1951 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1951 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1951 in baseball.
1951 MLB season
LeagueAmerican League (AL)
National League (NL)
SportBaseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 17 – September 30, 1951 (AL)
  • April 16 – October 3, 1951 (NL)
World Series:
  • October 4–10, 1951
Games154
Teams16 (8 per league)
Regular season
Season MVPAL: Yogi Berra (NYY)
NL: Roy Campanella (BRO)
AL championsNew York Yankees
  AL runners-upCleveland Indians
NL championsNew York Giants
  NL runners-upBrooklyn Dodgers
World Series
ChampionsNew York Yankees
  Runners-upNew York Giants
Finals MVPPhil Rizzuto (NYY)
Locations of teams for the 1942–1953 American League seasons
American League
Locations of teams for the 1943–1952 National League seasons
National League

The 1951 major league baseball season began on April 16, 1951. The regular season ended on October 3, with the New York Giants and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The Giants defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers in a regular season best-of-three tiebreaker, for the National League title, after both teams finished their 154-game schedules with identical 96–58 records. This was the third regular season tie-breaker, and saw a reversion from the single-game tie-breaker featured in 1948 to the three-game format featured in the 1946 tie-breaker series. After splitting the first two games, the stage was set for a decisive third game, won in dramatic fashion on a walk-off home run from the bat of Giant Bobby Thomson, one of the most famous moments in the history of baseball, commemorated as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" and "The Miracle at Coogan's Bluff". The postseason began with Game 1 of the 48th World Series on October 4 and ended with Game 6 on October 10. In the sixth iteration of this Subway Series World Series matchup, the Yankees defeated the Giants, four games to two, capturing their 14th championship in franchise history, and their third in a five-run World Series. This would be the final Subway Series matchup between the two teams, as the next World Series between the two in 1962 would see a relocated Giants franchise in San Francisco, California.

The 18th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 10 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Michigan, home of the Detroit Tigers. The National League won, 8–3.

On May 1, the Chicago White Sox become the sixth team in professional baseball to break the color line when they fielded future Hall-of-Famer Minnie Miñoso.[1]

This was Happy Chandler's last season of his 5½-tenure as Commissioner of Baseball, as he resigned on July 15, after team owner voted against renewing his contract which expired in April 1952. National League president Ford Frick would be elected as commissioner, officially taking the position September 20, just days before the end of the regular season.

Schedule

See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1951 schedule consisted of 154 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 22 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place since the 1904 season (except for 1919) and would be used until 1961 in the American League and 1962 in the National League.

National League Opening Day took place on April 16, with a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds, while American League Opening Day took place the following day, featuring all eight teams. This was the first season since 1943 that both leagues opened on different days. The final day of the scheduled regular season was on September 30, which saw all sixteen teams play, continuing the trend from 1946. Due to the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants finishing with the same record of 96–58, a best-of-three tie-breaker was scheduled, to be considered an extension of the regular season, and took place between October 1 and October 3. The World Series took place between October 4 and October 10.

Rule changes

The 1951 season saw the following rule changes:

  • The bonus rule, which stated that any player signed to a contract greater than $4,000 (equivalent to $49,600 in 2025) had to stay on the team's 25-man roster for two years, was abolished.[2]
  • In the event of a walk, hit by pitch, or other plays with the bases loaded which forces the runners to advance bases which wins the game for the team batting in the bottom of the final inning, the runner on third must touch home base and the hitter of the current at bat must reach first base.[3]
  • Following a dead ball, play shall resume only when the pitcher, with the current ball, takes his place on the pitcher's mound.[3]
  • If a pitcher must come into a game to relieve the previous pitcher with no opportunity to warm up, he is allowed to throw as many warmup pitches on the field until the umpire feels the pitcher is properly prepared to face batters.[3]
  • If interference occurs by the catcher or fielder, and if so a batter or baserunner is awarded their next base, the catcher or fielder is charged with an error.[3]
  • Caught stealing became a trackable statistic. Official rules surrounding caught stealing would not be codified until 1963.[3]

