MLB: 1958 and Beyond...

[kenyan_cheena]

The Washington Post

***Late Edition***

FRIDAY 1 AUGUST 1958

SENATORS OWNER ADAMANT
ON MINNESOTA MOVE

Story by Brian George

Earlier today, Washington Senators owner Calvin Griffith reaffirmed his resolve to move the ballclub to Minnesota for the start of the 1960 season. His words were a direct response to MLB Commissioner Ford Frick's statement of this past Tuesday (which was itself a reply to Griffith's previous announcement) when he declared that "no Major League Baseball teams will be relocating prior to our expansion of 1962."

The situation has the potential to be a difficult one for Major League Baseball, as Griffith's relocation intentions have long been old news. Having taken control of the ballclub following the death of his father Clark in 1955, Calvin's first act as owner immediately fuelled speculation that he was planning to move it, as he sold Griffith Stadium to the city of Washington and then leased it back. He had briefly explored the possibility of moving the team to San Francisco but the Giants got the jump on him, after which Griffith focused his energies on Minnesota.

Citing poor attendance figures and a struggle to remain competitive (the Senators have failed to win more than 59 games during each of the last three seasons), Griffith believes that a new start in a new city will rejuvenate the floundering franchise. He has placed much of the blame for his ballclub's falling crowd figures on the relocation of the St. Louis Browns to nearby Baltimore. Although the Orioles have been no more successful in the goal of winning a pennant, Griffith claims many Senators fans have switched allegiance since the DC area became more crowded in 1954.

Griffith has even rejected an offer from MLB whereby he would sell the Senators and be allocated one of the four new 1962 expansion franchises in the city of his choice, his belief being that such a process would be too costly and complicated in comparison to the simple act of relocating the ballclub. Major League Baseball is adamant that our nation's capital will remain the home of at least one of its ballclubs for the short and long-term future, so it will be fascinating to see which side backs down in the times to come...

[kenyan_cheena]

The New York Age

SATURDAY, 14 AUGUST, 1958

YANKEES EDGE SENATORS
AT GRIFFITH STADIUM

Remain nine games clear in AL pennant race

Story by Louis Greenberg

A strong effort from starting pitcher Whitey Ford and a two-hit, two-RBI Player of the Game performance from Mickey Mantle fuelled the New York Yankees to a 6-5 victory over the Washington Senators last night at Griffith Stadium. The win was the seventh in the last eight outings for the Bronx Bombers and made their record since the beginning of July an impressive 28-12.

The Senators have been on quite a charge of late, having won ten of twelve coming into last night's matchup to see themselves sitting just three games under .500 and in 6th place in the American League. Many have said that the change in the club's fortunes has a lot to do with owner Clark Griffith's recent statements on moving the team to Minnesota, an initiative that has not received unanimous support from the ballclub's roster. After the Yankees scored twice in both the 1st and 2nd innings Washington rallied to take a 5-4 lead into the 4th, 2nd baseman Johnny Scaive's two-out, two-run home run in the 2nd inning igniting the fightback.

But from there on Ford shut the Senators down, retiring eight batters in a row in a stretch starting in the 5th and ending in the 8th. The Queens native went eight innings, allowing nine hits, four earned runs and striking out six on 139 pitches, the win giving him an American League-leading nineteen for the season. His ERA is currently 4.05. Mantle continued his fantastic season, batting 2-for-4 with two RBI and scoring the go-ahead run in the 6th inning. Batting .308 for the season, Mantle has hit 44 home runs and knocked in 89, that number second on the Yankees roster behind veteran catcher Yogi Berra's 99.

The win saw the Yankees improve to an MLB-best 79-41, keeping them nine games ahead of the Boston Red Sox in the race for the American League pennant.

American League Standings as at 13 August 1958...

1st: NEW YORK YANKEES 79-41
2nd: Boston Red Sox 70-50
3rd: Cleveland Blues 62-58
4th: Baltimore Orioles 59-61
4th: Detroit Tigers 59-61
6th: Washington Senators 58-62
7th: Chicago White Sox 51-69
8th: Kansas City Athletics 44-76

[kenyan_cheena]

The Cleveland Sunday Courier

SUNDAY 29 AUGUST 1958

COLAVITO BREAKS HOME RUN RECORD
IN ROUT OF YANKEES!

