Champions
Major League Baseball World Series: New York Giants over Cleveland Indians (4–0) All-Star Game, July 13 at Cleveland Stadium: American League, 11–9
Other champions All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: Kalamazoo Lassies College World Series: Missouri Japan Series: Chunichi Dragons over Nishitetsu Lions (4–3) Little League World Series: National, Schenectady, New York Winter Leagues 1954 Caribbean Series: Criollos de Caguas Cuban League: Alacranes del Almendares Dominican Republic League: Estrellas Orientales Mexican Pacific League: Venados de Mazatlán Panamanian League: Carta Vieja Yankees Puerto Rican League: Criollos de Caguas Venezuelan League: Pastora de Occidente
Awards and honors Baseball Hall of Fame Rabbit Maranville Bill Dickey Bill Terry MLB Most Valuable Player Award Willie Mays (NYG, National) Yogi Berra (NYY, American) MLB Rookie of the Year Award Wally Moon (STL, National) Bob Grim (NYY, American) The Sporting News Player of the Year Award Willie Mays (NYG) The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Award Johnny Antonelli (NYG, National) Bob Lemon (CLE, American)
The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award Wally Moon (STL, National) Bob Grim (NYY, American) The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award Leo Durocher (NYG)
Statistical leaders American LeagueNational League Stat Player Total Player Total AVG Bobby Ávila (CLE) .341 Willie Mays (NYG) .345 HR Larry Doby (CLE) 32 Ted Kluszewski (CIN) 49 RBI Larry Doby (CLE) 126 Ted Kluszewski (CIN) 141 W Bob Lemon (CLE)Early Wynn (CLE) 23 Robin Roberts (PHI) 23 ERA Mike Garcia (CLE) 2.64 Johnny Antonelli (NYG) 2.30 K Bob Turley (BAL) 185 Robin Roberts (PHI) 185
Major league baseball final standings American League final standings
National League final standings
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League final standings RankTeamWLPct.GB1 Fort Wayne Daisies 54 40 .574 —2 South Bend Blue Sox 48 44 .522 53 Grand Rapids Chicks 46 45 .505 6½4 Kalamazoo Lassies 48 48 .500 75 Rockford Peaches 37 55 .402 16
Nippon Professional Baseball final standings Central League final standings Central League G W L T Pct. GBChunichi Dragons 130 86 40 4 .683 —Yomiuri Giants 130 82 47 1 .636 5.5Osaka Tigers 130 71 57 2 .555 16.0Hiroshima Carp 130 56 69 5 .448 29.5Kokutetsu Swallows 130 55 73 2 .430 32.0Yosho Robins 130 32 96 2 .250 55.0
Pacific League final standings Pacific League G W L T Pct. GBNishitetsu Lions 140 90 47 3 .657 —Nankai Hawks 140 91 49 0 .650 0.5Mainichi Orions 140 79 57 4 .581 10.5Kintetsu Pearls 140 74 63 3 .540 16.0Hankyu Braves 140 66 70 4 .485 23.5Takahashi Unions 140 53 84 3 .387 37.0Toei Flyers 140 52 86 2 .377 38.5Daiei Stars 140 43 92 5 .319 46.0
Events January
January 12 – The International League makes two franchise shifts, as the Triple-A Baltimore Orioles team is transferred south to become the Richmond Virginians, while the Springfield Cubs move to Cuba's capital, becoming the Havana Sugar Kings. The Springfield/Havana franchise is the successor of the Newark Bears, who played from 1912–1919 and 1921–1949 in the International circuit. January 13 – The Philadelphia Phillies acquire veteran right-handed pitcher Murry Dickson from the Pittsburgh Pirates for pitcher Andy Hansen, infielder Jack Lohrke and $70,000. January 14 – Former New York Yankees great Joe DiMaggio marries actress Marilyn Monroe in San Francisco. January 20 – The Cleveland Indians and Washington Senators trade veteran catchers, with Joe Tipton going to Washington in exchange for Mickey Grasso. January 26 – The St. Louis Cardinals acquire first baseman Tom Alston from San Diego of the Open-Classification Pacific Coast League for pitcher Eddie Erautt, first baseman/outfielder Dick Sisler and $100,000. Alston, 27, will break the Cardinals' color line by becoming the club's first black player on April 13, 1954.
