1953 In Baseball

Champions

Major League Baseball

*World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers (4–2)
*All-Star Game, July 14 at Crosley Field: National League, 5–1

Other champions

*All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: Grand Rapids Chicks
*College World Series: Michigan
*Japan Series: Yomiuri Giants over Nankai Hawks (4–2)
*Little League World Series: Southside, Birmingham, Alabama
Winter Leagues
* 1953 Caribbean Series: Cangrejeros de Santurce
*Cuban League: Leones del Habana
* Dominican Republic League: Águilas Cibaeñas
*Mexican Pacific League: Venados de Mazatlán
* Panamanian League: Chesterfield Smokers
*Puerto Rican League: Cangrejeros de Santurce
*Venezuelan League: Leones del Caracas

Awards and honors

*Baseball Hall of Fame
**Ed Barrow
** Chief Bender
**Tom Connolly
**Dizzy Dean
**Bill Klem
**Al Simmons
** Bobby Wallace
**Harry Wright
*MLB Most Valuable Player Award
** Al Rosen (unanimous), Cleveland Indians, 3B
** Roy Campanella, Brooklyn Dodgers, C
*MLB Rookie of the Year Award
** Harvey Kuenn, Detroit Tigers, SS
** Jim Gilliam, Brooklyn Dodgers, 2B
*The Sporting News Player of the Year Award
**Al Rosen, Cleveland Indians
*The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Award
**Bob Porterfield, Washington Senators
**Warren Spahn, Milwaukee Braves
*The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award
**Casey Stengel, New York Yankees

Statistical leaders

Major league baseball final standings

American League final standings

National League final standings

Events

January

*January 21 – The Baseball Hall of Fame inducted former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Dizzy Dean and former Philadelphia Athletics slugger Al Simmons.

February

*February – Brewing giant Anheuser-Busch purchases the St. Louis Cardinals franchise, an ownership that would last until the start of , when William DeWitt, Jr. took over. Sportsman's Park is renamed Busch Stadium.

March

*March 13 – Boston Braves owner, Lou Perini, announced he was moving the team to Milwaukee, where the Braves had their top farm club, in time for the 1953 season.
*March 28 – Jim Thorpe, famed American Indian athlete considered by many as the greatest athlete in recorded history, died in Lomita, California at the age of 64. A native of Prague, Oklahoma, Thorpe played six seasons of Major League Baseball between 1913 and 1919, mostly for the New York Giants, in addition to his Olympic gold medals in the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon competition, while playing and coaching for a long time in the National Football League.

April

*April 13 – In Cincinnati over 30,000 see the Milwaukee Braves win their first game, 2–0, behind the pitching of Max Surkont
*April 17 – New York Yankees Mickey Mantle hit the longest home run in Griffith Stadium history, a 565-feet shot off Washington Senators Chuck Stobbs. The Yankees win, 7–3.
*April 29 – Joe Adcock of the Milwaukee Braves hits the first home run ever hit over the center field wall of the Polo Grounds. The shot, measured 475 feet, comes off Jim Hearn in the third inning of the Braves' 3–1 victory over the New York Giants.
*April 30 – The Little-Bigger League changes its name to the Babe Ruth League.

May

*May   6 – At Sportsman's Park, Bobo Holloman of the St. Louis Browns no-hits the Philadelphia Athletics, 6–0, in his very first Major League start. Holloman will only post two more victories in his Major League career, in which his final appearance was on July 19 of this season.

June

*June 3 – Congress cites the research of New York City librarian Robert Henderson in proving that Alexander Cartwright "founded" baseball and not Abner Doubleday. His 1947 book ''Bat, Ball and Bishop'' documents Cartwright's contributions to the origins of the game of the baseball.
*June 14 – The New York Yankees sweep the Cleveland Indians, 6–2 and 3–0, before 74,708 at Cleveland Stadium to extend their winning streak at 18 games.
*June 18 – In a 23–3 thrashing of the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox set a still-standing Major League record by scoring 17 runs in one inning. After scoring twice in the sixth to break a 3–3 tie, the Red Sox go on their record-breaking run-scoring output in the seventh. Eleven Boston players score in the inning, with Sammy White scoring three times and Gene Stephens (who also collects three hits in the inning, becoming the first Major Leaguer in modern history to do so), Tom Umphlett, Dick Gernert and winning pitcher Ellis Kinder scoring twice.
*June 25 – Ted Kazanski collects three hits and four runs batted in in his MLB debut to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 13–2 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. As a result, Kazanski becomes the first player in Major League history to drive in at least four runs as a shortstop in his major league debut, according to the ''Elias Sports Bureau''.

July

*July 14 – The National League wins its fourth consecutive All–Star Game, 5–1, at Cincinnati's Crosley Field behind the stellar pitching of Robin Roberts and Warren Spahn. National League outfielder Enos Slaughter gets two hits, scores twice and robs Harvey Kuenn of an extra-base hit.