Blasts #61 and #62 in 15-6 victory

Story by Larry Jacobson

It was almost fitting that it would happen this way. During one of the more extraordinary Major League Baseball games of the season, Cleveland Blues outfielder Rocky Colavito broke Babe Ruth's 31 year-old single-season home run record yesterday. It wasn't just any team that he achieved the feat against, either. It was none other than Ruth's own New York Yankees, the Blues winning a slugfest, 15-6.

Fans of MLB have been following with fascination the 25 year-old Colavito's epic march towards this Holy Grail of records. It started out with his incredible, record-breaking April when he smashed 21 homers and 42 RBI, followed by the relatively leaner months of May and June when he managed only eight and seven respectivey before heating up again in July. The fifteen he achieved during those 31 sweltering days brought him to 51, just nine shy of the record as the season entered August.

After reaching 57 on the 13th in Chicago he sat on that number for seven days before clearing the fences in consecutive games against Detroit on the 20th and 21st and then doing what many thought was impossible and tieing the Babe's mark when the Blues hosted Baltimore this past Monday. Some speculated that he was waiting for the Yankees to come to town before breaking the record but Colavito denied such talk, something that was confirmed when he flied out to the warning track twice in the final game of the Baltimore series. After a 3-for-5 effort in the opener against New York on Thursday he was rested for Friday's game, his spot in the lineup filled by Roger Maris much to the disappointment of the hometown fans.

Which brings us to yesterday. Despite the circling clouds and reports of likely rainfall there was a feeling in the air that this would be the day. Not even a five-run Yankees 1st could waver the spirits of the disappointingly small crowd of just under 30,000. Their excitement was tempered by a rain delay of some 70 minutes during the 3rd with New York leading 6-0. But when the game resumed the moment everyone had waited for finally arrived.

After Ward and Doby both reached safely to start the inning Colavito stepped up to the plate, crushing a 1-1 Ryne Duren fastball over the wall in left field. The crowd came to their feet as one and when the ball sailed clear of the fence they erupted as one, Colavito rounding the bases in a remarkably subdued manner. All of his teammates were there to greet and congratulate him as he crossed home plate and in a spontaneous show of excitement Chico Carrasquel and Bobby Avila hoisted him up on their shoulders and paraded him back to the dugout, Colavito looking overwhelmed but tipping his cap to the crowd, who maintained an extended standing ovation.

The Blues scored four in the frame, knocking Duren out of the game but it hardly seemed to matter. The record set by one of our sport's greatest of all time had been broken by a 25 year-old from New York. But Colavito hadn't finished yet and he brought the crowd to their feet again in his very next at-bat, extending the record to 62 with a one-out two-run shot to centrefield that gave the Blues a remarkable 7-6 lead before the game was even four innings old.

Going into the 8th Cleveland held an 8-6 lead but they put the finishing touches on what had already been a fantastic, remarkable afternoon when they pounded the Yanks for seven more runs, Colavito bringing his RBI count for the game to six when he singled to bring Doby home. The outburst made it 15-6 and that's how it stayed.

It's true that with them trailing New York by 16 games, our Blues are out of the pennant race. But during this season Rocky Colavito has given the followers of this ballclub an incredible, heartstopping ride, one they'll never forget. For some that might be even more special than the joy that a pennant would bring. He sits at 62 home runs and with twenty games still remaining on the schedule there's no telling where that number will be at season's end. Surely, 70 is not out of the question...

[Kelric]

Can't say I expected to see Ruth's record fall this quickly. At least it isn't one of the usual suspects that did it. It'll be interesting to see if Colavito can last well into his 30s or not. 500 HRs, maybe?

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Kelric

Can't say I expected to see Ruth's record fall this quickly. At least it isn't one of the usual suspects that did it. It'll be interesting to see if Colavito can last well into his 30s or not. 500 HRs, maybe?

It surprised me, too. He's definitely a player we'll be keeping an eye on as the dynasty progresses. I'm curious to see if Cleveland makes the same mistake twice.

