1959 AL Standings and League Leaders

 June 1, 1959

   The Cleveland Indians are in 1st place in the AL as the calendar is turned to June. The Indians win last night over my Detroit Tigers allowed them to move into the top spot. Cleveland also went 18-10 in May, best in the AL. The New York Yankees have moved past the Boston Red Sox into 3rd place by going 8-2 in their last 10 games while the Sox have been 4-6. Nobody's out of the running for the pennant this early in the season though Chicago and Washington have really struggled. 

  My Tigers are represented quite well in the AL's League Leaders. Al Kaline (.391, 12, 45) is having a fantastic season so far. Harvey Kuenn and Charlie Maxwell are also putting up big numbers at the plate. Tiger pitchers Jim Bunning, Frank Lary and Don Mossi are among the top pitchers in the league. 

LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 1959 American League
 
                                                      ACTUAL-TODATE  ACTUAL-TOTAL
                            WON LOST  PCT   GB  MAGIC# WON LOS  PCT  WON LOS  PCT
1959 Cleveland CLA           25  17  .595 ----   112    25  17 .595   89  65 .578
1959 Detroit DEA             25  18  .581   .5          20  23 .465   76  78 .494
1959 New York NYA            23  19  .548  2.0          19  23 .452   79  75 .513
1959 Boston BOA              23  20  .535  2.5          19  24 .442   75  79 .487
1959 Kansas City KCA         20  21  .488  4.5          20  21 .488   66  88 .429
1959 Baltimore BAA           21  25  .457  6.0          25  21 .543   74  80 .481
1959 Chicago CHA             18  26  .409  8.0          25  19 .568   94  60 .610
1959 Washington WAA          19  28  .404  8.5          21  26 .447   63  91 .409
 
 
 
       OVERALL RECORD
Team   WON LOST   PCT  HOME  ROAD  LEFT RIGHT EXTRA 1-RUN   LAST 10   STREAK
BAA     21   25  .457 11-14 10-11  4- 8 17-17  4- 3  6- 4     4-6     Won 3
BOA     23   20  .535 11-13 12- 7  1- 1 22-19  2- 1  4- 3     4-6     Lost 3
CHA     18   26  .409  8-14 10-12  4-11 14-15  3- 0 10- 4     1-9     Lost 4
CLA     25   17  .595 15- 7 10-10  6- 2 19-15  1- 2  5- 6     8-2     Won 2
DEA     25   18  .581 12- 7 13-11  5- 3 20-15  0- 1  4- 7     4-6     Lost 1
KCA     20   21  .488  9-12 11- 9  8- 6 12-15  4- 2  2- 5     7-3     Won 1
NYA     23   19  .548  9- 9 14-10  5- 6 18-13  3- 5  9- 8     8-2     Won 1
WAA     19   28  .404  9-14 10-14  4- 3 15-25  1- 4  5- 8     4-6     Lost 1
TOTAL  174  174  .500
HOME    84   90  .483
ROAD    90   84  .517
LEFT    37   40  .481
RIGHT  137  134  .506
 
TEAM   -APRIL   MAY  JUNE  JULY   AUG SEPT+  RUNS AGNST DIFF
BAA      6-10 15-15  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    175   209  -34
BOA      9- 4 14-16  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    200   206   -6
CHA      8- 8 10-18  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    143   196  -53
CLA      7- 7 18-10  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    195   163  +32
DEA      9- 6 16-12  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    249   169  +80
KCA      6-10 14-11  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    181   207  -26
NYA      9- 6 14-13  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    173   154  +19
WAA      7-10 12-18  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    204   216  -12

