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1963 Major League Baseball season

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This article is about the 1963 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1963 in baseball.
1963 MLB season
LeagueMajor League Baseball
SportBaseball
DurationApril 8 – October 6, 1963
Number of games162
Number of teams20
TV partner(s)NBC, CBS
Regular season
Season MVPAL: Elston Howard (NYY)
NL: Sandy Koufax (LAD)
AL championsNew York Yankees
  AL runners-upChicago White Sox
NL championsLos Angeles Dodgers
  NL runners-upSt. Louis Cardinals
World Series
ChampionsLos Angeles Dodgers
  Runners-upNew York Yankees
World Series MVPSandy Koufax (LAD)
MLB seasons
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Locations of teams for the 1962–1964 American League seasons
American League
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Locations of teams for the 1962–1963 National League seasons
National League

The 1963 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 8 to October 6, 1963. The American League and National League both featured ten teams, with each team playing a 162-game schedule.

In the World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the New York Yankees in four straight games. The Dodgers' stellar pitching staff, anchored by left-hander Sandy Koufax and right-hander Don Drysdale, was so dominant that the vaunted Yankees, despite the presence of sluggers such as Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris in their lineup, never took a lead against Los Angeles the entire Series.

Rule change

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The 1963 season saw the following rule change:[1]

  • The top of the strike zone was raised from the armpits to the top of the shoulders.[2]

Champions

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Major League Baseball

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Awards and honors

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Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax

MLB statistical leaders

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  American League National League
Type Name Stat Name Stat
AVG Carl Yastrzemski BOS .321 Tommy Davis LAD .326
HR Harmon Killebrew MIN 45 Hank Aaron MIL
Willie McCovey SF		 44
RBIs Dick Stuart BOS 118 Hank Aaron MIL 130
Wins Whitey Ford NYY 24 Sandy Koufax1 LAD
Juan Marichal SF		 25
ERA Gary Peters CWS 2.33 Sandy Koufax1 LAD 1.88
SO Camilo Pascual MIN 202 Sandy Koufax1 LAD 306
SV Stu Miller BAL 27 Lindy McDaniel CHC 22
SB Luis Aparicio BAL 40 Maury Wills LAD 40

1 National League Triple Crown Pitching Winner

Season recap

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In the American League, the Yankees were in the 4th of 5 straight pennant winning years, and, led by MVP Elston Howard, cruised to the American League title by 10.5 games over the 2nd place White Sox.

In the National League, most experts figured the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers would be locked in another battle for the pennant, much like 1962 when the Giants came from behind and beat the Dodgers in a playoff. The Dodgers started slowly, perhaps feeling the hangover effect from blowing the pennant the year before. They were 2 games under .500 in early May, and trailed the surprising St. Louis Cardinals by 4.5 games. Then their pitching asserted itself, and on August 28, the Dodgers led the Giants by 5.5 games and the Cardinals by 6.5 games. The Cardinals proceeded to win 19 of their next 20 games and, while the Dodgers didn't exactly slump, they went "only" 14–7 during that same period. Thus, the Dodgers went into St. Louis on September 16 to play the Cardinals in a 3-game series leading by only 1 game. With the memory of blowing the 1962 pennant fresh in their minds, the Dodgers proceeded to sweep the Cardinals and take a 4-game lead with 7 games to go. The key game was the third one; the Cardinals led 5–1 in the 8th inning and a win would move them back to within 2 games of L.A. But the Dodgers got 3 in the 8th and in the top of the 9th, late season call up Dick Nen, in only his 8th major league at bat, hit a pinch hit homer to force extra innings. The Cardinals got a leadoff triple from Dick Groat in the 10th but could not score. The Dodgers then scored an unearned run in the 13th inning and won, 6–5. The disheartened Cardinals then lost their next 3 games as well while the Dodgers won 3 of their next 4 to clinch the pennant with 6 games left.

Standings

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American League

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American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 104 57 .646 — 58‍–‍22 46‍–‍35
Chicago White Sox 94 68 .580 10½ 49‍–‍33 45‍–‍35
Minnesota Twins 91 70 .565 13 48‍–‍33 43‍–‍37
Baltimore Orioles 86 76 .531 18½ 48‍–‍33 38‍–‍43
Cleveland Indians 79 83 .488 25½ 41‍–‍40 38‍–‍43
Detroit Tigers 79 83 .488 25½ 47‍–‍34 32‍–‍49
Boston Red Sox 76 85 .472 28 44‍–‍36 32‍–‍49
Kansas City Athletics 73 89 .451 31½ 36‍–‍45 37‍–‍44
Los Angeles Angels 70 91 .435 34 39‍–‍42 31‍–‍49
Washington Senators 56 106 .346 48½ 31‍–‍49 25‍–‍57

