1951 California League season
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| 1951 California League season | |
|---|---|
| League | California League |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | April 20 – September 9 |
| Number of games | 148 |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Regular season | |
| League champions | Santa Barbara Dodgers |
| Playoffs | |
| League champions | Santa Barbara Dodgers |
| Runners-up | Visalia Cubs |
The 1951 California League was a Class C baseball season played between April 20 and September 9. Eight teams played a 148-game schedule, as the top four teams qualified for the playoffs.
The Santa Barbara Dodgers won the California League championship, defeating the Visalia Cubs in the final round of the playoffs.
Map of teams
Regular season
Summary
- The Santa Barbara Dodgers finished with the best record in the regular season for the first time since 1942.
Standings
| California League | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Santa Barbara Dodgers | 88 | 59 | .599 | – |
| San Jose Red Sox | 80 | 67 | .544 | 8 |
| Stockton Ports | 79 | 68 | .537 | 9 |
| Visalia Cubs | 76 | 71 | .517 | 12 |
| Modesto Reds | 74 | 73 | .503 | 14 |
| Ventura Braves | 72 | 75 | .490 | 16 |
| Fresno Cardinals | 61 | 86 | .415 | 27 |
| Bakersfield Indians | 58 | 89 | .395 | 30 |
League Leaders
Batting leaders
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Dick Wilson, Modesto Reds | .371 |
| H | Dick Wilson, Modesto Reds | 205 |
| R | Jim Warner, Modesto Reds | 145 |
| 2B | Dick Wilson, Modesto Reds | 55 |
| 3B | Lee Walls, Modesto Reds | 16 |
| HR | Dick Wilson, Modesto Reds | 40 |
| RBI | Gabe Gabler, Santa Barbara Dodgers | 153 |
| SB | Alfred Facchini, Ventura Braves | 54 |
Pitching leaders
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Tony Freitas, Modesto Reds | 25 |
| ERA | Stan McWilliams, San Jose Red Sox | 2.55 |
| CG | Tony Freitas, Modesto Reds | 28 |
| SHO | Frank Aguilar, Ventura Braves Frank Dasso, Modesto Reds Stan McWilliams, San Jose Red Sox | 4 |
| IP | Earl Escalante, Stockton Ports | 286.0 |
| SO | Frank Dasso, Modesto Reds | 210 |
Playoffs
- The playoff semi-finals format is changed from 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3 to 1 vs. 3 and 2 vs. 4.
- The Santa Barbara Dodgers won their third California League championship, defeating the Visalia Cubs in five games.
Playoff bracket
| Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||
| 1 | Santa Barbara | 3 | |||||||
| 3 | Stockton | 1 | |||||||
| 1 | Santa Barbara | 4 | |||||||
| 4 | Visalia | 1 | |||||||
| 2 | San Jose | 1 | |||||||
| 4 | Visalia | 3 | |||||||