1962 Major League Baseball season

The 1962 major league baseball season began on April 9, 1962. The regular season ended on October 3, with the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The Giants defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in a regular season best-of-three tiebreaker, for the National League title in three games, after both teams finished their 162-game schedules with identical 101–61 records. This was the fifth regular season tie-breaker. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 59th World Series on October 4 and ended with Game 7 on October 16. In the seventh iteration of this World Series matchup, and their first since the Giants relocated to San Francisco from New York, the Yankees defeated the Giants, four games to three, capturing their 20th championship in franchise history, winning back-to-back World Series.
For the fourth and final year, there were two separate All-Star Games played. The first, the 32nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game, was held on July 11 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington, D.C., home of the Washington Senators. The National League won, 3–1. The second, the 33rd Major League Baseball All-Star Game, was held on July 31 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, home of the Chicago Cubs. The American League won, 9–4.
In response to the proposed Continental League, the National League announced expansion during the 1960 World Series, with a new team in Houston, Texas and a new team in New York, New York. The 1962 season would see the Houston Colt.45s and New York Mets enfranchised, the latter being the National League's return to New York City after a four-year absence.

Schedule

The 1962 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. The 162-game, 18 games per team format had previously been used by the American League since the previous season due to expansion and was the first season that the National League used it due to their own expansion. The format would be used until.
Opening Day took place on April 9, featuring four teams. The final day of the scheduled regular season was on October 1, which saw all 20 teams play, the first time all existing teams played on the final day since. Due to the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants finishing with the same record of 101–61, a best-of-three tie-breaker was scheduled, to be considered an extension of the regular season, and took place between October 1 and October 3. The World Series took place between October 4 and October 16.

Rule change

The 1962 season saw the following rule change:

The bonus rule, previously implemented from – and –, was implemented for the third and final time. This version of the rule was slightly different, allowing teams to only option to the minor leagues one first-year player. Additional players would be required to stay in the major leagues or pass through waivers. To claim a bonus player on waivers, a team must spend $8,000.

Standings

National League

The San Francisco Giants defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in a best-of-three tie-breaker series to earn the National League pennant.

Postseason

The postseason began on October 4 and ended on October 16 with the New York Yankees defeating the San Francisco Giants in the 1962 World Series in seven games.

Bracket

League leaders

American League

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Pete Runnels	.326
OPS	Mickey Mantle	1.091
HR	Harmon Killebrew	48
RBI	Harmon Killebrew	126
R	Albie Pearson	115
H	Bobby Richardson	209
SB	Luis Aparicio	31

Stat	Player	Total
W	Ralph Terry	23
L	Chuck Estrada Ed Rakow	17
ERA	Hank Aguirre	2.21
K	Camilo Pascual	206
IP	Ralph Terry	298.2
SV	Dick Radatz	24
WHIP	Hank Aguirre	1.051

National League

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Tommy Davis	.346
OPS	Frank Robinson	1.045
HR	Willie Mays	49
RBI	Tommy Davis	153
R	Frank Robinson	134
H	Tommy Davis	230
SB	Maury Wills	104

Stat	Player	Total
W	Don Drysdale	25
L	Roger Craig	24
ERA	Sandy Koufax	2.54
K	Don Drysdale	232
IP	Don Drysdale	314.1
SV	Roy Face	28
WHIP	Sandy Koufax	1.036

Awards and honors

Other awards

Sport Magazine's World Series Most Valuable Player Award: Ralph Terry

Monthly awards

Player of the Month

Month	National League
May	Bob Purkey
June	Sandy Koufax
July	Frank Howard
August	Jack Sanford

Baseball Hall of Fame

Venues

The 1962 season saw two new teams in the National League, and with it, one new venue and one returning venue:

The Houston Colt.45s played at Colt Stadium, where they would play for three seasons through.
The New York Mets played at the Polo Grounds, where they would play for two seasons through. The Polo Grounds were previously occupied by the New York Giants from through before their relocation to San Francisco, California as the San Francisco Giants.

The 1962 season also saw three teams move into new venues:

The Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers each moved into Dodger Stadium. The Angels, who previously played at Wrigley Field during their inaugural season the previous year, would play at Dodger Stadium for four seasons through. The Dodgers, who previously played at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for four seasons, continue to play at Dodger Stadium to the present day.
The Washington Senators open District of Columbia Stadium after playing at Griffith Stadium for their inaugural season the previous year. The team would play at District of Columbia Stadium for 10 seasons through.

Comiskey Park, home of the Chicago White Sox, renamed to White Sox Park.

Television coverage

CBS and NBC continued to air weekend Game of the Week broadcasts. CBS dropped its Sunday broadcasts once the NFL season started in mid-September, dropping the option clause for affiliates to carry baseball or football in place since 1957.
The All-Star Game, the National League tie-breaker series, and the World Series aired on NBC.

Retired numbers

Robin Roberts had his No. 36 retired by the Philadelphia Phillies on March 21. This was the first number retired by the team.