1953 Milwaukee Braves season

1953 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
Local television none
Local radio WEMP
WTMJ
(Earl Gillespie, Bob Kelly)
Previous season     Next season  >

The 1953 Milwaukee Braves season saw the return of Major League Baseball to Milwaukee for the first time since 1901, when the original Milwaukee Brewers played before moving to St. Louis and becoming the Browns. With attendance and interest in Boston very low, team owner Lou Perini moved the team to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during spring training, just weeks before the start of the season.[1] In their first season in the Badger State, the Braves finished in second place in the National League standings, with a 92–62 record, thirteen games behind the NL Champion Brooklyn Dodgers.

Regular season

Season standings

National League W L Pct. GB Home Road
Brooklyn Dodgers 105 49 0.682 — 60–17 45–32
Milwaukee Braves 92 62 0.597 13 45–31 47–31
Philadelphia Phillies 83 71 0.539 22 48–29 35–42
St. Louis Cardinals 83 71 0.539 22 48–30 35–41
New York Giants 70 84 0.455 35 38–39 32–45
Cincinnati Redlegs 68 86 0.442 37 38–39 30–47
Chicago Cubs 65 89 0.422 40 43–34 22–55
Pittsburgh Pirates 50 104 0.325 55 26–51 24–53

Opening game

The Braves moved from Boston to Milwaukee on March 18, 1953, less than four weeks before the start of the regular season, causing the National League to quickly realign its 1953 schedule. Before 1953, the NL was divided into four Eastern teams (Boston, Brooklyn, New York, Philadelphia) and four "Western" ones (Chicago, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, St. Louis). With the Milwaukee Braves now a Western club, they exchanged 1953 schedules with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and opened their season on the road against the Cincinnati Redlegs in the traditional NL opener at Crosley Field on Monday, April 13. Braves' starting pitcher Max Surkont threw a three-hit shutout, however, and Sid Gordon and Jack Dittmer drove in the only runs of the day, as Milwaukee triumphed, 2–0.[2] The following day, April 14, they opened at home before 34,357 fans, and in ten innings they defeated the St. Louis Cardinals at Milwaukee County Stadium, 3–2. Warren Spahn earned the complete game victory.[3]

Starting lineup, April 13, 1953

38 Bill Bruton CF
23 Johnny Logan SS
41 Eddie Mathews    3B
  4 Sid Gordon LF
48 Andy Pafko RF
  9 Joe Adcock 1B
  1 Del Crandall C
  6 Jack Dittmer 2B
36 Max Surkont P[2]

Record vs. opponents

1953 National League Records

Sources:

Team BR CHC CIN MIL NYG PHI PIT STL
Brooklyn — 13–9–1 15–7 13–9 15–7 14–8 20–2 15–7
Chicago 9–13–1 — 12–10 8–14 9–13 5–17 11–11 11–11
Cincinnati 7–15 10–12 — 8–14 9–13 12–10 15–7 7–15–1
Milwaukee 9–13 14–8 14–8 — 14–8–1 13–9–1 15–7 13–9–1
New York 7–15 13–9 13–9 8–14–1 — 9–13 11–11 9–13
Philadelphia 8–14 17–5 10–12 9–13–1 13–9 — 15–7 11–11–1
Pittsburgh 2–20 11–11 7–15 7–15 11–11 7–15 — 5–17
St. Louis 7–15 11–11 15–7–1 9–13–1 13–9 11–11–1 17–5 —

Roster

1953 Milwaukee Braves
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

 Manager

Coaches

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

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
SS Logan, JohnnyJohnny Logan 150 611 167 .273 11 73

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
Thorpe, BobBob Thorpe 27 37 6 .162 0 5
Burris, PaulPaul Burris 2 1 0 .000 0 0

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
Antonelli, JohnnyJohnny Antonelli 31 175.1 12 12 3.18 131
Wilson, JimJim Wilson 20 114 4 9 4.34 71

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
Burdette, LewLew Burdette 46 175 15 5 3.24 58
Buhl, BobBob Buhl 30 154.1 13 9 2.97 83
Liddle, DonDon Liddle 31 128.2 7 6 3.08 63
Bickford, VernVern Bickford 20 58 2 5 5.28 25
Jay, JoeyJoey Jay 3 10 1 0 0.00 4

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 0 2.67 36
Cole, DaveDave Cole 10 0 1 0 8.59 13

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Toledo Sox American Association Tommy Holmes and George Selkirk
AA Atlanta Crackers Southern Association Gene Mauch
A Jacksonville Braves Sally League Ben Geraghty
A Lincoln Chiefs Western League Lou Finney and Walt Linden
B Wichita Falls Spudders Big State League Whitey Wietelmann
B Evansville Braves Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League Bob Coleman
B Hagerstown Braves Piedmont League Dutch Dorman, Jimmy Zinn
and Billy Jurges
C Modesto Reds California League Guy Fletcher
C Eau Claire Bears Northern League Rex Carr
C Quebec Braves Provincial League George McQuinn
D Sandersville Wacos Georgia State League Gabby Grant, Parnell Ruark,
Lucius Morgan and Julian Morgan
D Wellsville Braves PONY League Ted Sepkowski
D Appleton Papermakers Wisconsin State League Travis Jackson

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Wichita Falls, Quebec

References

  1. ↑ "Approve Boston Braves' move". Ellensburg Daily Record. Washington. Associated Press. March 18, 1958. p. 1.
  2. 1 2 Retrosheet box score: 1953-04-13
  3. ↑ Retrosheet box score: 1953-04-14
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/26/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.