# 1952 Brooklyn Dodgers season

The 1952 Brooklyn Dodgers rebounded from the heartbreaking ending of 1951 to win the National League pennant by four games over the New York Giants. However, they dropped the World Series in seven games to the New York Yankees. Led by Gil Hodges, Jackie Robinson, and Duke Snider, the high-powered Brooklyn offense scored the most runs in the majors.

## Offseason

* October 16, 1951: Don Nicholas was purchased from the Dodgers by the Chicago White Sox.
* December 3, 1951: Toby Atwell was traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago Cubs for Carmen Mauro.
* December 6, 1951: Héctor Rodríguez was traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago White Sox for Rocky Nelson.

## Regular season

* July 24, 1952: Duke Snider hit the 100th home run of his career. It was a walk-off version in the 11th inning off Frank Smith of the Cincinnati Reds.

### Season standings

vteNational 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 |

### Record vs. opponents

1952 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BOS | BR | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL |
| Boston | — | 3–18–1 | 12–10 | 9–13 | 9–13 | 9–13 | 15–7–1 | 7–15 |
| Brooklyn | 18–3–1 | — | 13–9–1 | 17–5 | 8–14 | 10–12 | 19–3 | 11–11 |
| Chicago | 10–12 | 9–13–1 | — | 13–9 | 10–12 | 10–12 | 14–8 | 11–11 |
| Cincinnati | 13–9 | 5–17 | 9–13 | — | 6–16 | 10–12 | 16–6 | 10–12 |
| New York | 13–9 | 14–8 | 12–10 | 16–6 | — | 10–12 | 15–7 | 12–10 |
| Philadelphia | 13–9 | 12–10 | 12–10 | 12–10 | 12–10 | — | 16–6 | 10–12 |
| Pittsburgh | 7–15–1 | 3–19 | 8–14 | 6–16 | 7–15 | 6–16 | — | 5–17 |
| St. Louis | 15–7 | 11–11 | 11–11 | 12–10 | 10–12 | 12–10 | 17–5 | — |

### Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Lineup :
| # | Name | Position |
| 1 | Pee Wee Reese | SS |
| 3 | Billy Cox | 3B |
| 42 | Jackie Robinson | 2B |
| 39 | Roy Campanella | C |
| 48 | Andy Pafko | LF |
| 4 | Duke Snider | CF |
| 14 | Gil Hodges | 1B |
| 6 | Carl Furillo | RF |
| 28 | Preacher Roe | P |

### Notable transactions

* May 10, 1952: Marion Fricano was purchased from the Dodgers by the Philadelphia Athletics.
* June 9, 1952: Cal Abrams was traded by the Dodgers to the Cincinnati Reds for Rudy Rufer and cash.
* June 15, 1952: Bud Podbielan was traded by the Dodgers to the Cincinnati Reds for Bud Byerly and cash.

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Roy Campanella | 128 | 468 | 126 | .269 | 22 | 97 |
| 1B | Gil Hodges | 153 | 508 | 129 | .254 | 32 | 102 |
| 2B | Jackie Robinson | 149 | 510 | 157 | .308 | 19 | 75 |
| 3B | Billy Cox | 116 | 455 | 118 | .259 | 6 | 34 |
| SS | Pee Wee Reese | 149 | 559 | 152 | .272 | 6 | 58 |
| LF | Andy Pafko | 150 | 551 | 158 | .287 | 19 | 85 |
| CF | Duke Snider | 144 | 534 | 162 | .303 | 21 | 92 |
| RF | Carl Furillo | 134 | 425 | 105 | .247 | 8 | 59 |

#### 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 |
| George Shuba | 94 | 256 | 78 | .305 | 9 | 40 |
| Bobby Morgan | 67 | 191 | 45 | .236 | 7 | 16 |
| Rube Walker | 46 | 139 | 36 | .259 | 1 | 19 |
| Dick Williams | 36 | 68 | 21 | .309 | 0 | 11 |
| Rocky Bridges | 51 | 56 | 11 | .196 | 0 | 2 |
| Sandy Amorós | 20 | 44 | 11 | .250 | 0 | 3 |
| Rocky Nelson | 37 | 39 | 10 | .256 | 0 | 3 |
| Tommy Holmes | 31 | 36 | 4 | .111 | 0 | 1 |
| Cal Abrams | 10 | 10 | 2 | .200 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Lembo | 2 | 5 | 1 | .200 | 0 | 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 |
| Carl Erskine | 33 | 206.2 | 14 | 6 | 2.70 | 131 |
| Billy Loes | 39 | 187.1 | 13 | 8 | 2.69 | 115 |
| Ben Wade | 37 | 180.0 | 11 | 9 | 3.60 | 118 |
| Preacher Roe | 27 | 158.2 | 11 | 2 | 3.12 | 83 |