[kenyan_cheena]

MILWAUKEE * WISCONSIN
JOURNAL SENTINEL

Friday 10 September 1958

***Late Edition***

PERFECTION IN PHILADELPHIA:
RUSH PITCHES HIMSELF
INTO THE RECORD BOOKS

Story by Lomas Robertson

Against the Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium this afternoon, Braves starter Bob Rush became just the seventh pitcher in the history of Major League Baseball to throw a perfect game. It was, without a doubt, the greatest game of the season for the Braves as their offense complimented Rush's amazing effort by scoring twelve runs on eighteen hits.

Having spent the first ten years of his career with the Chicago Cubs Rush signed with the Braves during the off-season and to say that the 32 year-old veteran was one of the more unlikely candidates to pitch a perfect game would be an understatement. He found great help from his team's defense, as he only struck out four batters. Sixteen batters grounded out and the other seven were fly outs. Rush threw a total of 89 pitches.

Rush's teammates swamped him jubilantly when Phillies pinch hitter Ted Kazanski grounded out to shortstop for the 27th and final out of the game, the pitcher carried from the field upon the shoulders of Hank Aaron and Joe Adcock. The hometown Phillies fans applauded, more concerned with the fact that they'd just witnessed one of the sport's rarest events than with their team's 12-0 defeat.

As mentioned earlier, the Braves offense had a real field day. All-Star slugger Adcock batted 3-for-4, scoring three runs and knocking in three. He clobbered a pair of home runs, a solo effort in the 3rd and a two-run shot in the 6th to take his total for the season to a National League leading 52. Adcock has 142 RBI on the season, which also leads the senior circuit. Braves catcher Del Crandall had a great afternoon, hitting 4-for-6 with three RBI in the leadoff spot. 3rd baseman Eddie Mathews was 2-for-5 with two RBI while Wes Covington added a two-run homer in the 2nd inning. A look at the National League leaderboards shows that the Braves have dominated this year with Adcock, Mathews and Aaron filling the top three spots as far as RBIs are concerned.

Rush's incredible afternoon follows on from the events of two weeks ago when Cleveland Blues outfielder Rocky Colavito broke the single-season home run record, making the final weeks of the regular season magical ones, to say the least.

Today's win was Milwaukee's twelfth in their last seventeen games and it kept in place a six game lead over the fading Cubs and resurgent Pittsburgh Pirates. With only eight games remaining in the regular season, a second consecutive National League Championship looks to be in the bag...

National League Standings as at Friday 10 September 1958

Milwaukee Braves: 88-58
Chicago Cubs: 82-64
Pittsburgh Pirates: 82-64
San Francisco Giants: 76-70
Philadelphia Phillies: 72-74
Brooklyn Dodgers: 63-83
Cincinnati Reds: 62-84
St. Louis Cardinals: 59-87

[captaincarl]

You're doing a great job with this and the writings are fantastic.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by captaincarl

You're doing a great job with this and the writings are fantastic.

Thanks, cc. I'm glad you're enjoying it. If you're interested in boxing, I invite you to have a look at my boxing dynasty. Just click on the links in my signature.

[PlayTheKids]

Enjoying the newspaper stylings. I've seen a lot of great stuff through this board as I've browsed it. I'll likely pilfer from many of you when I start my own dynasty

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by PlayTheKids

Enjoying the newspaper stylings. I've seen a lot of great stuff through this board as I've browsed it. I'll likely pilfer from many of you when I start my own dynasty

I've tried in the past to write dynasties in a dramatic style but wasn't satisfied with the results. I've found that I'm much more comfortable (and confident) when coming at it from the journalistic/newspaper angle.

Nice to know that you're enjoying it and that this thread is helping you with ideas.

k_c

[DWK]

I like your newpaper style nice job, very good read

[Jamee999]

Very nice start

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by DWK

I like your newpaper style nice job, very good read

Originally Posted by Jamee999

Very nice start

Thanks, guys. It's nice to know that you'll be following along.

