The Best MLB Team Jackie Robinson Ever Played For!

Where to start, where to end with the 1953 Dodgers?

First time I ever heard of them was back when I was a lad and discovered a book on my grandfather’s bookcase, The Boys Of Summer by Roger Kahn.

Not only was it the best MLB team Jackie played for, but certainly one of the finest teams ever assembled!

And like the Cleveland Indians of next year, they failed to win the World Series. Well, they did win 2 games, so they were halfway to winning it.

But what a team it was, as Brooklyn won 105 games and six Dodgers scored 100 or more runs!

Team Hitting

Speaking of scoring, the team touched home 955 times that year in 155 games, or 6.2 times per 9 innings. Their hated rivals, the New York Giants, plus the St Louis Cardinals, were tied second in runs scored with just 768 scored each.

The Dodgers, as a team had 1519 hits. Their hated rivals, the Giants, were second with just 1459.

Brooklyn led the NL in homeruns with 208. Giants were second with 176.

The Dodgers led the league in walks with 655. The Cardinals were second with 574.

You’d think, maybe with all those homeruns, that they would also strike out a lot, but no. 686 K’s as a team was good enough only for 4^th. The Chicago Cubs actually fanned 746 times to lead the NL.

It was a little closer in team batting average, but the Dodgers still led the NL with a .285 average. The Cardinals were second with a team average of .273.

How about some “Moneyball” stat, OBP? The Dodgers as a team had a .366 on base percentage, good enough for first. The Cardinals were second with a team .347 OBP.

Brooklyn’s team slugging average of average of .474, which again led the league, was 50 points better than the Cardinals .424 slugging average.

OBS, on base plus slugging, the Dodgers were at .840. The Cardinals were second at .771.

Okay, I found something the Dodgers didn't lead the league in that was positive offensively: HBP, hit by pitch. The Dodgers were only 3^rd with 35. But this was only 4 back of first place St Louis. Oh, well, less bruises.

Brooklyn was also only 3^rd in sacrifice bunts (SH), with 75. The Pittsburgh Pirates led the NL with 89.

Team Pitching

Okay, here might be a problem. Obviously, their pitchers led the NL in wins, but Brooklyn’s team ERA was 4.10, so it appears you’d get a 6-4 win on average every game you went to that season!

That 4.10 ERA was still good enough for 3^rd, however, as the brand new Milwaukee Braves led the NL with a 3.30 team ERA.

The Dodger pitchers finished 104 games, only good enough for 6^th. But the league leaders, the Cubs hurlers, finished only 117 themselves. For those wondering, that’s having a relief pitcher come in 104 times, and the new arrival or another reliever, finishing the game.

Brooklyn’s starting pitchers, by the way, hurled 51 complete games, which was only good enough for a 3^rd place tie with the Cardinals. The Philadelphia Phillies led the NL with 76 complete games.

Brooklyn shut out the opposition 11 times, good enough for 4^th place. The Braves led the league with 14.

The Dodgers were always known, like the Yankees, (think Joe Page of New York and Hugh Casey of the Dodgers) for their closers, who recorded 29 saves, but it was only good enough for 2^nd behind the Cardinals’ 36.

But Brooklyn really shined in opponent’s getting hits off them. Despite their little ballpark, the opposition managed only 1337 hits. The Braves were the only National League team to allow fewer, 1282.

But yes, the Dodgers gave up 689 runs, with only two other teams allowed fewer. The Braves allowed the fewest, 589.

Also, earned runs, the Dodgers allowed just 629. Again, it was the Braves with just 508 earned runs who allowed the fewest.

Problem here, is the long ball against. I mentioned earlier, the Dodgers led the NL in homeruns hit. But they also allowed the second most long balls, 169. Only the Cincinnati Reds allowed more, 179.

But the pitchers made ‘em hit the ball, as they walked only 509 batters. That was 3^rd in the NL, with the Phillies in the lead with 410.

How about K’s. Plenty enough! 817, to lead the NL. The Braves were second with 738.

