwaukee Braves, tied at 1 after only 5 innings.
- June 9, Chicago Cubs vs. Philadelphia Phillies, tied at 4 after 9 innings.
- June 26, Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Chicago Cubs, tied at 5 after 11 innings.
Postseason
The postseason began on October 2 and ended on October 10 with the Milwaukee Braves defeating the New York Yankees in the 1957 World Series in seven games.Bracket
League leaders
Any team shown in indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.American League
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Ted Williams | .388 |
| OPS | Ted Williams | 1.257 |
| HR | Roy Sievers | 42 |
| RBI | Roy Sievers | 114 |
| R | Mickey Mantle | 121 |
| H | Nellie Fox | 196 |
| SB | Luis Aparicio | 28 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Jim Bunning Billy Pierce | 20 |
| L | Chuck Stobbs | 20 |
| ERA | Bobby Shantz | 2.45 |
| K | Early Wynn | 184 |
| IP | Jim Bunning | 267.1 |
| SV | Bob Grim | 19 |
| WHIP | Frank Sullivan | 1.055 |
National League
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Stan Musial | .351 |
| OPS | Stan Musial | 1.034 |
| HR | Hank Aaron | 44 |
| RBI | Hank Aaron | 132 |
| R | Hank Aaron | 118 |
| H | Red Schoendienst | 200 |
| SB | Willie Mays | 38 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Warren Spahn | 21 |
| L | Robin Roberts | 22 |
| ERA | Johnny Podres | 2.66 |
| K | Jack Sanford | 188 |
| IP | Bob Friend | 277.0 |
| SV | Clem Labine | 17 |
| WHIP | Johnny Podres | 1.082 |
Records and notable events
- The 1957 season marked the first time that both the American and National League leader in Complete Games had less than 20 Complete Games to lead their league.
Awards and honors
Other awards
Baseball Hall of Fame
Venues
The Brooklyn Dodgers would continue to play several home games in Jersey City, New Jersey as they started doing so the previous year, playing eight games.The Brooklyn Dodgers would play their final game at Ebbets Field on September 24 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, relocating to Los Angeles, California at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as the Los Angeles Dodgers for the start of the season.
The New York Giants would play their final game at the Polo Grounds on September 29 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, relocating to San Francisco, California at Seals Stadium as the San Francisco Giants for the start of the season.
Television coverage
CBS aired the Game of the Week for the third consecutive year, and began to air games on Sunday as well as Saturday.NBC also started to air weekend games, purchasing the rights to broadcast 11 Milwaukee Braves games, 11 Pittsburgh Pirates games, two Washington Senators games, and two Chicago Cubs games. The All-Star Game and World Series also aired on NBC.