NEWSPAPER STYLE RECAP FOR 1959 American League                 Date: 6/1/1959
 
TEAM     WON LOST   BATTING AVERAGE     HOME RUNS           RUNS BATTED IN
1959 CLA  25  17    A.Kaline  DEA .391  H.Killebr WAA   16  A.Kaline  DEA   45
1959 DEA  25  18    H.Kuenn   DEA .360  C.Maxwell DEA   15  C.Maxwell DEA   43
1959 NYA  23  19    G.Woodlin BAA .344  B.Allison WAA   13  H.Killebr WAA   39
1959 BOA  23  20    B.Skowron NYA .339  R.Colavit CLA   12  R.Colavit CLA   36
1959 KCA  20  21    P.Runnels BOA .323  A.Kaline  DEA   12  B.Nieman  BAA   34
1959 BAA  21  25
1959 CHA  18  26    WINS                SAVES               ERA
1959 WAA  19  28    E.Wynn    CHA    6  M.Forniel BOA    6  D.Mossi   DEA 1.50
                    J.Bunning DEA    6  B.Loes    BAA    3  A.Ditmar  NYA 1.78
                    F.Lary    DEA    6  T.Lown    CHA    3  M.Grant   CLA 2.27
                    OTHERS TIED W    5  T.Morgan  DEA    3  J.Harshma BAA 2.61
                                        OTHERS TIED W    2  J.Walker  BAA 2.70
 
                    CUR HIT STREAK      STOLEN BASES        STRIKEOUTS
                    A.Kaline  DEA   11  L.Aparici CHA   15  H.Score   CLA   60
                    R.Boone   KCA    8  J.Piersal CLA    7  J.Bunning DEA   56
                    F.Malzone BOA    7  J.Jensen  BOA    5  E.Wynn    CHA   54
                    T.Lepcio  DEA    7  B.Allison WAA    5  W.Ford    NYA   53
                    J.Lumpe   KCA    6  OTHERS TIED W    3  C.Pascual WAA   52

1959 NL Standings and League Leaders

 June 1, 1959

  The month of May is in the books and the Milwaukee Braves still hold the top spot in the NL. The Braves, who are currently on a 7-game winning streak, continue to get top notch pitching from the likes of Warren Spahn (9-0), Lew Burdette and Bob Buhl. Hanks Aaron (.347, 14, 42), Eddie Matthews and Billy Brutton lead their very potent offense. All these players are in the top 5 of many stat categories. 

  The San Francisco Giants have been in 2nd place for most of the month, 5-5 GB, but can't seem to gain any ground on the Braves. Cincinnati, LA and Chicago are the other teams that look to have a shot at the pennant. Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Philadelphia have all struggled this season. 

 

LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 1959 National League
 
                                                      ACTUAL-TODATE  ACTUAL-TOTAL
                            WON LOST  PCT   GB  MAGIC# WON LOS  PCT  WON LOS  PCT
1959 Milwaukee MLN           32  12  .727 ----   105    28  16 .636   86  70 .551
1959 San Francisco SFN       27  18  .600  5.5          26  19 .578   83  71 .539
1959 Cincinnati CIN          25  21  .543  8.0          21  25 .457   74  80 .481
1959 Los Angeles LAN         24  24  .500 10.0          25  23 .521   88  68 .564
1959 Chicago CHN             23  24  .489 10.5          23  24 .489   74  80 .481
1959 Pittsburgh PIN          20  27  .426 13.5          25  22 .532   78  76 .506
1959 St. Louis SLN           18  27  .400 14.5          19  26 .422   71  83 .461
1959 Philadelphia PHN        15  31  .326 18.0          17  29 .370   64  90 .416
 
 
 
       OVERALL RECORD
Team   WON LOST   PCT  HOME  ROAD  LEFT RIGHT EXTRA 1-RUN   LAST 10   STREAK
CHN     23   24  .489 13- 8 10-16  7- 9 16-15  3- 2  5- 8     4-6     Won 1
CIN     25   21  .543 15- 9 10-12  5- 6 20-15  2- 2  9-10     7-3     Won 2
LAN     24   24  .500 13-14 11-10  4- 6 20-18  3- 1  9- 5     5-5     Won 2
MLN     32   12  .727 19- 4 13- 8  6- 3 26- 9  8- 2 12- 4     8-2     Won 7
PHN     15   31  .326  7-13  8-18  3-12 12-19  2- 4  6-11     2-8     Lost 7
PIN     20   27  .426 10-12 10-15  6- 6 14-21  1- 3  6-10     3-7     Lost 2
SFN     27   18  .600 16-11 11- 7  5- 4 22-14  3- 5  6- 8     6-4     Lost 1
SLN     18   27  .400  8-12 10-15  4-13 14-14  2- 5  7- 4     5-5     Lost 2
TOTAL  184  184  .500
HOME   101   83  .549
ROAD    83  101  .451
LEFT    40   59  .404
RIGHT  144  125  .535
 