As for HBP, the Dodgers were dead last with just 17. The Cardinals led the league with 42.

The Dodgers’ pitchers were tied for 3^rd in balks with 4, 3 behind the Braves league leading 7.

Brooklyn’s hurlers issued 24 wild pitches, 5^th in the league behind the Pirates’ 44.

The Dodgers pitchers gave up 8.7 hits per 9 innings, which was just a little less than the Braves’ hurlers, who permitted a league low 8.3 hits per 9 innings.

Now for the bad part: The Dodgers gave up and average of 1.1 homeruns per 9 innings. That tiny Ebbets Field ballpark works both ways! Only the Reds gave up more, 1.2!

Control wise, the Dodgers pitchers gave up 3.3 walks per 9 innings. Only Philadelphia and Cincinnati gave up less walks per 9 innings.

When it comes to K/9, the Dodgers led the league with an average of 5.5. The Braves were second with 4.8.

The Dodgers did lead the league with the highest K/BB ratio with 1.61. The Cubs were second with 1.55.

Team Fielding

The Dodgers’ team defensive efficiency (Don’t ask me how to calculate that, or what it means) was .713 for second in the league.  The Braves were first with .715.

Because of the pitchers K’s, the Dodgers were way down the list of total chances.  5832 total chances was 7^th in the NL. Far back of St. Louis’ 6121.

But how about just putouts? The Dodgers made 4141, which was third. The Braves were tops with 4161.

Assists wise, Brooklyn was second last (7^th) with just 1608. The Cardinals were 1^st with 1823.

The Dodgers committed the fewest errors among NL teams with just 118. That’s way back of the Cubs, who were first with 193.

Brooklyn was tied for third in double plays with 161. The Reds were atop the leader board with 176.

The Dodgers lead the league in fielding percentage with .980.

Individual Overall Performance

Duke Snider was second in the NL in WAR with 9.3, behind Robin Roberts’ (a pitcher) 9.8. Roy Campanella was 7^th with a 7.1 and Jackie Robinson 8^th with a 7.0.

But among positioned players, it was Snider 1^st, Campanella 4^th, Robinson 5^th and Pee Wee Reese 9^th (5.1).

Individual Offence

So Snider was first in offensive WAR with an 8.7, Campanella was 4^th with a 6.5, Robinson 6^th with a 5.9 and Reese 10^th with a 4.6.

Carl Furillo led the National League in batting average with .344. Snider was 4^th with .336. Then you had Robinson 8^th with a .329 and Campy 10^th with a .312. I think I should mention that Roy is a catcher at this point.

Robinson’s .425 on base percentage was second behind Stan Musial’s .437. Snider was 3^rd with .419, Campanella 8^th (.395) and Gil Hodges 10^th (.393).

Snider topped the NL in slugging percentage with .627. Campanella was 3^rd with .611. Furillo was 5^th with .580 and Hodges was 7^th with a .550 S%.

Snider also was on top in On Base Plus Slugging with 1.046. Campy was 4^th with 1.006. Furillo was 5^th with a .973 and Hodges was 8^th with .943. Finally, you had Robinson 10^th with .927.

Another person who has not been mentioned yet on the leader boards, Jim Gilliam, topped the NL in plate appearances with 710. Snider was 7^th with 680.

Snider was first in runs scored with 132. Gilliam was 4^th with 125, Robinson 8^th with 109 and Reese 9^th with 108. It should be noted that Roy Campanella’s 103 runs scored and Gil Hodges’ 101 runs scored didn’t make the top 10!

Snider was only 3^rd however, in hits with 198.

But the Duke was the league leader in total bases with 370. Campy was 6^th with 317 and Hodges 10^th with 286.

Snider and Furillo both hit 38 doubles which was good enough for 3^rd in the senior circuit, trailing Stan Musial’s league leading 53. Robinson was 8^th with 34.

Gilliam topped the NL in triples with 17. Surprisingly enough, no other Dodger was in the top 10.

