1958 in baseball: Difference between revisions

**NL: [[Orlando Cepeda]], [[San Francisco Giants]]

*'''[[Gold Glove Award]]:'''

 

==MLB statistical leaders==

 

==Major league baseball final standings==

 

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==Events==

 

===January===

 

===February===

 

===March===

 

===April===

*April 17 – [[Eddie Mathews]] hits two home runs and drove in five runs, to lead the [[Milwaukee Braves]] to a 6–1 victory over the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] at [[Milwaukee County Stadium]]. Mathews had also hit a pair of homers against the Pirates to start the season, as he becomes the first major league player to begin a season with consecutive two-homer games. The mark will be matched by [[Barry Bonds]], who also hit a pair of homers in each of the [[San Francisco Giants]] first two games against the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] to start the [[2002 in baseball#April|2002 season]].<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=matheed01&t=b&year=1958 Eddie Mathews – 1958 Batting Gamelog]. ''Baseball Reference''. Retrieved on January 20, 2018.</ref>

*April 18 – Before 78,672 fans at the [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]], a [[National League (baseball)|National League]] record for a regular-season game, the [[Los Angeles Dodgers|Dodgers]] play host to the [[San Francisco Giants|Giants]] in [[Los Angeles]]' first-ever big-league contest. Veteran hurler [[Carl Erskine]] goes eight innings and rookie third baseman [[Dick Gray]] hits the Dodgers' first home run in the Coliseum's makeshift, misshapen baseball configuration, as Los Angeles wins, 6–5.

 

===May===

*May 12 – [[Willie Mays]] hits the first [[grand slam (baseball)|grand slam]] in [[San Francisco Giants]] history. Mays also belts another home run in a 12–3 victory over the rival [[Los Angeles Dodgers]].

*May 13

**[[Stan Musial]] of the [[1958 St. Louis Cardinals season|St. Louis Cardinals]] collects his [[3,000 hit club|3,000th career hit]] when he [[pinch hitter|pinch hit]] a double off [[1958 Chicago Cubs season|Chicago Cubs]] pitcher [[Moe Drabowsky]] at [[Wrigley Field]]. The Cardinals win, 5–3.

*May 31 – Milwaukee Braves sluggers [[Hank Aaron]], [[Eddie Mathews]] and [[Wes Covington]] hit one home run apiece on three consecutive pitches against Pittsburgh Pirates starter [[Ron Kline]], as Milwaukee wins, 8–3.

 

===June===

*June 15:

** The [[Cleveland Indians]] trade outfielder [[Roger Maris]], pitcher [[Dick Tomanek]] and infielder/outfielder [[Preston Ward]] to the [[Kansas City Athletics]] for infielders [[Woodie Held]] and [[Vic Power]].

*June 26 – After only 67 games as their manager, [[Bobby Bragan]] is replaced by [[Joe Gordon]], their former standout second baseman, at the helm of the [[Cleveland Indians]]. Gordon will post a 46–40 mark as Cleveland finishes fourth in the American League.

*June 27 – Against the [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]] at [[Comiskey Park]], [[Billy Pierce]] of the [[Chicago White Sox]] has a [[Perfect game (baseball)|perfect game]] broken up with two out in the ninth—by inches. Pinch-hitter [[Ed Fitz Gerald]] hits Pierce's first pitch down the right field line, the ball landing just inside the foul line for a double, the only hit Pierce allows in a 3–0 White Sox victory. The perfect game would have been the first in regular season play since [[Charlie Robertson's perfect game|that of another White Sox]], [[Charlie Robertson]], in {{Baseball year|1922}}.

 

===July===

*July 20 – In the first game of a doubleheader at [[Fenway Park]], [[Jim Bunning]] of the [[Detroit Tigers]] [[no-hitter|no-hits]] the [[Boston Red Sox]] 3–0.

*July 28 – For the sixth time in his career, [[Mickey Mantle]] hits home runs from both sides of the plate. New York beats the Athletics, 14–7.

