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The following are the baseball events of the year 1959 throughout the world.
[edit] Champions
[edit] Major League Baseball
[edit] Other champions
[edit] Awards and honors
[edit] MLB Statistical Leaders
[edit] Major League Baseball final standings
[edit] American League final standings
[edit] National League final standings
[edit] Events
[edit] January-March
[edit] April-June
- May 20 - The New York Yankees lose to the Detroit Tigers 13-6 at Yankee Stadium, the loss dropping the New Yorkers to last place in the American League—their first time in the cellar since May 23, 1940. The Yankees had won nine pennants over the previous ten years, as well as winning 103 games in 1954, the one year they didn't win the pennant.
- May 26 - Pirates pitcher Harvey Haddix carries a perfect game into the 13th inning against the Milwaukee Braves, retiring 36 consecutive batters before Felix Mantilla reached on a Don Hoak error. Haddix would lose the game on a Joe Adcock hit (a baserunning mistake caused it to be changed from a 3-run home run to a 1-run double) later in the inning.
[edit] July-September
- - The L.A. Dodgers and Milwaukee Braves finish the NL regular schedule in a tie, and the Dodgers defeat the Braves in two playoff games (best of 3) to reach the World Series.
[edit] October-December
- October 8 - The Los Angeles Dodgers win 9-3 to take the World Series in Chicago's Comiskey Park, 4 games to 2, again behind Larry Sherry in relief of Johnny Podres. The Dodgers have an 8-0 lead after 4 innings and hold on despite Ted Kluszewski's 3-run home run. The round-tripper gives the slugger a new 6-game RBI record of 10. Chicago's Chuck Essegian hits his second pinch HR to establish a new record, later equalled by Bernie Carbo of the Boston Red Sox in 1975. Each Dodger receives a record $11,231 winning share. The White Sox each get a record $7,275 losing share.
[edit] Births
[edit] January-March
[edit] April-June
[edit] July-September
[edit] October-December
[edit] Deaths
[edit] January-March
- January 21 - Hooks Wiltse, 79, pitcher for the New York Giants with two 20-win seasons and a 10-inning no-hitter
- January 22 - Ken Williams, 68, outfielder who in 1922 became the first player to have 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in the same season
- February 7 - Nap Lajoie, 84, Hall of Fame second baseman who batted .338 in his career, winning the 1901 American League Triple Crown with a .426 batting average and becoming the third player to make 3000 hits
- February 12 - Dode Paskert, 77, outfielder and leadoff hitter known for his speed and defense
- February 27 - Howie Fitzgerald, 56, outfielder for the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox in the 1920s
- March 17 - Howard Ehmke, 64, pitcher with six 15-win seasons whose last major league victory was a record 13-strikeout performance in the 1929 World Series
- March 29 - Johnny Allen, 53, All-Star pitcher named Major League Player of the Year by The Sporting News in 1937 after a 15-1 season
[edit] April-June
- May 18 - John Hummel, 76, longtime Brooklyn utility player
- May 18 - Gene Packard, 71, pitcher who enjoyed a pair of 20-win seasons in the short-lived Federal League
- May 26 - Ed Walsh, 78, Hall of Fame spitball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox who compiled the lowest career ERA in history (1.82) and won an astonishing 40 games in 1908
- June 9 - Frank Huelsman, 85, regarded as the first player in major league history to play for four different teams in a season (1904), who later gained notoriety as a minor league star, compiling a .342 career average over nearly 20 years, including five batting titles, six RBI titles, and two Triple Crowns
- June 17 - Jim McHale, 83, outfielder for the 1908 Boston Red Sox
- June 28 - Joe Sugden, 88, platooning catcher for five teams, later a Cardinals scout for 31 years
[edit] July-September
- July 7 - Norwood Gibson, 82, pitcher for the Boston Americans between 1903 and 1906
- July 11 - Frank Gilhooley, 77, outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox between 1911 and 1919
- July 21 - Bill Hoffer, 88, pitcher who won 20 games in each of his first three seasons
- July 25 - Buck O'Brien, 77, pitcher who won 20 games for the Boston Red Sox 1912 World Champions
- July 29 - Boileryard Clarke, 90, backup catcher for the 1890s Baltimore Orioles, later a coach at Princeton for 34 years
- August 4 - Chappy Charles, 78, infielder for the Browns and Reds from 1908-1910
- August 4 - Pop Williams, 85, pitcher for 4 NL teams from 1898-1903
- September 20 - Tilly Walker, 72, power-hitting outfielder known for his strong arm
- September 28 - Red Corriden, 72, longtime MLB coach and manager of the 1950 White Sox
[edit] October-December
- October 16 - Herb Bradley, 56, pitched for the Boston Red Sox from 1927 through 1929
- October 29 - Dave Fultz, 84, outfielder who became a lawyer and unionized players in the 1910s, later coaching baseball and football at six universities
- November 20 - Roy Thomas, 85, Phillies outfielder and leadoff hitter who batted .300 five times
- November 28 - Ed McFarland, 85, catcher for five teams, known for his fielding
- November 30 - Jack Scott, 67, pitcher who threw a shutout in the 1922 World Series for the Giants and won 16 games the next year
- December 6 - Wid Conroy, 82, infielder for four teams, including the 1902 NL champion Pirates
- December 10 - Joe Harris, 68, first baseman and outfielder who batted .300 in his first eight seasons
- December 11 - Jim Bottomley, 59, power-hitting first baseman for four Cardinal pennant-winners and career .310 hitter who was named the NL's MVP in 1928 and set a record with 12 RBI in a 1924 game
