# 1956 Major League Baseball season

The 1956 major league baseball season began on April 17, 1956. The regular season ended on September 30, with the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. In a rematch of the previous season, the postseason began with Game 1 of the 53rd World Series on October 3 and ended with Game 7 on October 10. The series is notable for Yankees pitcher Don Larsen's perfect game in Game 5. In the seventh iteration of this Subway Series World Series matchup (and a rematch of the previous year), the Yankees defeated the Dodgers, four games to three, capturing their 17th championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1953. This would be the final Subway Series matchup between the two teams, as the next World Series between the two in 1963 would see a relocated Dodgers franchise in Los Angeles, California. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Brooklyn Dodgers from the 1955 season.
The 23rd Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 10 at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., home of the Washington Senators. The National League won, 7–3.

## Schedule

The 1956 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 17, featuring all sixteen teams, the first time since 1954. The final day of the regular season was on September 30, which also saw all sixteen teams play, continuing the trend from the previous season. This was the first time since 1950 that all sixteen teams played their first and last games on the same days. The World Series took place between October 3 and October 10.

## 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 | 29,584 | Birdie Tebbetts |
| National League | Milwaukee Braves | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Milwaukee County Stadium | 43,117 | Charlie Grimm |
| National League | Milwaukee Braves | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Milwaukee County Stadium | 43,117 | Fred Haney |
| National League | New York Giants | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 54,500 | Bill Rigney |
| National League | Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Connie Mack Stadium | 33,359 | Mayo Smith |
| National League | Pittsburgh Pirates | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Forbes Field | 34,249 | Bobby Bragan |
| National League | St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis, Missouri | Busch Stadium | 30,500 | Fred Hutchinson |

## Standings
### American League

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| New York Yankees | 97 | 57 | .630 | — | 49‍–‍28 | 48‍–‍29 |
| Cleveland Indians | 88 | 66 | .571 | 9 | 46‍–‍31 | 42‍–‍35 |
| Chicago White Sox | 85 | 69 | .552 | 12 | 46‍–‍31 | 39‍–‍38 |
| Boston Red Sox | 84 | 70 | .545 | 13 | 43‍–‍34 | 41‍–‍36 |
| Detroit Tigers | 82 | 72 | .532 | 15 | 37‍–‍40 | 45‍–‍32 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 69 | 85 | .448 | 28 | 41‍–‍36 | 28‍–‍49 |
| Washington Senators | 59 | 95 | .383 | 38 | 32‍–‍45 | 27‍–‍50 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 52 | 102 | .338 | 45 | 22‍–‍55 | 30‍–‍47 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 93 | 61 | .604 | — | 52‍–‍25 | 41‍–‍36 |
| Milwaukee Braves | 92 | 62 | .597 | 1 | 47‍–‍29 | 45‍–‍33 |
| Cincinnati Redlegs | 91 | 63 | .591 | 2 | 51‍–‍26 | 40‍–‍37 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 76 | 78 | .494 | 17 | 43‍–‍34 | 33‍–‍44 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 71 | 83 | .461 | 22 | 40‍–‍37 | 31‍–‍46 |
| New York Giants | 67 | 87 | .435 | 26 | 37‍–‍40 | 30‍–‍47 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 66 | 88 | .429 | 27 | 35‍–‍43 | 31‍–‍45 |
| Chicago Cubs | 60 | 94 | .390 | 33 | 39‍–‍38 | 21‍–‍56 |

## 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 |
| New York Giants | Leo Durocher | Bill Rigney |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Fred Haney | Bobby Bragan |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Harry Walker | Fred Hutchinson |

### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Milwaukee Braves | Charlie Grimm | Fred Haney |

## League leaders
### American League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Mickey Mantle$^1$ (NYY) | .353 |
| OPS | Mickey Mantle (NYY) | 1.169 |
| HR | Mickey Mantle$^1$ (NYY) | 52 |
| RBI | Mickey Mantle$^1$ (NYY) | 130 |
| R | Mickey Mantle (NYY) | 132 |
| H | Harvey Kuenn (DET) | 196 |
| SB | Luis Aparicio (CWS) | 21 |
$^1$ American League Triple Crown batting winner
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Frank Lary (DET) | 21 |
| L | Art Ditmar (KC) | 22 |
| ERA | Whitey Ford (NYY) | 2.47 |
| K | Herb Score (CLE) | 263 |
| IP | Frank Lary (DET) | 294.0 |
| SV | George Zuverink (BAL) | 16 |
| WHIP | Dick Donovan (CWS) | 1.155 |

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Hank Aaron (MIL) | .328 |
| OPS | Duke Snider (BKN) | .997 |
| HR | Duke Snider (BKN) | 43 |
| RBI | Stan Musial (STL) | 109 |
| R | Frank Robinson (CIN) | 122 |
| H | Hank Aaron (MIL) | 200 |
| SB | Willie Mays (NYG) | 40 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Don Newcombe (BKN) | 27 |
| L | Ron Kline (PIT) Robin Roberts (PHI) | 18 |
| ERA | Lew Burdette (MIL) | 2.70 |
| K | Sam Jones (CHC) | 176 |
| IP | Bob Friend (PIT) | 314.1 |
| SV | Clem Labine (BKN) | 19 |
| WHIP | Don Newcombe (BKN) | 0.989 |

## Milestones
### Batters

* Mickey Mantle (NYY):
** Won the Major League Triple Crown by leading both leagues in batting average (.353), home runs (52), and runs batted in (130).