February February 1 – A major trade shakes up the National League. The New York Giants obtain southpaw pitchers Johnny Antonelli and Don Liddle, backup catcher Ebba St. Claire, infielder Billy Klaus and $50,000 from the Milwaukee Braves for outfielder Bobby Thomson—a Polo Grounds hero famous for authoring the Giants' pennant-winning three-run home run in 1951, known as the Shot Heard 'Round the World—and backup catcher Sam Calderone. The deal has a massive, immediate impact when Antonelli goes 21–7 and tops the NL in earned run average (2.30) to help lead the 1954 Giants to the NL championship, then he and Liddle start and win games in New York's four-game sweep of the Cleveland Indians in the 1954 World Series. February 2 – The newly relocated Baltimore Orioles unconditionally release all-time great hurler Satchel Paige, who went 3–9 (3.53 ERA) with 11 saves in 57 games at age 47 for the 1953 St. Louis Browns. The release does not end Paige's remarkable career, however: in , at 59, he will return to the majors for the Kansas City Athletics and throw three shutout innings against the Boston Red Sox. February 5 – The Orioles continue to shed members of the 1953 Browns, sending infielder Johnny Lipon and outfielder Johnny Groth to the Chicago White Sox for infielder Neil Berry and outfielder Sam Mele. February 10 – The Milwaukee Braves trade former All-Star and no-hit pitcher Vern Bickford to the Baltimore Orioles for rookie catcher Charlie White and $10,000. February 13 – The Chicago White Sox trade left-handed pitcher Gene Bearden to the Seattle Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League for shortstop Alex Garbowski and minor-league hurler Art DelDuca. The trade signals the end of Bearden's MLB career; as a rookie, he had pitched the 1948 Cleveland Indians to a pennant and World Series championship. February 18 – The Washington Senators obtain future American League All-Star first baseman Roy Sievers from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for left fielder Gil Coan. February 19 The Brooklyn Dodgers sign 19-year-old Puerto Rican amateur free agent Roberto Clemente to a contract worth $5,000, plus a $10,000 signing bonus. In so doing, they beat out a number of other clubs in the Clemente sweepstakes, outspending their cross-river rivals New York Giants and New York Yankees, as well as the Milwaukee Braves. The Dodgers assign Clemente immediately to the Triple-A Montreal Royals. There, the future Hall of Fame right fielder will put up decent numbers in 1954, posting a .257/.286/.372 batting line with ten extra base hits and one stolen base in 155 plate appearances. But, unfortunately for the Dodgers, Clemente will never play a game for their big-league team: Brooklyn leaves him exposed to the 1954 Rule 5 draft, where he will be selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates.Roberto Clemente article. SABR Biography Project. Retrieved on March 3, 2018. The Cleveland Indians obtain veteran outfielder Dave Philley from the Philadelphia Athletics for two rookie pitchers, Lee Wheat and Bill Upton, and $15,000. February 22 – Puerto Rico clinches its second straight Caribbean Series when its champions, the Criollos de Caguas, win their fourth game in five outings, and Panama tops Cuba. February 23 – The New York Yankees part company with "The Springfield Rifle," right-handed pitcher Vic Raschi, selling his contract to the St. Louis Cardinals for $85,000. Raschi, almost 35, spent all or part of eight seasons with the Bombers, going 120–50 (a winning percentage of .706) with a 3.47 earned run average in 218 American League games; he won 20 or more games for three straight seasons (1949–1951), made four All-Star teams, and led AL hurlers in strikeouts (1951). A six-time World Series champion, Raschi went 5–3 (2.24 ERA) in 11 Fall Classic games, eight of them starting assignments.
