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1952 Major League Baseball season

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This article is about the 1952 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1952 in baseball.
1952 MLB season
LeagueAmerican League (AL)
National League (NL)
SportBaseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 15 – September 28, 1952
World Series:
  • October 1–7, 1952
Number of games154
Number of teams16 (8 per league)
Regular season
Season MVPAL: Bobby Shantz (PHA)
NL: Hank Sauer (CHC)
AL championsNew York Yankees
  AL runners-upCleveland Indians
NL championsBrooklyn Dodgers
  NL runners-upNew York Giants
World Series
ChampionsNew York Yankees
  Runners-upBrooklyn Dodgers
Finals MVPJohnny Mize (NYY)
MLB seasons
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 1952 major league baseball season began on April 15, 1952. The regular season ended on September 28, with the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 49th World Series on October 1 and ended with Game 7 on October 7. In the fourth iteration of this Subway Series World Series matchup, the Yankees defeated the Dodgers, four games to three, capturing their 15th championship in franchise history, and their fourth in a five-run World Series. This was the fourth World Series between the two teams.

The 19th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 8 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, hosted by the Philadelphia Phillies. The National League won, 3–2. To date, it was the only All-Star Game to be called early due to rain.

The 1952 season would prove to be the final season of a 50-season run which saw no team relocate from one city to another, as the Boston Braves would move to Milwaukee, Wisconsin the following year as the Milwaukee Braves. 1952 would also be Ford Frick's first full year as commissioner.

Schedule

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See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1952 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.

Opening Day took place on April 15, featuring 12 teams. The final day of the scheduled regular season was on September 28, which saw all sixteen teams play, continuing the trend from 1946. The World Series took place between October 1 and October 7.

Teams

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League Team City Stadium Capacity Manager[1]
American League Boston Red Sox Boston, Massachusetts Fenway Park 35,200 Lou Boudreau
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
Fred Hutchinson
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 Rogers Hornsby
Marty Marion
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. Griffith Stadium 29,731 Bucky Walters
National League Boston Braves Boston, Massachusetts Braves Field 37,106 Tommy Holmes
Charlie Grimm
Brooklyn Dodgers New York, New York Ebbets Field 32,111 Chuck Dressen
Chicago Cubs Chicago, Illinois Wrigley Field 36,755 Phil Cavarretta
Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati, Ohio Crosley Field 29,980 Luke Sewell
Rogers Hornsby
New York Giants New York, New York Polo Grounds 54,500 Leo Durocher
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 33,166 Eddie Sawyer
Steve O'Neill
Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Forbes Field 33,730 Billy Meyer
St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 34,000 Eddie Stanky

Standings

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American League

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American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 95 59 .617 — 49‍–‍28 46‍–‍31
Cleveland Indians 93 61 .604 2 49‍–‍28 44‍–‍33
Chicago White Sox 81 73 .526 14 44‍–‍33 37‍–‍40
Philadelphia Athletics 79 75 .513 16 45‍–‍32 34‍–‍43
Washington Senators 78 76 .506 17 42‍–‍35 36‍–‍41
Boston Red Sox 76 78 .494 19 50‍–‍27 26‍–‍51
St. Louis Browns 64 90 .416 31 42‍–‍35 22‍–‍55
Detroit Tigers 50 104 .325 45 32‍–‍45 18‍–‍59

National League

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National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Brooklyn Dodgers 96 57 .627 — 45‍–‍33 51‍–‍24
New York Giants 92 62 .597 4½ 50‍–‍27 42‍–‍35
St. Louis Cardinals 88 66 .571 8½ 48‍–‍29 40‍–‍37
Philadelphia Phillies 87 67 .565 9½ 47‍–‍29 40‍–‍38
Chicago Cubs 77 77 .500 19½ 42‍–‍35 35‍–‍42
Cincinnati Reds 69 85 .448 27½ 38‍–‍39 31‍–‍46
Boston Braves 64 89 .418 32 31‍–‍45 33‍–‍44
Pittsburgh Pirates 42 112 .273 54½ 23‍–‍54 19‍–‍58

Postseason

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The postseason began on October 1 and ended on October 7 with the New York Yankees defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1952 World Series in seven games.

