1951 in baseball

Baseball's Shot Heard 'Round the World gives the New York Giants the National League Pennant in the third game of a best-of-three-games tiebreaker series over the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Although the Negro American League would last until 1960, 1951 was, notably, the last season in which the Negro American League was considered major-league caliber, which was itself the last major Negro league baseball organization.

• World Series: New York Yankees over New York Giants (4–2)
• All-Star Game, July 10 at Briggs Stadium: National League, 8–3

• All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: South Bend Blue Sox
• Amateur World Series: Puerto Rico
• College World Series: Oklahoma
• Japan Series: Yomiuri Giants over Nankai Hawks (4–2)
• Little League World Series: Stamford, Connecticut
• Pan American Games: Cuba over USA

Winter Leagues

• Caribbean Series: Cangrejeros de Santurce
• Cuban League: Leones del Habana
• Mexican Pacific League: Tacuarineros de Culiacán
• Panamanian League: Spur Cola Colonites
• Puerto Rican League: Cangrejeros de Santurce
• Venezuelan League: Navegantes del Magallanes

• Baseball Hall of Fame
  • Mel Ott
  • Jimmie Foxx
• Most Valuable Player
  • Roy Campanella (BRO, National)
  • Yogi Berra (NYY, American)
• Rookie of the Year
  • Willie Mays (NYG, National)
  • Gil McDougald (NYY, American)
• The Sporting News Player of the Year Award
  • Stan Musial (STL)
• The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Award
  • Preacher Roe (BRO, National)
  • Bob Feller (CLE, American)
• The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award
  • Leo Durocher (NYG)

Any team shown in small text indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.

• January 23 – Guido Rugo, one of the "Three Little Steam Shovels", the construction magnates who bought the Boston Braves in 1944, sells his interest to majority partner Lou Perini and minority partner Joe Maney.
• January 26 – The BBWAA votes retired sluggers Jimmie Foxx and Mel Ott into the Baseball Hall of Fame. At 534 and 511 career home runs respectively, they are the only men to crack the 500-homer mark—apart from Babe Ruth and his legendary 714 blows.

• February 3 – The 75th birthday of the National League draws 16 of the 23 living members of the Hall of Fame, along with other dignitaries, to a celebration in Manhattan. The attendees include both NL stalwarts such as Fred Clarke, Hugh Duffy, Rogers Hornsby, Carl Hubbell, Kid Nichols, Mel Ott and Pie Traynor, and rival American League stars such as Ty Cobb, Mickey Cochrane, Eddie Collins, Jimmie Foxx, Charlie Gehringer and Tris Speaker—plus Cy Young, whose 511 career wins were composed of 290 in the NL, and 221 in AL.^[1] With 1951 also marking the 50th birthday of the "Junior Circuit", both major leagues will commemorate their diamond and golden jubilees with patches stitched to the shirtsleeves of players' uniforms.
• February 5 – California governor Earl Warren dispels the rumor that he is a candidate for the position of Commissioner of Baseball.^[2]
• February 26 – At Caracas, Puerto Rico wins the 1951 Caribbean Series as the pitching of Rubén Gómez and two homers from Luis Olmo propel the Cangrejeros de Santurce to their fifth victory in six games. Cuba and the Leones del Habana (4–2) place second. An ecstatic crowd of 40,000 greets the Santurce club at the airport on its return to Puerto Rico.

• March 10 – The owners of the St. Louis Browns reveal plans to mortgage Sportsman's Park and a minor-league facility in San Antonio, Texas, to raise $600,000 to pay off debts, amid rumors the American League club may be sold and moved elsewhere.
• March 12 – For the second time in three months, Commissioner of Baseball Happy Chandler loses his bid for a new contract when he fails to secure the required support of 12 of the 16 MLB owners.^[3] The final tally is nine for Chandler, seven against. The former U.S. Senator, who became baseball's second permanent "czar" in April 1945, will serve as "lame duck" commissioner until he steps down July 14.
• March 21 – During spring training, Pittsburgh Pirates left-handed-throwing first baseman Dale Long appears as a catcher in an exhibition game at San Diego, after Pirates general manager Branch Rickey decides to flout tradition. The experiment goes nowhere, with Long appearing almost exclusively as a pinch hitter and playing seven innings at first base before he's sent to the St. Louis Browns on waivers June 1. Long eventually catches catch two innings in 1958 as a member of the Chicago Cubs, using his first baseman's mitt.^[4]
• March 30 – Johnny Vander Meer, who had made history as the first and only pitcher in major league history to toss two consecutive no-hitters, is released by the Chicago Cubs. He signs as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians on April 6.