Teams

League Team City Ballpark Capacity Manager[4]
American League Boston Red Sox Boston, Massachusetts Fenway Park 35,200 Steve O'Neill
Chicago White Sox Chicago, Illinois Comiskey Park 47,400 Paul Richards
Cleveland Indians Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland Stadium 73,811 Al López
Detroit Tigers Detroit, Michigan Briggs Stadium 58,000 Red Rolfe
New York Yankees New York, New York Yankee Stadium 67,000 Casey Stengel
Philadelphia Athletics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 33,166 Jimmy Dykes
St. Louis Browns St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 34,000 Zack Taylor
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. Griffith Stadium 29,731 Bucky Walters
National League Boston Braves Boston, Massachusetts Braves Field 37,106 Billy Southworth
Tommy Holmes
Brooklyn Dodgers New York, New York Ebbets Field 32,111 Chuck Dressen
Chicago Cubs Chicago, Illinois Wrigley Field 36,755 Frankie Frisch
Phil Cavarretta
Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati, Ohio Crosley Field 29,980 Luke Sewell
New York Giants New York, New York Polo Grounds 54,500 Leo Durocher
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 33,166 Eddie Sawyer
Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Forbes Field 33,730 Billy Meyer
St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 34,000 Marty Marion

Standings

American League

American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 98 56 .636 — 56‍–‍22 42‍–‍34
Cleveland Indians 93 61 .604 5 53‍–‍24 40‍–‍37
Boston Red Sox 87 67 .565 11 50‍–‍25 37‍–‍42
Chicago White Sox 81 73 .526 17 39‍–‍38 42‍–‍35
Detroit Tigers 73 81 .474 25 36‍–‍41 37‍–‍40
Philadelphia Athletics 70 84 .455 28 38‍–‍41 32‍–‍43
Washington Senators 62 92 .403 36 32‍–‍44 30‍–‍48
St. Louis Browns 52 102 .338 46 24‍–‍53 28‍–‍49

National League

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Giants 98 59 .624 — 50‍–‍28 48‍–‍31
Brooklyn Dodgers 97 60 .618 1 49‍–‍29 48‍–‍31
St. Louis Cardinals 81 73 .526 15½ 44‍–‍34 37‍–‍39
Boston Braves 76 78 .494 20½ 42‍–‍35 34‍–‍43
Philadelphia Phillies 73 81 .474 23½ 38‍–‍39 35‍–‍42
Cincinnati Reds 68 86 .442 28½ 35‍–‍42 33‍–‍44
Pittsburgh Pirates 64 90 .416 32½ 32‍–‍45 32‍–‍45
Chicago Cubs 62 92 .403 34½ 32‍–‍45 30‍–‍47

Tie games

4 tie games (1 in AL, 3 in NL), which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again) occurred throughout the season.

American League

  • Chicago White Sox, 1
  • Cleveland Indians, 1

National League

  • Boston Braves, 1
  • Brooklyn Dodgers, 1
  • Chicago Cubs, 1
  • Cincinnati Reds, 1
  • Pittsburgh Pirates, 1
  • St. Louis Cardinals, 1

Postseason

See also: 1951 Major League Baseball postseason

The postseason began on October 1 and ended on October 10 with the New York Yankees defeating the New York Giants in the 1951 World Series in six games.

Bracket

National League playoff World Series
AL NY Yankees 4
NL NY Giants 2 NL NY Giants 2
NL Brooklyn 1

Managerial changes

Off-season

Team Former Manager New Manager
Brooklyn Dodgers Burt Shotton Chuck Dressen
Chicago White Sox Red Corriden Paul Richards
Cleveland Indians Lou Boudreau Al López
Philadelphia Athletics Connie Mack Jimmy Dykes
St. Louis Cardinals Eddie Dyer Marty Marion

In-season

Team Former Manager New Manager
Boston Braves Billy Southworth Tommy Holmes
Chicago Cubs Frankie Frisch Phil Cavarretta

League leaders

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

American League

Hitting leaders[5]
Stat Player Total
AVG Ferris Fain (PHA) .344
OPS Ted Williams (BOS) 1.019
HR Gus Zernial (PHA/CWS) 33
RBI Gus Zernial (PHA/CWS) 129
R Dom DiMaggio (BOS) 113
H George Kell (DET) 191
SB Minnie Miñoso (CWS/CLE) 31
Pitching leaders[6]
Stat Player Total
W Bob Feller (CLE) 22
L Ted Gray (DET)
Alex Kellner (PHA)
Bob Lemon (CLE)
Billy Pierce (CWS)
Duane Pillette (SLB)
Dizzy Trout (DET) 		14
ERA Saul Rogovin (CWS/DET) 2.78
K Vic Raschi (NYY) 164
IP Early Wynn (CLE) 274.1
SV Ellis Kinder (BOS) 16
WHIP Eddie Lopat (NYY) 1.193