March March 13 – Milwaukee Braves outfielder Bobby Thomson breaks his ankle while sliding into a base during a spring training game. Thomson will be out of the Braves' lineup until July 14. In between, he is immediately replaced by a promising prospect named Hank Aaron.Bobby Thomson Fractures Ankle. Rare Newspapers website. Retrieved on March 14, 2018.Newly acquired Bobby Thomson of the Braves breaks his ankle. Pinterest website. Retrieved on March 14, 2018. March 16 – The Philadelphia Phillies sell the contract of veteran Eddie Waitkus to the Baltimore Orioles for $40,000. Waitkus, 34, will essentially split first-base duties with Dick Kryhoski during the "modern" Orioles' maiden season in Baltimore. March 20 – The Milwaukee Braves obtain shortstop Roy Smalley from the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Dave Cole. March 28 – The Brooklyn Dodgers trade infielder and formerly highly touted prospect Bobby Morgan to the Philadelphia Phillies for $50,000 and Dick Young—not the influential New York sportswriter, but a 26-year-old second baseman. March 29 – Chicago Cubs player–manager Phil Cavarretta gives team owner Philip K. Wrigley an honest (and negative) assessment of the Cubs' chances for the upcoming season, then is dismissed for his defeatist attitude. He becomes the first manager ever to be given the gate during spring training. Stan Hack replaces him, even though Cavarretta is right: the Cubs will finish in seventh place this year. He spends 1954 with the crosstown Chicago White Sox and bats .316 in 77 appearances as a pinch-hitter and part-time outfielder/first baseman.
April April 9–10 – Nat Peeples, a 27-year-old outfielder, appears in the Double-A Atlanta Crackers' first two regular-season games and goes hitless in four at bats against the home-standing Mobile Bears before he's demoted to the Class A Jacksonville Braves. In doing so, Peeples becomes the first, and only, African-American player in the Southern Association, founded in 1901 and the highest-level minor league in America's Deep South. With Jim Crow laws still in force, the Association reverts to its all-white status and remains racially segregated until it disbands after the season. April 11 – To make room for promising rookie outfielder Wally Moon, the St. Louis Cardinals trade longtime great Enos Slaughter to the New York Yankees in exchange for three minor leaguers, including future () National League Rookie of the Year Bill Virdon. April 12 – The Cleveland Indians sign future Hall-of-Famer Hal Newhouser, 32, who had been released by the Detroit Tigers on July 22, 1953. The four-time 20-game-winner will become the 1954 Tribe's lefthanded relief ace, going 7–2 (2.51 ERA) with seven saves.
April 13 After performing military service, Willie Mays of the New York Giants, 22, appears in his first MLB game since May 28, 1952. Since coming to the Giants in late May of 1951, Mays' team has gone 107–48 (.690) with him on the roster, and 153–157 (.494) with him in a U.S. Army uniform. In the bottom of the sixth inning of Opening Day at the Polo Grounds, Mays hits a solo home run off Carl Erskine to break a three-all tie and secure a 4–3 victory over the arch-rival Brooklyn Dodgers—a harbinger of Mays' and the Giants' remarkable 1954 season to come. The brand-new Baltimore Orioles (formerly the St. Louis Browns) open in Detroit and lose to the host Tigers, 3–0. Don Larsen takes the loss against Steve Gromek. The Tigers start fast and will win 12 of their first 18 games. First baseman Tom Alston becomes the first black player in St. Louis Cardinals history. Second baseman Curt Roberts becomes the first black player in Pittsburgh Pirates history. At Comiskey Park, the Cleveland Indians defeat the Chicago White Sox 8–2 behind a complete game from Early Wynn and home runs from Wally Westlake and George Strickland. It's the first of 111 victories for the 1954 Indians, an American League record that will last for 44 years. April 15 – Baltimore hosts its first AL home opener since . Following a 90-minute parade, the Orioles draw an opening-day record of 46,354 in a 3–1 afternoon win over the Chicago White Sox. The Orioles' Clint Courtney hits the first MLB home run in Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. Bob Turley strikes out nine in besting Virgil Trucks. Vern Stephens also homers for Baltimore.