1956 Milwaukee Braves season
Louis R. Perini | |
---|---|
General managers | John J. Quinn |
Managers | Charlie Grimm 24–22 (.522) Fred Haney 68–40 (.630) |
Radio | WEMP WTMJ (Earl Gillespie, Blaine Walsh) |
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The 1956 .
The Braves' led the major leagues in home attendance with 2,046,331; next closest was the New York Yankees of the American League at under 1.5 million. The runner-up in NL attendance was champion Brooklyn at under 1.22 million.[2] The Braves averaged 30,093 for the 68 home dates.[3]
Regular season
Season summary
Under opening day manager Charlie Grimm, the Braves got off to a mediocre start at 24–22 (.522). After a loss on Saturday, June 16, the owners dismissed him and replaced him with Fred Haney,[4][5] who led the Braves to a 68–40 (.630) record for the rest of the season. Finishing at 92–62 (.597), the Braves nearly caught up with the Dodgers, who finished a game ahead at 93–61 (.604). Haney managed the Braves to the World Series in 1957 and 1958, and then to a tie atop the National League standings in 1959, tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In individual performance statistics, outfielder
The pitching leaders for the Braves were their "big three" starting pitchers (listed with their won-loss records): Warren Spahn (20–11 (.645)), Lew Burdette (19–10 (.655)), and Bob Buhl (18–8 (.692)). Spahn also recorded three saves among the four games in which he was used as a relief pitcher.
Outfielder
Season standings
National League | W
|
L
|
Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brooklyn Dodgers | 93 | 61 | 0.604 | — | 52–25 | 41–36 |
Milwaukee Braves | 92 | 62 | 0.597 | 1 | 47–29 | 45–33 |
Cincinnati Redlegs | 91 | 63 | 0.591 | 2 | 51–26 | 40–37 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 76 | 78 | 0.494 | 17 | 43–34 | 33–44 |
Philadelphia Phillies | 71 | 83 | 0.461 | 22 | 40–37 | 31–46 |
New York Giants | 67 | 87 | 0.435 | 26 | 37–40 | 30–47 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 66 | 88 | 0.429 | 27 | 35–43 | 31–45 |
Chicago Cubs | 60 | 94 | 0.390 | 33 | 39–38 | 21–56 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | BR | CHC | CIN | MIL | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
Brooklyn | — | 16–6 | 11–11 | 10–12 | 14–8 | 13–9 | 13–9 | 16–6 | |||||
Chicago | 6–16 | — | 6–16–1 | 9–13 | 7–15 | 13–9 | 10–12–1 | 9–13–1 | |||||
Cincinnati | 11–11 | 16–6–1 | — | 9–13 | 14–8 | 11–11 | 17–5 | 13–9 | |||||
Milwaukee | 12–10 | 13–9 | 13–9 | — | 17–5 | 10–12 | 14–8–1 | 13–9 | |||||
New York | 8–14 | 15–7 | 8–14 | 5–17 | — | 11–11 | 13–9 | 7–15 | |||||
Philadelphia | 9–13 | 9–13 | 11–11 | 12–10 | 11–11 | — | 7–15 | 12–10 | |||||
Pittsburgh | 9–13 | 12–10–1 | 5–17 | 8–14–1 | 9–13 | 15–7 | — | 8–14–1 | |||||
St. Louis | 6–16 | 13–9–1 | 9–13 | 9–13 | 15–7 | 10–12 | 14–8–1 | — |
Roster
1956 Milwaukee Braves | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Del Crandall | 112 | 311 | 37 | 74 | .238 | 16 | 48 |
1B | Joe Adcock | 137 | 454 | 76 | 132 | .291 | 38 | 103 |
2B | Danny O'Connell | 139 | 498 | 71 | 119 | .239 | 2 | 42 |
3B | Eddie Mathews | 151 | 552 | 103 | 150 | .272 | 37 | 95 |
SS | Johnny Logan | 148 | 545 | 69 | 153 | .281 | 15 | 46 |
LF | Bobby Thomson | 142 | 451 | 59 | 106 | .235 | 20 | 74 |
CF | Bill Bruton | 147 | 525 | 73 | 143 | .272 | 8 | 56 |
RF | Hank Aaron | 153 | 609 | 106 | 200 | .328 | 26 | 92 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Del Rice | 71 | 188 | 40 | .213 | 3 | 17 |
Frank Torre | 111 | 159 | 41 | .258 | 0 | 16 |
Wes Covington | 75 | 138 | 39 | .283 | 2 | 16 |
Jack Dittmer | 44 | 102 | 25 | .245 | 1 | 6 |
Andy Pafko | 45 | 93 | 24 | .258 | 2 | 9 |
Chuck Tanner | 60 | 63 | 15 | .238 | 1 | 4 |
Félix Mantilla | 35 | 53 | 15 | .283 | 0 | 3 |
Toby Atwell | 15 | 30 | 5 | .167 | 2 | 7 |
Earl Hersh | 7 | 13 | 3 | .231 | 0 | 0 |