• April 1 – The Cleveland Indians trade third baseman Fred Marsh and $35,000 to the St. Louis Browns for second baseman Snuffy Stirnweiss and shortstop Merl Combs.
• April 17
  • Nineteen-year-old rookie Mickey Mantle makes his MLB debut playing right field and batting third for the New York Yankees in The Bronx against the Boston Red Sox. His sixth-inning single off Bill Wight produces his first-ever hit, RBI and run scored. The Yanks shut out Boston 5–0 behind Vic Raschi.
  • At Shibe Park, the Philadelphia Athletics and the Washington Senators play the first Opening Day night game in American League history.^[5] The Senators prevail, 6–1, behind the solid pitching of Cuban 40-year-old Connie Marrero, as his batterymate Mickey Grasso hits a three-run home run. Marrero pitches nine strong innings, allowing one earned run on seven hits and two walks while striking out six batters. Bobby Shantz is the losing pitcher.^[6] Marking another milestone, this is the Philadelphia AL franchise's first Opening Day with someone other than legendary Connie Mack at the helm; he had managed the Athletics for 50 years and 7,466 games before his retirement in October 1950 at age 87. Jimmy Dykes, Mack's former stalwart third baseman, runs the Philadelphia bench this season.
  • At Sportsman's Park, the St. Louis Browns are drubbed, 17–3, by the Chicago White Sox in the Brownies' 1951 inaugural. It's a banner day for the last letter of the alphabet, as the ChiSox' Al Zarilla and Gus Zernial each collect four RBIs.^[7]
• April 23 – In 16 innings, the Brooklyn Dodgers edge the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field, 2–1.
• April 30 – Three American League clubs combine on a trade, in which the Chicago White Sox obtain future Baseball Hall of Famer Minnie Miñoso from the Cleveland Indians and fellow outfielder Paul Lehner from the Philadelphia Athletics. Simultaneously, the ChiSox send catcher Gus Niarhos and outfielder Dave Philley to Philadelphia, and the Indians obtain pitcher Lou Brissie from the Athletics in exchange for pitcher Sam Zoldak and catcher Ray Murray.

• May 1
  • On Mother's Day, New York Yankees rookie Mickey Mantle hits the first home run of his MLB career off Randy Gumpert in an 8–3 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park. In the same game, Cuban third baseman and former Negro leagues star Minnie Miñoso becomes the first black player in White Sox franchise history. In his first MLB at-bat, Miñoso homers off Yankees' starter Vic Raschi.^[8]
  • Umpire Frank Dascoli banishes all 11 players on the Chicago Cubs bench during the fourth inning of the game against the New York Giants, after the Cubs players allegedly call Dascoli "Rabbit Ears". Bill Serena and Smoky Burgess are later allowed to return to the game to pinch hit for the Cubs.^[9]
• May 4 – Leading off today's game at the Polo Grounds, Pete Castiglione of the Pittsburgh Pirates triples off Sal Maglie, then scores one out later on a fielder's choice. Castiglione's is the only hit Maglie will allow, as he spins a 5–1 complete-game victory for his New York Giants.^[10] Maglie's will be one of 11 one-hitters thrown by MLB hurlers in 1951.^[11]
• May 6 – In the second game of a doubleheader at Braves Field, Cliff Chambers pitches a no-hitter, as the Pirates top the Boston Braves, 3–0.
• May 7 – Pitching for the Cleveland Indians, Johnny Vander Meer gives up eight hits and six runs, all of them earned, while striking out two and walking one. Vander Meer, a four-time all star, is relieved by Jerry Fahr after allowing a single to Frank Sacka in Cleveland's 11–10 loss to Washington. It will be Vander Meer's final appearance in the major leagues.^[12]
• May 10 – The Cleveland Indians obtain veteran outfielder Sam Chapman from the Philadelphia Athletics for infielder Lou Klein and outfielder Allie Clark.
• May 14 – The New York Yankees trade third baseman Billy Johnson to the St. Louis Cardinals for first baseman Don Bollweg and $15,000. Johnson, 32, has won four World Series rings as a Yankee since 1943.
• May 15
  • The Detroit Tigers trade right-hander Saul Rogovin to the Chicago White Sox for southpaw Bob Cain. On August 19, 1951, Cain will be on the mound at Sportsman's Park during Bill Veeck's most famous promotional stunt.
  • At Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox celebrate the franchise's 50th anniversary and honor members of the 1901 Boston Americans. Overall, 29 old-timers who played, managed, or umpired in the American League in that first year attend, including Bill Bradley, Tom Connolly, Wid Conroy, Hugh Duffy, Clark Griffith, Dummy Hoy, Connie Mack, Ollie Pickering, Billy Sullivan and Cy Young.^[13][14] Eight of them participated in the first-ever game of the American League, played in Chicago on April 24, 1901. The regular game that follows the ceremony features the 300th career home run of Ted Williams^[13] in the fourth inning off Chicago White Sox pitcher Howie Judson. With the game tied at 7–7 in the top of the 11th inning, Nellie Fox hits the first homer of his six-year career,^[13] against reliever Ray Scarborough, to give the White Sox and reliever Harry Dorish a 9–7 victory.^[15]
• May 16 – The contract of third baseman Bob Dillinger, a speedy .300 hitter and former American League All-Star notorious for lackadaisical play in the field,^[16] is sold to the Chicago White Sox by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• May 17
  • The Boston Red Sox trade pitchers Jim Suchecki and Jim McDonald ("player to be named later"/PTBNL), catcher Matt Batts and $100,000 to the St. Louis Browns for catcher Les Moss.
  • The Pittsburgh Pirates trade shortstop Stan Rojek to the St. Louis Cardinals for first baseman Rocky Nelson and outfielder/infielder/pitcher Erv Dusak.
• May 28
  • After starting his MLB career 0-for-12, rookie New York Giants outfielder Willie Mays gets his first major league hit, a home run off Boston Braves ace Warren Spahn at the Polo Grounds.
  • The Giants sell the contract of second-year outfielder Jack Maguire to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Willie Mays, who was originally issued uniform #14 when he was called up from Minneapolis on May 25, inherits Maguire's #24 and will immortalize the digit for the remainder of his Hall-of-Fame career.
• May 30 – On Memorial Day, the Chicago White Sox sweep the St. Louis Browns in a Comiskey Park doubleheader, 5–2 and 8–1, to extend their winning streak to 14 games dating to May 15. Under first-year manager Paul Richards, the ChiSox are the early surprises of the American League, ending today with a 26–9 (.743) record and a two-game lead over the New York Yankees in the early-season pennant race. In contrast, the 1950 Pale Hose had gone 60–94 and finished sixth.

