1959 NL Standings and League Leaders

 July 1, 1959

  As the calendar is flipped to the month of July, the Milwaukee Braves continue to play at a high level and have increased their lead over the 2nd place Cincinnati Reds to 8.5 games. Milwaukee had the best record in June, going 18-11. While their hitting has been very good, the Braves pitching is what is far superior to any other team in the NL.

  Even with the top hitter in the league, Hank Aaron (.346 BA, 26 HR, 62 RBI), making a bid for the Triple Crown and their other top slugger, Eddie Mathews (20 HR, 56 RBI), it's the Brave's starting pitching that's the most impressive. Warren Spahn (13-2, 3.00 ERA), Lew Burdette (11-6, 2.72 ERA) and Bob Buhl (8-3, 1.94 ERA) head the mound corps. 

  Among others that are having fine seasons are St. Louis Cardinal Ken Boyer (.333 BA, 20 HR, 54 RBI) who is also making a bid for the Triple Crown and San Francisco Giant Willie Mays (.298 BA, 20 HR, 56 RBI). Boyer's teammate Joe Cunningham had been turning heads with his .340 BA and a NL best .425 OBP.  

  The 2nd place Reds have the highest scoring offense in the NL by a large margin: 418 RS vs. 343 for the Giants. It's been a complete team effort for Cincinnati with no real standout player. Vada Pinson, Frank Robinson, Gus Bell, Jerry Lynch, Roy McMillan and Johnny Temple have all contributed in various ways. 4th place LA's pitcher Don Drysdale (11-6, 2.40 ERA, 117 K) is one of the best in the league.

LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 1959 National League
 
                                                      ACTUAL-TODATE  ACTUAL-TOTAL
                            WON LOST  PCT   GB  MAGIC# WON LOS  PCT  WON LOS  PCT
1959 Milwaukee MLN           50  23  .685 ----    73    42  31 .575   86  70 .551
1959 Cincinnati CIN          42  32  .568  8.5          33  41 .446   74  80 .481
1959 San Francisco SFN       42  34  .553  9.5          43  33 .566   83  71 .539
1959 Los Angeles LAN         40  38  .513 12.5          43  35 .551   88  68 .564
1959 Pittsburgh PIN          35  42  .455 17.0          40  37 .519   78  76 .506
1959 St. Louis SLN           32  41  .438 18.0          35  38 .479   71  83 .461
1959 Chicago CHN             32  41  .438 18.0          36  37 .493   74  80 .481
1959 Philadelphia PHN        25  47  .347 24.5          26  46 .361   64  90 .416
 
 
 
       OVERALL RECORD
Team   WON LOST   PCT  HOME  ROAD  LEFT RIGHT EXTRA 1-RUN   LAST 10   STREAK
CHN     32   41  .438 18-16 14-25  8-15 24-26  4- 5  9-14     2-8     Lost 7
CIN     42   32  .568 25-14 17-18  8-10 34-22  3- 4 13-13     7-3     Lost 1
LAN     40   38  .513 24-20 16-18  7- 7 33-31  4- 3 12- 9     6-4     Lost 1
MLN     50   23  .685 26-11 24-12 11-11 39-12 11- 2 18- 7     6-4     Won 4
PHN     25   47  .347 14-19 11-28  8-18 17-29  3- 5  9-15     3-7     Lost 1
PIN     35   42  .455 17-20 18-22 10-10 25-32  3- 5 11-13     6-4     Won 1
SFN     42   34  .553 22-18 20-16  7- 5 35-29  7- 7 12-12     5-5     Won 1
SLN     32   41  .438 14-20 18-21  6-18 26-23  2- 6  8- 9     6-4     Won 1
TOTAL  298  298  .500
HOME   160  138  .537
ROAD   138  160  .463
LEFT    65   94  .409
RIGHT  233  204  .533
 
TEAM   -APRIL   MAY  JUNE  JULY   AUG SEPT+  RUNS AGNST DIFF
CHN      8- 8 15-16  9-17  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    298   318  -20
CIN      6- 9 19-12 17-11  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    418   367  +51
LAN     11- 6 13-18 16-14  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    319   332  -13
MLN     12- 1 20-11 18-11  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    334   254  +80
PHN      4-10 11-21 10-16  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    258   374 -116
PIN      6- 8 14-19 15-15  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    338   346   -8
SFN      9- 7 18-11 15-16  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    343   280  +63
SLN      5-12 13-15 14-14  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0    334   371  -37

NEWSPAPER STYLE RECAP FOR 1959 National League                 Date: 7/1/1959
 
TEAM     WON LOST   BATTING AVERAGE     HOME RUNS           RUNS BATTED IN
1959 MLN  50  23    H.Aaron   MLN .346  H.Aaron   MLN   26  H.Aaron   MLN   62
1959 CIN  42  32    J.Cunning SLN .340  E.Mathews MLN   20  E.Mathews MLN   56
1959 SFN  42  34    K.Boyer   SLN .333  K.Boyer   SLN   20  W.Mays    SFN   56
1959 LAN  40  38    G.Bell    CIN .328  W.Mays    SFN   20  K.Boyer   SLN   54
1959 PIN  35  42    B.Bruton  MLN .327  OTHERS TIED W   17  V.Pinson  CIN   53
1959 SLN  32  41
1959 CHN  32  41    WINS                SAVES               ERA
1959 PHN  25  47    W.Spahn   MLN   13  T.Acker   CIN    6  B.Buhl    MLN 1.94
                    D.Drysdal LAN   11  C.Labine  LAN    5  D.Drysdal LAN 2.40
                    L.Burdett MLN   11  R.Face    PIN    5  S.Jones   SFN 2.56
                    J.Antonel SFN   11  E.Broglio SLN    5  L.Burdett MLN 2.72
                    OTHERS TIED W   10  OTHERS TIED W    4  V.Law     PIN 2.86
 
                    CUR HIT STREAK      STOLEN BASES        STRIKEOUTS
                    V.Pinson  CIN   13  T.Taylor  CHN   15  D.Drysdal LAN  117
                    J.Cunning SLN   11  J.Gilliam LAN   15  S.Koufax  LAN  104
                    D.Kravitz PIN    8  D.Blasing SLN   13  S.Jones   SFN   96
                    O.Cepeda  SFN    8  B.Bruton  MLN    9  J.Antonel SFN   94
                    OTHERS TIED W    7  OTHERS TIED W    8  J.Podres  LAN   91