TEAM   -APRIL   MAY  JUNE  JULY   AUG SEPT+  RUNS AGNST DIFF
CHN      8- 8 15-16  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    206   201   +5
CIN      6- 9 19-12  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    267   245  +22
LAN     11- 6 13-18  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    198   231  -33
MLN     12- 1 20-11  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    217   144  +73
PHN      4-10 11-21  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    173   257  -84
PIN      6- 8 14-19  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    204   210   -6
SFN      9- 7 18-11  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    219   146  +73
SLN      5-12 13-15  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    182   232  -50

NEWSPAPER STYLE RECAP FOR 1959 National League                 Date: 6/1/1959
 
TEAM     WON LOST   BATTING AVERAGE     HOME RUNS           RUNS BATTED IN
1959 MLN  32  12    B.Bruton  MLN .376  H.Aaron   MLN   14  H.Aaron   MLN   42
1959 SFN  27  18    F.Robinso CIN .361  K.Boyer   SLN   13  W.Mays    SFN   38
1959 CIN  25  21    G.Bell    CIN .348  F.Robinso CIN   12  V.Pinson  CIN   36
1959 LAN  24  24    H.Aaron   MLN .347  W.Mays    SFN   12  E.Mathews MLN   36
1959 CHN  23  24    R.Clement PIN .340  E.Mathews MLN   11  OTHERS TIED W   34
1959 PIN  20  27
1959 SLN  18  27    WINS                SAVES               ERA
1959 PHN  15  31    W.Spahn   MLN    9  T.Acker   CIN    5  J.Antonel SFN 2.03
                    D.Drysdal LAN    8  E.Broglio SLN    4  J.Nuxhall CIN 2.06
                    L.Burdett MLN    7  OTHERS TIED W    3  B.Buhl    MLN 2.10
                    J.Antonel SFN    7                      J.Sanford SFN 2.16
                    OTHERS TIED W    6                      B.Friend  PIN 2.32
 
                    CUR HIT STREAK      STOLEN BASES        STRIKEOUTS
                    T.Taylor  CHN   22  T.Taylor  CHN   12  D.Drysdal LAN   75
                    V.Pinson  CIN    9  J.Gilliam LAN    8  J.Podres  LAN   62
                    D.Crandal MLN    7  B.Bruton  MLN    7  S.Koufax  LAN   61
                    G.Green   SLN    7  D.Blasing SLN    7  J.Antonel SFN   61
                    N.Larker  LAN    6  W.Mays    SFN    6  J.Sanford SFN   54

1959 NL Game Stories: Banks, Burdette, Spahn, and Koufax shine

 May 31, 1959

   There were some interesting results in some game played today in the NL. Chicago's Ernie Banks smacked 3 homeruns in the Cub's game against the SF Giants. He's the 1st player to perform that feat this season in the NL.

  A doubleheader in Milwaukee saw the 1st place Braves take both games with some fine pitching. Lew Burdette pitched a 6-hit shutout in Game 1 that ended in a 1-0 score. In Game 2 Warren Spahn won his 9th game of the season, against no losses, with a Milwaukee 3-2 victory. 

  In Los Angeles, Sandy Koufax tossed a 1-hit shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals while the Dodgers were winning 2-0. Koufax struck out 13 batters in the game, the most by any pitcher in MLB so far this year. 

