1959…More than
perfect, less than perfect, Go Go’s and scandals…
The
1959 baseball season had some very big highlights, and some lowlights as well.
The Los
Angeles Dodgers were the ultimate winners of a very tight pennant race and had
to win a best of three playoff series over the Braves to keep Milwaukee from
its third straight pennant, and to bring the West Coast its first taste of
post-season baseball. (They won it in two games)
The
pitching rich Dodgers faced the equally pitching rich Chicago White Sox in the
Fall Classic. The “Go-Go Sox” won the pennant by five games over Cleveland. The
Sox combined to steal one hundred thirteen bases, forty-five more than the
runner-up Boston Red Sox.
From
1949 through 1960, the Yankees won the American League pennant in every season
but two. 1954 and 1959. Manager Casey Stengel won ten of twelve pennants. Al
Lopez, manager of the 1959 White Sox also managed the 1954 Cleveland Indians,
the only other manager to win an AL pennant during that time period.
The Sox
destroyed the Dodgers in the first game of the Series, winning 11-0. The
Dodgers rallied back to take the second game, by a 4-3 score. The Dodgers won
the first two World Series games played in California, taking a three-games to
one advantage, but the Sox won the elimination game, 1-0, to send the Series
back to Chicago. The Dodgers won the sixth and final game by a score of 9-3.
Interesting
to note that both teams hit for a .261 average in the Fall Classic, and the
Dodgers 3.23 Earned Run Average was just a shade better than the Sox’ 3.46. So,
all in all, both teams were evenly matched.
This was
the first World Series in which there were no complete games.
But the
power rankings tell a slightly different story. On paper, the top five overall
teams were:
White Sox
|
American League Champions
|
Giants
|
3rd in National League
|
Braves
|
2nd in National League
|
Dodgers
|
World Series Champions
|
Reds
|
5th in National League (tied
with Cubs)
|
The
further breakdown of team performances, beginning with pitching, were:
National League
|
American League
|
Giants
|
White Sox
|
Braves
|
Indians
|
Dodgers
|
Orioles
|
And
then in offense:
Reds
|
Red Sox
|
Dodgers
|
Indians
|
Braves
|
Tigers
|
There
was a small gambling scandal in the major leagues, and a bigger one in the
minors.
In
Philadelphia, Panamanian born pitcher Humberto Robinson was approached by a
known gambler named Harold Friedman. Friedman was alleged to have offered
Robinson $1,500 to purposely lose a game against the Cincinnati Reds. Robinson,
a quiet man, never accepted or even acknowledged the offer, but did mention in
in secret to a teammate, who insisted that Robinson inform manager Eddie Sawyer
of the offer, but he never did.
During
the game in question, the teammate told Sawyer about the incident. Sawyer
didn’t act on that information initially, because Robinson was pitching very
well, limiting the Reds to just three hits, hitting a double and scoring the
first run of the game himself. He earned the win.
When
word got out, Humberto received congratulations and adulations from around the
game, including one from Commissioner Ford Frick, for his actions on reporting
the bribe attempt.
Friedman
was later indicted and ultimately sentenced to a two to five-year sentence for ‘bribery
of an athletic contest’.
Friedman
was also implicated by a young woman, whose name I won’t divulge, who alleged
that Friedman introduced her to three ‘very prominent’ baseball players (who
were never named) for the purposes of prostitution. Or that Friedman was
charged with several vice counts.
The more
serious scandal happened in the minor leagues and involved players on the
Chattanooga Lookouts of the Southern Association.
An
allegation was made against players Waldo Gonzalez and Jesse Levan. Gonzalez
was alleged to be tipping pitches and signals to players and coaches of the
Mobile Bears, while Levan was acting as the liaison between the players and the
gamblers. Both players were suspended immediately pending a further
investigation.
For his
part in not reporting a bribery attempt, the National Association of Baseball
President Charles Hurth suspended Gonzalez for a year.