 

===August===

*August 23 – At [[Yankee Stadium (1923)|Yankee Stadium]], [[Nellie Fox]] of the [[Chicago White Sox]] strikes out against [[Whitey Ford]] in the first inning of the White Sox' 7–1 victory over the [[New York Yankees]]. The strikeout ends Fox's streak of 98 consecutive games without striking out; he had last struck out on May 16 against [[Dick Tomanek]] of the [[Cleveland Indians]].

 

===September===

*September 20 – At [[Memorial Stadium (Baltimore)|Memorial Stadium]], [[Hoyt Wilhelm]] of the Baltimore Orioles [[no-hitter|no-hits]] the New York Yankees 1–0, striking out eight along the way. It is the first no-hitter since the franchise's move to Baltimore. Wilhelm had pitched exclusively in relief prior to this season; this was only his ninth career start.

 

===October===

 

===November===

*November 28 :

*November 30 – Italian baseball commissioner Prince Borghese visits the United States to seek aid in organizing Italian teams.

 

===December===

 

==Movies==

*January 10 – [[John Terry (baseball)|John Terry]], 80, pitcher who played with the [[Detroit Tigers]] in 1902 and for the [[History of the St. Louis Browns|St. Louis Browns]] in 1903.

*January 12 – [[Lefty Webb]], 72, pitcher for the [[1910 Pittsburgh Pirates season|1910 Pittsburgh Pirates]].

*January 23 – [[Harry Baldwin (baseball)|Harry Baldwin]], 57, pitcher who played from 1924 to 1925 for the [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]].

*January 23 – [[Walter Lonergan]], 72, shortstop for the [[1911 Boston Red Sox season|1911 Boston Red Sox]].

===February===

*February &nbsp; 1 – [[Mysterious Walker]], 73, [[University of Chicago]] three-sport athlete with colorful personality, who later pitched for three major league teams from 1910 to 1913 before jumping to the outlaw [[Federal League]] in 1914–15, whose unusual moniker came after debuting professionally in the minors with the [[San Francisco Seals (baseball)|PCL San Francisco Seals]], because he refused to take the field until umpires banished photographers, apparently trying to get away from public scrutiny, although curiously attracting attention as a ballplayer.<ref>[http://major-smolinski.com/BSBLNAMES/MYSTRYMAN.html Baseball Nicknames: Mysterious Walker]. ''Major Smolinski Website''. Retrieved on June 27, 2019.</ref>

*February &nbsp; 4 – [[Ted Turner (baseball)|Ted Turner]], 85, pitcher who appeared in just one game for the [[Chicago Cubs]] in [[1920 Chicago Cubs season|its 1920 season]].

*February &nbsp; 9 – [[Cowboy Jones]], 83, 19th century pitcher who played with the [[Cleveland Spiders]] in 1898 and for the [[St. Louis Cardinals|St. Louis Perfectos/Cardinals]] over three seasons from 1899 to 1901.

*May &nbsp; 5 – [[Ollie Chill]], 79, umpire who worked 1,028 American League games (1914–1966, 1919–1922), plus eight games of the 1921 World Series

*May 14 – [[Billy Clingman]], 88, 19th century third baseman and shortstop who played for seven teams in a span of ten seasons from 1890 to 1903.

*May 20 – [[Cotton Minahan]], 75, pitcher for the [[1907 Cincinnati Reds season|1907 Cincinnati Reds]].

*May 28 – [[Kid Nance]], 81, outfielder who played with the [[Louisville Colonels]] of the National League from 1897 to 1898, and then for the [[Detroit Tigers]] of the American League in 1901.

*May 26 – [[Del Wertz|Dwight Wertz]], 69, shortstop for the [[1914 Buffalo Buffeds season|1914 Buffalo Buffeds]] of the outlaw [[Federal League]], who was better known for his professional American football career in the [[Ohio League]] over three seasons between 1912 and 1914, where he won three consecutive championship titles while playing for different teams.