#### 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 |
| Chris Van Cuyk | 23 | 97.2 | 5 | 6 | 5.16 | 66 |
| Johnny Rutherford | 22 | 97.1 | 7 | 7 | 4.25 | 29 |
| Clem Labine | 25 | 77.0 | 8 | 4 | 5.14 | 43 |
| Ralph Branca | 16 | 61.0 | 4 | 2 | 3.84 | 26 |
| Joe Landrum | 9 | 38.0 | 1 | 3 | 5.21 | 17 |
| Johnny Schmitz | 10 | 33.1 | 1 | 1 | 4.32 | 11 |
| Ray Moore | 14 | 28.1 | 1 | 2 | 4.76 | 11 |
| Ken Lehman | 4 | 15.1 | 1 | 2 | 5.28 | 7 |
| Ron Negray | 4 | 13.0 | 0 | 0 | 3.46 | 5 |

#### 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 |
| Joe Black | 56 | 15 | 4 | 15 | 2.15 | 85 |
| Clyde King | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5.06 | 17 |
| Jim Hughes | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1.45 | 8 |
| Bud Podbielan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.00 | 1 |

## 1952 World Series
### Game 1

October 1, 1952, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York (A) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | x | 4 | 6 | 0 |
| W: Joe Black (1–0) L: Allie Reynolds (0–1) |||||||||||||
| HR: NYY – Gil McDougald (1) BRO – Jackie Robinson (1), Duke Snider (1), Pee Wee Reese (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 2

October 2, 1952, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York (A) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 0 |
| Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| W: Vic Raschi (1–0) L: Carl Erskine (0–1) |||||||||||||
| HR: NYY – Billy Martin (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 3

October 3, 1952, at Yankee Stadium in New York City
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 0 |
| New York (A) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| W: Preacher Roe (1–0) L: Ed Lopat (0–1) |||||||||||||
| HR: NYY – Yogi Berra (1), Johnny Mize (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 4

October 4, 1952, at Yankee Stadium in New York City
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| New York (A) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | x | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| W: Allie Reynolds (1–1) L: Joe Black (1–1) |||||||||||||
| HR: NYY – Johnny Mize (2) |||||||||||||

### Game 5

October 5, 1952, at Yankee Stadium in New York City
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | R | H | E |
| Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 0 |
| New York (A) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| W: Carl Erskine (1–1) L: Johnny Sain (0–1) |||||||||||||||
| HR: BRO – Duke Snider (2) NYY – Johnny Mize (3) |||||||||||||||

### Game 6

October 6, 1952, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York (A) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 1 |
| W: Vic Raschi (2–0) L: Billy Loes (0–1) S: Allie Reynolds (1) |||||||||||||
| HR: NYY – Yogi Berra (2), Mickey Mantle (1) BRO – Duke Snider (3, 4) |||||||||||||

### Game 7

October 7, 1952, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York (A) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 4 |
| Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 1 |
| W: Allie Reynolds (2–1) L: Joe Black (1–2) S: Bob Kuzava (1) |||||||||||||
| HR: NYY – Gene Woodling (1), Mickey Mantle (2) |||||||||||||

## Awards and honors

* National League Rookie of the Year
** Joe Black
* TSN Rookie of the Year Award
** Joe Black

### All-Stars

* 1952 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
** Roy Campanella starter
** Jackie Robinson starter
** Carl Furillo reserve
** Gil Hodges reserve
** Pee Wee Reese reserve
** Preacher Roe reserve
** Duke Snider reserve
* TSN Major League All-Star Team
** Jackie Robinson

### League top five finishers

Gil Hodges
* #2 in NL in walks (107)
* #3 in NL in home runs (32)
* #4 in NL in RBI (102)
Billy Loes
* #4 in NL in ERA (2.69)
Pee Wee Reese
* MLB leader in stolen bases (30)
Jackie Robinson
* MLB leader in on-base percentage (.440)
* #3 in NL in runs scored (104)
* #3 in NL in stolen bases (24)
* #3 in NL in walks (106)
* #4 in NL in batting average (.308)

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Montreal Royals | International League | Walter Alston |
| AAA | St. Paul Saints | American Association | Clay Bryant |
| AA | Ft. Worth Cats | Texas League | Bobby Bragan |
| AA | Mobile Bears | Southern Association | Ed Head |
| A | Elmira Pioneers | Eastern League | George Fallon |
| A | Pueblo Dodgers | Western League | Bill McCahan |
| B | Lancaster Red Roses | Interstate League | James Bivin |
| B | Miami Sun Sox | Florida International League | Max Macon |
| B | Newport News Dodgers | Piedmont League | Ray Hathaway |
| C | Great Falls Electrics | Pioneer League | Lou Rochelli |
| C | Greenwood Dodgers | Cotton States League | Stan Wasiak |
| C | Santa Barbara Dodgers | California League | George Scherger |
| D | Hazard Bombers | Mountain States League | Mervin Dornburg |
| D | Hornell Dodgers | Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League | Doc Alexson |
| D | Ponca City Dodgers | Kansas–Oklahoma–Missouri League | Boyd Bartley |
| D | Sheboygan Indians | Wisconsin State League | Joe Hauser |
| D | Valdosta Dodgers | Georgia–Florida League | John Angelone |