• June 4
  • Gus Bell of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits for the cycle, drives in three runs and scores two more, to lead Pittsburgh to a 12–4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Shibe Park.^[17] His is the only "cycle" of 1951's NL or AL season.^[11]
  • Frank Lane, the prolific trade-maker and general manager of the Chicago White Sox, makes two deals. First, he acquires infielder Kermit Wahl from the Philadelphia Athletics for third baseman Hank Majeski, then he packages Wahl, outfielder Paul Lehner and cash to obtain outfielder Don Lenhardt from the St. Louis Browns.
• June 15
  • At the trading deadline, the Brooklyn Dodgers—already six games in front in the National League standings—get even stronger, acquiring slugging outfielder Andy Pafko from the Chicago Cubs in an eight-player trade. The full transaction sees Brooklyn get five-time All-Star Pafko, pitcher Johnny Schmitz, catcher Rube Walker and infielder Wayne Terwilliger from the Cubs for pitcher Joe Hatten, catcher Bruce Edwards, infielder Eddie Miksis and outfielder Gene Hermanski.
  • The New York Yankees make two deals. They acquire left-hander Bob Kuzava from the Washington Senators for three right-handed hurlers, Tom Ferrick, Bob Porterfield and Fred Sanford. Then the Yankees also obtain southpaw Stubby Overmire from the St. Louis Browns for lefty Tommy Byrne and $25,000.
  • The Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals make a two for five trade, with the Pirates sending hurler Cliff Chambers and outfielder Wally Westlake to the Cardinals for pitchers Howie Pollet and Ted Wilks, catcher Joe Garagiola, infielder Dick Cole and outfielder Bill Howerton.
• June 19 – Billy Southworth resigns as manager of the Boston Braves with his team tied for fifth place in the National League and 10½ games out of the lead. The Braves promote popular former right fielder Tommy Holmes, 34, from Hartford to replace him. Southworth, 58, retires from managing with a 1,044–704 record over 13 seasons; his .597 winning percentage is fourth-best all-time among pilots with ten seasons of MLB service. He won four NL pennants: three straight (1942–1944) as skipper of the St. Louis Cardinals (along with the 1942 and 1944 World Series); and one with the Braves (in 1948). He will be posthumously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.
• June 22 – Bill Veeck, the flamboyant former owner of the Cleveland Indians, announces that he has purchased controlling interest in the downtrodden St. Louis Browns from owners Bill and Charles DeWitt. Veeck, 37, will complete the transaction July 4 when he acquires additional stock in the Browns to assume 75 percent ownership. He has been out of baseball since 1949, when he sold his share in the Indians during a divorce settlement.
• June 30 – The New York Giants claim utility infielder Hank Schenz on waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Schenz will appear in only eight games while spending the rest of the season on New York's roster; however, decades later, it will be alleged that the spyglass he employs to steal signs will be instrumental in the Giants' white-hot 37–7 late-season winning streak that propels them into the 1951 National League tie-breaker series.

