1956 Milwaukee Braves season
Major League Baseball season
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The 1956 Milwaukee Braves season was the fourth in Milwaukee and the 86th overall season of the franchise. The Braves finished in second place in the National League, just one game behind the Brooklyn Dodgers in the league standings, and one game ahead of the Cincinnati Reds.[1] All three teams posted wins on the final day of the season; the Braves had entered the final three games with a game advantage, but dropped the first two at St. Louis while the Dodgers swept the Pirates.
| 1956 Milwaukee Braves | |
|---|---|
| League | National League |
| Ballpark | Milwaukee County Stadium |
| City | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Record | 92–62 (.597) |
| League place | 2nd |
| Owners | Louis R. Perini |
| General managers | John J. Quinn |
| Managers | Charlie Grimm 24–22 (.522) Fred Haney 68–40 (.630) |
| Radio | WEMP WTMJ (Earl Gillespie, Blaine Walsh) |
The Braves' led the major leagues in home attendance with 2,046,331; next closest was the New York Yankees of the American League at under 1.5 million. The runner-up in NL attendance was champion Brooklyn at under 1.22 million.[2] The Braves averaged 30,093 for the 68 home dates.[3]
Regular season
Season summary
Under opening day manager Charlie Grimm, the Braves got off to a mediocre start at 24–22 (.522). After a loss on Saturday, June 16, the owners dismissed him and replaced him with Fred Haney,[4][5] who led the Braves to a 68–40 (.630) record for the rest of the season. Finishing at 92–62 (.597), the Braves nearly caught up with the Dodgers, who finished a game ahead at 93–61 (.604). Haney managed the Braves to the World Series in 1957 and 1958, and then to a tie atop the National League standings in 1959, tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In individual performance statistics, outfielder Hank Aaron led the league in hits with 200, in batting average at .328, and in doubles with 34. His 106 runs scored led the Braves. First baseman Joe Adcock led the Braves with 38 home runs and 103 runs batted in. The Braves' other hitting star was their third baseman, Eddie Mathews, who played in 151 games, hit 37 home runs, scored 103 runs, and batted in 95 runs.
The pitching leaders for the Braves were their "big three" starting pitchers (listed with their won-loss records): Warren Spahn (20–11 (.645)), Lew Burdette (19–10 (.655)), and Bob Buhl (18–8 (.692)). Spahn also recorded three saves among the four games in which he was used as a relief pitcher.
Outfielder Bobby Thomson also had his best season, out of three, with the Braves, with 142 games played, 20 home runs, and 74 runs batted in, but just a .235 batting average. Then, the next season, Thomson was traded back to the New York Giants.
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 93 | 61 | .604 | — | 52–25 | 41–36 |
| Milwaukee Braves | 92 | 62 | .597 | 1 | 47–29 | 45–33 |
| Cincinnati Redlegs | 91 | 63 | .591 | 2 | 51–26 | 40–37 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 76 | 78 | .494 | 17 | 43–34 | 33–44 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 71 | 83 | .461 | 22 | 40–37 | 31–46 |
| New York Giants | 67 | 87 | .435 | 26 | 37–40 | 30–47 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 66 | 88 | .429 | 27 | 35–43 | 31–45 |
| Chicago Cubs | 60 | 94 | .390 | 33 | 39–38 | 21–56 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BRO | CHC | CIN | MIL | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
| Brooklyn | — | 16–6 | 11–11 | 10–12 | 14–8 | 13–9 | 13–9 | 16–6 | |||||
| Chicago | 6–16 | — | 6–16–1 | 9–13 | 7–15 | 13–9 | 10–12–1 | 9–13–1 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 11–11 | 16–6–1 | — | 9–13 | 14–8 | 11–11 | 17–5 | 13–9 | |||||
| Milwaukee | 12–10 | 13–9 | 13–9 | — | 17–5 | 10–12 | 14–8–1 | 13–9 | |||||
| New York | 8–14 | 15–7 | 8–14 | 5–17 | — | 11–11 | 13–9 | 7–15 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 9–13 | 9–13 | 11–11 | 12–10 | 11–11 | — | 7–15 | 12–10 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 9–13 | 12–10–1 | 5–17 | 8–14–1 | 9–13 | 15–7 | — | 8–14–1 | |||||
| St. Louis | 6–16 | 13–9–1 | 9–13 | 9–13 | 15–7 | 10–12 | 14–8–1 | — | |||||
Roster
| 1956 Milwaukee Braves | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Del Crandall | 112 | 311 | 37 | 74 | .238 | 16 | 48 |
| 1B | Joe Adcock | 137 | 454 | 76 | 132 | .291 | 38 | 103 |
| 2B | Danny O'Connell | 139 | 498 | 71 | 119 | .239 | 2 | 42 |
| 3B | Eddie Mathews | 151 | 552 | 103 | 150 | .272 | 37 | 95 |
| SS | Johnny Logan | 148 | 545 | 69 | 153 | .281 | 15 | 46 |
| LF | Bobby Thomson | 142 | 451 | 59 | 106 | .235 | 20 | 74 |
| CF | Bill Bruton | 147 | 525 | 73 | 143 | .272 | 8 | 56 |
| RF | Hank Aaron | 153 | 609 | 106 | 200 | .328 | 26 | 92 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Del Rice | 71 | 188 | 40 | .213 | 3 | 17 |
| Frank Torre | 111 | 159 | 41 | .258 | 0 | 16 |
| Wes Covington | 75 | 138 | 39 | .283 | 2 | 16 |
| Jack Dittmer | 44 | 102 | 25 | .245 | 1 | 6 |
| Andy Pafko | 45 | 93 | 24 | .258 | 2 | 9 |
| Chuck Tanner | 60 | 63 | 15 | .238 | 1 | 4 |
| Félix Mantilla | 35 | 53 | 15 | .283 | 0 | 3 |
| Toby Atwell | 15 | 30 | 5 | .167 | 2 | 7 |
| Earl Hersh | 7 | 13 | 3 | .231 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Pendleton | 14 | 11 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Roselli | 4 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 1 | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warren Spahn | 39 | 281.1 | 20 | 11 | 2.78 | 111 |
| Lew Burdette | 39 | 256.1 | 19 | 10 | 2.70 | 110 |
| Bob Buhl | 38 | 216.2 | 18 | 8 | 3.32 | 86 |
| Ray Crone | 35 | 169.2 | 11 | 10 | 3.87 | 73 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gene Conley | 35 | 158.1 | 8 | 9 | 3.13 | 68 |
| Taylor Phillips | 23 | 87.2 | 5 | 3 | 2.26 | 36 |
| Bob Trowbridge | 19 | 50.2 | 3 | 2 | 2.66 | 40 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ernie Johnson | 36 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 3.71 | 26 |
| Dave Jolly | 29 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 3.74 | 20 |
| Lou Sleater | 25 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3.15 | 32 |
| Red Murff | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4.44 | 18 |
| Chet Nichols Jr. | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.75 | 2 |
| Humberto Robinson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| Phil Paine | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | inf | 0 |
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Atlanta, Jacksonville, Evansville, Boise, Wellsville