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 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 season (except for ) and would be used until in the American League and 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 . The World Series took place between October 1 and October 7.

Rule changes The 1952 season saw the following rule changes: The Open Classification level was created specifically for the Pacific Coast League (PCL), a level of play between Triple-A and major-league (this level of play would be eliminated following the PCL's reversion to Triple-A in ). Unlike other levels of the minor league, having an Open Classification came with the following stipulations: Players at the Open Classification would be excluded from the draft if they waived their selection rights or had less than five years of service. The draft price for an Open Classification player would be $15,000 () instead of the $10,000 () price tag on Triple-A players. To achieve Open Classification, a league had to show an aggregate population of 10 million, have an aggregate park capacity of 120,000, and average a paid attendance of 2,250,000 for the preceding five years. An 11-step process was established for a league to reach major-league status: Any group of eight teams mutually agreeing to all requirements and responsibilities as provided under the proposed regulations must apply to the major-league Executive Council. The eight teams are responsible for all necessary territorial indemnities and financial obligations. The teams must present with their application complete data establishing their ability to meet the requirements for advanced status, including a full statement of stock ownership, financial ability, and character, both for the group and its individual members. The proposed league shall show an aggregate population of 15 million in the eight cities. Each team shall have a potential capacity of at least 25,000 in its ballpark. They shall have had an average total paid attendance of 3.5 million over a three-year period preceding the application. They shall provide a balanced schedule of at least 154 games. They shall adopt the major-league minimum-salary agreement with no maximum salary limitations. They will become parties to the Major League Agreement and the Major-Minor League Agreement. They will accept the uniform major-league player’s contract and agreement. They will join in the players’ pension plan or adopt a comparable plan. They shall apply for major-league status at least six months before the meeting at which the application must be considered, and at least 10 months before the opening of the season in which they hope to participate under major-league status. A new rule regarding high-school players was approved. Players could be contacted at any time, but could not sign until their high-school eligibility expired. Any student who dropped out of high school before their eligibility expired must sit out one year before being eligible to sign. Previously, the rules regarding high-school players was that a player could not be signed until they had received their degree or their class graduated was eliminated. Major-league players now have the right to have a liaison in the commissioner's office. The liaison would be a full-time representative and serve as a clearinghouse for any player problems that might arise.

Teams LeagueTeamCityBallparkCapacityManagerBoston Red SoxBoston, MassachusettsFenway Park35,200Chicago White SoxChicago, IllinoisComiskey Park47,400Cleveland IndiansCleveland, OhioCleveland Stadium73,811Detroit TigersDetroit, MichiganBriggs Stadium58,000New York YankeesNew York, New YorkYankee Stadium67,000Philadelphia AthleticsPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaShibe Park33,166St. Louis BrownsSt. Louis, MissouriSportsman's Park34,000Washington SenatorsWashington, D.C.Griffith Stadium29,731Boston BravesBoston, MassachusettsBraves Field37,106Brooklyn DodgersNew York, New YorkEbbets Field32,111Chicago CubsChicago, IllinoisWrigley Field36,755Cincinnati RedsCincinnati, OhioCrosley Field29,980New York GiantsNew York, New YorkPolo Grounds54,500Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaShibe Park33,166Pittsburgh PiratesPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaForbes Field33,730St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis, MissouriSportsman's Park34,000

Standings

American League

National League

Tie games 8 tie games (5 in AL, 3 in NL), which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again) occurred throughout the season.

American League Chicago White Sox, 2 Cleveland Indians, 1 Detroit Tigers, 2 Philadelphia Athletics, 1 St. Louis Browns, 1 Washington Senators, 3

National League Boston Braves, 2 Brooklyn Dodgers, 2 Chicago Cubs, 1 Pittsburgh Pirates, 1

Postseason The postseason began on October 1 and ended on October 7 with the New York Yankees defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1952 World Series in seven games.