Snider trailed Eddie Mathews in homerun with 42. But that was still good enough for second, and just 5 less long balls. Campanella was also over 40 with 41, for 3^rd. Hodges’ 31 were good enough for 6^th.

Roy’s 142 RBI topped the NL by 7. The Duke’s 126 was good enough for 3^rd. Hodges’ 122 was 5^th.

Gilliam, in his role as the moneyball player on the Dodgers, was second in the NL in walks with 100. League leader Stan The Man had just 5 more. Reese and Snider each got 82 for 7^th and Hodges was 10^th with 75.

Now, for some negative stats. Snider was a victim of the K 90 times for 5^th place. Although, it was Steve Bilko of the Cardinals, who was on top with 125. Hodges was 7^th with 85.

If I told you Robinson was 3^rd on the Dodgers in stolen bases, would you believe me? Billy Bruton of the Braves, one of the most underrated players of his era, lead the loop with 26. Reese was second with 22, then Gilliam with 21, and finally Robinson 4^th with 17. Amazingly, the 5^th most stolen bases of the NL in 1953 was recorded by Snider, with 16.

Robinson was still the target of inside pitches, at this point in his career, as evidenced by his 3^rd place finish in hit by pitches, with 7. What I find amazing is that none of them were by Sal Maglie, who Jackie had a real rivalry with. Actually, Sal only hit Robinson once with a pitch in his entire career, and that was on September 1^st, 1951.

Reese had 15 sacrifice bunts to lead the National League. Robinson was tied for 8^th with 4 other players with 9 SH.

Another negative stat for Snider was that he was caught stealing  7 times, 4^th in the NL. It was worse for Gilliam, as he was caught red handed 14 times, tops in the NL. Reese was tied for 6^th with, actually 6!

But Robinson was truly a master theft artist on the bases, as he succeeded at a rate of 81 percent on theft attempts. That led the NL. Reese was second with 79%, Snider 6^th with 70% Gilliam 7^th with 60%.

Individual Pitching

Carl Erskine was 7^th in WAR among NL pitchers with a 4.3. But this was well back of Robin Roberts 9.8!

Roberts and Warren Spahn topped the NL in wins with 23 each. Erskine was also a 20 game winner with exactly 20 wins. But it was only good enough to tie Harvey Haddix for 3^rd. Russ Meyer was tied with Lew Burdette for 7^th with 15 wins.  Billy Loes tied Jim Konstanty for 9^th in National League wins with 14.

Erskine was all alone in winning percentage, however, as his .769 was the NL leader. Spahn was second with .767. Meyer tied Spahn’s teammate Burdette for 3^rd with a .750 tally. Underrated Clem Labine was the third Dodger pitcher in the top 10 with a .647, for 8^th place. 9^th place went to another Brooklyn Dodger, Loes, with .636.

Erskine was the only Dodger in the top 10 in WHIP, with 1.249. Spahn led the NL with 1.058.

Spahn also led the NL in hits allowed per 9 innings (7.1). Erskine was again the lone Dodger in the top 10 with a 7.8 (5^th).

Preacher Roe’s masterful control (2.3 walks per nine innings) made him the only Dodger in the top 10 in that category in 1953. Roberts led the NL with just 1.6 walks per nine innings.

Carl Erskine’s 6.8 K’s per nine innings was second to Vinegar Bend Mizell’s 6.9 for league lead. Meyer was 10^th with about 5.

Jim Hughes was in a 4 way tie for 7^th in the NL in games pitched. But this was way back of Hoyt Wilhelm’s league leading 68 games pitched.

Al Brazle was the NL leader in saves with 18. Hughes was top Dodger with 9, good enough for 3^rd. Labine with 7 was tied for 6^th. Joe Black, still another Dodger, had 5 to tie Konstanty for 9^th.

Erskine tossed 246 and 2/3 innings that season. That placed him 4^th among NL hurlers in IP. But it was exactly 100 IP back of Roberts, who lead the NL in still another pitching category.

Roberts also lead the league in K’s with 198. But Erskine wasn’t too far behind him with 187, which gave him the 2^nd most.

