1956 in baseball

Major League Baseball

World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers (4-3); Don Larsen, MVP

All-Star Game, July 10 at Griffith Stadium: National League, 7-3

Other champions

College World Series: Minnesota

Japan Series: Nishitetsu Lions over Yomiuri Giants (4-2)

Little League World Series: Lions Hondo, Roswell, New Mexico

Winter Leagues

1956 Caribbean Series: Elefantes de Cienfuegos

Cuban League: Elefantes de Cienfuegos

Dominican Republic League: Leones del Escogido

Mexican Pacific League: Tomateros de Culiacán

Panamanian League: Chesterfield Smokers

Puerto Rican League: Criollos de Caguas

Venezuelan League: Industriales de Valencia

Awards and honors

Most Valuable Player

National League – Don Newcombe, Brooklyn Dodgers

American League – Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees

First Cy Young Award: Don Newcombe, Brooklyn Dodgers

Rookie of the Year

National League – Frank Robinson, Cincinnati Reds

American League – Luis Aparicio, Chicago White Sox

Major League Baseball statistical leaders

¹ Major League Triple Crown Batting Winner

January–March

February 6 – Supporting the Wagner-Cashmore plan to build a $30-million downtown Brooklyn sports center, Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley promises to buy four million dollars worth of bonds.

April–June

April 22 – The Philadelphia Phillies manage just three hits, but one of them is a three-run home run by Ted Kazanski, as Robin Roberts wins, 3–1, over Johnny Antonelli and the New York Giants.

April 26 – Chico Carrasquel batted 2-for-4, including two runs, a grand slam and a career-high seven runs batted in, to guide the Cleveland Indians to a crushing 14–2 victory over the Kansas City Athletics. Early Wynn pitched a nine-strikeout, four-hit, two-run complete game to earn the victory, while Lou Kretlow allowed seven runs in four-plus innings to get the loss.

May 2 – At Wrigley Field, the New York Giants defeat the Chicago Cubs, 6-5, in a 17-inning game in which 48 players see action–25 Giants and 23 Cubs. Chicago's Don Hoak sets a National League record by striking out six times in the game, which also features a record 11 intentional walks, including two each to the Giants' Willie Mays and Wes Westrum and the Cubs' Ernie Banks.

May 12 – Carl Erskine tosses the second no-hitter of his career as the Brooklyn Dodgers blank the New York Giants, 3–0, at Ebbets Field. His first no-hitter came on June 19, 1952 against the Chicago Cubs at Ebbets Field.

May 26 – Al Simmons died in Milwaukee, at the age of 54. A former Philadelphia Athletics outfielder as well as a three-time All-Star and two-time champion bat, Simmons posted a .334 average with 307 home runs and 1827 RBI in a 20-season major league career that included stints with six other teams besides the Athletics. Simmons was enshrined into the Hall of Fame in 1953.

May 30 – Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees narrowly misses hitting the first home run ever hit completely out of Yankee Stadium. With Hank Bauer and Gil McDougald on base in the fifth inning of Game One of a doubleheader against the Washington Senators, Mantle, batting left-handed against Pedro Ramos, hits a towering drive above the level of the stadium roof. However, a stiff wind cuts down the ball, which strikes the right-field facade, 18 inches (460 mm) above the level of the roof. The home run gives the Yankees a 3-1 lead; they go on to win 4-3.

June 21 – Jack Harshman of the Chicago White Sox defeats Connie Johnson of the Baltimore Orioles 1-0 in a game in which both pitchers throw a one-hitter.

June 27 – Chico Carrasquel went 5-for-6, including two doubles, two runs, and a game-ending RBI single in the 11th inning off Don Mossi, as the Cleveland Indians edged the Baltimore Orioles 12–11. Hal Brown was the winning pitcher in a  6 ¹⁄₃-inning relief effort.

July–September

July 10 – At Griffith Stadium, home of the Washington Senators, the National League topped the American League, 7-3, in the All-Star Game. Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Ted Williams, and Mickey Mantle all hit home runs.

July 14 – At Fenway Park, Mel Parnell of the Boston Red Sox no-hits the Chicago White Sox 4-0. The no-hitter is the Red Sox' first since Howard Ehmke in 1923, the first at Fenway since the Washington Senators' Walter Johnson no-hit the Red Sox in 1920, and the first by a Red Sox left-hander since Dutch Leonard in 1918.

July 25 – Roberto Clemente of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits the first, and so far only, walk-off inside-the park grand slam in major league history in a 9-8 win over the Chicago Cubs.

August 2 – Herb Score shuts out the visiting New York Yankees‚ 4–0‚ for the Cleveland Indians seventh shutout in their last 12 games. Bobby Ávila gets the Indians on board with an inside-the-park home run in the third inning. An inning later, Preston Ward and Rocky Colavito hit back-to-back home runs and one out later Chico Carrasquel homers. The four solo homers in a shutout victory sets a major league record. Yankees starter Tom Sturdivant, who gave up the four homers, is the losing pitcher.

