# 1955 Major League Baseball season

The 1955 major league baseball season began on April 11, 1955. The regular season ended on September 25, 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 52nd World Series on September 28 and ended with Game 7 on October 4. In the sixth iteration of this Subway Series World Series matchup, The Dodgers defeated the Yankees, four games to three, capturing their first championship in franchise history. This was the first World Series between the two teams to see the Dodgers win over the Yankees. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the New York Giants from the 1954 season.
The 22nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 12 at Milwaukee County Stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, home of the Milwaukee Braves. The National League won, 6–5.
In a continuation of the relocation trend that began in 1953, a team moved for the third consecutive year.
The Athletics moved from Philadelphia to Kansas City, Missouri, leaving Philadelphia as a one-team city.
On April 14, the New York Yankees became the 13th team to break baseball’s color line when they called up Elston Howard.

## Schedule

The 1955 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 11, featuring four teams. The final day of the regular season was on September 25, which saw all sixteen teams play, the first time since 1953. The World Series took place between September 28 and October 4.

## Teams

| League | Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Manager |
| American League | Baltimore Orioles | Baltimore, Maryland | Baltimore Memorial Stadium | 47,866 | Paul Richards |
| American League | Boston Red Sox | Boston, Massachusetts | Fenway Park | 34,824 | Pinky Higgins |
| American League | Chicago White Sox | Chicago, Illinois | Comiskey Park | 46,550 | Marty Marion |
| American League | Cleveland Indians | Cleveland, Ohio | Cleveland Stadium | 73,811 | Al López |
| American League | Detroit Tigers | Detroit, Michigan | Briggs Stadium | 58,000 | Bucky Harris |
| American League | Kansas City Athletics | Kansas City, Missouri | Municipal Stadium | 30,296 | Lou Boudreau |
| American League | New York Yankees | New York, New York | Yankee Stadium | 67,000 | Casey Stengel |
| American League | Washington Senators | Washington, D.C. | Griffith Stadium | 29,023 | Chuck Dressen |
| National League | Brooklyn Dodgers | New York, New York | Ebbets Field | 31,902 | Walter Alston |
| National League | Chicago Cubs | Chicago, Illinois | Wrigley Field | 36,755 | Stan Hack |
| National League | Cincinnati Redlegs | Cincinnati, Ohio | Crosley Field | 29,439 | Birdie Tebbetts |
| National League | Milwaukee Braves | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Milwaukee County Stadium | 44,091 | Charlie Grimm |
| National League | New York Giants | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 54,500 | Leo Durocher |
| National League | Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Connie Mack Stadium | 33,166 | Mayo Smith |
| National League | Pittsburgh Pirates | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Forbes Field | 34,249 | Fred Haney |
| National League | St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis, Missouri | Busch Stadium | 30,500 | Eddie Stanky |
| National League | St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis, Missouri | Busch Stadium | 30,500 | Harry Walker |

## Standings
### American League

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| New York Yankees | 96 | 58 | .623 | — | 52‍–‍25 | 44‍–‍33 |
| Cleveland Indians | 93 | 61 | .604 | 3 | 49‍–‍28 | 44‍–‍33 |
| Chicago White Sox | 91 | 63 | .591 | 5 | 49‍–‍28 | 42‍–‍35 |
| Boston Red Sox | 84 | 70 | .545 | 12 | 47‍–‍31 | 37‍–‍39 |
| Detroit Tigers | 79 | 75 | .513 | 17 | 46‍–‍31 | 33‍–‍44 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 63 | 91 | .409 | 33 | 33‍–‍43 | 30‍–‍48 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 57 | 97 | .370 | 39 | 30‍–‍47 | 27‍–‍50 |
| Washington Senators | 53 | 101 | .344 | 43 | 28‍–‍49 | 25‍–‍52 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 98 | 55 | .641 | — | 56‍–‍21 | 42‍–‍34 |
| Milwaukee Braves | 85 | 69 | .552 | 13½ | 46‍–‍31 | 39‍–‍38 |
| New York Giants | 80 | 74 | .519 | 18½ | 44‍–‍35 | 36‍–‍39 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 77 | 77 | .500 | 21½ | 46‍–‍31 | 31‍–‍46 |
| Cincinnati Redlegs | 75 | 79 | .487 | 23½ | 46‍–‍31 | 29‍–‍48 |
| Chicago Cubs | 72 | 81 | .471 | 26 | 43‍–‍33 | 29‍–‍48 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 68 | 86 | .442 | 30½ | 41‍–‍36 | 27‍–‍50 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 60 | 94 | .390 | 38½ | 36‍–‍39 | 24‍–‍55 |

## Postseason
### Bracket

| World Series | World Series | World Series |
| AL | New York Yankees | 3 |
| NL | Brooklyn Dodgers | 4 |