Roberts (again) lead the NL in starts with 41. Erskine was tied with Mizell and Haddix with 33 starts. Good enough for (again) second in the National League. Meyer was in a 5 way tie for 5^th with 32.

No one was close to Roberts 33 complete games pitched in 1953. The closest any Dodger pitcher came was Erskine’s 16, and even that was only 5^th place. Meyer was tied with 4 others for 10^th place with 10 CG.

Someone, that being Harvey Haddix, finally beat Robin Roberts for the lead in another category, shutouts, with 6^th, but it should be noted, Roberts tied Spahn for second with 5, nipping at Haddix’s heels from the get go, I suppose. Carl tied the Phillies’ Curt Simmons for 4^th with 4. Russ Meyer’s 2 tied him with, if you can imagine, six other players for 10^th place in the NL.

Meyer was also taken yard 25 times that 1953 season, but that was only an 8^th place tie with Bubba Church of the Reds. Yes, you pray it never happens to you out there. Warren Hacker topped the NL with 35 dingers allowed.

Erskine was 5^th in walks with 95, but it was way back of pitcher-turned-positioned-player-turned-pitcher and-positioned-player John Lindell’s league leading 139.

Erskine also surrendered 213 hits, but it was in 246 2/3 innings, remember. And it was 8^th, well back of Robin Roberts’ 324 hits allowed in 346 2/3 innings.

It was the K/BB ratio that Brooklyn hurlers really excelled. Roe was third (2.13). Robin Roberts, by the way, ended up leading the way with 3.25. It was the second of three straight seasons leading the National League in that. But after 1954, Robin only led the league twice more. Roe had the same number of K/BB ratio the year before, if you can believe it.  He also led the senior circuit in 1949 with 2.48.

Erskine was 5^th with 1.97 and Meyer was 9^th with 1.68, just behind Curt Simmons.

Erskine was also 8^th in fewest homeruns allowed per nine innings with 0.766, nudging out Lindell’s 0.769. Burdette was the league leader with 0.36 homeruns allowed per nine innings.

Earned runs allowed had Erskine and Meyer tied with Harry Perkowski of the Reds for 8^th with 97. But that was in 246 2/3 innings for Erskine and 191 1/3 innings pitched for Meyer. Warren Hacker led the league in earned runs allowed with 108 in 221 2/3 innings.

Now for wildness, it’s Jarring John Lindell leading the league with 11 wild pitches. Brooklyn had three hurlers tied for 10^th spot, with 4 other pitchers, might I add. Bob Milliken, a rookie, Russ Meyer and Carl Erskine (here again!) helped make it a 7 way tie (Wow!) for the 10 spot in wild pitches with 4.

So Robin Roberts faced the most batters, 1412. Erskine was 4^th with 1030. But that was only one back of Harvey Haddix for 3^rd place.

Hoyt Wilhelm (the last pitcher to win an ERA title while pitching in relief), as you might expect, led the league in games finished with 39. It was Clem Labine’s 21 for Brooklyn that was good enough for 8^th spot.  Jim Hughes, who would lead the NL in saves the next year, also finished in the top ten for the Dodgers. He tied Jim Konstanty for 10^th in GF with 20.

Individual Fielding

Brooklyn was strong in fielding as well!

But Roy Campanella had no equals in the field in 1953.

The catcher lead the league in games caught (140), easily topped the league in putouts behind the plate with, 802, and was third in assists (57), behind Del Crandall’s NL topping 62.

Campy did make 10 errors, which was 2^nd. Toby Artwell led the league with 15.

But Roy was tied with Wes Westrum of the Giants for double plays turned by NL catchers with 9. Crandall’s 13 was the leader.

Crandall also gunned out 27 attempts to steal the sack. That was enough for the lead. Campy was right there with 22 for second.

Westrum’s 54.5 percent stolen bases DENIED led the NL, but again Campy was not far behind with 53.7, for second.

Campy was all alone among catchers at the top with a range factor per nine innings of 6.60. Roy was also tops in the NL in range factor per game with 6.17.