Jim Pendleton | 14 | 11 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Bob Roselli | 4 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 1 | 1 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Warren Spahn | 39 | 281.1 | 20 | 11 | 2.78 | 111 |
Lew Burdette | 39 | 256.1 | 19 | 10 | 2.70 | 110 |
Bob Buhl | 38 | 216.2 | 18 | 8 | 3.32 | 86 |
Ray Crone | 35 | 169.2 | 11 | 10 | 3.87 | 73 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gene Conley | 35 | 158.1 | 8 | 9 | 3.13 | 68 |
Taylor Phillips | 23 | 87.2 | 5 | 3 | 2.26 | 36 |
Bob Trowbridge | 19 | 50.2 | 3 | 2 | 2.66 | 40 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ernie Johnson |
36 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 3.71 | 26 |
Dave Jolly | 29 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 3.74 | 20 |
Lou Sleater | 25 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3.15 | 32 |
Red Murff | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4.44 | 18 |
Chet Nichols Jr. | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.75 | 2 |
Humberto Robinson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
Phil Paine | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | inf | 0 |
Farm system
Level | Team | League | Manager |
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AAA | Wichita Braves | American Association
|
George Selkirk |
AA | Atlanta Crackers | Southern Association | Clyde King |
AA | Austin Senators | Texas League | Connie Ryan |
A
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Jacksonville Braves | Sally League | Ben Geraghty |
A
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Topeka Hawks
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Western League | Bud Bates |
B
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Corpus Christi Clippers | Big State League | Sibby Sisti |
B
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Evansville Braves | Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League | Bob Coleman |
C
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Salinas Packers
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California League | Eddie Lake |
C
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Eau Claire Braves
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Northern League | Joe Just |
C
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Boise Braves | Pioneer League | Mickey Livingston and George McQuinn |
D
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Leesburg Braves
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Florida State League | Tommy Giordano |
D
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Waycross Braves | Georgia–Florida League | Jim Deery |
D
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McCook Braves | Nebraska State League | Bill Steinecke |
D
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Wellsville Braves
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PONY League
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Alex Monchak
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D
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Lawton Braves | Sooner State League | Travis Jackson |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Atlanta, Jacksonville, Evansville, Boise, Wellsville
References
- ^ "Baseball standings (final)". Milwaukee Journal. October 1, 1956. p. , part 2.
- ^ "Major league crowds are slightly decreased". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. October 1, 1956. p. 12, part 2.
- ^ "Turnstile story". Milwaukee Sentinel. September 24, 1956. p. 2, part s.
- ^ Wolf, Bob (June 17, 1956). "Grimm quits manager job; Haney to boss the Braves". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1, part 1.
- ^ Lynch, H.G. (June 17, 1956). "Grimm resigns, or is he pushed?". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1, part 3.
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
- 1956 Milwaukee Braves season at Baseball Reference