1953 South Atlantic League season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| 1953 South Atlantic League season | |
|---|---|
| League | South Atlantic League |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | April 14 – September 2 |
| Number of games | 140 |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Regular season | |
| League champions | Jacksonville Braves |
| Playoffs | |
| League champions | Columbia Reds |
| Runners-up | Jacksonville Braves |
The 1953 South Atlantic League was a Class A baseball season played between April 14 and September 2. Eight teams played a 140-game schedule, with the top four teams qualifying for the playoffs.
The Columbia Reds won the South Atlantic League championship, defeating the Jacksonville Braves in the final round of the playoffs.
- The Augusta Tigers are renamed to the Augusta Rams.
- The Jacksonville Tars end their affiliation with the New York Giants and began a new affiliation with the Milwaukee Braves. The club is renamed to the Jacksonville Braves.
- The Montgomery Grays begin an affiliation with the Detroit Tigers.
Teams
Map of teams
Regular season
Summary
- The Jacksonville Braves finish the season with the best record for the first time in franchise history.
- The Savannah Indians defeated the Macon Peaches in a tie-breaking game to finish in fourth place in the league standings and qualify for the post-season.
Standings
| South Atlantic League | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Jacksonville Braves | 93 | 44 | .679 | – |
| Columbia Reds | 92 | 48 | .657 | 2.5 |
| Columbus Cardinals | 67 | 70 | .489 | 26 |
| Savannah Indians | 68 | 73 | .482 | 27 |
| Macon Peaches | 67 | 74 | .475 | 28 |
| Augusta Rams | 65 | 74 | .468 | 29 |
| Charleston Rebels | 55 | 84 | .396 | 39 |
| Montgomery Grays | 50 | 90 | .357 | 44.5 |
League Leaders
Batting leaders
Pitching leaders
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Ray Crone, Jacksonville Braves Larry Lassalle, Jacksonville Braves | 19 |
| ERA | Corky Valentine, Columbia Reds | 2.11 |
| CG | Joe Kuncl, Macon Peaches | 21 |
| SHO | Barney Martin, Columbia Reds | 7 |
| IP | Alfred Burch, Savannah Indians | 254.0 |
| SO | Larry Lassalle, Jacksonville Braves | 185 |
Playoffs
- The Columbia Reds won their second South Atlantic League championship, defeating the Jacksonville Braves in seven games.
Playoff bracket
| Semi-finals | Finals | ||||||||
| 1 | Jacksonville | 3 | |||||||
| 4 | Savannah | 1 | |||||||
| 1 | Jacksonville | 3 | |||||||
| 2 | Columbia | 4 | |||||||
| 2 | Columbia | 3 | |||||||
| 3 | Columbus | 0 | |||||||