• July 1 – In the first game of a doubleheader, Bob Feller tosses the third no-hitter of his career for the Cleveland Indians in a 2–1 win over the Detroit Tigers.
• July 4
  • At Ebbets Field, the Brooklyn Dodgers sweep a Fourth of July doubleheader from their archrivals, the New York Giants, 6–5 (11 innings) and 4–2. The twin victories enable the Dodgers (46–26) to widen their National League lead to 6½ games over the second-place Giants (41–34) at the 1951 season's unofficial halfway mark. Meanwhile, in the American League, the Chicago White Sox (46–27) regain a slim, half-game lead when they split a twin bill with the Detroit Tigers, and the onrushing New York Yankees (44–26) are slowed by dropping a doubleheader to the Washington Senators.
  • Ralph Kiner belts two home runs in the second game of a Forbes Field holiday twin bill, enabling his Pittsburgh Pirates to overwhelm the Cincinnati Reds 16–4 in a seven-inning official game halted by rain. The Pirates and Reds split the doubleheader, but Cincinnati manager Luke Sewell protests both contests because Kiner remains in the Bucs' lineup despite being suspended by the National League just before the start of Game 1 for a recent dust-up with umpire Jocko Conlan.
• July 5 – With his estimated $1.5 million purchase completed, Bill Veeck becomes president and 75% owner of the St. Louis Browns. He promises "sweeping changes" for the last-place team, which has also finished last in MLB team attendance for every year since 1946.
• July 7 – In today's 8–6 Cincinnati Reds victory over the Chicago Cubs, every scoring half-inning features two runs.^[18]
• July 10 – Exploding for a record four home runs, the National League trounces the American League, 8–3, at the annual All-Star Game, at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. Pittsburgh Pirates' slugger Ralph Kiner hits a home run for the third Midsummer Classic in a row.
• July 12
  • New York Yankees hurler Allie Reynolds pitches a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians in a 1–0 win.
  • It takes 17 innings to settle a "Battle of the Soxes," but the Boston Red Sox defeat the Chicago White Sox, 5–4, at Comiskey Park. Boston's Ellis Kinder throws ten innings of shutout relief, and Chicago's starting pitcher, Saul Rogovin, goes all 17 innings and ends up with the loss. The win is the Red Sox' seventh straight and gives them a 1½-game lead in the AL standings.
• July 14
  • Although he had vowed to serve out his term "until the last second" when it expires on April 30, 1952, lame-duck Commissioner of Baseball Happy Chandler resigns, leaving the post temporarily vacant.^[19] Prominent names such as retired General of the Army Douglas MacArthur are floated as possible successors, but it's quickly reported that MLB owners wish to promote someone from inside the game to replace Kentucky politician Chandler.
  • After pitching for Bill Veeck in Cleveland in 1948–1949, 45-year-old free agent Satchel Paige rejoins him with the St. Louis Browns.
• July 15 – Left-hander Sam Zoldak of the Philadelphia Athletics one-hits the Chicago White Sox, while getting two "knocks" and two RBIs himself. Chico Carrasquel's third-inning single is Chicago's only hit—and Zoldak picks him off first base. The 5–0 win enables the lowly Athletics to sweep the twin bill at Comiskey Park.
• July 19 – Paul Lehner is claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Indians, enabling the veteran outfielder to play for four of the eight American League teams during the 1951 regular season.
• July 21 – The Chicago Cubs (35–45, seventh in the NL) change pilots, replacing former Hall-of-Fame second baseman Frankie Frisch with a player-manager, 35-year-old first baseman Phil Cavarretta. The move signals the end of Frisch's 16-year managing career.
• July 22 – The New York Yankees sweep a Sunday doubleheader from the St. Louis Browns at Sportsman's Park, 9–0 and 7–3, and the Boston Red Sox defeat the Detroit Tigers, 10–9 at Briggs Stadium, in their single game. Coupled with the Chicago White Sox' twin defeats at the hands of the Washington Senators at Griffith Stadium, 7–6 and 11–5, the Yankees pull into a virtual tie for first place with the Red Sox and White Sox.
• July 23 – A "ding-dong" affair at Forbes Field sees the Boston Braves score seven runs in the first inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates respond with six tallies of their own. The Bucs take the lead 14–11 after six innings, but Boston battles back with four runs in the seventh and eighth, and pulls out a 15–14 win. Of the Braves' 22 hits, the winning blow is an eighth-inning single by Roy Hartsfield.^[20]
• July 28
  • The Philadelphia Phillies' starting rotation fires its fourth straight complete-game shutout, all during its mid-summer "Western swing." Today, at Wrigley Field, Russ Meyer spins a seven-hitter to defeat the Chicago Cubs, 1–0. The defending NL champion Phils, who haven't allowed a run since the ninth inning of their July 24 contest against the St. Louis Cardinals, will extend their scoreless-innings-pitched streak to an MLB-season-high 421⁄3 into tomorrow, when it's broken by Chicago in the sixth frame of the opening game of a doubleheader.^[21]
  • Clyde Vollmer, who started the month on the Boston Red Sox' bench, continues his slugging fireworks against the Cleveland Indians. Vollmer singles in the tying run in the 15th inning and then in the 16th hits a grand slam off reliever Bob Feller for an 8–4 Red Sox win. The slam is the latest hit in a game in major-league history. Mickey McDermott pitches all 16 innings for the Sox, striking out 15 and walking one.
  • Billy Evans, general manager of the Detroit Tigers since January 1, 1947, announces his resignation, effective October 1. Charlie Gehringer, the Tigers' Hall of Fame former second baseman, will succeed him.