National League

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National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Los Angeles Dodgers 99 63 .611 — 50‍–‍31 49‍–‍32
St. Louis Cardinals 93 69 .574 6 53‍–‍28 40‍–‍41
San Francisco Giants 88 74 .543 11 50‍–‍31 38‍–‍43
Philadelphia Phillies 87 75 .537 12 45‍–‍36 42‍–‍39
Cincinnati Reds 86 76 .531 13 46‍–‍35 40‍–‍41
Milwaukee Braves 84 78 .519 15 45‍–‍36 39‍–‍42
Chicago Cubs 82 80 .506 17 43‍–‍38 39‍–‍42
Pittsburgh Pirates 74 88 .457 25 42‍–‍39 32‍–‍49
Houston Colt .45s 66 96 .407 33 44‍–‍37 22‍–‍59
New York Mets 51 111 .315 48 34‍–‍47 17‍–‍64

Postseason

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Bracket

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World Series
   
AL New York Yankees 0
NL Los Angeles Dodgers 4

Managers

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American League

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Team Manager Comments
Baltimore Orioles Billy Hitchcock
Boston Red Sox Johnny Pesky
Chicago White Sox Al López Finished 2nd
Cleveland Indians Birdie Tebbetts
Detroit Tigers Bob Scheffing Replaced during the season by Chuck Dressen
Kansas City Athletics Ed Lopat
Los Angeles Angels Bill Rigney
Minnesota Twins Sam Mele Finished 3rd
New York Yankees Ralph Houk Won the American League pennant
Washington Senators Mickey Vernon Replaced during the season by Gil Hodges

National League

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Team Manager Comments
Chicago Cubs College of Coaches
Cincinnati Reds Fred Hutchinson
Houston Colt .45's Harry Craft
Los Angeles Dodgers Walter Alston Won the World Series
Milwaukee Braves Bobby Bragan
New York Mets Casey Stengel
Philadelphia Phillies Gene Mauch
Pittsburgh Pirates Danny Murtaugh
San Francisco Giants Alvin Dark Finished 3rd
St. Louis Cardinals Johnny Keane Finished 2nd

Home field attendance

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Team name Wins %± Home attendance %± Per game
Los Angeles Dodgers[3] 99 −2.9% 2,538,602 −7.9% 31,341
San Francisco Giants[4] 88 −14.6% 1,571,306 −1.3% 19,399
Minnesota Twins[5] 91 0.0% 1,406,652 −1.8% 17,366
New York Yankees[6] 104 8.3% 1,308,920 −12.4% 16,362
St. Louis Cardinals[7] 93 10.7% 1,170,546 22.7% 14,451
Chicago White Sox[8] 94 10.6% 1,158,848 2.4% 14,132
New York Mets[9] 51 27.5% 1,080,108 17.1% 13,335
Chicago Cubs[10] 82 39.0% 979,551 60.6% 12,093
Boston Red Sox[11] 76 0.0% 942,642 28.6% 11,783
Philadelphia Phillies[12] 87 7.4% 907,141 19.0% 11,199
Cincinnati Reds[13] 86 −12.2% 858,805 −12.6% 10,603
Detroit Tigers[14] 79 −7.1% 821,952 −32.0% 10,148
Los Angeles Angels[15] 70 −18.6% 821,015 −28.2% 10,136
Pittsburgh Pirates[16] 74 −20.4% 783,648 −28.1% 9,675
Baltimore Orioles[17] 86 11.7% 774,343 −2.0% 9,560
Milwaukee Braves[18] 84 −2.3% 773,018 0.8% 9,427
Kansas City Athletics[19] 73 1.4% 762,364 19.9% 9,412
Houston Colt .45s[20] 66 3.1% 719,502 −22.2% 8,883
Cleveland Indians[21] 79 −1.3% 562,507 −21.4% 6,945
Washington Senators[22] 56 −6.7% 535,604 −26.6% 6,695

Events

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Births

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January–March

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April–June

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July–September

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October–December

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Deaths

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January–March

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  • January 2 – Al Mamaux, 68, pitcher who twice won 20 games for Pittsburgh
  • January 5 – Rogers Hornsby, 66, Hall of Fame second baseman who posted the highest lifetime batting average (.358) of any right-handed batter, 7-time batting champion including a .424 mark in 1924; twice MVP, and the first NL player to hit 300 home runs
  • January 29 – Lee Meadows, 68, pitcher won 188 games for the Cardinals, Phillies and Pirates, was first modern major leaguer to wear glasses
  • January 31 – Ossie Vitt, 73, third baseman for the Tigers and Red Sox, later a minor league manager
  • February 9 – Ray Starr, 56, All-Star pitcher who pitched for six teams and won 138 games
  • February 15 – Bump Hadley, 58, pitcher who ended Mickey Cochrane's career with a 1937 pitch that fractured his skull; later a broadcaster
  • February 20 – Bill Hinchman, 79, outfielder twice batted .300 for Pittsburgh, later a scout
  • February 28 – Eppa Rixey, 71, pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame just one month earlier, until 1959 was the left-hander with most wins in NL history with 266 victories for Phillies and Reds
  • March 1 – Irish Meusel, 69, left fielder batted .310 lifetime, led NL in RBI in 1923
  • March 11 – Joe Judge, 68, first baseman batted .300 nine times for Senators, later coach at Georgetown for 20 years
  • March 29 – Wilcy Moore, 65, relief pitcher who won last game of 1927 World Series for Yankees