Smokey Burgess led the NL in fielding percentage among catchers with a .993 mark. Campanella was second with .989.

Only four other first sackers played more games than Gil Hodges’ 127. Joe Adcock was first with 157 games played at first.

Steve Bilko was ahead of everybody in the NL with assists from first with 124. Hodges was 4^th with 99.

Ted Kluszewski’s 149 double plays turned topped all first basemen in the NL in 1953. Hodges tied Chicago’s Dee Fondy for 4^th place with 105.

Klu also led all NL first basemen in F% from 1953 with .995. Hodges was second, though, with .993.

Jim Gilliam topped everyone in the NL in games played at second with 149, was second behind Red Schoendienst’s 365 putouts (Jim had 332), and just behind him again (430-426), in assists by 2B.

And now for some negative: Junior was 3^rd in the NL in errors by a second basemen with 19. Eddie Miskis of the Cubs and Jack Dittmer of the Braves were tied in that dubious area with 23.

But Gilliam was also second to Schoendiest in double plays turned by a second basemen with 102. Only seven back.

Gilliam placed 5^th among second sackers with a 5.09 range factor per game. Schoendienst’s 5.68 beat out every second basemen in the NL.

Schoendienst’s .983 fielding percentage led the NL, with Gilliam 3^rd with .976.

Pee Wee Reese, we’ve all heard about how good of a shortstop he was, eh? How about these numbers?!

Fourth in the NL in games played by a shortstop, 135. Roy McMillian of the Reds was the league leader with 155 games played.

The 265 putouts by Reese was good enough for 3^rd behind league leader Johnny Logan’s 295.

Reese was 4^th in assists by a shortstop with 380. McMillan again lead the league with 519.

Although, Pee Wee’s 23 errors put him in a 4 way tie for errors by a shortstop. Okay, that’s not so good! Solly Hemus led the NL with 27.

But Reese also turned 83 double plays from shortstop, 4^th behind McMillan’s 114.

And Reese was also 5^th in the NL in range factor per game at shortstop with 4.78. McMillan again was tops with 5.21.

It was Johnny Logan leading the NL in fielding percentage by a shortstop with .975. Reese was 4^th with .966.

Billy Cox, the third basemen, didn’t qualify for the leaderboard on defence. He only played 89 games at third.

But what about Jackie Robinson?

Now here was something I didn’t know: He was primarily a left fielder in the 1953 season.

Actually, Robinson played 75 games in left, 44 at third, (thus explaining Cox’s limited appearances) 1 game at short, 9 at second and 6 at first.

So, let’s put it this way: Robinson played every position that year except pitcher, catcher, center field and right field.

The next year, Robinson did play one game in right field, his only major league appearance at that position. He never did play a game as a center fielder, catcher or pitcher.

And his 9 assists put him in a 3 way tie for 5^th place among assists by a left fielder with 9. Del Ennis topped the senior circuit with 15.

And how about the man next to him? The Duke of Flatbush. There is a reason Jackie never played there!  I knew how good of a fielder he was, but what I didn’t know was that he was that he played 151 games in center field that year, 4^th behind Richie Ashburn’s 156 games played.

Ashburn also lead the league in putouts by a center fielder with 484. Snider made 371, placing him 5^th.

What a pair of center fielders Ashburn and Snider made when they each made 6 errors in center field in 1953? Along with Carlos Bernier, they were in a three way tie for 4^th place for errors committed by center fielders. Gus Bell, who was certainly a good hitter, led the NL with 10. Also sad to see Billy Bruton, one hell of a Brave, second with 9. And don’t tell Brooklyn who was third in errors by a center fielder.

That would be Bobby Thompson!

You know? The guy that hit the homerun in 1951 to win the pennant for the Giants?

But just to show you that Bell and Bruton were good fielders, guess who were tied Ashburn for first in DP’s by a center fielder with 5? B and B!

Snider was 4^th with 3.

Snider’s  .984 fielding percentage in center field was good enough for third, but behind Ashburn’s topping .988.

