1960 Milwaukee Braves season

1960 Milwaukee Braves
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1876)
Location
Milwaukee County Stadium (since 1953)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (since 1953)
Results
Record	88–66 (.571)
League place	2nd
Other information
Owner(s)	Louis R. Perini
General manager(s)	John McHale
Manager(s)	Chuck Dressen
Local television	none
Local radio	WEMP WTMJ (Earl Gillespie, Blaine Walsh)
< Previous season     Next season  >

The 1960 Milwaukee Braves season was the eighth for the franchise in Milwaukee, and the 85th overall in the National League. The Braves finished in second place in the NL with a record of 88–66, seven games behind the NL and World Series Champion Pittsburgh Pirates.

Offseason

• October 13, 1959: Enos Slaughter was released by the Braves.^[1]
• October 13, 1959: Mickey Vernon was released by the Braves.^[2]
• October 24, 1959: Rico Carty was signed as an amateur free agent by the Braves.^[3]
• October 26, 1959: Stan Lopata was released by the Braves.^[4]
• November 30, 1959: 1959 rule 5 draft
  • Clay Dalrymple was drafted from the Braves by the Philadelphia Phillies.^[5]
  • Georges Maranda was drafted from the Braves by the San Francisco Giants.^[6]
• February 9, 1960: Stan Lopata was signed as a free agent by the Braves.^[4]
• March 1960: Jim Bolger was purchased by the Braves from the Philadelphia Phillies.^[7]

Managerial and coaching turnover

After 3¹⁄₂ seasons at the helm of the Braves and compiling a record of 341–231 (.596) with two NL pennants and the 1957 World Series championship, manager Fred Haney, 63, resigned on October 5 in the wake of the 1959 playoff loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.^[8] On October 24, the Braves appointed another veteran skipper, Chuck Dressen, 65, well known as the manager of the "Boys of Summer" Brooklyn Dodgers of 1951–1953, as Haney's successor for 1960.^[9] The Braves had considered a number of high-profile former big-league managers,^[8] as well as minor league skipper Ben Geraghty, before settling on Dressen.

Pitching coach Whit Wyatt was Dressen's only 1960 holdover from Haney's coaching staff, with Billy Herman, John Fitzpatrick and George Susce all departing with Haney.

Regular season

• April 17, 1960: Eddie Mathews hit the 300th home run of his career.^[10]

Season standings

National League	W	L	GB	Pct.
Pittsburgh Pirates	95	59	--	.617
Milwaukee Braves	88	66	7	.571
St. Louis Cardinals	86	68	9	.558
Los Angeles Dodgers	82	72	13	.532
San Francisco Giants	79	75	16	.513
Cincinnati Reds	67	87	28	.435
Chicago Cubs	60	94	35	.390
Philadelphia Phillies	59	95	36	.383

Record vs. opponents

1960 National League Records Sources:
Team	CHC	CIN	LAD	MIL	PHI	PIT	SF	STL
Chicago	—	10–12	9–13	7–15	10–12	7–15	9–13–1	8–14–1
Cincinnati	12–10	—	12–10	9–13	9–13	6–16	11–11	8–14
Los Angeles	13–9	10–12	—	12–10	16–6	11–11	10–12	10–12
Milwaukee	15–7	13–9	10–12	—	16–6	9–13	14–8	11–11
Philadelphia	12–10	13–9	6–16	6–16	—	7–15	8–14	7–15
Pittsburgh	15–7	16–6	11–11	13–9	15–7	—	14–8–1	11–11
San Francisco	13–9–1	11–11	12–10	8–14	14–8	8–14–1	—	13–9
St. Louis	14–8–1	14–8	12–10	11–11	15–7	11–11	9–13	—

Notable transactions

• May 17, 1960: Ray Boone was traded by the Braves to the Boston Red Sox for Ron Jackson.^[11]
• July 15, 1960: Al Heist was traded by the Braves to the Chicago Cubs for Earl Averill, Jr. and $30,000.^[12]
• August 13, 1960: Earl Averill, Jr. was traded by the Braves to the Chicago White Sox for Don Prohovich (minors) and $15,000.^[12]
• September 21, 1960: Elrod Hendricks was released by the Braves.^[13]