August

*August 5 - Don Larsen of the St. Louis Browns pitches a complete game, a 5-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox. However, he goes 3 for 3 at the plate, in the process establishing a consecutive hits record for pitchers with seven.
*August 30 – In game one of a doubleheader, Jim Pendleton hit three home runs, as the Milwaukee Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field, 19–4, while tying a major league record for the most home runs in a single game with eight, held by the New York Yankees since 1939. Besides, Pendleton became only the second rookie in history to hit three home runs in one game, joining his teammate Eddie Mathews, who hit it just a year earlier. In the second of the twin bill, the Braves hit four more long balls and crushed again Pittsburgh, 11–5. Moreover, the 12 homers in a doubleheader shattered the previous mark of nine. This time, Mathews belted four dingers for the day, which gave him a National League-leading 43. Matthews would finish the season with 47 home runs, 30 of them on the road, setting also a major league record. Previously, only the New York Yankees had ever hit more home runs in consecutive games, or in a doubleheader. The Yankees hit eight home runs in a 23–2 victory in the first game of a doubleheader, and five homers in a 10–0 win in the second game, played on June 28, 1939 against the Philadelphia Athletics at Shibe Park.

September

*September 2 – The St. Louis Cardinals overcome a three-run inside-the-park home run by shortstop Ted Kazanski to beat the Philadelphia Phillies‚ 10–7. Rip Repulski hits his 20th home run of the season for St. Louis‚ breaking the team's rookie record set by Johnny Mize in . The Cardinals hammer 10 hits off Phillies starter Robin Roberts to hand him his 12th loss.
*September 12 – Carl Erskine defeats the Braves 5–2, as the Brooklyn Dodgers clinch the pennant earlier than any other team in history.
*September 13 – Pitcher Bob Trice becomes the first black player in Philadelphia Athletics history.
*September 14 – The New York Yankees clinch their 5th straight pennant with an 8–5 win over the Cleveland Indians. Second baseman Billy Martin has 4 RBIs.

October

*October 5 – The New York Yankees defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 4–3, in Game 6 of the World Series, to win their record-setting fifth consecutive World Championship and sixteenth overall, four games to two. Billy Martin was the star of the Series with a record-setting 12 hits, including the game-winning single in the bottom of the 9th of Game 6 to clinch the title.
*October 7 – Bill Veeck, facing dwindling attendance and revenue, is forced to sell the St. Louis Browns to a Baltimore-based group led by attorney Clarence Miles and brewer Jerry Hoffberger. The Browns would move to Baltimore and be known as the Baltimore Orioles starting in the season.
*October 28- After a dispute with Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, Dodgers announcer Red Barber resigns from his position and takes a job doing radio broadcast for the rival New York Yankees. Barber was upset that he could not get a higher fee from Gillette, who sponsored the T.V. broadcast of the 1953 World Series, and that O'Malley refused to support him.

November

*November 9 – Reaffirming its earlier position, the United States Supreme Court rules, 7–2, that baseball is a sport and not a business and therefore not subject to antitrust laws. The ruling is made in a case involving New York Yankees minor league player George Toolson, who refused to move from Triple-A to Double-A.
*November 10 – The New York Giants end their tour of Japan. It is reported that each Giants player received just $331 of the $3,000 they were promised.
*November 24 – The Brooklyn Dodgers sign Walter Alston to a one-year pact as their manager for 1954. Alston will manage the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers over the next 23 seasons, winning 2,040 games and four World Championships.

December

*December 1 – The Boston Red Sox trade for slugger Jackie Jensen, sending P Mickey McDermott and OF Tom Umphlett to the Washington Senators. Jensen will average 25 home runs a year for his seven seasons for Boston, lead the American League in RBI three times, and win the Most Valuable Player Award in . A fear of flying will end his career prematurely.
*December 9 – The U.S. Supreme Court upholds Major League Baseball's antitrust exemption and the reserve clause in ''Toolson v. New York Yankees, Inc.''

Movies

*'' The Kid from Left Field''
*''Big Leaguer''

Births

January

*January   1 – Lynn Jones
*January   1 – Joe Pittman
*January   5 – Jim Gantner
*January   8 – Bruce Sutter
*January   9 – Iván DeJesús
*January   9 – Phil Mankowski
*January 12 – Terry Whitfield
*January 13 – Odell Jones
*January 16 – Dennis DeBarr
*January 17 – Mark Littell
*January 24 – Tim Stoddard
*January 25 – Junior Moore
*January 26 – Tom Bruno
*January 31 – Mike Rowland