Carl Furillo, in right field, was second to former Dodger Andy Pafko and Enos Slaughter of the Cardinals, in two categories:  games played by a right fielder and putouts.

Furillo had a fine total of 131 games in right, but Pafko was first with 139. Pafko made 238 putouts in right, Furillo with 9 less.

Cal Abrams led the NL in putouts by a right fielder with 12. Actually, he tied Willard Marshall of the Reds with that number. Furillo was 4^th, but ahead of Pafko, with 5.

Johnny Wyrostek led the NL in errors by a right fielder in 1953 with 8. Pafko was tied for second with Abrams, who played with the Pittsburgh Pirates, with 6. Furillo was 5^th with 3 miscues.

But Furillo did lead the NL in an important category for right fielders: double plays!

He tied Abrams, Wyrostek and, the star pinch-hitter of the 1954 World Series, Dusty Rhodes in DP’s, with 3. Pafko, you should have seen it, was in a 12 way tie (I’m not making this up) for 5^th with 1.

Furillo was 3^rd in the NL in range factor per nine innings with 1.95. Marshall led the NL with 2.31.

Willard also was tops in the NL in range factor per game with 2.07, but Furillo was right there with 1.81.

Enos topped the NL in F% among right fielders with .996. Furillo, third again, .988.

If you look at all outfielders, Slaughter’s .996 is tops, and then Ashburn’s .990 is second.

Guess who is 3^rd and 4^th in F% by outfielders?

Furillo’s .988 and Snider’s .987!

How about the guys on the mound? What did they do on comebackers and other plays where they failed to strike out the batter?

Erskine tied Haddix with putouts with 15, as Stu Miller led the NL with 22.

Erskine also made 4 miscues as a fielder, which put him in a 7 way tie for 3^rd place.  Vinegar Bend Mizell led the NL with 7.

Preacher Roe handled 34 chances flawlessly for a 1.000 fielding percentage as a pitcher. This was one of 5 seasons in his career where he did not make an error. Actually, he did not make an error in his last 3 seasons.

But it was tied with 5 other pitchers for the NL lead.

Awards

Roy Campanella’s season earned him the MVP of the NL in 1953. He beat out Eddie Matthews, who finished second. It was Roy’s second of three. Amazingly, he won it on three straight odd numbered years: 1951, 1953, 1955.

But there were some other Dodgers on there, too.

Snider was 3^rd, Erskine and Furillo were in a 9^th place tie. Right behind them were Reese (11^th place) and then Robinson (12^th)

Del Ennis from Philly was 13^th, and but for him the Dodgers would have owned all the spots from 9 to 13 as Gil Hodges was 14^th.

So the entire outfield received consideration, the battery of Campanella and Erskine did too, and the first basemen was also there, plus the shortstop.

What about the second basemen?

Jim Gilliam did not receive any MVP consideration, but received enough Rookie Of The Year votes to win it!

Now, for those wondering, the Cy Young Award wasn’t given out until 1956. I think that Warren Spahn (The Sporting News Pitcher Of The Year) would have won it had it been given out as he tied for the NL lead in wins (23) while posting an ERA of 2.10. Back then, those stats used to say it all.

I think Robin Roberts, who also won 23 games, but lost 16, while posting an ERA of 2.75 (second to Spahn) would have also gotten some votes.

Erskine, with his 20 wins and 6 losses (one less than Spahn) would have gotten some votes, but his ERA was 3.54, so I don’t think he’s winning it.

How about Clem Labine? 11 wins in only 7 starts with a 2.77 ERA and 7 saves? Yeah, he would have gotten some votes.

How about the Mid Summer Classic?

All Star Game

The Dodgers sent no pitchers, sadly. But Campy, the Duke, and Jackie sure went. As did Pee Wee Reese,  Furillo, Gil Hodges. Six Dodgers!

The World Series

Hitting

Alas, the Yankees came out on top, again, this time in six games (7 games the year before).

Still, no World Series for Brooklyn as of 1953.