• August 1
  • The regular season's penultimate month dawns with the Brooklyn Dodgers (63–32) leading the New York Giants (56–44) by 9½ games (12 in the loss column) in the National League standings. In the American League, the New York Yankees (59–35) lead the second-place Cleveland Indians (58–38) by two lengths and the third-place Boston Red Sox (57–39) by three.
  • Outfielder Bob Cerv makes his major league debut for the Yankees, pinch hitter for shortstop Jerry Coleman in a 9–8 loss to the Detroit Tigers.
• August 7 – Dick Sisler's RBI single in the home half of the 15th gives the Philadelphia Phillies a 1–0 triumph over the Boston Braves. Defending NL champion Philadelphia is 55–51 and, at 13½ games, well out of the 1951 pennant race.
• August 9 – The Brooklyn Dodgers complete a three-game, Ebbets Field series sweep of the second-place New York Giants, 6–5. Roy Campanella bashes two homers, including the game-winner in the seventh inning off Sheldon Jones, and Clyde King picks up his second victory in as many games. The Giants now trail the Dodgers by 121⁄2 games—15 in the loss column—with 45 games left in the regular season.
• August 11 – Robin Roberts of the Philadelphia Phillies beats the Giants, 4–0, briefly dropping the New Yorkers a season-high 131⁄2 games behind the first-place Brooklyn Dodgers. However, the Dodgers lose a half-game of their lead when they come up short in the second game of a Saturday doubleheader, 8–4, to the Boston Braves.
• August 12 – The Giants sweep the Phillies in a Polo Grounds Sunday twin bill, 3–2 and 2–1. The victories begin the Giants' 16-game winning streak and a phenomenal 37–7 (.841) stretch run that enables them to tie for the NL pennant on the regular season's final day.
• August 15 – The visiting Cleveland Indians defeat the St. Louis Browns, 9–4, behind Early Wynn for their 13th victory in a row. Cleveland (72–39–1) maintains its 2½-game advantage over the New York Yankees.
• August 18 – The last-place St. Louis Browns set a record for most runs scored by the home side in venerable Sportsman's Park, humbling the visiting Detroit Tigers, 20–9. Hank Arft paces the Brownies with five runs batted in. Detroit pitcher Hank Borowy faces nine hitters: he allows five hits and four walks and does not retire a man. The Browns will be 1951's lowest scoring American League team, and finish 15th of the 16 MLB clubs in that category. When the 57-year-old ball yard closes in May 1966, the Browns' 20 runs will still stand as the most tallied there by any St. Louis-based team—even the powerful Cardinals.^[22] But the Browns' feat will be obscured within 24 hours on August 19.
• August 19 – Showman Bill Veeck, the Browns' maverick owner, pulls off one of the greatest stunts in baseball history. In the second game of a doubleheader against the Tigers, Veeck sends Eddie Gaedel to the plate as a pinch-hitter for leadoff man Frank Saucier in the home half of the first. At 3 feet 7 inches (1.09 m) tall, Gaedel becomes the shortest player in baseball annals. Due to his extremely small strike zone, Gaedel walks on four consecutive pitches and is immediately replaced by a pinch-runner. AL president Will Harridge— saying Veeck is making a mockery of the game—voids Gaedel's contract the next day. Detroit goes on to win the game, 6–2.^[23]
• August 24 – Just five days after the Gaedel stunt, Veeck stages another headlining promotion, "Grandstand Managers Night," at Sportsman's Park. A select group of 1,000 fans seated in a special section of the ballpark and equipped with YES and NO placards decides game strategy — while the St. Louis Browns' veteran manager, Zack Taylor, sits in a rocking chair, smoking a pipe, in the Brownie dugout. The "grandstand managers" even help Taylor make out his lineup card. The promotion has mixed results: a paltry 3,925 attend the contest, but the 38–81 Browns defeat the 49–75 Philadelphia Athletics, 5–3, with Ned Garver improving to 15–8 on the season.^[24][25]
• August 27 – The New York Giants extend their winning streak to 16 games, sweeping the Chicago Cubs in a Polo Grounds doubleheader, 5–4 (12 innings) and 6–3. The Giants have now shaved the Brooklyn Dodgers' National League lead to five games, six in the loss column.
• August 29
  • With four-plus weeks remaining in the regular season, there is a torrid pennant race in the American League. The Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees have been trading blows all this month; today Cleveland, which held a three-game lead as recently as August 23, falls into a dead heat with the Yankees at 80–47, when they fall to the Philadelphia Athletics, 3–0, and the Yankees overwhelm the St. Louis Browns, 15–2.
  • In an attempt to bolster their pitching staff, the Yankees acquire four-time 20-game winner Johnny Sain from the Boston Braves for rookie right-hander Lew Burdette, who has spent 1951 pitching in Triple-A. The trade helps both clubs: Sain, 33, contributes to three consecutive World Series championships (1951–1953), while Burdette, 24, blossoms into a top hurler who wins 179 games in a Braves' uniform; his three complete-game victories will lift the Milwaukee Braves to the 1957 World Series title over the Yankees themselves.

