1956 Milwaukee Braves season

1956 Milwaukee Braves
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record 92–62 (.597)
League place 2nd
Other information
Owner(s) Louis R. Perini
General manager(s) John J. Quinn
Manager(s) Charlie Grimm, Fred Haney
Local television none
Local radio WEMP
WTMJ
(Earl Gillespie, Blaine Walsh)
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The 1956 Milwaukee Braves season was a season in American baseball. 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.

Regular season

Season summary

For the 1956 baseball season, the Braves' first manager was Charlie Grimm, but the team got off to a mediocre start with a 24–22 record. At that point, the owners of the Braves dismissed Haney and replaced him with Fred Haney, who led the Braves to a 68–40 record for the rest of the baseball season. Finishing with an overall 92–62 record, the Braves nearly caught up with the Dodgers, who finished the season at 93–61. Haney went on to manage 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), Lew Burdette (19–10), and Bob Buhl (18–8). 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 W L Pct. GB Home Road
Brooklyn Dodgers 93 61 0.604 — 52–25 41–36
Milwaukee Braves 92 62 0.597 1 47–29 45–33
Cincinnati Redlegs 91 63 0.591 2 51–26 40–37
St. Louis Cardinals 76 78 0.494 17 43–34 33–44
Philadelphia Phillies 71 83 0.461 22 40–37 31–46
New York Giants 67 87 0.435 26 37–40 30–47
Pittsburgh Pirates 66 88 0.429 27 35–43 31–45
Chicago Cubs 60 94 0.390 33 39–38 21–56

Record vs. opponents

1956 National League Records

Sources:

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; H = Hits; R = Runs; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos Player G AB R H Avg. HR RBI
1B Adcock, JoeJoe Adcock 137 454 76 132 .328 38 103
3B Mathews, EddieEddie Mathews 151 552 103 150 .328 37 95
SS Logan, JohnnyJohnny Logan 148 545 153 .281 15 46
LF Thomson, BobbyBobby Thomson 142 451 59 106 .235 20 74
CF Bruton, BillBill Bruton 147 525 73 143 .272 8 56
RF Aaron, HankHank 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
Mantilla, FélixFélix Mantilla 35 53 15 .283 0 3

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
Spahn, WarrenWarren Spahn 39 281.1 20 11 2.78 111
Burdette, LewLew Burdette 39 256.1 19 10 2.70 110
Buhl, BobBob Buhl 38 216.2 18 8 3.32 86

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
Conley, GeneGene Conley 35 158.1 8 9 3.13 68
Phillips, TaylorTaylor Phillips 23 87.2 5 3 2.26 36

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
Johnson, ErnieErnie Johnson 36 4 3 6 3.71 26
Jolly, DaveDave Jolly 29 2 3 7 3.74 20
Nichols, ChetChet Nichols 2 0 1 0 6.75 2
Paine, PhilPhil Paine 1 0 0 0 ∞ 0

Farm system

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

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