August 8 – Robin Roberts wins his eighth straight game and his fourth in 10 days‚ as the visiting Philadelphia Phillies defeat the New York Giants‚ 9–3. Phillies shortstop Ted Kazanski lines an inside-the-park grand slam off Jim Hearn‚ just the fourth in club history to pace the attack.

September 25 – At Ebbets Field, Sal Maglie of the Brooklyn Dodgers no-hits the Philadelphia Phillies 5-0.

September 30 – Chicago White Sox pitcher Jim Derrington becomes the youngest pitcher in modern history to start a game. He loses to the Kansas City Athletics, 7-6, at the age of 16 years and 10 months.

October–December

October 8 – New York Yankees pitcher Don Larsen pitches a perfect game in Game 5 of the World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers, in a 2-0 victory. It is only the fourth perfect game since 1900 and sixth in the history of Major League Baseball. To date it remains the only perfect game in baseball post-season history, and also the only no-hitter in the World Series.

October 9 – The Dodgers bounce back. Brooklyn's Clem Labine comes out of the bullpen to pitch a 1-0 victory for the Dodgers in Game 6 of the World Series. Yankee Enos Slaughter misjudges Jackie Robinson's fly ball, and Jim Gilliam scores from second base; it turned out to be Robinson's last major league hit. The series is tied at 3 games apiece.

October 10 – The New York Yankees defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 9-0, in Game 7 of the World Series to win their seventeenth World Championship, four games to three. Johnny Kucks goes the distance in the victory, allowing only three hits. Yogi Berra hits a pair of 2-run home runs and Bill Skowron hits a grand slam. Don Newcombe takes the loss, his fourth in Series competition. It was the last World Series game being played at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field. Yankees pitcher Don Larsen is named Most Valuable Player.

October 24 – Birdie Tebbetts of the Cincinnati Reds is named National League Manager of the Year.

October 25 – Chicago White Sox manager Marty Marion resigns. Al López replaces him.

November 27:

Don Newcombe, who posted a 27-7 record with 139 strikeouts and a 3.06 ERA for the National League pennant-winning Brooklyn Dodgers, becomes the first MLB Cy Young Award winner. Only one pitcher will be selected each season for this prestigious pitching award until 1967, when each league will name a winner.

Outfielder Charlie Peete, given a good shot at being the first black starter on the St. Louis Cardinals, is killed in a plane crash in Caracas, Venezuela. Peete, who hit .192 in 23 games for St. Louis in 1956, was returning from playing winter ball.

November 28 – The Cleveland Indians name Kerby Farrell to replace Al López as the team manager. Farrell won the Junior World Series as the pilot of the Double-A Indianapolis Indians.

December 1 – Outfielder Frank Robinson of the Cincinnati Reds is unanimously voted the National League Rookie of the Year. In the American League, Chicago White Sox shortstop Luis Aparicio is voted Rookie of the Year with 22 points, beating out outfielders Tito Francona of the Baltimore Orioles and Rocky Colavito of the Cleveland Indians.