As for
Jesse Levan, the investigation uncovered a strange scheme that he was also
involved in. It had to do with foul balls, where gamblers in the stands would
make wagers with patrons as to the next ball being hit foul or not. Somehow,
one party was tipping the other party as to which ball would or should be foul.
I know it sounds confusing, and implausible, but this was what the
investigation turned up.
For his
part in that scheme, Jesse Levan and former American League catcher Joe Tipton
each were barred for life from ever working for any professional baseball team,
in any capacity. (Tipton was a part of the Chattanooga team in 1957, and was
found to have been offered money in exchange for information and/or performance
issues that may affect the outcome of the games)
While
we’re talking about the minors, outfielder Frank Howard, of the Victoria
Rosebuds of the Texas League, hit a home run in 3 straight innings against the
Austin Senators. That, combined with hitting .356 with 22 homers and 79 RBI in
63 games, earned him a brief call-up to Los Angeles, and then reassignment to
the Spokane Indians of the Pacific Coast League.
Howard
was named to
The Sporting News Triple-A All-Star Team at the season’s
end.
The Sporting News also named an All-Star team for the AA-A class
players, as well as the B-C-D class players too. I only bring this up because
for the B-C-D class players, the All-Star team second baseman was Carl
Yastrzemski of the Raleigh Capitals.
Back to
the major leagues.
The
Yankee’s collapse was shocking. On May 20th, after a loss to the
Detroit Tigers, the Bronx Bombers fell into last place for the first time since
May 23rd, 1940. They were able to rally to a third-place finish.
Mediocre
pitching, an early season slump, and age contributed to their shortcomings.
Mickey
Mantle did steal twenty-one bases, which is the most stolen bases in a season
by a player managed by Casey Stengel.
Dodgers
ace Don Drysdale homered on opening day and remains the only pitcher to have
homered on opening day more than once in a career.
The
Chicago White Sox scored eleven runs in an inning against the Kansas City A’s. With
the help of ten (yes, ten) walks, three errors and one hit batsman, the Sox
needed just one hit that inning.
Second
baseman Nellie Fox went on a streak from July 27, 1954 and June 25, 1959 where
he collected more hit by pitch than he did strikeouts.
In
Cleveland, slugger Rocky Colavito homered for times in a game, becoming the
eighth player to accomplish the feat. Bobby Lowe (1894), Ed Delahanty (1898),
Lou Gehrig (1932), Chuck Klein (1936), Pat Seery (1948), Gil Hodges (1950) and
Joe Adcock (1954) preceded him.
Tito
Francona batted .363 but fell one at bat short of the requirement to qualify
for the batting title. Harvey Kuenn eon the title with a .353 average. Under
modern rues, a phantom hitless at-bat would have been added to Francona’s
totals, and he would have won the title.
In
Boston, the Red Sox were the last team to break the color barrier, with
switch-hitting infielder Elijah “Pumpsie” Green appeared in fifty games for
Boston.
Detroit ace Jim Bunning became just
the fifth American League pitcher to strike out the side on nine pitches. He
joined Rube Waddell, Sloppy Thurston, Lefty Grove (who did it twice) and Billy
Hoeft.
Al Kaline became the third youngest
player to reach one thousand career hits. Only Ty Cobb and Mel Ott were younger.
Washington Senator slugger Harmon
Killebrew became the first American Leaguer to reach an inglorious 30/30 club.
That is thirty home runs and thirty errors.
Chicago Cubs shortstop Ernie Banks, on his way
to a repeat Most Valuable Player award, became the first shortstop to lead the
National league in home runs, and the only NL shortstop to win consecutive home
run titles.
The San Francisco Giants had their
second consecutive Rookie of the Year winner with Willie McCovey. Orlando
Cepeda had won the previous season.
Philadelphia Phillies second
baseman George “Sparky” Anderson collected 119 total bases, for a slugging
percentage of .249. His 119 total bases remain the record for the lowest by a
player with 500 or more at-bats.
