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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. The Yankees defeated the Giants, four games to two, capturing the 14th championship in franchise history, in the midst of a 5-year World Series winning streak.
| 1951 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Number of games | 154 |
| Number of teams | 16 (8 per league) |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | AL: Yogi Berra (NYY) NL: Roy Campanella (BKN) |
| AL champions | New York Yankees |
| AL runners-up | Cleveland Indians |
| NL champions | New York Giants |
| NL runners-up | Brooklyn Dodgers |
| World Series | |
| Champions | New York Yankees |
| Runners-up | New York Giants |
| Finals MVP | Phil Rizzuto (NYY) |
The 18th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played on July 10, hosted by the Detroit Tigers at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Michigan, with the National League winning, 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]
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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. The World Series took place between October 4 and October 10.
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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
| 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 |
- The New York Giants defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers in best-of-three playoff series to earn the National League pennant.
Bracket
| World Series | |||||||||
| AL | New York Yankees | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 4 | ||
| NL | New York Giants | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||
Off-season
In-season
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Braves | Billy Southworth | Tommy Holmes |
| Chicago Cubs | Frankie Frisch | Phil Cavarretta |
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American League
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Ferris Fain (PHA) | .344 |
| HR | Gus Zernial (PHA/CWS) | 33 |
| RBI | Gus Zernial (PHA/CWS) | 129 |
| R | Dom DiMaggio (BRS) | 113 |
| H | George Kell (DET) | 191 |
| SB | Minnie Miñoso (CWS/CLE) | 31 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Bob Feller (CLE) | 22 |
| L | Ted Gray (DET) Alex Kellner (PHA) Bob Lemon (CLE) Dizzy Trout (DET) Billy Pierce (CWS) Duane Pillette (SLB) | 14 |
| ERA | Saul Rogovin (CWS) | 2.78 |
| K | Vic Raschi (NYY) | 164 |
| IP | Early Wynn (CLE) | 274.1 |
| SV | Ellis Kinder (BRS) | 14 |
National League
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Stan Musial (SLC) | .355 |
| HR | Ralph Kiner (PIT) | 42 |
| RBI | Monte Irvin (NYG) | 121 |
| R | Ralph Kiner (PIT) Stan Musial (SLC) | 124 |
| H | Richie Ashburn (PHP) | 221 |
| SB | Sam Jethroe (BSB) | 35 |
| 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. (BSB) | 2.88 |
| K | Don Newcombe (BKN) Warren Spahn (BSB) | 164 |
| IP | Robin Roberts (PHP) | 315.0 |
| SV | Ted Wilks (PIT/SLC) | 13 |
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 (BKN) | Yogi Berra (NYY) |
Other awards
- Babe Ruth Award (World Series MVP): Phil Rizzuto (NYY)
The Sporting News awards
- Player of the Year Award: Stan Musial (STL)
- Pitcher of the Year Award: Preacher Roe (BKN, National);[2][3] Bob Feller (CLE, American)[4][5]
- Rookie of the Year Award: Willie Mays (NYG, National); Minnie Miñoso (CWS, American)
- Manager of the Year Award: Leo Durocher (NYG)
Baseball Hall of Fame
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| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees[6] | 98 | 0.0% | 1,950,107 | −6.3% | 25,001 |
| Cleveland Indians[7] | 93 | 1.1% | 1,704,984 | −1.3% | 22,143 |
| Chicago White Sox[8] | 81 | 35.0% | 1,328,234 | 70.0% | 17,029 |
| Boston Red Sox[9] | 87 | −7.4% | 1,312,282 | −2.4% | 17,497 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers[10] | 97 | 9.0% | 1,282,628 | 8.2% | 16,444 |
| Detroit Tigers[11] | 73 | −23.2% | 1,132,641 | −42.0% | 14,710 |
| New York Giants[12] | 98 | 14.0% | 1,059,539 | 5.0% | 13,584 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[13] | 81 | 3.8% | 1,013,429 | −7.3% | 12,828 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[14] | 64 | 12.3% | 980,590 | −15.9% | 12,572 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[15] | 73 | −19.8% | 937,658 | −23.0% | 12,177 |
| Chicago Cubs[16] | 62 | −3.1% | 894,415 | −23.3% | 11,616 |
| Washington Senators[17] | 62 | −7.5% | 695,167 | −0.6% | 9,147 |
| Cincinnati Reds[18] | 68 | 3.0% | 588,268 | 9.2% | 7,640 |
| Boston Braves[19] | 76 | −8.4% | 487,475 | −48.4% | 6,250 |
| Philadelphia Athletics[20] | 70 | 34.6% | 465,469 | 50.2% | 5,892 |
| St. Louis Browns[21] | 52 | −10.3% | 293,790 | 18.9% | 3,815 |
- May 1 – Umpire Frank Dascoli banishes all 11 players on the Chicago Cubs bench during the fourth inning of the game against the New York Giants, after the Cubs players allegedly call Dascoli "Rabbit Ears". Bill Serena and Smoky Burgess are later allowed to return to the game to pinch hit for the Cubs.[22]
- May 15 – At Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox celebrated the franchise's 50th anniversary and honored members of the 1901 Boston Americans. Overall, 29 old-timers who played, managed, or umpired in the American League in that first year attended, including Bill Bradley, Tom Connolly, Wid Conroy, Hugh Duffy, Clark Griffith, Dummy Hoy, Connie Mack, Ollie Pickering, Billy Sullivan and Cy Young.[23][24] Eight of them participated in the first-ever game of the American League, played in Chicago on April 24, 1901. The regular game that followed the ceremony featured the 300th career home run of Ted Williams[23] in the 4th inning off Chicago White Sox pitcher Howie Judson. With the game tied at 7–7 in the top of the 11th inning, Nellie Fox hit the first homer of his six-year career[23] against reliever Ray Scarborough, to give the White Sox and reliever Harry Dorish a 9–7 victory.[25]
- July 7 – The Cincinnati Reds defeat the Chicago Cubs 8–6 — every scoring half-inning featured two runs.[26]
- September 13 – The St. Louis Cardinals become the first team in Major League history to play two different teams on the same day. Due to a rained out game, the Cardinals are forced to play the New York Giants in an afternoon game prior to their scheduled night game against the Boston Braves.[27]
- September 14 – Bob Nieman of the St. Louis Browns becomes the first player to hit two home runs in his first two at-bats.[28]
- October 1–3 – The Giants and Dodgers meet in a special three-game playoff to decide the National League pennant. Bobby Thomson's walk-off homerun at the bottom of the ninth in the third game becomes known as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World"
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