1957 Milwaukee Braves season


The 1957 Milwaukee Braves season was the fifth in Milwaukee and the 87th overall season of the franchise. It was the year that the team won its first and only World Series championship while based in Milwaukee. The Braves won 95 games and lost 59 to win the National League pennant by eight games over the second-place St. Louis Cardinals.
The club went on to the 1957 World Series, where they faced the New York Yankees. Pitcher Lew Burdette was the star and Most Valuable Player, winning three games, including the crucial seventh game played in New York City.

Offseason

Season summary

The Braves finished the regular season with a 95–59 record, and they scored 772 runs while giving up 613. They played their home games in Milwaukee County Stadium, where they sold just over 2,220,000 tickets, tops in the National League.

Offense

The Braves were led on offense by right fielder Hank Aaron, who won the National League Most Valuable Player award in just his fourth year in the major leagues. Fielding well in 151 games in right field, Aaron also led the National League with 118 runs scored, 44 home runs, a career high of 132 runs batted in, and 369 total bases. He also struck out just 58 times. Aaron also finished high in the league standings with 198 hits, a.322 batting average, and a.600 slugging percentage.
Another offensive star was third baseman Eddie Mathews. On June 12, Mathews hit the 200th home run of his career. For the season, Matthews was second on the team with 167 hits, 109 runs scored, 32 home runs, 94 runs batted in, and 148 games played.
In addition, the Braves' new second baseman, Red Schoendienst, was acquired in a trade on June 15, and he played in 93 games. Given up in this trade were Bobby Thomson and Danny O'Connell. Wes Covington was the main replacement for Thomson in left field. Covington played in 96 games, batted.284, and batted in 65 runs, third on the team.
Del Crandall was the Braves' catcher in 118 of the 154 games. Del Rice was his primary backup, and he played in 54 games, including pinch-hitting.

Pitching

was the Cy Young Award winner as the best pitcher in Major League Baseball, the first left-handed pitcher to win the award. Spahn finished with 35 games started with a 21–11 record. He also relieved in four games, saving three of those. Spahn led the National League with 21 wins and 18 complete games, and he had a 2.69 earned-run average in 271 innings pitched. Spahn was backed up by starters Bob Buhl and Lew Burdette.

Manager

, coming off his good performance in 1956, managed the Braves for the entire season in 1957. Haney also led the Braves to the top of the regular-season standings in 1958 and 1959, including the 1958 World Series, but after 1959, he never managed another Major League team again, although he did become the general manager of the Los Angeles Angels.

Injuries

The Braves overcame two serious injuries during the 1957 season that caused some players to miss large parts of the year. First baseman Joe Adcock was injured in mid-season, and only played in 65 games, in which he batted in 38 runs. Frank Torre filled in for him and batted.272 in 129 games. Center fielder Bill Bruton injured his knee after playing in just 79 games, missing the rest of the season. He was replaced by Andy Pafko, who played in 83 games.

Opening Day lineup

Notable transactions

Record vs. opponents

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
PosPlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
C11838397.2531546
1B12936499.272540
2B93394122.310632
3B148572167.2923294
SS129494135.2731049
LF9632893.2842165
CF7930685.278530
RF151615198.32244132

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
PlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
8322061.277827
6520960.2871238
4818343.23518
7118243.236421
4114835.236423
5414433.229920
4113454.403727
5810525.238217
307921.26628
226917.24626
33345.14701
13222.09100
15141.07700
672.28600
761.16700
221.50000
710.00000

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGIPWLERASO
3927121112.6978
37256.21793.71111
34216.21872.74117

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGIPWLERASO
35148993.1661
32126753.6475
2499.1564.6268
1142.1314.4615

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGWLSVERASO
322381.5446
307343.8844
273225.5536
231115.0227
122224.8513
10000.002
10000.000

1957 World Series

This was the Braves' first World Championship since the "Miracle Braves" of 1914, and their only one while based in Milwaukee. To date, the Braves' only other World Championship came in the 1995 World Series, when the now-Atlanta Braves defeated the Cleveland Indians.
World Series MVP Lew Burdette won two games in Yankee Stadium and one game in Milwaukee County Stadium. Warren Spahn had the other Braves's victory.

Summary

NL Milwaukee Braves vs. AL New York Yankees

Composite line score

1957 World Series : Milwaukee Braves over New York Yankees

Awards and honors

1957 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Atlanta, Evansville, Salinas