[kenyan_cheena]

MILWAUKEE * WISCONSIN
JOURNAL SENTINEL

Tuesday 14 September 1958

***Late Edition***

BRAVES RALLY LATE TO BEAT PHILLIES,
CLINCH NATIONAL LEAGUE PENNANT

Story by Lomas Robertson

There were many times during this 1958 season when certain followers of Major League Baseball doubted it could happen. They said that there was no chance the Milwaukee Braves could repeat as National League Champions, said they'd eventually fade and be swamped by either the Cubs or Pirates. After all, before the triumph of '57 the ballclub had only managed to win two pennants in 45 years, both when it called Boston home. Taking that into account talk of a repeat trip to the World Series seemed foolish.

When starting pitcher Lew Burdette was lost for the season in early July it only gave the naysayers more fuel for the fire, but Braves manager Fred "Pudge" Haney shrugged off that setback and kept on fighting. This afternoon all of it bared fruit, the moment coming that many claimed would be impossible as the Braves scored a 5-4 ten-innings victory over the Philadelphia Phillies to clinch the 1958 National League pennant.

A near sold-out County Stadium crowd witnessed the inspiring victory, the Braves overcoming a 3-0 1st inning deficit to record their 90th victory of the season. With the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs both losing their respective games, the Braves ended the day with an uncatchable six-game lead over both ballclubs four days from the end of the regular season.

Having pitched a perfect game last Friday against these same Phillies, Braves starter Bob Rush was back on the mound this afternoon and after being roughed up in the 1st inning he held the Pennsylvanian team to just six hits and a single run through the next nine. Rush kept the team within striking distance and his teammates waited until the 9th inning to take advantage of his superb outing. Leftfielder Wes Covington's solo home run in the 7th had made the score 4-1 before, with two outs in the bottom of the 9th, 1st baseman Joe Adcock doubled down the right field line to bring Hank Aaron home. 3rd baseman Eddie Mathews then brought the crowd to its feet when his two-run blast over the centrefield wall tied it all up at 4-4.

After Rush sat the Phillies down in order in the 10th, Milwaukee's first two batters reached base. Rush stepped to the plate and when his seemingly harmless grounder to 2nd bounced over Solly Hemus' glove pinchrunner Andy Pafko crossed homeplate for the win, sending the County Stadium crowd into raptures of jubilation. The Braves players flooded the field, embracing and celebrating their achievement. Rush was singled out for special treatment, his teammates acknowledging his great pitching performance and the role he played in the scoring of the winning run. Rush pitched ten innings, allowed nine hits, four runs, walked three and struck out six on 118 pitches. The win improved his record to 17-10, his ERA 4.16.

"This team has trememdous heart," said Haney proudly. "When people said we couldn't make it back-to-back, we just told ourselves that we'd prove them wrong. That's something that really drove us, besides the simple desire to be the best in the league. That desire to prove the doubters wrong was real and potent."

In a rematch of last season's World Series the Braves will square off against the American League Champion New York Yankees, who secured their fourth consecutive pennant and ninth in ten years last Wednesday.

"Why not?' said Haney, when asked if his ballclub could overcome the Bronx Bombers again. "No one gave us a chance last year and we did it without home field advantage. This time we'll have four games at home so that will definitely help us. I can't wait for the challenge and neither can our players."

Without a doubt, this latest World Series rematch figures to be a fascinating one. The Yankees have grown used to them, having matched up with the Brooklyn Dodgers in '52 and '53 and then again in '55 and '56. However, they haven't lost back-to-back Fall Classics since the '21 and '22 seasons and it's something they'll be desperate to avoid...

[kenyan_cheena]

THE OHIO EXPRESS

Monday, 20 September, 1958

COLAVITO FINISHES SEASON
WITH 72 HOME RUNS

Story by Grady McCallum

The incredible 1958 Major League Baseball season of Cleveland Blues outfielder Rocky Colavito came to an end in victorious fashion yesterday, with the Blues winning their final regular season game 5-4 over northern neighbours and fierce rivals the Detroit Tigers. Colavito batted 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored. He homered in the 1st to give Cleveland a 2-0 lead, the shot over the right field wall his 72nd and last home run of the season.

It was only three weeks ago at Cleveland Stadium when Colavito achieved what many thought was impossible and broke Babe Ruth's thirty-year home run record when he hit #61 for the season. Many thought he'd be content to play out the season but the 25 year-old did the exact opposite, following up his thirteen home runs and 38 RBI in August with eight homers and eighteen RBI in just seventeen games in September.