Bracket

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World Series
   
AL New York Yankees 4
NL Brooklyn Dodgers 3

Managerial changes

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Off-season

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Team Former Manager New Manager
Boston Red Sox Steve O'Neill Lou Boudreau
St. Louis Browns Zack Taylor Rogers Hornsby
St. Louis Cardinals Marty Marion Eddie Stanky

In-season

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Team Former Manager New Manager
Boston Braves Tommy Holmes Charlie Grimm
Cincinnati Reds Luke Sewell Rogers Hornsby
Detroit Tigers Red Rolfe Fred Hutchinson
Philadelphia Phillies Eddie Sawyer Steve O'Neill
St. Louis Browns Rogers Hornsby Marty Marion

League leaders

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American League

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Hitting leaders[2]
Stat Player Total
AVG Ferris Fain (PHA) .327
OPS Mickey Mantle (NYY) .924
HR Larry Doby (CLE) 32
RBI Al Rosen (CLE) 105
R Larry Doby (CLE) 104
H Nellie Fox (CWS) 192
SB Minnie Miñoso (CWS) 22
Pitching leaders[3]
Stat Player Total
W Bobby Shantz (PHA) 24
L Art Houtteman (DET) 20
ERA Allie Reynolds (NYY) 2.06
K Allie Reynolds (NYY) 160
IP Bob Lemon (CLE) 309.2
SV Harry Dorish (CWS) 11
WHIP Bobby Shantz (PHA) 1.048

National League

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Hitting leaders[4]
Stat Player Total
AVG Stan Musial (SLC) .336
OPS Stan Musial (SLC) .970
HR Ralph Kiner (PIT)
Hank Sauer (CHC) 		37
RBI Hank Sauer (CHC) 121
R Solly Hemus (SLC)
Stan Musial (SLC) 		105
H Stan Musial (SLC) 194
SB Pee Wee Reese (BKN) 30
Pitching leaders[5]
Stat Player Total
W Robin Roberts (PHP) 28
L Murry Dickson (PIT) 21
ERA Hoyt Wilhelm (NYG) 2.43
K Warren Spahn (BSB) 183
IP Robin Roberts (PHP) 330.0
SV Al Brazle (SLC) 16
WHIP Warren Hacker (CHC) 0.946

Awards and honors

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Regular season

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Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award National League American League
Rookie of the Year Joe Black (BKN) Harry Byrd (PHA)
Most Valuable Player Hank Sauer (CHC) Bobby Shantz (PHA)
Babe Ruth Award
(World Series MVP) 		— Johnny Mize (NYY)

Other awards

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The Sporting News Awards
Award National League American League
Player of the Year[6] Robin Roberts (PHP) —
Pitcher of the Year[7] Robin Roberts (PHP) Bobby Shantz (CLE)
Rookie of the Year[8] Joe Black (BKN) Clint Courtney (SLB)
Manager of the Year[9] Eddie Stanky (SLC) —
Executive of the Year[10] — George Weiss (NYY)

Baseball Hall of Fame

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Main article: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Further information: 1952 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting

Home field attendance

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Team name Wins %± Home attendance %± Per game
New York Yankees[11] 95 −3.1% 1,629,665 −16.4% 21,164
Cleveland Indians[12] 93 0.0% 1,444,607 −15.3% 18,761
Chicago White Sox[13] 81 0.0% 1,231,675 −7.3% 15,591
Boston Red Sox[14] 76 −12.6% 1,115,750 −15.0% 14,490
Brooklyn Dodgers[15] 96 −1.0% 1,088,704 −15.1% 13,609
Detroit Tigers[16] 50 −31.5% 1,026,846 −9.3% 13,336
Chicago Cubs[17] 77 24.2% 1,024,826 14.6% 13,309
New York Giants[18] 92 −6.1% 984,940 −7.0% 12,791
St. Louis Cardinals[19] 88 8.6% 913,113 −9.9% 11,859
Philadelphia Phillies[20] 87 19.2% 755,417 −19.4% 9,940
Washington Senators[21] 78 25.8% 699,457 0.6% 8,967
Pittsburgh Pirates[22] 42 −34.4% 686,673 −30.0% 8,918
Philadelphia Athletics[23] 79 12.9% 627,100 34.7% 8,040
Cincinnati Reds[24] 69 1.5% 604,197 2.7% 7,847
St. Louis Browns[25] 64 23.1% 518,796 76.6% 6,651
Boston Braves[26] 64 −15.8% 281,278 −42.3% 3,653

Retired numbers

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Events

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "1952 Major League Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  2. ^ "1952 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  3. ^ "1952 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  4. ^ "1952 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  5. ^ "1952 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  6. ^ "Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  7. ^ "Pitcher of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  8. ^ "Rookie of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  9. ^ "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  10. ^ "MLB Executive of the Year Award | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  11. ^ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  12. ^ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  13. ^ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  14. ^ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  15. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  16. ^ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  17. ^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  18. ^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  19. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  20. ^ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  21. ^ "Minnesota Twins 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. ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  24. ^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  25. ^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  26. ^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  27. ^ "April 23, 1952 boxscore from Baseball Reference". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  28. ^ "Strange and Unusual Plays". www.retrosheet.org. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  29. ^ "Odd Baseball Facts Archive – II: One At-Bat, Two Ejections". goldenrankings.com. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
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