# 1952 Major League Baseball season

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

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

| League | Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Manager |
| American League | Boston Red Sox | Boston, Massachusetts | Fenway Park | 35,200 | Lou Boudreau |
| American League | Chicago White Sox | Chicago, Illinois | Comiskey Park | 47,400 | Paul Richards |
| American League | Cleveland Indians | Cleveland, Ohio | Cleveland Stadium | 73,811 | Al López |
| American League | Detroit Tigers | Detroit, Michigan | Briggs Stadium | 58,000 | Red Rolfe |
| American League | Detroit Tigers | Detroit, Michigan | Briggs Stadium | 58,000 | Fred Hutchinson |
| American League | New York Yankees | New York, New York | Yankee Stadium | 67,000 | Casey Stengel |
| American League | Philadelphia Athletics | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Shibe Park | 33,166 | Jimmy Dykes |
| American League | St. Louis Browns | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 34,000 | Rogers Hornsby |
| American League | St. Louis Browns | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 34,000 | Marty Marion |
| American League | Washington Senators | Washington, D.C. | Griffith Stadium | 29,731 | Bucky Walters |
| National League | Boston Braves | Boston, Massachusetts | Braves Field | 37,106 | Tommy Holmes |
| National League | Boston Braves | Boston, Massachusetts | Braves Field | 37,106 | Charlie Grimm |
| National League | Brooklyn Dodgers | New York, New York | Ebbets Field | 32,111 | Chuck Dressen |
| National League | Chicago Cubs | Chicago, Illinois | Wrigley Field | 36,755 | Phil Cavarretta |
| National League | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Crosley Field | 29,980 | Luke Sewell |
| National League | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Crosley Field | 29,980 | Rogers Hornsby |
| National League | New York Giants | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 54,500 | Leo Durocher |
| National League | Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Shibe Park | 33,166 | Eddie Sawyer |
| National League | Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Shibe Park | 33,166 | Steve O'Neill |
| National League | Pittsburgh Pirates | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Forbes Field | 33,730 | Billy Meyer |
| National League | St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 34,000 | Eddie Stanky |

## Standings
### American League

vteAmerican 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

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 |

## Postseason
### Bracket

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

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| 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

| 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
### American League

Hitting leaders :
| 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 :
| 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

Hitting leaders :
| 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 :
| 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
### Regular season

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) |

### Other awards

* Babe Ruth Award (World Series MVP): Johnny Mize (NYY)
The Sporting News Awards :
| Award | National League | American League |
| Player of the Year | Robin Roberts (PHP) | — |
| Pitcher of the Year | Robin Roberts (PHP) | Bobby Shantz (CLE) |
| Rookie of the Year | Joe Black (BKN) | Clint Courtney (SLB) |
| Manager of the Year | Eddie Stanky (SLC) | — |
| Executive of the Year | — | George Weiss (NYY) |

### Baseball Hall of Fame

* Harry Heilmann
* Paul Waner

## Home field attendance

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

## Retired numbers

* Honus Wagner had his No. 33 retired by the Pittsburgh Pirates on February 16. This was the first number retired by the team.
* Joe DiMaggio had his No. 5 retired by the New York Yankees on April 18. This was the third number retired by the team.

## Events

* April 23 – Bob Cain of the St. Louis Browns bested Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians in matching one-hitters, 1–0, at Sportsman's Park. This was only the second double one-hitter in the modern era (since 1901).
* June 22 – Boston Braves player Sid Gordon hits a two-run homer over the left field fence at Braves Field. His homer won Gordon the prize of a 100-pound bear cub for being the first Braves player to homer on "State of Maine Day". After the game, Gordon was presented with the animal in the Braves clubhouse.
* August 23 – Bob Elliott of the New York Giants is ejected for arguing a strike call during an at-bat against the St. Louis Cardinals at Sportsman's Park. Bobby Hofman completes Elliott's at-bat. Hofman strikes out and is also ejected for arguing.