The 1956 Kansas City Athletics season, the team's 56th in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

and second in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

, involved the A's finishing 8th in the

with a record of 52 wins and 102 losses, 45 games behind the World Series champion New York Yankees.

Offseason

* March 2, 1956: Tommy Lasorda was purchased by the Athletics from the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

.Tommy Lasorda page at Baseball Reference
/ref>

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* April 16, 1956:

Lee Wheat Leroy William Wheat (September 15, 1929 – July 29, 2008) was an American professional baseball pitcher who worked in 11 career Major League Baseball games for the 1954 Philadelphia Athletics and 1955's maiden edition of the Kansas City Athleti ...

Tom Saffell Thomas Judson Saffell (July 26, 1921 – September 10, 2012) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Athletics. Early life Saffell grew up in Etowah, Te ...

and cash were traded by the Athletics to the

for

Tim Thompson Charles Lemoine Thompson (March 1, 1924 – October 25, 2021) was an American professional baseball player and catcher in the Major Leagues. He appeared in 187 games over all or parts of four seasons (1954; 1956–58) for the Brooklyn Dodgers, ...

. * April 16, 1956: Johnny Groth was purchased by the Athletics from the Washington Senators. * May 1956:

Marion Fricano Marion John Fricano (July 15, 1923 – May 18, 1976) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He is likely remembered for throwing the pitch that ended Cass Michaels' career on August 27, . U.S. Navy The , right-hander was born in Brant, ...

and $60,000 were traded by the Athletics to the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

for

Jack Crimian John Melvin Crimian (February 17, 1926 – February 11, 2019) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. A right-hander, he appeared in 74 total games pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals (1951–52), Kansas City Athletics (1956) and Detroit ...

. * June 14, 1956:

Moe Burtschy Edward Frank "Moe" Burtschy (April 18, 1922 – May 2, 2004) was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for the Philadelphia / Kansas City Athletics (1950, 1951, 1954–56). He was listed as tall and . ...

Bill Renna William Beneditto Renna (October 14, 1924 – June 19, 2014) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball, playing mainly as a right fielder for four teams in part of five seasons spanning –. Listed at , , Renna batted and threw right-handed. Nic ...

and cash were traded by the Athletics to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

for Lou Skizas and Eddie Robinson. * July 11, 1956: Tommy Lasorda was traded by the Athletics to the

for

Wally Burnette Wallace Harper Burnette (June 20, 1929 – February 12, 2003) was an American professional baseball player who pitched for the Kansas City Athletics from -. He was born in Blairs, Virginia. In three seasons, he compiled a win–loss record of 1 ...

. * August 17, 1956:

Joe Ginsberg Myron Nathan "Joe" Ginsberg (October 11, 1926 – November 2, 2012) was an American professional baseball player. A catcher, he played for seven Major League Baseball teams: the Detroit Tigers (1948 and 1950–53), Cleveland Indians (1953–54), K ...

was traded by the Athletics to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

for Hal Smith. * August 25, 1956: Enos Slaughter was selected off waivers from the Athletics by the New York Yankees.

Roster

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''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Seminole

References

External links

1956 Kansas City Athletics team page at Baseball Reference1956 Kansas City Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
{{Oakland Athletics Oakland Athletics seasons Kansas City Athletics season 1956 in sports in Missouri