  

CHICAGO AT SAN FRANCISCO
Cubs............ 2 0 0  1 0 0  1 1 0  -  5  8  1
Giants.......... 0 1 0  0 1 0  1 1 0  -  4  6  1
Win:Hobbie(5-5) Loss:Antonelli(7-3)
Homeruns- E.Banks-3(9th), W.Kirkland(6th), L.Wagner-2(5th), A.Rodgers(8th)
 
Ernie Banks slammed 3 homeruns and had 4 RBI and Glen Hobbie completed the
game without help from the bullpen at Seals Stadium where the Chicago Cubs
beat the San Francisco Giants by the score of 5 to 4.
 
Banks was unconscious out there.  While San Francisco pitching was serving
softballs up there for him to hit, the San Francisco fans were serving up
some hardball barbs when he entered the batter's box.  But he just used it as
fuel for the fire.  He cleared the fences for a two-run home run in the 1st
inning, cracked a solo homerun in the 4th inning, slapped a base-hit in the
6th inning and lofted a solo-blast 'downtown' in the 8th inning.  Chicago
took care of San Francisco with no trouble in the bottom of the 9th.  
 
The win was credited to Hobbie(5-5) who went the whole way allowing 4 runs.
The loss was charged to Johnny Antonelli(7-3).  He allowed 6 hits and 4 walks
in 7 innings.  
 
Banks was in a good mood after the game, 'I'm just seeing and hitting the ball
real well now.  I made some adjustments last week and they are paying off.
That's what this game is about. making adjustments as the season goes along.'

PHILADELPHIA AT MILWAUKEE
Phillies........ 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  0  6  1
Braves.......... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 1    -  1  7  0
Win:Burdette(7-3) Loss:Roberts(2-6)
Homeruns- E.Mathews(11th)
 
Lew Burdette shutout Philadelphia while allowing the Milwaukee bullpen a
day-off as the Milwaukee Braves defeated the struggling Philadelphia Phillies
by the score of 1 to 0 at County Stadium.
 
Burdette(7-3) put on a good performance.  He surrendered only 6 hits and 2
walks in 9 innings improving his ERA from 3.26 to 2.97.  Philadelphia tried
unsuccessfully to come back in the 9th.  
 
Robin Roberts(2-6) was hit with the loss.  He gave up 1 run and 7 hits in 8
innings.
 
 
PHILADELPHIA AT MILWAUKEE
Phillies........ 0 0 2  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  2  5  3
Braves.......... 0 0 0  0 0 1  2 0    -  3  8  1
Win:Spahn(9-0) Loss:Phillips(0-2)
Homeruns- B.Bruton(2nd)
 
Warren Spahn pitched a complete game at County Stadium where the seemingly
unstoppable Milwaukee Braves beat the slumping Philadelphia Phillies 3 to
2.
 
Spahn(9-0) contributed a very nicely pitched game.  He gave up just 5 hits and
2 walks in 9 innings.  Philadelphia was set down quietly in the 9th.
 
Taylor Phillips(0-2) absorbed the loss in relief.  He surrendered 2 runs and 3
hits in 1 and 2/3 innings.  Milwaukee won for the 7th straight time.

ST. LOUIS AT LOS ANGELES
Cardinals....... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  0  1  0
Dodgers......... 0 0 1  1 0 0  0 0    -  2  5  0
Win:Koufax(2-2) Loss:Blaylock(2-8)
Homeruns- D.Demeter(8th)
 
Sandy Koufax was on top of his game, blanking St. Louis on just 1 hit as the
Los Angeles Dodgers topped the St. Louis Cardinals by a score of 2 to 0 at
Memorial Coliseum.
 
Koufax(2-2) dominated St. Louis hitters.  He didn't allow much, just 1 hit and
3 walks in 9 innings.  Koufax struckout 13 St. Louis batters seeing his ERA
drop from 5.36 to 4.47.  Neither team managed to score after the 4th inning.
 
The loss was charged to Gary Blaylock(2-8).  When asked about his strikeout
total for the game, Koufax offered, 'The fan's really got into it.  It is fun
to see them tally up the strikeout totals up there in the stands.
Fortunately, I kept them busy this afternoon - of course, it would be all for
naught without the 'W'.'