1957 Brooklyn Dodgers season

1957 Brooklyn Dodgers
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1890)
Location
Ebbets Field (since 1913)
Brooklyn, New York (since 1883)
Other information
Owner(s)	Walter O'Malley, James & Dearie Mulvey, Mrs. John L. Smith
General manager(s)	Buzzie Bavasi
Manager(s)	Walter Alston
Local television	WOR-TV
Local radio	WMGM Vin Scully, Jerry Doggett, Al Helfer
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The 1957 Brooklyn Dodgers season was overshadowed by Walter O'Malley's threat to move the Dodgers out of Brooklyn if the city did not build him a new stadium in that borough. When the best the mayor could promise was a stadium in Queens, O'Malley made good on his threats and moved the team to Los Angeles after the season ended. The Dodgers final game at Ebbets Field was on September 24 as they finished their 68th and last NL season, and their 75th overall, in Brooklyn in third place with an 84–70 record, eleven games behind the NL and World Series Champion Milwaukee Braves.

Offseason

• October 14, 1956: Connie Grob was purchased by the Dodgers from the Washington Senators.^[1]

Regular season

During the season, the Dodgers played eight home games at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey, as part of owner Walter O'Malley's continued attempts to pressure Brooklyn to allow him to build a new stadium in his preferred location at Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues.^[2]

On July 20, 1957: Duke Snider hit the 300th home run of his career. The opposing pitcher was Dick Drott.^[3]

Danny McDevitt was the last pitcher to pitch for the Brooklyn Dodgers in a game at Ebbets Field. The game was contested on September 24, 1957, and McDevitt pitched a complete game. He had nine strikeouts while allowing only five hits.^[4]

Season standings

National League	W	L	GB	Pct.
Milwaukee Braves	95	59	--	.617
St. Louis Cardinals	87	67	8	.565
Brooklyn Dodgers	84	70	11	.545
Cincinnati Redlegs	80	74	15	.519
Philadelphia Phillies	77	77	18	.500
New York Giants	69	85	26	.448
Chicago Cubs	62	92	33	.403
Pittsburgh Pirates	62	92	33	.403

Record vs. opponents

1957 National League Records Sources:
Team	BR	CHC	CIN	MIL	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Brooklyn	—	17–5	12–10	10–12	12–10	9–13	12–10	12–10
Chicago	5–17	—	7–15	9–13	9–13	8–14–1	12–10–1	12–10
Cincinnati	10–12	15–7	—	4–18	12–10	16–6	14–8	9–13
Milwaukee	12–10	13–9	18–4	—	13–9	12–10–1	16–6	11–11
New York	10–12	13–9	10–12	9–13	—	10–12	9–13	8–14
Philadelphia	13–9	14–8–1	6–16	10–12–1	12–10	—	13–9	9–13
Pittsburgh	10–12	10–12–1	8–14	6–16	13–9	9–13	—	6–16
St. Louis	10–12	10–12	13–9	11–11	14–8	13–9	16–6	—

Opening Day lineup

Opening Day starters
Name	Position
Jim Gilliam	Second baseman
Gino Cimoli	Left fielder
Duke Snider	Center fielder
Carl Furillo	Right fielder
Gil Hodges	First baseman
Randy Jackson	Third baseman
Roy Campanella	Catcher
Don Zimmer	Shortstop
Don Newcombe	Starting pitcher

Notable transactions

• April 5, 1957: Chico Fernández was traded by the Dodgers to the Philadelphia Phillies for Ron Negray, Tim Harkness, Elmer Valo, Mel Geho (minors), cash and a player to be named later. The Phillies completed the deal by sending Ben Flowers to the Dodgers on April 8.^[5]
• May 23, 1957: Don Elston was traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago Cubs for Vito Valentinetti and Jackie Collum.^[6]
• May 26, 1957: Tommy Lasorda was purchased by the Dodgers from the New York Yankees^[7]
• May 30, 1957: Jim Fridley was purchased by the Dodgers from the New York Yankees.^[8]
• June 14, 1957: Ken Lehman was purchased from the Dodgers by the Baltimore Orioles.^[9]
• June 15, 1957: Babe Birrer was purchased by the Dodgers from the Baltimore Orioles.^[10]
• August 24, 1957: Vito Valentinetti was purchased from the Dodgers by the Cleveland Indians.^[11]