Milwaukee’s Henry Aaron reached
four hundred total bases, the most by a player in the decade. He led the league
in total bases five of the previous six seasons.
He hit three home runs in a game
against the San Francisco Giants, the only time that the one-time home run king
hit three homers in a game.
Perfection as achieved, then lost
in Pittsburgh. Twice.
We know that Harvey Haddix pitched
twelve perfect innings in Milwaukee against the Braves. Then in the bottom of
the thirteenth, Felix Mantilla reached on an error by Bucs third-baseman Don
Hoak. After Eddie Mathews sacrificed Mantilla to second, the Pirates intentionally
walked Henry Aaron and Haddix pitched to slugger Joe Adcock.
Adcock hit the ball over the fence
for what should have been a home run, but Aaron, seeing Mantilla cross the
plate for the win, stopped running. Adcock passed Aaron, and was technically called
out, even though the game was over. The official scoring credits Adcock with a
double.
While his twelve straight perfect
innings remain the single game record, because he did not win the game, Haddix
is not credited with a perfect game.
His teammate Elroy Face accumulated
seventeen straight wins, which if you go back to the previous season, stretches
to nineteen, before losing a decision to the Dodgers in the opener of a
September 11
th doubleheader. He would win once more to finish with a
record of 18-1, with ten saves.
He still holds the record for the
highest winning percentage in a season (fifteen or more decisions) at .947.
On to the season analysis, starting
with the National league pitchers. Our initial list of top ten performers is:
|
Team
|
W-L
|
ERA
|
Svs
|
Roger
Craig
|
Dodgers
|
11-5
|
2.06
|
1
|
Vernon
Law
|
Pirates
|
18-9
|
2.98
|
1
|
Warren
Spahn
|
Braves
|
21-15
|
2.96
|
0
|
Gene
Conley
|
Phillies
|
12-7
|
3.00
|
1
|
Bob
Buhl
|
Braves
|
15-9
|
2.86
|
0
|
Sam
Jones
|
Giants
|
21-10
|
2.83
|
5
|
Johnny
Antonelli
|
Giants
|
19-10
|
3.10
|
1
|
Elroy
Face
|
Pirates
|
18-1
|
2.70
|
10
|
Don
Newcombe
|
Reds
|
13-8
|
3.16
|
1
|
Jack
Sanford
|
Giants
|
15-12
|
3.16
|
1
|
Then comparing to their teams, we
get this next list
Gene Conley
|
Above
|
|
|
|
Jim Owens
|
Phillies
|
12-12
|
3.21
|
1
|
Vernon Law
|
Above
|
|
|
|
Don Newcombe
|
Above
|
|
|
|
Roger Craig
|
Above
|
|
|
|
Elroy Face
|
Above
|
|
|
|
Larry Jackson
|
Cardinals
|
14-13
|
3.30
|
0
|
Warren Spahn
|
Above
|
|
|
|
Harvey Haddix
|
Pirates
|
12-12
|
3.13
|
|
Robin Roberts
|
Phillies
|
15-7
|
4.27
|
0
|
That brings our top NL pitchers of
1959 to this surprising list. Including their post-season rankings.:
|
22nd
in MVP
|
Vern
Law
|
19th
in MVP (tied)
|
Roger
Craig
|
13th
in MVP