• September 1 – New York Giants outfielder Don Mueller hits three home runs and drives in five runs in an 8–1 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers at Polo Grounds. Sal Maglie is the winning pitcher. Dodgers starter Ralph Branca‚ coming off two consecutive shutouts‚ lasts only four innings. The only run for Brooklyn comes on a hit by pitch, when Maglie hits Jackie Robinson with the bases loaded in the third inning. The Giants' Whitey Lockman is plunked twice, by Dodgers relievers Bud Podbielan and Phil Haugstad. In a flashy fielding play, shortstop Alvin Dark and second baseman Eddie Stanky combine in the fifth inning on a triple play off a liner by Dodgers shortstop Pee Wee Reese.^[26]
• September 3 – Labor Day doubleheaders see the Dodgers sweep the Boston Braves and the Giants split with the Philadelphia Phillies. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Indians sweep the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees split with the Philadelphia Athletics. The standings: in the National League, the Dodgers (84–47) lead the Giants (79–54) by six games; and in the American League, Cleveland (84–49) holds a half-game edge over New York (82–48).
• September 7 – In one of 1951's longest games, the Cincinnati Reds defeat the visiting Chicago Cubs 7–6 in 18 innings. Catcher Dixie Howell's sacrifice fly plates the Reds' winning run.
• September 13 – The St. Louis Cardinals become the first team in modern Major League history to play two different teams on the same day. Due to a rain-out, the Cardinals are forced to play the New York Giants in an afternoon game prior to their scheduled night contest against the Boston Braves.^[27]
• September 14 – At Fenway Park, Bob Nieman of the St. Louis Browns becomes the first player in history to hit two home runs in his first two MLB plate appearances.^[28] Nieman will be joined by Bert Campaneris (1964), Mark Quinn (1999), J.P. Arencibia (2010) and Trevor Story (2016) in the select group of players who have hit two homers in their debut game.
• September 17 – A crucial, three-game series between the American League's two top teams in The Bronx concludes, turning the tide of the pennant race. The New York Yankees (now 89–53) defeat the Cleveland Indians, 2–1, when Phil Rizzuto's ninth-inning bunt single scores Joe DiMaggio from third base with the winning run. Eddie Lopat wins his 20th game, defeating Bob Lemon. The Yankees take two out of three from Cleveland (now 90–56) and a one-game lead in the standings. The Indians will go only 3–5 over their final eight games, while the Yankees will finish 9–3, including a humiliating five-game sweep over the visiting, third-place Boston Red Sox to close the season. They will clinch the pennant September 28.
• September 19 – Larry Doby draws five walks in five plate appearances and scores four runs in Cleveland's 15–2 rout of the Red Sox at Fenway Park.^[29]
• September 20 – Ford Frick, 56, president of the National League since 1934, is elected the third Commissioner of Baseball and takes office immediately.^[30] Cincinnati Reds president/general manager Warren Giles, 55, the runner-up in the balloting, will succeed Frick as the Senior Circuit's chief executive.^[31] In Frick, MLB owners choose a baseball insider, unlike the first two Commissioners, a federal judge (Kenesaw Mountain Landis) and a politician (Happy Chandler). Frick and Giles also will swap headquarters, with the Commissioner's office moving from Cincinnati to New York City, and Giles establishing the NL's new offices in Chandler's old suite in Cincinnati's Carew Tower.
• September 25 – Defeating Ralph Branca and Carl Erskine, the fourth-place Boston Braves sweep the Brooklyn Dodgers (93–56) in a Tuesday doubleheader at Braves Field, 6–3 and 14–2. Meanwhile, the New York Giants (93–58) win their single game against the Philadelphia Phillies behind Jim Hearn, 5–1 at Shibe Park. Brooklyn's NL lead shrinks to a single game, two in the loss column.
• September 27 – Gabe Paul, vice president and traveling secretary of the Cincinnati Reds, is promoted to general manager, succeeding long-time mentor Warren Giles, now president of the National League.
• September 28
  • Allie Reynolds turns in the second no-hitter of his career, and his second this season, as the New York Yankees blank the Boston Red Sox, 8–0, in the first game of a doubleheader in The Bronx. Reynolds' no-no clinches a tie for the American League pennant. Then, in Game 2, the Yankees seal their 18th league title with an 11–3 thumping.
  • When the clock strikes midnight on the Friday evening of the 1951 season's final weekend, the National League pennant race is dead even. The Brooklyn Dodgers, only 12–13 so far in September, bow to the host Philadelphia Phillies, 4–3, as Carl Erskine is defeated by the Phillie tandem of starter Karl Drews and reliever Andy Hansen. Willie "Puddin' Head" Jones drives home the winning run in the home half of the ninth inning. The New York Giants, 18–5 so far this month, have an open date. Both teams boast 94–58 records with two games remaining.
• September 29 – The NL race remains a dead heat as both the Dodgers (5–0, behind Don Newcombe) and Giants (3–0, behind Sal Maglie) shut out the Phillies and Boston Braves on the road.
• September 30
  • The New York Giants clinch at least a tie for the 1951 National League pennant by defeating the Boston Braves, 3–2, behind Larry Jansen's 22nd victory of the year. Bobby Thomson jump-starts the Giants' scoring with a second-inning home run.
  • At Shibe Park, the Brooklyn Dodgers overcome an early 6–1 deficit to send their game with the Philadelphia Phillies into extra innings, 8–8. Neither team scores until the top of the 14th when Jackie Robinson—who in the 12th had saved the Dodgers' season with a brilliant, diving catch of Eddie Waitkus' bases-loaded line drive—belts a solo home run off Phillies' ace Robin Roberts, pitching in relief, to give Brooklyn a 9–8 lead. The Dodgers' Bud Podbielan then holds the Phillies off the scoreboard in the bottom of the 14th. The Brooklyn victory sets up the second best-of-three tie-breaker series in the NL's 75-year history.

• October 1–2 – The New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers split the first two games of the 1951 National League tie-breaker series. With Jim Hearn tossing a five-hitter and Bobby Thomson bashing a difference-making two-run homer off Ralph Branca, New York takes Game 1 at Ebbets Field, 3–1. The next day, Brooklyn answers with a 10–0 whitewashing behind Clem Labine's six-hit shutout and Jackie Robinson's three hits and three RBI. Game 3 on October 3 will decide the league champion.
• October 3 – The Giants had been 131⁄2 games behind the National League leading Dodgers in mid-August, but under Leo Durocher's guidance and with the aid of a 16-game winning streak, they complete their improbable comeback. In Game 3 of the NL playoffs at the Polo Grounds, Brooklyn leads 4–2 with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning. With Giants' runners on second and third, New York's Bobby Thomson hits reliever Branca's third pitch for a line-drive home run into the left-field stands to win the game, 5–4. His "shot heard 'round the world" wins the NL pennant in "walk off" style, and WMCA-AM's Russ Hodges' frantic "The Giants win the pennant!", said four times consecutively, becomes one of the most famous home run calls in baseball history.
• October 4 – For the 14 clubs not in the 1951 World Series, the off-season trading period kicks off when the Chicago Cubs deal 24-year-old catcher Smoky Burgess and outfielder Bob Borkowski to the Cincinnati Reds for catcher Johnny Pramesa and outfielder Bob Usher.
• October 8 – In a marriage of opposite personalities, showman owner Bill Veeck names cantankerous former Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman Rogers Hornsby manager of the 1952 St. Louis Browns, replacing Zack Taylor. Upon his appointment, Hornsby promises "no midgets, no gimmicks, just good baseball."^[32]
• October 10
  • The New York Yankees defeat the New York Giants, 4–3, in Game 6 of the World Series to win their third consecutive Series championship and 14th overall. The Yanks' Eddie Lopat goes 2–0 (0.50) with two complete games, and Gil McDougald drives in seven runs for the victors, while Monte Irvin (11 hits, .458) and Alvin Dark (ten hits, .417) star in a losing cause. Just before today's game, Giants manager Leo Durocher turns over to newly installed Commissioner Ford Frick a letter that offered the Giants manager a $15,000 bribe "if the Giants managed to lose the next three games".
  • In an all-pitcher, six-player transaction, the independently operated Seattle Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League trade Marv Grissom and Hal Brown to the Chicago White Sox for Jerry Dahlke, Bill Fischer, Marv Rotblatt and minor-leaguer Richard Duffy.
• October 11 – The Boston Braves trade outfielder Bob Addis to the Chicago Cubs for shortstop Jack Cusick.
• October 14 – The Cincinnati Reds trade outfielder Jim Bolger to Buffalo of the Triple-A International League for pitchers Tom Acker and Moe Savransky.
• October 17 – The Yomiuri Giants win the Japan Series over the Nankai Hawks. The Giants went on to win the Central League pennant 19 times in the next 23 years, including nine in succession (1965–73).
• October 22 – The third-place Boston Red Sox, who lost 12 of their last 13 games to finish 87–67 in 1951, replace veteran manager Steve O'Neill with infielder Lou Boudreau, who has just completed his first season in a Red Sox uniform. Boudreau, 34, formerly was the player-manager of the Cleveland Indians from 1942 to 1950, and in his most famous season, 1948, led the Indians to a playoff victory over the Red Sox, and—ultimately—a World Series championship.^[33]
• October 24 — The Washington Senators send slick-fielding shortstop Willy Miranda to the Chicago White Sox for veteran infielder Floyd Baker.

