1956 Milwaukee Braves season

1956 Milwaukee Braves
LeagueNational League
BallparkMilwaukee County Stadium
CityMilwaukee, Wisconsin
Record92–62 (.597)
League place2nd
OwnersLouis R. Perini
General managersJohn J. Quinn
ManagersCharlie Grimm 24–22 (.522)
Fred Haney      68–40 (.630)
RadioWEMP
WTMJ
(Earl Gillespie, Blaine Walsh)
← 1955
1957 →

The 1956 Milwaukee Braves season was the fourth in Milwaukee and the 86th overall season of the franchise. The Braves finished in second place in the National League, just one game behind the Brooklyn Dodgers in the league standings, and one game ahead of the Cincinnati Reds.[1] All three teams posted wins on the final day of the season; the Braves had entered the final three games with a game advantage, but dropped the first two at St. Louis while the Dodgers swept the Pirates.

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 Hank Aaron led the league in hits with 200, in batting average at .328, and in doubles with 34. His 106 runs scored led the Braves. First baseman Joe Adcock led the Braves with 38 home runs and 103 runs batted in. The Braves' other hitting star was their third baseman, Eddie Mathews, who played in 151 games, hit 37 home runs, scored 103 runs, and batted in 95 runs.

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 Bobby Thomson also had his best season, out of three, with the Braves, with 142 games played, 20 home runs, and 74 runs batted in, but just a .235 batting average. Then, the next season, Thomson was traded back to the New York Giants.

Season standings

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Brooklyn Dodgers 93 61 .604 — 52‍–‍25 41‍–‍36
Milwaukee Braves 92 62 .597 1 47‍–‍29 45‍–‍33
Cincinnati Redlegs 91 63 .591 2 51‍–‍26 40‍–‍37
St. Louis Cardinals 76 78 .494 17 43‍–‍34 33‍–‍44
Philadelphia Phillies 71 83 .461 22 40‍–‍37 31‍–‍46
New York Giants 67 87 .435 26 37‍–‍40 30‍–‍47
Pittsburgh Pirates 66 88 .429 27 35‍–‍43 31‍–‍45
Chicago Cubs 60 94 .390 33 39‍–‍38 21‍–‍56

Record vs. opponents

1956 National League record

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
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

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

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Wichita Braves American Association George Selkirk
AA Atlanta Crackers Southern Association Clyde King
AA Austin Senators Texas League Connie Ryan
A Jacksonville Braves Sally League Ben Geraghty
A Topeka Hawks Western League Bud Bates
B Corpus Christi Clippers Big State League Sibby Sisti
B Evansville Braves Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League Bob Coleman
C Salinas Packers California League Eddie Lake
C Eau Claire Braves Northern League Joe Just
C Boise Braves Pioneer League Mickey Livingston and George McQuinn
D Leesburg Braves Florida State League Tommy Giordano
D Waycross Braves Georgia–Florida League Jim Deery
D McCook Braves Nebraska State League Bill Steinecke
D Wellsville Braves PONY League Alex Monchak
D Lawton Braves Sooner State League Travis Jackson

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Atlanta, Jacksonville, Evansville, Boise, Wellsville

References

  1. ^ "Baseball standings (final)". Milwaukee Journal. October 1, 1956. p. , part 2.
  2. ^ "Major league crowds are slightly decreased". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. October 1, 1956. p. 12, part 2.
  3. ^ "Turnstile story". Milwaukee Sentinel. September 24, 1956. p. 2, part s.
  4. ^ Wolf, Bob (June 17, 1956). "Grimm quits manager job; Haney to boss the Braves". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1, part 1.
  5. ^ Lynch, H.G. (June 17, 1956). "Grimm resigns, or is he pushed?". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1, part 3.