|
Warren
Spahn
|
19th
in MVP
|
Don
Newcombe
|
No
votes
|
Bob
Buhl
|
No
votes
|
Sam
Jones
|
5th
in MVP, 2nd in Cy Young
|
Elroy Face
|
7th in MVP
|
Johnny Antonelli
|
No votes
|
Jim Owens
|
No votes
|
Over to the American League, where
their hurlers averaged out to a 3.6% statistical advantage, we get this initial
list:
Hoyt Wilhelm
|
Orioles
|
15-11
|
2.19
|
6
|
Camilo Pascual
|
Senators
|
17-10
|
2.64
|
0
|
Early Wynn
|
White Sox
|
22-10
|
3.17
|
0
|
Bob Shaw
|
White Sox
|
18-6
|
2.69
|
3
|
Jerry Walker
|
Orioles
|
11-10
|
2.92
|
4
|
Milt Pappas
|
Orioles
|
15-9
|
3.27
|
3
|
Don Mossi
|
Tigers
|
17-9
|
3.36
|
0
|
Whitey Ford
|
Yankees
|
16-10
|
3.04
|
2
|
Ryne Duren
|
Yankees
|
3-6
|
1.88
|
14
|
Frank Lary
|
Tigers
|
17-10
|
3.55
|
0
|
Then,
against their team performances, we get this list:
Camilo Pascual
|
Above
|
|
|
|
Bud Daley
|
A’s
|
16-13
|
3.16
|
1
|
Hoyt Wilhelm
|
Above
|
|
|
|
Don Mossi
|
Above
|
|
|
|
Frank Lary
|
Above
|
|
|
|
Ike DeLock
|
Red Sox
|
11-6
|
2.95
|
0
|
Jerry Walker
|
Above
|
|
|
|
Milt Pappas
|
Above
|
|
|
|
Whitey Ford
|
Above
|
|
|
|
Ryne Duren
|
Above
|
|
|
|
And
that brings us to this, also surprising, list of top AL pitchers:
Camilo Pascual
|
19th in MVP
|
Hoyt Wilhelm
|
No votes
|
Early Wynn
|
Cy Young Award, 3rd in MVP
|
Don Mossi
|
No votes
|
Frank Lary
|
No votes
|
Bud Daley
|
22nd in MVP
|
Jerry Walker
|
No votes
|
Whitey Ford
|
No votes
|
Ryne Duren
|
No votes
|
Bear in
mind that there was only one Cy Young Award given at this time, and it was
awarded to Early Wynn. Only three pitchers earned votes: Wynn, Sam Jones and
Bob Shaw.
Now, on
to the offensive side, where the hitters across both leagues seemed to stagnate
somewhat. Ted Williams and Stan Musial each endured their worst seasons in
their lengthy careers. The offense of both leagues was statistically 3.4% lower
than the pitching, and the National league hitters averaged 1.5% higher than
the American League.
Starting
with the national League, our initial top ten list is:
|
Team
|
HR
|
RBI
|
AVG
|
RCG
|
Henry
Aaron
|
Braves
|
39
|
123
|
.355
|
1.30
|
Frank
Robinson
|
Reds
|
36
|
125
|
.311
|
1.35
|
Willie
Mays
|
Giants
|
34
|
104
|
.314
|
1.29
|
Eddie
Mathews
|
Braves
|
46
|
114
|
.306
|
1.26
|
Ernie
Banks
|
Cubs
|
45
|
143
|
.304
|
1.26
|
Vada
Pinson
|
Reds
|
20
|
84
|
.316
|
1.27
|
Orlando
Cepeda
|
Giants
|
27
|
105
|
.317
|
1.13
|
Duke
Snider
|
Dodgers
|
23
|
88
|
.308
|
0.98
|
Charlie
Neal
|
Dodgers
|
19
|
83
|
.287
|
1.11
|
Wally
Moon
|
Dodgers
|
19
|
74
|
.302
|
1.02
|
Then,
compared to their team’s averages, we get this list:
Ernie Banks
|
Above
|
|
|
|
|
Henry Aaron
|
Above
|
|
|
|
|
Willie Mays
|
Above
|
|
|
|
|