• November 1 – Brooklyn Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella is named National League Most Valuable Player, the first of three MVP awards he will receive during his Hall of Fame career. In 1951, Campanella, 29, batted .325, fourth in the NL, with 33 home runs and 108 run batted in in 143 games.
• November 8 – Campanella's opposite number in The Bronx, Yogi Berra, wins the first of his three American League Most Valuable Player Awards. Cooperstown-bound Berra, 26, batted .294 (27 homers, 88 runs batted in) for the AL champion New York Yankees in 1951. In the balloting, he defeats pitcher Ned Garver by 27 points. Right-hander Garver had gone 20–12 with 24 complete games for a St. Louis Browns squad that won only 52 games all season.
• November 10 – In Tokyo, 50,000 fans are on hand as an American All-Star team battles a Japanese Central League All-Star team. Joe DiMaggio hits a 400-foot home run in the eighth inning to tie the game at 1–1, then his younger brother Dom laces an RBI-triple in the ninth and later scores to give the Americans a 3–2 victory. The Americans have won 12 games and tied one.
• November 13 – The Chicago White Sox remain active in the trade market under general manager "Frantic" Frank Lane, dealing pitcher Randy Gumpert and outfielder Don Lenhardt to the Boston Red Sox for left-hander Chuck Stobbs and infielder Mel Hoderlein.
• November 15 – Willie Mays, the brilliant, 20-year-old centerfielder of the New York Giants, and Gil McDougald, 23, versatile infielder of the New York Yankees, win their circuits' respective "Rookie of the Year" awards. For Mays, it is the first major honor in a Hall of Fame career.
• November 23 – The New York Yankees send young catcher Clint Courtney to the St. Louis Browns in exchange for pitcher Jim McDonald. Courtney, a scrapper despite being the first major-league catcher to wear eyeglasses, had appeared in one game for New York. He'll appear in 945 more American League contests through 1961.
• November 24 – The St. Louis Cardinals fire manager Marty Marion after only one season at the team's helm. Eight-time NL All-Star shortstop Marion, 33, led the 1951 Redbirds to an 81–73 mark and third-place finish.
• November 27
  • In an eight-player trade, the St. Louis Browns send catcher Sherm Lollar, pitcher Al Widmar and infielder Tom Upton to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for catcher Gus Niarhos, pitcher Dick Littlefield, first baseman Gordon Goldsberry, shortstop Joe DeMaestri and outfielder Jim Rivera. Rivera, a favorite of Browns' manager Rogers Hornsby, will be traded back to the ChiSox in eight months. Lollar will be Chicago's regular catcher for a decade, and make eight AL All-Star teams.
  • The White Sox also swap shortstops with the Washington Senators, dealing Tom Upton to Washington for Sam Dente.
• November 28 – The Browns trade Niarhos, along with outfielder Ken Wood, to the Boston Red Sox for catcher Les Moss and outfielder Tom Wright. The Browns also sign veteran free-agent shortstop Marty Marion, fired as the St. Louis Cardinals' manager four days earlier, as a player-coach.

• December 5 – The Pittsburgh Pirates reacquire first baseman Dale Long on waivers from the St. Louis Browns. In March, the Pirates and Long had made headlines when he was briefly auditioned as a left-handed-throwing catcher. When that experiment was abandoned, he returned to his original position. Long will spend 1952 through 1954 in the minor leagues before winning the Pirates' first base job in 1955 and setting an MLB record for homers in consecutive games in 1956.
• December 10 – The Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies pull off a seven-player trade, with the Reds dealing pitcher Howie Fox, catcher Smoky Burgess and infielder Connie Ryan to the Phils for pitcher Niles Jordan, catcher Andy Seminick, infielder Eddie Pellagrini and outfielder Dick Sisler. Eventually, Burgess and Seminick will again be traded for each other as part of a six-player swap in April 1955.
• December 11
  • Three-time MVP and 13-time All Star center fielder Joe DiMaggio officially retires as a member of the New York Yankees at age 37. In a 13-season career for the club, DiMaggio posted a .325 batting average with 2,214 hits, 361 home runs and 1,537 runs batted in in 1,736 games played. A future Baseball Hall of Famer, his 56-game consecutive-game hitting streak in the 1941 season is the longest in Major League Baseball history and will stand as one of the all-time best diamond achievements.^[34]
  • The St. Louis Cardinals and New York Giants conclude weeks of negotiation and rumors, with the Cardinals acquiring pugnacious veteran second baseman Eddie Stanky from the Giants for pitcher Max Lanier and outfielder Chuck Diering. Stanky, 36, immediately signs a two-year contract to succeed Marty Marion as manager of the Redbirds.^[35]