Roster

1957 Brooklyn Dodgers
Roster
Pitchers 46 Don Bessent 55 Jackie Collum 40 Roger Craig 53 Don Drysdale 50 Don Elston 17 Carl Erskine 21 Bill Harris 26 Fred Kipp 32 Sandy Koufax 41 Clem Labine 16 Ken Lehman 35 Sal Maglie 16 Danny McDevitt 36 Don Newcombe 45 Johnny Podres 37 Ed Roebuck 49 René Valdez		Catchers 39 Roy Campanella 58 Joe Pignatano  8 Johnny Roseboro 10 Rube Walker Infielders 38 Jim Gentile 19 Jim Gilliam 14 Gil Hodges  2 Randy Jackson 43 Charlie Neal  1 Pee Wee Reese 23 Don Zimmer		Outfielders 15 Sandy Amorós  9 Gino Cimoli  6 Carl Furillo 49 Bob Kennedy  4 Duke Snider  3 Elmer Valo Other batters 50 Rod Miller		Manager 24 Walter Alston Coaches 33 Joe Becker 22 Billy Herman 51 Greg Mulleavy 31 Jake Pitler

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
2B	Gilliam, JimJim Gilliam	149	617	154	.250	2	37
CF	Snider, DukeDuke Snider	139	508	139	.274	40	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

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
McDevitt, DannyDanny McDevitt	22	119	7	4	3.25	90

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

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
Bessent, DonDon Bessent	27	1	3	0	5.73	24
Collum, JackieJackie Collum	3	0	0	0	8.31	3

Awards and honors

• Gold Glove Award
  • Gil Hodges

All-Stars

• 1957 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
  • Gino Cimoli reserve
  • Gil Hodges reserve
  • Clem Labine reserve

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
Open	Los Angeles Angels	Pacific Coast League	Clay Bryant
AAA	Montreal Royals	International League	Greg Mulleavy Al Campanis Al Ronning Tommy Holmes
AAA	St. Paul Saints	American Association	Max Macon
A	Macon Dodgers	South Atlantic League	Goldie Holt
A	Pueblo Dodgers	Western League	Ray Hathaway
B	Cedar Rapids Raiders	Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League	Danny Ozark
B	Victoria Rosebuds	Texas League	Lou Rochelli
C	Great Falls Electrics	Pioneer League	Jack Banta
C	Reno Silver Sox	California League	Ray Perry
D	Bluefield Dodgers	Appalachian League	Jim Bragan
D	Kokomo Dodgers	Midwest League	Pete Reiser
D	Shawnee Hawks	Sooner State League	Edward Serrano
D	Thomasville Dodgers	Georgia–Florida League	Rudy Rufer Leon Hamilton Roger Wright

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Bluefield

Notes

1. "Connie Grob page at Baseball Reference". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
2. Parker, Vernon (August 16, 2011). "On This Day in History: August 16 A Lonely Ebbets Without Dodgers". Brooklyn Eagle. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
3. "Duke Snider". The Baseball Page. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
4. Sports Illustrated, December 6, 2010, Volume 113, Number 21, p. 24, Published by Time Inc.
5. "Chico Fernández page at Baseball Reference". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
6. "Jackie Collum page at Baseball Reference". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
7. "Tommy Lasorda page at Baseball Reference". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
8. "Jim Fridley page at Baseball Reference". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
9. "Ken Lehman page at Baseball Reference". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
10. "Babe Birrer page at Baseball Reference". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
11. "Vito Valentinetti page at Baseball Reference". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 29, 2012.

References

• Baseball-Reference season page
• Baseball Almanac season page

External links

• 1957 Brooklyn Dodgers uniform
• Brooklyn Dodgers reference site
• Acme Dodgers page
• Retrosheet