National League

Hitting leaders[7]
Stat Player Total
AVG Stan Musial (STL) .355
OPS Ralph Kiner (PIT) 1.079
HR Ralph Kiner (PIT) 42
RBI Monte Irvin (NYG) 121
R Ralph Kiner (PIT)
Stan Musial (STL) 		124
H Richie Ashburn (PHI) 221
SB Sam Jethroe (BSN) 35
Pitching leaders[8]
Stat Player Total
W Larry Jansen (NYG)
Sal Maglie (NYG) 		23
L Paul Minner (CHC)
Ken Raffensberger (CIN)
Willie Ramsdell (CIN) 		17
ERA Chet Nichols Jr. (BSN) 2.88
K Don Newcombe (BRO)
Warren Spahn (BSN) 		164
IP Robin Roberts (PHI) 315.0
SV Ted Wilks (PIT/STL) 13
WHIP Ken Raffensberger (CIN) 1.086

Awards and honors

Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award National League American League
Rookie of the Year Willie Mays (NYG) Gil McDougald (NYY)
Most Valuable Player Roy Campanella (BRO) Yogi Berra (NYY)
Babe Ruth Award
(World Series MVP) 		— Phil Rizzuto (NYY)

Other awards

The Sporting News Awards
Award National League American League
Player of the Year[9] Stan Musial (STL) —
Pitcher of the Year[10] Preacher Roe (BRO) Bob Feller (CLE)
Rookie of the Year[11] Willie Mays (NYG) Minnie Miñoso (CWS)
Manager of the Year[12] Leo Durocher (NYG) —
Executive of the Year[13] — George Weiss (NYY)

Baseball Hall of Fame

Main article: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Further information: 1951 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting

Home field attendance

Team name Wins %± Home attendance %± Per game
New York Yankees[14] 98 0.0% 1,950,107 −6.3% 25,001
Cleveland Indians[15] 93 1.1% 1,704,984 −1.3% 22,143
Chicago White Sox[16] 81 35.0% 1,328,234 70.0% 17,029
Boston Red Sox[17] 87 −7.4% 1,312,282 −2.4% 17,497
Brooklyn Dodgers[18] 97 9.0% 1,282,628 8.2% 16,444
Detroit Tigers[19] 73 −23.2% 1,132,641 −42.0% 14,710
New York Giants[20] 98 14.0% 1,059,539 5.0% 13,584
St. Louis Cardinals[21] 81 3.8% 1,013,429 −7.3% 12,828
Pittsburgh Pirates[22] 64 12.3% 980,590 −15.9% 12,572
Philadelphia Phillies[23] 73 −19.8% 937,658 −23.0% 12,177
Chicago Cubs[24] 62 −3.1% 894,415 −23.3% 11,616
Washington Senators[25] 62 −7.5% 695,167 −0.6% 9,147
Cincinnati Reds[26] 68 3.0% 588,268 9.2% 7,640
Boston Braves[27] 76 −8.4% 487,475 −48.4% 6,250
Philadelphia Athletics[28] 70 34.6% 465,469 50.2% 5,892
St. Louis Browns[29] 52 −10.3% 293,790 18.9% 3,815

See also

References

  1. ^ "These players integrated each MLB team". MLB.com. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  2. ^ Klopsis, Nick. "1950 Winter Meetings: The Happy Dagger – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Rules History". www.retrosheet.org. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
  4. ^ "1951 Major League Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  5. ^ "1951 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  6. ^ "1951 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  7. ^ "1951 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  8. ^ "1951 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  9. ^ "Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  10. ^ "Pitcher of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  11. ^ "Rookie of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  12. ^ "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  13. ^ "MLB Executive of the Year Award | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  14. ^ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  15. ^ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  16. ^ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  17. ^ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  18. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  19. ^ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  20. ^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  21. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  22. ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  23. ^ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  24. ^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  25. ^ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  26. ^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  27. ^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  28. ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  29. ^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
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