### Pitchers
#### Perfect games

* Don Larsen (NYY)
** Pitched the sixth perfect game in Major League history and the first in franchise history on October 8, in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers. It remains the only perfect game in World Series history. Larsen threw 97 pitches, 71 for strikes, and struck out seven in the 2–0 victory.

#### No-hitters

* Carl Erskine (BKN):
** Erskine threw the 12th no-hitter in franchise history, and the first since 1952 (when Erskine threw his first no-hitter), by defeating the New York Giants 3–0 on May 12. Erskine threw 102 pitches, 66 of them for strikes, while walking two and striking out three.
* Mel Parnell (BOS):
** Parnell threw the 11th no-hitter in franchise history, and the first since 1923, by defeating the Chicago White Sox 4–0 on July 14. Parnell walked two and struck out 4.
* Sal Maglie (BKN):
** Maglie threw the 13th no-hitter in franchise history, and the Dodgers' second of the season, by defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 5–0 on September 25. Maglie threw 110 pitches, 71 of them for strikes, while walking two and striking out three.

#### Other pitching accomplishments

* On June 21, Jack Harshman of the Chicago White Sox defeats Connie Johnson of the Baltimore Orioles 1–0, at Comiskey Park in which both pitchers throw matching one-hitters. This game was only the third double one-hitter thrown in the modern era (since 1901).

### Miscellaneous

* New York Yankees:
** Set a Major League record by leaving 20 players on base on September 21 against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
* Umpire Ed Rommel was the first umpire to wear glasses in a Major League game on April 18. The game was played between the New York Yankees and the Washington Senators.
* December 6–8 – Major League owners meet in Chicago. Cleveland general manager and minority-owner Hank Greenberg proposed implementing limited interleague play beginning in 1958. Under Greenberg's proposal, each team would continue to play 154-games in a season, 126 of which would be within their league, and 28 against the eight clubs in the other league. The interleague games would all be played during a period immediately following the All-Star Game. The proposal was not adopted.

## Awards and honors
### Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards :
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Rookie of the Year | Frank Robinson (CIN) | Luis Aparicio (CWS) |
| Cy Young Award | — | Don Newcombe (BKN) |
| Most Valuable Player | Don Newcombe (BKN) | Mickey Mantle (NYY) |

### Other awards

* Sport Magazine's World Series Most Valuable Player Award: Don Larsen (NYY)
* Babe Ruth Award (BBWAA World Series MVP): Don Larsen (NYY)
The Sporting News Awards :
| Award | National League | American League |
| Player of the Year | — | Mickey Mantle (NYY) |
| Pitcher of the Year | Don Newcombe (BKN) | Billy Pierce (CWS) |
| Rookie of the Year | Frank Robinson (CIN) | Luis Aparicio (CWS) |
| Manager of the Year | Birdie Tebbetts (CIN) | — |
| Executive of the Year | Gabe Paul (CIN) | — |

### Baseball Hall of Fame

* Hank Greenberg
* Joe Cronin

## Home field attendance

| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
| Milwaukee Braves | 92 | 8.2% | 2,046,331 | 2.0% | 26,576 |
| New York Yankees | 97 | 1.0% | 1,491,784 | 0.1% | 19,374 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 93 | −5.1% | 1,213,562 | 17.4% | 15,761 |
| Boston Red Sox | 84 | 0.0% | 1,137,158 | −5.5% | 14,579 |
| Cincinnati Redlegs | 91 | 21.3% | 1,125,928 | 62.3% | 14,622 |
| Detroit Tigers | 82 | 3.8% | 1,051,182 | −11.1% | 13,477 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 76 | 11.8% | 1,029,773 | 21.3% | 13,202 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 52 | −17.5% | 1,015,154 | −27.1% | 13,184 |
| Chicago White Sox | 85 | −6.6% | 1,000,090 | −14.9% | 12,988 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 66 | 10.0% | 949,878 | 102.4% | 12,178 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 71 | −7.8% | 934,798 | 1.3% | 12,140 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 69 | 21.1% | 901,201 | 5.8% | 11,704 |
| Cleveland Indians | 88 | −5.4% | 865,467 | −29.2% | 11,240 |
| Chicago Cubs | 60 | −16.7% | 720,118 | −17.8% | 9,001 |
| New York Giants | 67 | −16.3% | 629,179 | −23.7% | 8,171 |
| Washington Senators | 59 | 11.3% | 431,647 | 1.5% | 5,606 |

## Television coverage

CBS aired the Saturday Game of the Week for the second consecutive year. The All-Star Game and World Series aired on NBC.

## Retired numbers

* Bob Feller had his No. 19 retired by the Cleveland Indians on December 28. This was the first number retired by the team.