• Rhubarb
• Angels in the Outfield

• January 2:
  • Jim Essian
  • Bill Madlock
  • Royle Stillman
• January 5 – Bob Reece
• January 6:
  • Don Gullett
  • Joe Lovitto
• January 10 – Gary Martz
• January 14 – Derrel Thomas
• January 22 – Leon Roberts
• January 23 – Charlie Spikes
• January 25:
  • Balor Moore
  • Vern Ruhle
• January 27 – Mike Overy
• January 29 – Sergio Ferrer

• February 2 – Leo Foster
• February 3 – Mike Wallace
• February 4 – Stan Papi
• February 7 – Benny Ayala
• February 8 – Steve Dillard
• February 9 – Eddie Solomon
• February 12 – Don Stanhouse
• February 14 – Larry Milbourne
• February 15 – Tommy Cruz
• February 16 – Glenn Abbott
• February 17:
  • Mike Cosgrove
  • Dave Roberts
• February 24 – Frank Ortenzio
• February 25 – César Cedeño
• February 28:
  • Rufino Linares
  • Tom Spencer
  • Jim Wohlford

• March 2 – Mike Johnson
• March 4 – Sam Perlozzo
• March 7 – Jeff Burroughs
• March 20 – Terry McDermott
• March 27 – Dick Ruthven

• April 2 – Tom Johnson
• April 5 – Rennie Stennett
• April 6 – Bert Blyleven
• April 7:
  • Dave Cripe
  • Dave Oliver
• April 11 – Sid Monge
• April 18 – Doug Flynn
• April 21 – Randy Sterling
• April 29 – Rick Burleson

• May 1 – Rudy Meoli
• May 6 – Steve Staggs
• May 8 – Dennis Leonard
• May 9 – Dan Thomas
• May 12 – Joe Nolan
• May 16 – Mike Potter
• May 18:
  • Eric Gregg
  • Jim Sundberg
• May 24 – Dave Machemer

• June 5:
  • Randy Elliott
  • Darryl Jones
• June 9:
  • Billy Baldwin
  • Dave Parker
• June 12 – Dave Skaggs
• June 16 – Stan Wall
• June 22 – Mike Anderson
• June 24:
  • Mike Bruhert
  • Ken Reitz
• June 29:
  • Jimmy Freeman
  • Bruce Kimm

• July 1 – Jim Otten
• July 2 – Keith Marshall
• July 5 – Goose Gossage
• July 8 – Alan Ashby
• July 10 – Bob Bailor
• July 11 – Ed Ott
• July 29:
  • Dan Driessen
  • Ken Kravec
  • Greg Minton
  • Gary Thomasson

• August 1 – Pete Mackanin
• August 4 – Joe McIntosh
• August 5 – Mardie Cornejo
• August 7:
  • Charlie Chant
  • Jim Sadowski
• August 9 – Steve Swisher
• August 11 – Jim Hughes
• August 17 – Butch Hobson
• August 19 – Luis Gómez
• August 21 – John Stearns
• August 22:
  • John Doherty
  • Ike Hampton
• August 27 – Buddy Bell
• August 28 – Joel Youngblood

• September 2 – Dave Criscione
• September 3:
  • Alan Bannister
  • Dave Campbell
• September 8 – Steve Barr
• September 10 – Randy Wiles
• September 13 – Tom McMillan
• September 18 – Tony Scott
• September 19 – Nardi Contreras
• September 27 – Doug Konieczny
• September 28 – Dave Rajsich
• September 29 – John McLaren

• October 1 – Ken Pape
• October 2 – Bob Coluccio
• October 3 – Dave Winfield
• October 4 – Horace Speed
• October 9 – Derek Bryant
• October 13 – Frank LaCorte
• October 15:
  • Mitchell Page
  • Tommy Toms
• October 18:
  • Andy Hassler
  • Rudy Hernández
• October 21 – Ron Pruitt
• October 25:
  • Al Cowens
  • John LaRose
• October 26 – Steve Ontiveros
• October 30 – Tom Poquette
• October 31:
  • Dave Freisleben
  • Dave Trembley

• November 1:
  • Eric Raich
  • Chico Ruiz
• November 3 – Dwight Evans
• November 7 – John Tamargo
• November 10 – Mike Vail
• November 13 – Larry Harlow
• November 15 – Orlando González
• November 16 – Herb Washington
• November 20 – Jackson Todd
• November 23 – Wayne Cage
• November 25 – Bucky Dent
• November 27 – Dan Spillner
• November 29 – Gary Wheelock

• December 2 – Adrian Devine
• December 3 – Lafayette Currence
• December 7 – Paul Dade
• December 12 – Tim McClelland
• December 15 – Jimmy Sexton
• December 16 – Mike Flanagan
• December 18 – Orlando Ramírez
• December 20 – Mike Hart
• December 24 – John D'Acquisto
• December 25 – Luis Quintana
• December 31 – Joe Simpson