The 1957 Milwaukee Braves season was the fifth season in Milwaukee and the 87th 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. This season was the best season for the Milwaukee Braves (1953-1965) in terms of wins (95) and winning percentage (.617).
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. The Braves became the first team not based in New York to win the World Series since the Cleveland Indians in .
Offseason October 15, 1956: Jack Daniels and cash were traded by the Braves to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Carl Sawatski.Carl Sawatski at Baseball-Reference December 3, 1956: Roger McCardell was drafted from the Braves by the New York Giants in the 1956 minor league draft.Roger McCardell at Baseball-Reference Prior to 1957 season (exact date unknown) Marshall Bridges was acquired from the Braves by the Sacramento Solons.Marshall Bridges at Baseball-Reference Merritt Ranew was signed as an amateur free agent by the Braves.Merritt Ranew at Baseball-Reference
Regular season
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.Eddie Mathews at The Baseball Page 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 (who was batting just .236) and Danny O'Connell (who was batting just .235). 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 Starting pitcher Warren Spahn was the Cy Young Award winner as the best pitcher in Major League Baseball, the first left-handed pitcher to win the award.Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 234, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, 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 (18–7) and Lew Burdette (17–9).
Manager Fred Haney, 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 Danny O'Connell 2B Hank Aaron RF Eddie Mathews 3B Joe Adcock 1B Bobby Thomson LF Johnny Logan SS Bill Bruton CF Del Crandall C Warren Spahn P
Notable transactions June 15, 1957: Danny O'Connell, Ray Crone, and Bobby Thomson were traded by the Braves to the New York Giants for Red Schoendienst.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Roster 1957 Milwaukee Braves Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
Coaches
Player stats = Indicates team leader = Indicates league leader 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 C 118 383 97 .253 15 46 1B 129 364 99 .272 5 40 2B 93 394 122 .310 6 32 3B 148 572 167 .292 32 94 SS 129 494 135 .273 10 49 LF 96 328 93 .284 21 65 CF 79 306 85 .278 5 30 RF 151 615 198 .322 44 132
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 83 220 61 .277 8 27 65 209 60 .287 12 38 48 183 43 .235 1 8 71 182 43 .236 4 21 41 148 35 .236 4 23 54 144 33 .229 9 20 41 134 54 .403 7 27 58 105 25 .238 2 17 30 79 21 .266 2 8 22 69 17 .246 2 6 33 34 5 .147 0 1 13 22 2 .091 0 0 15 14 1 .077 0 0 6 7 2 .286 0 0 7 6 1 .167 0 0 2 2 1 .500 0 0 7 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 39 271.0 21 11 2.69 78 37 256.2 17 9 3.71 111 34 216.2 18 7 2.74 117
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 35 148.0 9 9 3.16 61 32 126.0 7 5 3.64 75 24 99.1 5 6 4.62 68 11 42.1 3 1 4.46 15
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 32 2 3 8 1.54 46 30 7 3 4 3.88 44 27 3 2 2 5.55 36 23 1 1 1 5.02 27 12 2 2 2 4.85 13 1 0 0 0 0.00 2 1 0 0 0 0.00 0
1957 World Series
This was the Braves' first World Championship since the "Miracle Braves" of 1914, and their only one while based in Milwaukee (out of two chances). To date, the Braves' have won two World Championships: one in the 1995 World Series, when the now-Atlanta Braves defeated the Cleveland Indians, and the second in the 2021 World Series, when Atlanta defeated the Houston Astros.
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 (4) vs. AL New York Yankees (3) GameScoreDateLocationAttendance1 Braves – 1, Yankees – 3October 2Yankee Stadium 69,4762 Braves – 4, Yankees – 2 October 3Yankee Stadium 65,2023 Yankees – 12, Braves – 3 October 5Milwaukee County Stadium 45,8044 Yankees – 5, Braves – 7 (10 innings)October 6Milwaukee County Stadium 45,8045 Yankees – 0, Braves – 1 October 7Milwaukee County Stadium 45,8116 Braves – 2, Yankees – 3 October 9Yankee Stadium 61,4087 Braves – 5, Yankees – 0 October 10Yankee Stadium 61,207
Composite line score 1957 World Series (4–3): Milwaukee Braves (N.L.) over New York Yankees (A.L.) Team12345678910RHEMilwaukee Braves025631210323473New York Yankees415212603125576Total Attendance: 394,712 Average Attendance: 56,387Winning Player's Share: – $8,924 Losing Player's Share – $5,606
Awards and honors Hank Aaron, National League Most Valuable Player Warren Spahn, starting pitcher, the Major League Baseball Cy Young Award
World Series awards Lew Burdette, World Series Most Valuable Player Lew Burdette, Babe Ruth Award
All-Stars 1957 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Hank Aaron, OF, starter Lew Burdette, P, reserve Johnny Logan, IF, reserve Eddie Mathews, IF, reserve Red Schoendienst, IF, reserve Warren Spahn, P, reserve
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Atlanta, Evansville, Salinas
References
External links 1957 Milwaukee Braves at Baseball-Reference