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Baltimore Orioles | Jimmy Dykes | Paul Richards |
| Boston Red Sox | Lou Boudreau | Pinky Higgins |
| Detroit Tigers | Fred Hutchinson | Bucky Harris |
| Kansas City Athletics | Eddie Joost | Lou Boudreau |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Terry Moore | Mayo Smith |
| Washington Senators | Bucky Harris | Chuck Dressen |

### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Eddie Stanky | Harry Walker |

## League leaders
### American League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Al Kaline (DET) | .340 |
| OPS | Mickey Mantle (NYY) | 1.042 |
| HR | Mickey Mantle (NYY) | 37 |
| RBI | Ray Boone (DET) Jackie Jensen (BOS) | 116 |
| R | Al Smith (CLE) | 123 |
| H | Al Kaline (DET) | 200 |
| SB | Jim Rivera (CWS) | 25 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Whitey Ford (NYY) Bob Lemon (CLE) Frank Sullivan (BOS) | 18 |
| L | Jim Wilson (BAL) | 18 |
| ERA | Billy Pierce (CWS) | 1.97 |
| K | Herb Score (CLE) | 245 |
| IP | Frank Sullivan (BOS) | 260.0 |
| SV | Ray Narleski (CLE) | 19 |
| WHIP | Billy Pierce (CWS) | 1.099 |

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Richie Ashburn (PHI) | .338 |
| OPS | Willie Mays (NYG) | 1.059 |
| HR | Willie Mays (NYG) | 51 |
| RBI | Duke Snider (BKN) | 136 |
| R | Duke Snider (BKN) | 126 |
| H | Ted Kluszewski (CIN) | 192 |
| SB | Bill Bruton (MIL) | 25 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Robin Roberts (PHI) | 23 |
| L | Sam Jones (CHC) | 20 |
| ERA | Bob Friend (PIT) | 2.83 |
| K | Sam Jones (CHC) | 198 |
| IP | Robin Roberts (PHI) | 305.0 |
| SV | Jack Meyer (PHI) | 16 |
| WHIP | Don Newcombe (BKN) | 1.113 |

## Awards and honors
### Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards :
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Rookie of the Year | Bill Virdon (STL) | Herb Score (CLE) |
| Most Valuable Player | Roy Campanella (BKN) | Yogi Berra (NYY) |

### Other awards

* Sport Magazine's World Series Most Valuable Player Award: Johnny Podres (BKN)
* Babe Ruth Award (BBWAA World Series MVP): Johnny Podres (BKN)
The Sporting News Awards :
| Award | National League | American League |
| Player of the Year | Duke Snider (BKN) | — |
| Pitcher of the Year | Robin Roberts (PHI) | Whitey Ford (NYY) |
| Rookie of the Year | Bill Virdon (STL) | Herb Score (CLE) |
| Manager of the Year | Walter Alston (BKN) | — |
| Executive of the Year | Walter O'Malley (BKN) | — |

### Baseball Hall of Fame

* Joe DiMaggio
* Ted Lyons
* Dazzy Vance
* Gabby Hartnett
* Frank Baker
* Ray Schalk

## Home field attendance

| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
| Milwaukee Braves | 85 | −4.5% | 2,005,836 | −5.9% | 26,050 |
| New York Yankees | 96 | −6.8% | 1,490,138 | 1.0% | 19,352 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 63 | 23.5% | 1,393,054 | 357.2% | 18,330 |
| Cleveland Indians | 93 | −16.2% | 1,221,780 | −8.5% | 15,867 |
| Boston Red Sox | 84 | 21.7% | 1,203,200 | 29.2% | 15,426 |
| Detroit Tigers | 79 | 16.2% | 1,181,838 | 9.4% | 15,349 |
| Chicago White Sox | 91 | −3.2% | 1,175,684 | −4.5% | 15,269 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 98 | 6.5% | 1,033,589 | 1.3% | 13,423 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 77 | 2.7% | 922,886 | 24.9% | 11,986 |
| Chicago Cubs | 72 | 12.5% | 875,800 | 17.1% | 11,374 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 57 | 5.6% | 852,039 | −19.7% | 10,785 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 68 | −5.6% | 849,130 | −18.3% | 11,028 |
| New York Giants | 80 | −17.5% | 824,112 | −28.7% | 10,432 |
| Cincinnati Redlegs | 75 | 1.4% | 693,662 | −1.5% | 9,009 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 60 | 13.2% | 469,397 | −1.3% | 6,259 |
| Washington Senators | 53 | −19.7% | 425,238 | −15.6% | 5,523 |

## Television coverage

The Game of the Week moved from ABC to CBS (the rights were actually set up through the Falstaff Brewing Corporation).
The All-Star Game and World Series aired on NBC.