February

*February   4 – Rob Picciolo
*February   7 – Dan Quisenberry
*February 11 – Tom Veryzer
*February 12 – Dave Revering
*February 17 – Jamie Easterly
*February 17 – Jim Umbarger
*February 21 – Rick Lysander
*February 22 – Gerry Davis
*February 23 – Fred Kuhaulua
*February 24 – Mike Sember
*February 24 – Frank Riccelli
*February 27 – Ron Hassey

March

*March   1 – Jeff Holly
*March   2 – Dave Tobik
*March   2 – Larry Wolfe
*March   6 – Gerry Hannahs
*March   7 – Randy Stein
*March   8 – Jim Rice
*March   8 – Don Werner
*March 14 – Tim Ireland
*March 16 – Jay Franklin
*March 16 – Rich Puig
*March 18 – Randy Miller
*March 19 – Tim Corcoran
*March 22 – Dan Boitano
*March 23 – Bo Díaz
*March 27 – Gary Alexander
*March 29 – Tom Hume
*March 30 – Mike Miley
*March 31 – Tom Hausman

April

*April   1 – Larry Murray
*April   2 – Héctor Cruz
*April   5 – Kim Allen
*April 14 – Mark Bomback
*April 16 – Don Reynolds
*April 16 – Bruce Taylor
*April 21 – Joe Keener
*April 26 – Arturo DeFreites

May

*May   3 – Keith Smith
*May   5 – Gary Christenson
*May   6 – Larry Andersen
*May   9 – Ron Jackson
*May 12 – Taylor Duncan
*May 15 – George Brett
*May 16 – Rick Rhoden
*May 28 – Rafael Landestoy
*May 29 – Mike Dupree

June

*June   1 – Rick Baldwin
*June   3 – Ed Glynn
*June   4 – Larry Demery
*June   5 – Paul Siebert
*June   6 – Dave Bergman
*June   8 – Jack Kucek
*June 10 – Francisco Barrios
*June 10 – Rick Camp
*June 14 – Luis Aponte
*June 14 – Mark Lee
*June 20 – Tony Chévez
*June 21 – Charlie Moore
*June 21 – Gene Pentz
*June 22 – Roy Thomas
*June 27 – Joe Zdeb

July

*July   2 – Tony Armas
*July   3 – Frank Tanana
*July 11 – Sam Hinds
*July 12 – Roy Branch
*July 13 – Joe Cannon
*July 14 – Billy Smith
*July 16 – Sheldon Mallory
*July 20 – Gary Woods
*July 22 – Kevin Pasley
*July 25 – Biff Pocoroba
*July 28 – Jerry Maddox
*July 28 – Mark Williams
*July 31 – Hank Small

August

*August 4 – Masataka Nashida
*August 5 – Rick Bosetti
*August 5 – John Hale
*August 5 – Jesús de la Rosa
*August 5 – Rick Mahler
*August 8 – Alvis Woods
*August 10 – Tom Brookens
*August 11 – Rex Hudson
*August 11 – Dennis Lewallyn
*August 15 – Nino Espinosa
*August 16 – Nick Leyva
*August 20 – Dan Dumoulin
*August 24 – Luis Sánchez
*August 25 – Bob Lacey
*August 29 – Marv Foley
*August 31 – Juan Bernhardt
*August 31 – Bill Nahorodny

September

*September   1 – Rob Wilfong
*September   2 – Danny Goodwin
*September   3 – Mike Paxton
*September   7 – La Rue Washington
*September   9 – Steve Ratzer
*September 11 – Mike Gordon
*September 12 – Greg Keatley
*September 15 – Oswaldo Olivares
*September 16 – Chris Knapp
*September 18 – Mark DeJohn
*September 23 – Brian Asselstine
*September 25 – Dick Davis
*September 25 – Ed Putman
*September 26 – Jim Gideon
*September 29 – Warren Cromartie
*September 29 – Gene Richards
*September 29 – Carlos Tosca
*September 30 – Dan Gonzales

October

*October   1 – Pete Falcone
*October   2 – Kevin Kobel
*October   4 – Dave Schuler
*October   6 – Victor Bernal
*October   7 – Andy Replogle
*October 14 – Kiko Garcia
*October 16 – Rodney Scott
*October 20 – Keith Hernandez
*October 21 – Juan Eichelberger
*October 22 – Rich Wortham
*October 23 – Bo McLaughlin
*October 27 – Barry Bonnell
*October 27 – U L Washington
*October 29 – Randy McGilberry

November

*November   2 – Paul Hartzell
*November   3 – Larry Herndon
*November   3 – Bobby Thompson
*November   4 – Roger Slagle
*November   6 – John Candelaria
*November   6 – Brock Pemberton
*November 10 – Larry Christenson
*November 10 – Larry Parrish
*November 10 – Paul Thormodsgard
*November 14 – Kim Andrew
*November 18 – Gilberto Rondón
*November 20 – Duane Theiss
*November 22 – Rick Matula
*November 29 – Sixto Lezcano

December

*December 3 – Bob Pate

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