Eddie Mathews
|
Above
|
|
|
|
|
Frank Robinson
|
Above
|
|
|
|
|
Ed Bouchee
|
Phillies
|
15
|
74
|
.285
|
0.99
|
Wally Post
|
Phillies
|
22
|
94
|
.254
|
1.02
|
Ken Boyer
|
Cardinals
|
28
|
94
|
.309
|
1.02
|
Orlando Cepeda
|
Above
|
|
|
|
|
Dick Stuart
|
Pirates
|
27
|
78
|
.297
|
0.97
|
That
brings our final ranking of top National League offensive players to this:
Henry Aaron
|
3rd in MVP
|
Ernie Banks
|
NL MVP
|
Willie Mays
|
6th in MVP
|
Frank Robinson
|
9th in MVP
|
Eddie Mathews
|
2nd in MVP
|
Vada Pinson
|
15th in MVP
|
Orlando Cepeda
|
19th in MVP (tied)
|
Ken Boyer
|
10th in MVP
|
Dick Stuart
|
No votes
|
Duke Snider
|
22nd in MVP (tied)
|
Over to
the American League, the initial top ten list is as follows:
Jackie Jensen
|
Red Sox
|
28
|
112
|
.277
|
1.25
|
Harvey Kuenn
|
Tigers
|
9
|
71
|
.353
|
1.16
|
Al Kaline
|
Tigers
|
27
|
94
|
.327
|
1.12
|
Tito Francona
|
Indians
|
20
|
79
|
.363
|
1.04
|
Minnie Minoso
|
Indians
|
21
|
92
|
.302
|
1.10
|
Mickey Mantle
|
Yankees
|
31
|
75
|
.285
|
1.03
|
Harmon Killebrew
|
Senators
|
42
|
105
|
.242
|
1.05
|
Eddie Yost
|
Tigers
|
21
|
60
|
.278
|
1.04
|
Rocky Colavito
|
Indians
|
42
|
111
|
.257
|
1.03
|
Sherm Lollar
|
White Sox
|
22
|
84
|
.265
|
0.87
|
Nellie Fox
|
White Sox
|
2
|
70
|
.306
|
0.97
|
Nellie Fox was the American League MVP for 1959, but
didn’t make the top ten in any of my rankings…
Comparing
the players to their team’s offensive output, we get this list:
Harmon Killebrew
|
Above
|
|
|
|
|
Gene Woodling
|
Orioles
|
14
|
77
|
.300
|
0.90
|
Jim Lemon
|
Senators
|
33
|
100
|
.279
|
0.95
|
Bob Nieman
|
Orioles
|
21
|
60
|
.292
|
0.75
|
Gus Triandos
|
Orioles
|
25
|
73
|
.216
|
0.72
|
Harvey Kuenn
|
Above
|
|
|
|
|
Al Kaline
|
Above
|
|
|
|
|
Jackie Jensen
|
Above
|
|
|
|
|
Bob Allison
|
Senators
|
30
|
85
|
.261
|
0.92
|
Mickey Mantle
|
above
|
|
|
|
|
This
brings us to our top ten (eleven) American League offensive player for 1959:
Jackie Jensen
|
10th in MVP
|
Harvey Kuenn
|
8th in MVP
|
Al Kaline
|
6th in MVP
|
Harmon Killebrew
|
15th in MVP
|
Tito Francona
|
5th in MVP
|
Mickey Mantle
|
17th in MVP
|
Minnie Minoso
|
12th in MVP
|
Eddie Yost
|
No votes
|
Gene Woodling
|
16th in MVP
|
Jim Lemon
|
25th in MVP
|
Nellie Fox
|
AL MVP
|
With
all this data, and with pitchers having the overall advantage over the hitters,
my top five players in each league are still the hitters
National League
Henry Aaron
NL Player of the
Year
Ernie Banks
Willie Mays
Frank Robinson
Eddie Mathews
Gene Conley
NL Pitcher of the Year
American League
Jackie Jensen
AL Player of the
Year
Harvey Kuenn
Al Kaline
Harmon Killebrew
Tito Francona
Camilo Pascual
AL Pitcher of the Year