Despite Colavito's efforts the Blues could only achieve a 10-8 mark for the month, finishing the season at 82-72. It's a six-game improvement on a year ago, but considering the 20-9 start they made it could have been so much better.

"Yeah, we finished twenty games back," said Blues manager Joe Gordon. "But this is a season I'll never forget for as long as I live. What Rocky Colavito achieved this year will be the stuff of legend in fifty years from now. No one thought that anyone would ever hit 61. Well, Rocky hit 72. Just think about that. 72 home runs. That's the kind of record that will still be standing long after I've departed this earth, and I'm only 43."

One thing that the Blues ballclub will certainly be eager to do is sign Colavito up for the long-term. His current contract expires at the end of next season and if they were to let this young superstar slip from their grasp it would be a tragedy. It certainly will be interesting to see if they handle the situation during the off-season to come...

***

Rocky Colavito's numbers for the 1958 MLB season...

148 games, 525 AB, 173 H,
72 HR, 161 RBI, 144 R, 102 BB,
.330 AVG, .438 OBP, .808 SLG, 1.246 OPS

Month-by-month...

April: 21 HR, 42 RBI, .411 AVG
May: 7 HR, 15 RBI, .279 AVG
June: 8 HR, 18 RBI, .267 AVG
July: 15 HR, 30 RBI, .314 AVG
August: 13 HR, 38 RBI, .376 AVG
September: 8 HR, 18 RBI, .317 AVG

* Named American League Player of the Week six times during the season

* Named American League Batter of the Month for April, July and August

[cibl commish]

Excellent story!! Love the writing and the whole what if to this.. great stuff

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by cibl commish

Excellent story!! Love the writing and the whole what if to this.. great stuff

Thanks for the kind words, commish. The next couple of posts will detail the final 1958 regular season standings plus the batting and pitching leaders in each league.

[kenyan_cheena]

1958 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL REGULAR SEASON
FINAL LEAGUE STANDINGS, SUNDAY 19 SEPTEMBER

Note: figures in brackets are (home record, road record), (runs scored-runs conceeded), (team batting AVG, team pitching ERA)

AMERICAN LEAGUE

1ST: NEW YORK YANKEES 101-53
(52-25, 49-28), (869-688), (.285, 3.97)

2nd: Boston Red Sox 86-68
(43-34, 43-34), (776-704), (.258, 4.11)

3rd: Cleveland Blues 82-72
(42-35, 40-37), (782-684), (.271, 3.97)

4th: Baltimore Orioles 80-74
(46-31, 34-43), (652-601), (.243, 3.40)

5th: Detroit Tigers 75-79
(39-38, 36-41), (639-664), (.249, 3.88)

6th: Washington Senators 69-85
(36-41, 33-44), (615-705), (.238, 4.17)

7th: Chicago White Sox 68-86
(37-40, 31-46), (644-747), (.268, 4.46)

8th: Kansas City Athletics 55-99
(25-52, 30-47), (504-688), (.237, 4.06)


NATIONAL LEAGUE

1ST: MILWAUKEE BRAVES 93-61
(46-31, 47-30), (883-704), (.283, 4.16)

2nd: Chicago Cubs 86-68
(42-35, 44-33), (748-708), (.260, 4.16)

2nd: Pittsburgh Pirates 86-68
(44-33, 42-35), (733-693), (.284, 3.88)

4th: San Francisco Giants 81-73
(44-33, 37-40), (760-702), (.267, 4.08)

5th: Philadelphia Phillies 75-79
(38-39, 37-40), (706-710), (.273, 4.10)

6th: Brooklyn Dodgers 68-86
(42-35, 26-51), (680-765), (.257, 4.53)

7th: Cincinnati Reds 64-90
(36-41, 28-49), (670-788), (.252, 4.70)

8th: St. Louis Cardinals 63-91
(30-47, 33-44), (665-775), (.264, 4.53)

[kenyan_cheena]

