1959 Milwaukee Braves season
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1959 Milwaukee Braves season
| 1959 Milwaukee Braves |
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| 1959 Information | ||
| Owner(s) | Louis R. Perini | |
| General manager(s) | John McHale | |
| Manager(s) | Fred Haney | |
| Local television | none | |
| Local radio | WEMP WTMJ (Earl Gillespie, Blaine Walsh) |
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The 1959 Milwaukee Braves season was the seventh season for the franchise in Milwaukee and its 84th season overall. The Braves ended the National League regular season in a first-place tie with the Los Angeles Dodgers. With both clubs finishing with records of 86-68, a special best-of-three tie-breaking series was played to decide the National League Championship for the World Series. The Braves lost this series to the Dodgers two games to none. That left the Braves record at 86-70, two games behind the Dodgers, who went on to win the 1959 World Series over the Chicago White Sox.
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Contents
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Offseason
- December 1, 1958: Claude Raymond was drafted from the Braves by the Chicago White Sox in the 1958 rule 5 draft.[1]
- March 31, 1959: Gene Conley, Harry Hanebrink and Joe Koppe were traded by the Braves to the Philadelphia Phillies for Johnny O'Brien, Ted Kazanski, and Stan Lopata.[2]
Regular season
Batting
Right fielder Hank Aaron won the National League batting championship with a career-high .355 batting average. He also led the league in hits with 223, total bases with 400—both also career hights—and slugging percentage at .636. Aaron finished third in the voting for the National League Most Valuable Player award. Aaron also led the Braves with 154 games played, 629 at bats, and 123 runs batted in.
Third baseman Eddie Mathews led the NL with 46 home runs and had a career-high 182 hits, and he led the National League. He also led the team with 118 runs scored, had 182 hits and drove in 114 runs. Mathews finished second to Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs in the voting for the league's Most Valuable Player, who hit 47 home runs and lead the league in runs batted in. The choice was controversial, as the Cubs finished in last place, but Aaron and Mathews split the voting among Braves players, allowing Banks to claim the award.
Pitching
Warren Spahn and Lew Burdette led the National League pitchers with 21 wins apiece, and they had identical 21-15 win-loss records in carrying the Braves on their backs for most of the season. Spahn, who was the starting pitcher in the All-Star Game, pitched 292 innings, and Burdette pitched 290. Third starter Bob Buhl returned from a season full of injuries to pitch 198 innings and finish with a good 15-9 record.
The star of the bullpen was relief pitcher Don McMahon, who pitched in 60 games (finishing 49), had a 5-3 record, a 2.57 earned run average, and saved 15 games. McMahon was also chosen for the All-Star Game.
Season highlights
On May 26, Harvey Haddix of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitched a perfect game through 12 innings of a game against the Braves. Haddix retired the first 36 consecutive batters, but lost the game 1-0 in the 13th inning.[3] Félix Mantilla broke up the perfect game in the 13th inning.[4] Braves pitcher Lew Burdette also pitched a shutout for all thirteen innings, giving up 12 hits and no walks.[3]
Season standings
| National League | W | L | GB | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 88 | 68 | -- | .564 |
| Milwaukee Braves | 86 | 70 | 2 | .551 |
| San Francisco Giants | 83 | 71 | 4 | .539 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 78 | 76 | 9 | .506 |
| Chicago Cubs | 74 | 80 | 13 | .481 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 74 | 80 | 13 | .481 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 71 | 83 | 16 | .461 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 64 | 90 | 23 | .416 |
Notable transactions
- April 11, 1959: Humberto Robinson was traded by the Braves to the Cleveland Indians for Mickey Vernon.[5]
- May 11, 1959: Claude Raymond was returned to the Braves by the Chicago White Sox.[1]
- May 26, 1959: Phil Roof was signed as an amateur free agent by the Braves.[6]
- July 19, 1959: Len Gabrielson was signed as an amateur free agent by the Braves.[7]
- August 20, 1959: Ray Boone was selected off waivers by the Braves from the Kansas City Athletics.[8]
- August 26, 1959: Del Rice was released by the Braves.[9]
- September 11, 1959: Enos Slaughter was selected off waivers by the Braves from the New York Yankees.[10]
- October 24, 1959: Rico Carty was signed by the Braves as an amateur free agent.[11]
Roster
| 1959 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; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3B | Eddie Mathews | 148 | 594 | 182 | .306 | 46 | 114 |
| RF | Hank Aaron | 154 | 629 | 223 | .355 | 39 | 123 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Félix Mantilla | 103 | 251 | 54 | .215 | 3 | 19 |
| Lee Maye | 51 | 140 | 42 | .300 | 4 | 16 |
| Johnny O'Brien | 44 | 116 | 23 | .198 | 1 | 8 |
| Stan Lopata | 25 | 48 | 5 | .104 | 0 | 4 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lew Burdette | 41 | 289.6 | 21 | 15 | 4.07 | 105 |
| Warren Spahn | 40 | 292.0 | 21 | 15 | 2.96 | 111 |
| Bob Buhl | 31 | 198.0 | 15 | 9 | 2.86 | 105 |
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 |
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Giggie | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4.05 | 15 |
| Bob Hartman | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27.00 | 1 |
Farm system
See also: Minor league baseball
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | Louisville Colonels | American Association | Ben Geraghty |
| AAA | Sacramento Solons | Pacific Coast League | Bob Elliott |
| AA | Atlanta Crackers | Southern Association | Bud Bates and Bob Montag |
| AA | Austin Senators | Texas League | Ernie White |
| A | Jacksonville Braves | Sally League | Sibby Sisti |
| B | Cedar Rapids Braves | Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League | Alex Monchak |
| B | Yakima Bears | Northwest League | Hub Kittle |
| C | Eau Claire Braves | Northern League | Travis Jackson, Bobby Dudley and Gordon Maltzberger |
| C | Boise Braves | Pioneer League | Billy Smith |
| D | McCook Braves | Nebraska State League | Bill Steinecke |
| D | Wellsville Braves | New York-Penn League | Harry Minor |
| D | Midland Braves | Sophomore League | Jimmy Brown |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Austin, Yakima, McCook, Wellsville
Notes
- ^ a b Claude Raymond page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Johnny O'Brien page at Baseball Reference
- ^ a b Retrosheet Boxscore: Milwaukee Braves 1, Pittsburgh Pirates 0
- ^ Baseball’s Top 100: The Game’s Greatest Records, p.29, Kerry Banks, 2010, Greystone Books, Vancouver, BC, ISBN 978-1-55365-507-7
- ^ Mickey Vernon page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Phil Roof page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Len Gabrielson page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Ray Boone page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Del Rice page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Enos Slaughter page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Rico Carty at Baseball Reference
References
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
- 1959 Milwaukee Braves season at Baseball Reference
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