Roster

1960 Milwaukee Braves
Roster
Pitchers 30 George Brunet 10 Bob Buhl 33 Lew Burdette 36 Terry Fox 32 Bob Giggie 47 Joey Jay 36 Ken MacKenzie 20 Don McMahon 32 Don Nottebart 35 Ron Piché 34 Juan Pizarro 17 Bob Rush 21 Warren Spahn 16 Carl Willey		Catchers  1 Del Crandall  6 Charley Lau 15 Stan Lopata Infielders  9 Joe Adcock 19 Ray Boone 13 Chuck Cottier 23 Johnny Logan 18 Félix Mantilla 41 Eddie Mathews  4 Red Schoendienst 14 Frank Torre		Outfielders 44 Hank Aaron 38 Bill Bruton 43 Wes Covington 19 Alvin Dark 42 Len Gabrielson 11 Eddie Haas 42 Mike Krsnich 24 Lee Maye 12 Mel Roach 25 Al Spangler Other batters 15 Joe Torre		Manager  7 Chuck Dressen Coaches  8 George Myatt 48 Andy Pafko  3 Bob Scheffing  5 Whit Wyatt

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
3B	Mathews, EddieEddie Mathews	153	548	152	.277	39	124
SS	Logan, JohnnyJohnny Logan	136	482	118	.245	7	42
RF	Aaron, HankHank Aaron	153	590	172	.292	40	126

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
Mantilla, FélixFélix Mantilla	63	148	38	.257	3	11
Maye, LeeLee Maye	41	83	25	.301	0	2
Boone, RayRay Boone	7	12	3	.250	0	4
Lopata, StanStan Lopata	7	8	1	.125	0	0
Gabrielson, LenLen Gabrielson	4	3	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
Burdette, LewLew Burdette	45	275.2	19	13	3.36	83
Buhl, BobBob Buhl	36	238.2	16	9	3.09	121
Willey, CarlCarl Willey	28	144.2	6	7	4.35	109

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
Jay, JoeyJoey Jay	32	133.1	9	8	3.24	90
Brunet, GeorgeGeorge Brunet	17	49.2	2	0	5.07	39

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
Piché, RonRon Piché	37	3	5	9	3.56	38
Fox, TerryTerry Fox	5	0	0	0	4.32	5
Giggie, BobBob Giggie	3	0	0	0	4.15	5

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Louisville Colonels	American Association	Ben Geraghty and Bill Adair
AAA	Sacramento Solons	Pacific Coast League	Ernie White
AA	Austin Senators	Texas League	Alex Monchak
A	Jacksonville Braves	Sally League	Red Murff
B	Cedar Rapids Braves	Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League	Jimmy Brown
B	Yakima Bears	Northwest League	Buddy Hicks
C	Eau Claire Braves	Northern League	Bill Steinecke
C	Boise Braves	Pioneer League	Billy Smith
D	Davenport Braves	Midwest League	Travis Jackson
D	Wellsville Braves	New York–Penn League	Harry Minor

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Louisville, Yakima, Boise, Wellsville

Notes

1. Enos Slaughter page at Baseball Reference
2. Mickey Vernon page at Baseball Reference
3. Rico Carty page at Baseball Reference
4. Stan Lopata page at Baseball Reference
5. Clay Dalrymple page at Baseball Reference
6. Georges Maranda page at Baseball Reference
7. Jim Bolger page at Baseball Reference
8. The Associated Press, Oct. 5, 1959
9. The Associated Press, Oct. 4, 1959
10. Eddie Mathews | The Baseball Page
11. Ray Boone page at Baseball Reference
12. Earl Averill, Jr. page at Baseball Reference
13. Elrod Hendricks page at Baseball Reference

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
• 1960 Milwaukee Braves season at Baseball Reference