April–June

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  • April 23 – Harry Harper, 67, pitched from 1913 through 1923 for the Senators, Red Sox, Yankees and Robins
  • May 4 – Dickie Kerr, 69, pitcher who as a 1919 rookie won two World Series games for the White Sox, as one of the players not involved in fixing the Series; later helping a struggling pitcher-turned-hitter, Stan Musial
  • May 22 – Dave Shean, 79, second baseman and captain of champion 1918 Red Sox
  • May 23 – Gavvy Cravath, 82, right fielder who won six home runs titles with Phillies
  • May 27 – Dave Jolly, 38, knuckleball relief pitcher for Milwaukee Braves from 1953 to 1957
  • June 6 – Charlie Mullen, 74, first baseman for White Sox and Yankees in 1910s
  • June 8 – Earl Smith, 66, catcher for five NL champions, batted .350 in 1925 World Series
  • June 18 – Ben Geraghty, 50, manager of the Jacksonville Suns of the International League and legendary minor league pilot who played a key role in the early career of Henry Aaron
  • June 24 – George Trautman, 73, president of the minor leagues since 1946
  • June 24 – Jud Wilson, 69, All-Star third baseman of the Negro leagues
  • June 28 – Frank "Home Run" Baker, 77, Hall of Fame third baseman, lifetime .307 hitter and 4-time home run champion, last surviving member of Philadelphia Athletics' "$100,000 infield"

July–September

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  • July 27 – Hooks Dauss, 73, pitcher won 222 games, all for Detroit
  • August 15 – Karl Drews, 43, pitcher for four teams including 1947 champion Yankees
  • September 4 – Home Run Johnson, 90, early shortstop of the Negro leagues
  • September 19 – Slim Harriss, 66, pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Red Sox in the early 1920s
  • September 27 – Andy Coakley, 80, pitcher won 18 games for 1905 Athletics, later coach at Columbia for 37 years

October–December

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  • October 2 – Cy Perkins, 67, catcher for 16 seasons, most with Athletics, later a coach for many years
  • November 6 – Clarence Mitchell, 72, spitball pitcher won 125 games, hit into unassisted triple play in 1920 World Series
  • November 12 – Ed Connolly, 54, catcher for the Boston Red Sox between 1929 and 1932
  • November 13 – Muddy Ruel, 67, catcher for 19 seasons including 1924 champions Senators, later a coach
  • November 14 – Oscar Melillo, 64, second baseman for Browns and Red Sox
  • December 8 – Red Worthington, 57, left fielder for Boston Braves from 1931 to 1934
  • December 30 – Wilbur Good, 78, outfielder for six teams, primarily the Cubs

Uniforms

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In an attempt to create an identity distinguishable from all other teams, Kansas City Athletics owner Charlie Finley changed the team uniforms to kelly green and yellow. This tradition of "green and gold" has been preserved to this day, although the kelly green has since been replaced with forest green. Finley also changed the Athletics' cleats to white instead of the standard black. Coaches and managers were also given white hats, which were dropped when the Athletics adopted new colors in 1993. The white cleats were dropped in 2000, but were revived in 2008.

Television coverage

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CBS and NBC aired weekend Game of the Week broadcasts. The All-Star Game and World Series also aired on NBC.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "MLB Rule Changes | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  2. ^ "A guide to rules changes in MLB (and sports) history". MLB.com. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  3. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  4. ^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  5. ^ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  6. ^ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  7. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  8. ^ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  9. ^ "New York Mets Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  10. ^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  11. ^ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  12. ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  13. ^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  14. ^ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  15. ^ "Los Angeles Angels Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  16. ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  17. ^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  18. ^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  19. ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  20. ^ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  21. ^ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  22. ^ "Texas Rangers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  23. ^ Snyder, John (2010). 365 Oddball Days in Chicago Cubs History. United States: Accessible Publishing Systems. p. 570. ISBN 9781459607255..
  24. ^ Pellowski, Michael J (2007). The Little Giant Book of Baseball Facts. United States: Sterling Publishing Co. pp. 352. ISBN 9781402742736.
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