The Dodgers, though, had some leaders there, as well!

Campanella averaged a run scored per game (6) to tie Hank Bauer of the Yankees for the lead in the Fall Classic.

Cox, Snider and Gilliam all hit 3 doubles for the lead. Robinson and Furillo hit 2 as well. No Yankee hit more than one.

Gilliam also hit 2 homeruns to make it a three way tie for the lead the Dodgers. It also tied Bronx Bombers’ Billy Martin, Mickey Mantle and Gil McDougald for the lead in the long ball.

The Yankees hit a total of 9 homeruns in the Series, but the Dodgers hit 8 of their own. Snider, Furillo, Cox, Hodges, Campanella and George Shuba all went deep for the Dodgers.

Shuba’s was quite dramatic, by the way. With the Yankees ahead 5-2 in the top of the 6^th inning of game 1, Shuba batted for Jim Hughes the pitcher, with Cox on first. His homerun to right brought the Dodgers to within a run of the Yankees. The Dodgers scored 5 more runs to the Yankees zero as they took the opener, 9-5.

Gilliam, the Rookie Of The Year, had quite the Series. He topped everyone in at-bats, doubles and homeruns. He also drove in 4 runs and scored 4 times himself.

Snider hit .320, as did Robinson, but Furillo was even better at .333. Alas, it was Billy Martin, being an early version of Reggie Jackson in this Fall Classic, who batted .500. Yogi Berra batted .429 for second on New York.

Martin had one World Series to remember: He hit the highest average (.500), tied for the most homeruns (2), had the most triples, (2) and the most RBIs (8).

And Billy even scored 5 runs, tied with teammate Gene Woodling for 3^rd place.

Woodling led both teams in walks with 6. No other Yankee had more than 3, but Reese had 4 for the Dodgers.

Berra topped everyone with a .538 OBP, with Martin’s being .520. Woodling was .462.

Hodges .440 led Brooklyn.

The Dodgers only ended up stealing 2 bases the entire Series, one by Gil Hodges and one by Jackie Robinson.

The Yankees also ended up with two stolen bases in the World Series: Martin and Phil Rizzuto.

As a team, it should be noted, the Dodgers outhit the Yankees 64-56, out doubled them 13-6 and batted .300 to the Yankees .279. But the Yankees out moneyballed (new word invented by me!) the Dodgers .370 to .352 (OBP). That’s probably why they scored 33 runs to the Dodgers 27.

Pitching

Erskine kept right on going as he topped everyone in games pitched (3), innings pitched (14), hits allowed (14), K’s (16) and BB (9). He went 1-0, but his ERA was 5.79. In game 3, he set a World Series record by whiffing 14 Yankees!

Loes won his only game, a game 4 start, striking out 8 in as many innings.

But no Dodger could match Yankee Ed Lopat’s 2.00 ERA.

Allie Reynolds, won game 6 for the Yankees (it ended up being his last ever World Series game) and also got the only Yankee save. His three appearances tied Carl Erskine. Reynolds fanned 9 batters to nudge out Loes for second in K’s.

Labine got the only Dodger save, but lost 2 games. Clem also tied Erskine and Reynolds for games pitched with 3.

Preacher Roe and Jim Hughes walked 4 batters, to place in a 4 way tie for second in walks with Yankees Lopat and Reynolds.

Russ Meyer K’d 5 batters in just 4.1 inning. But that only placed him 5^th as Whitey Ford (I forgot he was back with the Yankees this season), who actually lost 4 and didn’t win any World Series games this year, (huh?) fanned 7 in 8 innings, on his way to a record 94 career World Series strikeouts.  Ford, it should be noted, also started game 6, which the Yankees won.

The Dodgers pitchers combined to fan 43 batters to the Yankees 30, but walked 25 batters to the Yankees 15. Overall, the Dodgers pitchers posted a 4.91 ERA compared to the Yankees 4.50 ERA.


References


Kahn, Roger. The Boys Of Summer. Harper & Row, 1972. Print.

Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.

Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 01 Aug. 2013.