January–February

January 10 – Dan Rohn

January 12 – Chuck Porter

January 15 – Rance Mulliniks

January 15 – Jerry Narron

January 25 – Dale Mohorcic

February 1 – Geoff Combe

February 2 – Manny Sarmiento

February 4 – Chris Bando

February 9 – Mookie Wilson

February 12 – Brian Denman

February 14 – Dave Dravecky

February 22 – Joe Lefebvre

February 24 – Eddie Murray

February 25 – Kevin Hickey

February 25 – Ed Lynch

March–April

March 12 – Dale Murphy

March 14 – Butch Wynegar

March 16 – Juan Espino

March 17 – Rick Lisi

March 17 – Tim Lollar

March 17 – Rod Scurry

March 21 – Mike Darr

March 23 – Ron Johnson

March 24 – Garry Templeton

March 27 – Dave Hostetler

March 30 – Jack Lazorko

April 4 – Tom Herr

April 12 – Jose Alvarez

April 14 – Bobby Sprowl

April 22 – Moose Haas

April 22 – Dave Schmidt

April 26 – Tim Tolman

May–June

May 4 – Ubaldo Heredia

May 4 – Ken Oberkfell

May 5 – Ron Oester

May 18 – Jim Farr

May 19 – Luis Salazar

May 19 – Eric Show

May 22 – Mark Brouhard

May 23 – Buck Showalter

May 27 – Mark Clear

May 28 – Randy Martz

May 30 – Dana DeMuth

May 30 – Mike LaCoss

June 3 – Julio Valdez

June 4 – Terry Kennedy

June 10 – Brad Gulden

June 15 – Lance Parrish

June 21 – Rick Sutcliffe

June 24 – George Vukovich

June 29 – Pedro Guerrero

July–August

July 5 – Rick Lancellotti

July 6 – Jang Hyo-Jo

July 7 – Terry Bevington

July 8 – Terry Puhl

July 11 – Joey McLaughlin

July 12 – Bryan Clark

July 12 – Mario Soto

July 13 – Bill Caudill

July 18 – Butch Edge

July 18 – Razor Shines

July 22 – Scott Sanderson

July 25 – Dave Patterson

July 31 – Gordie Pladson

August 2 – Derek Botelho

August 2 – Roger LaFrançois

August 5 – Dave Edler

August 5 – Dave Rozema

August 8 – Cliff Speck

August 19 – Ron Roenicke

August 19 – Kevin Saucier

August 20 – Joel Finch

August 21 – John Henry Johnson

August 22 – Paul Molitor

August 24 – Tony Bernazard

August 26 – George Bjorkman

August 30 – Scott Brown

August 30 – Roger Erickson

September–October

September 5 – Tom Hallion

September 7 – Orlando Sánchez

September 12 – Cholly Naranjo

September 12 – Mark Thurmond

September 15 – John Pacella

September 17 – Thad Bosley

September 24 – Hubie Brooks

October 1 – Vance Law

October 2 – Jeff Doyle

October 3 – Bob Kearney

October 4 – Charlie Leibrandt

October 4 - Jake Gettman

October 7 – Rudy Law

October 8 – Jeff Lahti

October 12 – Steve Shirley

October 22 – Frank DiPino

October 23 – Luis Silverio

October 24 – Gary Serum

October 25 – Andy McGaffigan

November–December

November 1 – Gary Redus

November 3 – Bob Welch

November 11 – Jeff Byrd

November 12 – Jody Davis

November 19 – Dickie Noles

November 26 – Ron Meridith

November 26 – Bob Walk

November 29 – Rick Anderson

November 29 – Joe Price

November 30 – Dave Engle

November 30 – Barry Evans

December 1 – Tom Filer

December 4 – Bárbaro Garbey

December 7 – Ozzie Virgil

December 12 – Steve Farr

December 13 – Dale Berra

December 16 – Rick Sofield

December 19 – Stan Cliburn

December 19 – Stew Cliburn

December 19 – Tom Lawless

December 25 – Wallace Johnson

December 25 – Charlie Lea

December 29 – Dave Ford

Deaths

January 4 – John Beckwith, 55, star infielder of the Negro Leagues

January 10 – Algie McBride, 86, outfielder for the Chicago Colts, Cincinnati Reds, and New York Giants from 1896 to 1901.

January 23 – Billy Evans, 71, American League umpire from 1906 to 1927, later the general manager of the Indians and Tigers

January 31 – Buck Weaver, 65, one of the eight Chicago White Sox players suspended for life in the Black Sox scandal

February 8 – Long Tom Hughes, 77, pitcher for the Chicago Orphans at the turn of the 20th century and one of the first World Series pitchers ever, in 1903, with the Boston Americans

February 8 – Connie Mack, 93, Hall of Fame manager of the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 to 1950, retiring with a record 3,731 victories

February 25 – Jack Lewis, 72, second baseman for the Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Rebels between 1911 and 1915

March 2 – Fred Merkle, 67, first baseman for the New York Giants who infamously committed a controversial baserunning blunder in 1908 that likely cost his team the National League pennant.

April 18 – John Heydler, 86, National League president from 1918 to 1934

May 6 – Harry Ostdiek, 75, catcher who played for the Cleveland Naps (1904) and Boston Red Sox (1908)

May 26 – Al Simmons, 54, Hall of Fame outfielder who batted a career .334 and was named the AL's MVP in 1929 by The Sporting News

June 2 – Denny Sullivan, 73, center fielder for the Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox/Americans and Cleveland Naps between 1905 and 1909

August 24 - Art Fromme, 72, pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants between 1906 to 1915.

September 22 – Jesse Tannehill, 82, 6-time winner of 20 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox

October 13 – George Dumont, 60, pitcher for the Washington Senators and Boston Red Sox between 1915 and 1919

October 30 – Dick Midkiff, 42, pitcher for the 1938 Boston Red Sox

November 22 – Roy Carlyle, 55, outfielder for the Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees in the 1920s

November 27 – Charlie Peete, 27, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder, in a plane crash in Venezuela while playing winter baseball

November 30 – John Shea, 59, pitcher for the 1928 Boston Red Sox

December 24 - Del Howard, 79, outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Beaneaters/Doves and Chicago Cubs from 1905 to 1909

December 27 – Hob Hiller, 63, infielder for the Boston Red Sox in the early 1920s