Bracket

Managerial changes Off-season Team Former Manager New ManagerBoston Red Sox Steve O'NeillLou BoudreauSt. Louis BrownsZack TaylorRogers HornsbySt. Louis CardinalsMarty MarionEddie Stanky

In-season Team Former Manager New ManagerBoston BravesTommy HolmesCharlie GrimmCincinnati RedsLuke SewellRogers HornsbyDetroit TigersRed RolfeFred HutchinsonPhiladelphia PhilliesEddie SawyerSteve O'NeillSt. Louis BrownsRogers HornsbyMarty 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 (STL) .336 OPS Stan Musial (STL) .970 HR Ralph Kiner (PIT)Hank Sauer (CHC) 37 RBI Hank Sauer (CHC) 121 R Solly Hemus (STL)Stan Musial (STL) 105 H Stan Musial (STL) 194 SB Pee Wee Reese (BRO) 30

+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W Robin Roberts (PHI) 28 L Murry Dickson (PIT) 21 ERA Hoyt Wilhelm (NYG) 2.43 K Warren Spahn (BSN) 183 IP Robin Roberts (PHI) 330.0 SV Al Brazle (STL) 16 WHIP Warren Hacker (CHC) 0.946

Milestones Batters Cycles

Larry Doby (CLE): Doby hit for his first cycle and fourth in franchise history, on June 4 against the Boston Red Sox.

Pitchers No-hitters

Virgil Trucks (DET): Truck threw his first career no-hitter and second no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Washington Senators 1–0 on May 15. Trucks walked one, hit two by pitch, and struck out seven. Trucks threw his second career no-hitter and third no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the New York Yankees 1–0 on August 25. Trucks walked one and struck out eight. Carl Erskine (BRO): Erskine threw his first career no-hitter and 11th no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Chicago Cubs 5–0 on June 19. Erskine walked one and struck out one, throwing 63 strikes on 103 pitches.

Miscellaneous Brooklyn Dodgers: Set a modern (1900–present) major league record for most runs scored in the first inning, by scoring 15 runs against the Cincinnati Reds on May 21.

Awards and honors Regular season Baseball Writers' Association of America AwardsBBWAA AwardNational LeagueAmerican LeagueRookie of the Year Joe Black (BRO) Harry Byrd (PHA)Most Valuable Player Hank Sauer (CHC) Bobby Shantz (PHA)Babe Ruth Award(World Series MVP) — Johnny Mize (NYY)

Other awards The Sporting News Awards Award National League American League Player of the Year Robin Roberts (PHI) — Pitcher of the Year Robin Roberts (PHI) Bobby Shantz (CLE) Rookie of the Year Joe Black (BRO) Clint Courtney (SLB) Manager of the Year Eddie Stanky (STL) — Executive of the Year — George Weiss (NYY)

Baseball Hall of Fame

Harry Heilmann Paul Waner

Home field attendance Team nameWinsHome attendanceNew York Yankees95 −3.1%1,629,665 −16.4%21,164Cleveland Indians930.0%1,444,607 −15.3%18,761Chicago White Sox810.0%1,231,675 −7.3%15,591Boston Red Sox76 −12.6%1,115,750 −15.0%14,490Brooklyn Dodgers96 −1.0%1,088,704 −15.1%13,609Detroit Tigers50 −31.5%1,026,846 −9.3%13,336Chicago Cubs7724.2%1,024,82614.6%13,309New York Giants92 −6.1%984,940 −7.0%12,791St. Louis Cardinals888.6%913,113 −9.9%11,859Philadelphia Phillies8719.2%755,417 −19.4%9,940Washington Senators7825.8%699,4570.6%8,967Pittsburgh Pirates42 −34.4%686,673 −30.0%8,918Philadelphia Athletics7912.9%627,10034.7%8,040Cincinnati Reds691.5%604,1972.7%7,847St. Louis Browns6423.1%518,79676.6%6,651Boston Braves64 −15.8%281,278 −42.3%3,653

Venues The Boston Braves would play their last game at Braves Field on September 21 against the Brooklyn Dodgers, relocating to Milwaukee, Wisconsin at Milwaukee County Stadium as the Milwaukee Braves for the start of the season.

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.

See also 1952 in baseball (Events, Movies, Births, Deaths) 1952 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season 1952 Nippon Professional Baseball season

References

External links

1952 Major League Schedule at Baseball Reference