# 1957 South Atlantic League season

The 1957 South Atlantic League was a Class A baseball season played between April 18 and September 8. Eight teams played a 154-game schedule, with the top four teams qualifying for the playoffs.
The Charlotte Hornets won the South Atlantic League championship, defeating the Augusta Tigers in the final round of the playoffs.

## Team changes

* The Columbus Foxes ended their affiliation with the Baltimore Orioles and began a new affiliation with the St. Louis Cardinals.
* The Knoxville Smokies ended their affiliation with the Cleveland Indians and began a new affiliation with the Baltimore Orioles.

## Teams

1957 South Atlantic League :
| Team | City | MLB Affiliate | Stadium |
| Augusta Tigers | Augusta, Georgia | Detroit Tigers | Jennings Stadium |
| Charlotte Hornets | Charlotte, North Carolina | Washington Senators | Clark Griffith Park |
| Columbia Gems | Columbia, South Carolina | Kansas City Athletics | Capital City Stadium |
| Columbus Foxes | Columbus, Georgia | St. Louis Cardinals | Golden Park |
| Jacksonville Braves | Jacksonville, Florida | Milwaukee Braves | Jacksonville Baseball Park |
| Knoxville Smokies | Knoxville, Tennessee | Baltimore Orioles | Knoxville Municipal Stadium |
| Macon Dodgers | Macon, Georgia | Brooklyn Dodgers | Luther Williams Field |
| Savannah Redlegs | Savannah, Georgia | Cincinnati Redlegs | Grayson Stadium |

## Regular season
### Summary

* The Augusta Tigers finish the season with the best record for the first time since 1924.

### Standings

South Atlantic League :
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Augusta Tigers | 98 | 56 | .636 | – |
| Charlotte Hornets | 86 | 67 | .562 | 11.5 |
| Savannah Redlegs | 81 | 72 | .529 | 16.5 |
| Knoxville Smokies | 81 | 73 | .526 | 17 |
| Columbus Foxes | 81 | 73 | .526 | 17 |
| Jacksonville Braves | 76 | 78 | .494 | 22 |
| Columbia Gems | 59 | 95 | .383 | 39 |
| Macon Dodgers | 53 | 101 | .344 | 45 |

## League Leaders
### Batting leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Thomas St. John, Savannah Redlegs | .326 |
| H | Ray Barker, Knoxville Smokies | 174 |
| R | Curt Flood, Savannah Redlegs | 98 |
| 2B | Ray Barker, Knoxville Smokies | 40 |
| 3B | Ray Barker, Knoxville Smokies | 14 |
| HR | Ray Barker, Knoxville Smokies Lee Maye, Jacksonville Braves | 23 |
| RBI | Ray Barker, Knoxville Smokies | 97 |
| SB | Angelo Dagres, Knoxville Smokies | 31 |

### Pitching leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Artie Kay, Knoxville Smokies Angel Oliva, Charlotte Hornets Chi-Chi Olivo, Jacksonville Braves Bob Saban, Charlotte Hornets Bill Smith, Columbus Foxes | 16 |
| ERA | Ron Rozman, Augusta Tigers | 1.64 |
| CG | Robert Dobzanski, Savannah Redlegs Garland Shifflett, Charlotte Hornets Bill Smith, Columbus Foxes Ben Swaringen, Columbia Gems | 18 |
| SHO | Bill Smith, Columbus Foxes | 6 |
| IP | Bill Smith, Columbus Foxes | 242.0 |
| SO | John Smith, Savannah Redlegs | 196 |

## Playoffs

* The semi-finals are expanded to a best-of-three series.
* The Charlotte Hornets won their second South Atlantic League championship, defeating the Augusta Tigers in three games.

### Playoff bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Augusta | 2 | | | |
| 3 | Savannah | 0 | | | |
| 3 | Savannah | 0 | 1 | Augusta | 1 |
| | | | 2 | Charlotte | 2 |
| 2 | Charlotte | 2 | 2 | Charlotte | 2 |
| 4 | Knoxville | 0 | | | |