1958 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL REGULAR SEASON
STATISTICAL LEAGUE LEADERS


AMERICAN LEAGUE - BATTING

AVG

1ST: YOGI BERRA (NEW YORK YANKEES) .343
2nd: Russ Nixon (Cleveland Blues) .333
3rd: Rocky Colavito (Cleveland Blues) .330
4th: Mickey Mantle (New York Yankees) .326
5th: Al Kaline (Detroit Tigers) .326

OBP

1ST: MICKEY MANTLE (NEW YORK YANKEES) .484
2nd: Rocky Colavito (Cleveland Blues) .438
3rd: Ted Williams (Boston Red Sox) .421
4th: Joe Cunningham (Washington Senators) .418
5th: Norm Siebern (New York Yankees) .408

HITS

1ST: AL KALINE (DETROIT TIGERS) 175
2nd: Russ Nixon (Cleveland Blues) 173
2nd: Rocky Colavito (Cleveland Blues) 173
4th: Billy Goodman (Chicago White Sox) 171
5th: Yogi Berra (New York Yankees) 169

RBI

1ST: ROCKY COLAVITO (CLEVELAND BLUES) 161
2nd: Yogi Berra (New York Yankees) 125
3rd: Mickey Mantle (New York Yankees) 120
4th: Dick Gernert (Boston Red Sox) 111
5th: Ken Boyer (Detroit Tigers) 106

HR

1ST: ROCKY COLAVITO (CLEVELAND BLUES) 72
2nd: Mickey Mantle (New York Yankees) 57
3rd: Yogi Berra (New York Yankees) 37
4th: Dick Gernert (Boston Red Sox) 32
4th: Gus Triandos (Baltimore Orioles) 32

AMERICAN LEAGUE - PITCHING

ERA

1ST: HERB SCORE (CLEVELAND BLUES) 2.98
2nd: Billy O'Dell (Baltimore Orioles) 3.04
3rd: Milt Pappas (Baltimore Orioles) 3.05
4th: Hal Brown (Kansas City Athletics) 3.16
5th: Bobby Shantz (New York Yankees) 3.28

WINS

1ST: FRANK SULLIVAN (BOSTON RED SOX) 22
2nd: Tom Brewer (Boston Red Sox) 21
3rd: Jim Bunning (Detroit Tigers) 20
3rd: Ryne Duren (New York Yankees) 20
3rd: Whitey Ford (New York Yankees) 20

K

1ST: HERB SCORE (CLEVELAND BLUES) 306
2nd: Ryne Duren (New York Yankees) 269
3rd: Jim Bunning (Detroit Tigers) 239
4th: Billy O'Dell (Baltimore Orioles) 189
5th: Whitey Ford (New York Yankees) 172

CG

1ST: BILLY O'DELL (BALTIMORE ORIOLES) 20
2nd: Dick Donovan (Chicago White Sox) 18
3rd: Frank Lary (Detroit Tigers) 16
4th: Ike Delock (Boston Red Sox) 15
4th: Frank Sullivan (Boston Red Sox) 15

IP

1ST: BILLY O'DELL (BALTIMORE ORIOLES) 335.0
2nd: Frank Sullivan (Boston Red Sox) 322.1
3rd: Dick Donovan (Chicago White Sox) 320.2
4th: Herb Score (Cleveland Blues) 304.2
5th: Jim Bunning (Detroit Tigers) 302.0


NATIONAL LEAGUE - BATTING

AVG

1ST: HANK AARON (MILWAUKEE BRAVES) .366
2nd: Bob Skinner (Pittsburgh Pirates) .340
3rd: Joe Adcock (Milwaukee Braves) .339
4th: Roberto Clemente (Pittsburgh Pirates) .331
5th: Willie Mays (San Francisco Giants) .331

OBP

1ST: HANK AARON (MILWAUKEE BRAVES) .427
2nd: Willie Mays (San Francisco Giants) .426
3rd: Bob Skinner (Pittsburgh Pirates) .418
4th: Harry Anderson (Chicago Cubs) .417
5th: Richie Ashburn (Philadelphia Phillies) .414

HITS

1ST: HANK AARON (MILWAUKEE BRAVES) 208
2nd: Joe Adcock (Milwaukee Braves) 191
3rd: Orlando Cepeda (San Francisco Giants) 186
3rd: Roberto Clemente (Pittsburgh P