 

===June===

*July &nbsp; 7 – [[John Sullivan (pitcher)|John Sullivan]], 64, pitcher who played for the [[Chicago White Sox]] in [[1919 Chicago White Sox season|its 1919 season]].

*July &nbsp; 8 – [[Bill McAfee]], 50, pitcher who played for the [[Chicago Cubs]], [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]], [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]] and [[St. Louis Browns]] in a span of five seasons from 1930 to 1934.

*July 22 – [[Grover Land]], 73, catcher who played for the [[Cleveland Naps]] in part of three seasons from 1908 to 1913 before joining the [[Brooklyn Tip-Tops]] in 1914–1915.

*July 24 – [[Virgil Barnes]], 63, pitcher who played from 1919 through 1928 for the [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]] and [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]].

*August &nbsp; 8 – [[Fred Winchell]], 76, Canadian pitcher who appeared in four games for the [[Cleveland Indians|Cleveland Naps]] in [[1909 Cleveland Naps season|its 1909 season]].

*August 18 – [[Archie Stimmel]], 85, pitcher who played from 1900 through 1902 for the [[Cincinnati Reds]].

*August 22 – [[Dummy Taylor]], 83, the only successful deaf pitcher in Major League Baseball, who was a vital part of the [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]] in the early years of the 20th Century, helping them clinch three National League pennants and the [[1905 World Series]] title.

*August 23 – [[Bill Breckinridge]], 50, pitcher who played for the [[1929 Philadelphia Athletics season|1929 Philadelphia Athletics]].

*August 28 – [[Sid Womack]], 61, backup catcher for the [[1926 Boston Braves season|1926 Boston Braves]].

*August 30 – [[Frank Demaree]], 48, two-time All-Star outfielder whose career included stints with the [[Chicago Cubs]], [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]], [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]], [[St. Louis Cardinals]] and [[St. Louis Browns]] over twelve seasons from 1932 to 1944, winning four National League pennants with the Cubs (1932; 1935; 1938) and Cardinals (1943), as well as one American League pennant with the Browns (1944), being also one of four players to reach the [[30–30 club]] in [[Pacific Coast League]] history (1934), along with Hall of Famer [[Tony Lazzeri]] (1925), [[Lefty O'Doul]] (1927) and [[Joc Pederson]] (2014).<ref>[https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/606f6707 Frank Demaree]. Article written by Tom Crisp. ''SABR Biography Project''. Retrieved on July 1, 2019.</ref>

 

===September===

*October &nbsp; 7 – [[Chick Brandom]], 71, pitcher who played with the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] and [[Newark Peppers]] in a span of three seasons from 1908 to 1915.

*October 11 − [[Ira Thomas]], 77, catcher who played from 1906 through 1915 for the [[New York Highlanders]], [[Detroit Tigers]] and [[Philadelphia Athletics]], being also a member of three Athletics clubs that won the World Series from 1910 to 1911 and 1913.

*October 20 – [[Rex Dawson]], 69, pitcher for the [[1913 Washington Senators season|1913 Washington Senators]].

*October 21 – [[Lep Long]], 70, pitcher who made four game appearances with the [[Philadelphia Athletics]] in [[1911 Philadelphia Athletics season|its 1911 season]].

*December 16 – [[Les Scarsella]], 45, first baseman and left fielder who played with the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Bees in part of four seasons between 1935 and 1940.

*December 24 – [[Jimmy Boyle (baseball)|Jim Boyle]], 54, catcher for the New York Giants, who has the distinction of having one of the shortest known Major League Baseball careers, while catching for only one inning in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 20, 1926, without registering an [[at bat]] appearance.

*December 30 – [[Jim Hickman (baseball, born 1892)|Jim Hickman]], 66, backup outfielder for the Baltimore Terrapins and Brooklyn Robins in four seasons from 1915 to 1919.

*December 30 – [[Glenn Spencer (baseball)|Glenn Spencer]], 53, pitcher who played from 1928 to 1933 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Giants.