1953 New York Giants (MLB) season
Major League Baseball season
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The 1953 New York Giants season was the franchise's 71st season. The team finished in fifth place in the National League with a 70–84 record, 35 games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers.
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| 1953 New York Giants | |
|---|---|
| |
| League | National League |
| Ballpark | Polo Grounds |
| City | New York City |
| Record | 70–84 (.455) |
| League place | 5th |
| Owners | Horace Stoneham |
| General managers | Chub Feeney |
| Managers | Leo Durocher |
| Television | WPIX (Russ Hodges, Ernie Harwell) |
| Radio | WMCA (Russ Hodges, Ernie Harwell) |
Offseason
- Marshall Bridges was signed as an amateur free agent by the Giants.[1]
- Han Urbanus was offered a contract, which would have made him the first European-trained player in the majors, and the first Dutch-born player since Bill Lelivelt in 1909. He declined to sign and returned to play in the Netherlands.[2]
- After 1953 season: The Giants embarked of a month-long exhibition tour to Hawaii, Japan, Manila, Okinawa, and Guam. This marked the first time a Major League Baseball team to play Japanese teams. The Giants went 12-1-1 during their tour in Japan, including beating the 1953 Japan Series champions, the Tokyo Giants, 11–1.[3]
Regular season
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 105 | 49 | .682 | — | 60–17 | 45–32 |
| Milwaukee Braves | 92 | 62 | .597 | 13 | 45–31 | 47–31 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 83 | 71 | .539 | 22 | 48–29 | 35–42 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 83 | 71 | .539 | 22 | 48–30 | 35–41 |
| New York Giants | 70 | 84 | .455 | 35 | 38–39 | 32–45 |
| Cincinnati Redlegs | 68 | 86 | .442 | 37 | 38–39 | 30–47 |
| Chicago Cubs | 65 | 89 | .422 | 40 | 43–34 | 22–55 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 50 | 104 | .325 | 55 | 26–51 | 24–53 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BRO | CHC | CIN | MIL | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
| Brooklyn | — | 13–9–1 | 15–7 | 13–9 | 15–7 | 14–8 | 20–2 | 15–7 | |||||
| Chicago | 9–13–1 | — | 12–10 | 8–14 | 9–13 | 5–17 | 11–11 | 11–11 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 7–15 | 10–12 | — | 8–14 | 9–13 | 12–10 | 15–7 | 7–15–1 | |||||
| Milwaukee | 9–13 | 14–8 | 14–8 | — | 14–8–1 | 13–9–1 | 15–7 | 13–9–1 | |||||
| New York | 7–15 | 13–9 | 13–9 | 8–14–1 | — | 9–13 | 11–11 | 9–13 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 8–14 | 17–5 | 10–12 | 9–13–1 | 13–9 | — | 15–7 | 11–11–1 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 2–20 | 11–11 | 7–15 | 7–15 | 11–11 | 7–15 | — | 5–17 | |||||
| St. Louis | 7–15 | 11–11 | 15–7–1 | 9–13–1 | 13–9 | 11–11–1 | 17–5 | — | |||||
Opening Day lineup
Notable transactions
- July 1, 1953: Marv Grissom was selected off waivers by the Giants from the Boston Red Sox.[4]
Roster
| 1953 New York Giants | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager
Coaches | ||||||
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Wes Westrum | 107 | 290 | 65 | .224 | 12 | 30 |
| 1B | Whitey Lockman | 150 | 607 | 179 | .295 | 9 | 61 |
| 2B | Davey Williams | 112 | 340 | 101 | .297 | 3 | 34 |
| SS | Alvin Dark | 155 | 647 | 194 | .300 | 23 | 88 |
| 3B | Hank Thompson | 114 | 388 | 117 | .302 | 24 | 74 |
| OF | Monte Irvin | 124 | 444 | 146 | .329 | 21 | 97 |
| OF | Don Mueller | 131 | 480 | 160 | .333 | 6 | 60 |
| OF | Bobby Thomson | 154 | 608 | 175 | .288 | 26 | 106 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daryl Spencer | 118 | 408 | 85 | .208 | 20 | 56 |
| Bobby Hofman | 74 | 169 | 45 | .266 | 12 | 34 |
| Dusty Rhodes | 76 | 163 | 38 | .233 | 11 | 30 |
| Tookie Gilbert | 70 | 160 | 27 | .169 | 3 | 16 |
| Ray Noble | 46 | 97 | 20 | .206 | 4 | 14 |
| Sal Yvars | 23 | 47 | 13 | .277 | 0 | 1 |
| Sam Calderone | 35 | 45 | 10 | .222 | 0 | 8 |
| Ray Katt | 8 | 29 | 5 | .172 | 0 | 1 |
| Bill Rigney | 19 | 20 | 5 | .250 | 0 | 1 |
| George Wilson | 11 | 8 | 1 | .125 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rubén Gómez | 29 | 204.0 | 13 | 11 | 3.40 | 113 |
| Jim Hearn | 36 | 196.2 | 9 | 12 | 4.53 | 77 |
| Larry Jansen | 36 | 184.2 | 11 | 16 | 4.14 | 88 |
| Sal Maglie | 27 | 145.1 | 8 | 9 | 4.15 | 80 |
| Al Worthington | 20 | 102.0 | 4 | 8 | 3.44 | 52 |
| Alvin Dark | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 18.00 | 0 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Koslo | 37 | 111.2 | 6 | 12 | 4.76 | 36 |
| Marv Grissom | 21 | 84.1 | 4 | 2 | 3.95 | 46 |
| Bill Connelly | 8 | 20.1 | 0 | 1 | 11.07 | 11 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoyt Wilhelm | 68 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 3.04 | 71 |
| Al Corwin | 48 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 4.98 | 49 |
| Frank Hiller | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6.15 | 10 |
| Monty Kennedy | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.15 | 11 |
| Max Lanier | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 2 |
| George Spencer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.71 | 1 |
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Sioux City, Danville