1958 Milwaukee Braves season
The 1958 Milwaukee Braves season was the sixth in Milwaukee and the 88th overall season of the franchise. The Braves finished first in the National League with a 92–62 record and returned to the World Series for the second consecutive year, losing to the New York Yankees in seven games. The Braves set a Major League record which still stands for the fewest players caught stealing in a season, with 8.
Offseason
- December 1, 1958: Claude Raymond was drafted from the Braves by the Chicago White Sox in the 1958 rule 5 draft.
- Prior to 1958 season: Manny Jiménez was acquired by the Braves from Ciudad Juárez.
- Prior to 1958 season: In an unusual turn of events for a World Series champion, Braves' manager Fred Haney replaced all four members of his 1957 coaching staff after the Fall Classic triumph: third-base coach Connie Ryan, first-base coach Johnny Riddle, pitching coach Charlie Root, and bullpen coach Bob Keely. Root and Keely were holdovers from Charlie Grimm's staff, while Ryan was a former infielder and minor league manager for the Braves. Haney replaced them with Billy Herman, John Fitzpatrick, Whit Wyatt and George Susce. Herman and Wyatt were recruited from the Dodgers and Phillies respectively, and Susce was a veteran bullpen coach from the American League. Fitzpatrick had previously coached for Haney with the Pirates and in the Pacific Coast League.
Regular season
Season summary
The core of the Braves team was once again Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Joe Adcock, Warren Spahn, and Lew Burdette. Also, outfielder Bill Bruton came back from his season-ending injury in 1957 to play in 100 games. Aaron led the team with 196 hits, 109 runs scored, and 95 runs batted in, and Mathews led the team with 31 home runs.However, in 1958 the Braves' third starting pitcher, Bob Buhl, was injured after pitching in just 11 games, which put even more pressure on Spahn, Burdette, and their manager Fred Haney to be able to win. Also, because of injuries, Adcock played in only 105 games, and Wes Covington played in just 90. Red Schoendienst played in just 106 games, including many as just a pinch hitter, and it was discovered the next year that he had tuberculosis. In this difficult situation, Spahn posted a 22–11 record in 290 innings pitched and 23 complete games, and Burdette had a 20–10 record in 275 innings.
The Braves repeated as the National League champions, this time by a margin of eight games over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The New York Yankees again won the American League, hence the two teams faced off against each other again in the World Series. The Braves roared ahead by winning three of the first four games for a 3–1 lead in the series. However, the Yankees regrouped and won games five, six, and seven—the final two in Milwaukee County Stadium, the Braves' home stadium—to win the World Championship.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Opening Day lineup
Notable transactions
- June 13, 1958: Carl Sawatski was traded by the Braves to the Philadelphia Phillies for Joe Lonnett.
Roster
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | 131 | 427 | 116 | .272 | 18 | 63 | |
| 1B | 138 | 372 | 115 | .309 | 6 | 55 | |
| 2B | 106 | 427 | 112 | .262 | 1 | 24 | |
| SS | 145 | 530 | 120 | .226 | 11 | 53 | |
| 3B | 149 | 536 | 137 | .251 | 31 | 77 | |
| LF | 90 | 294 | 97 | .330 | 24 | 74 | |
| CF | 100 | 325 | 91 | .280 | 3 | 28 | |
| RF | 153 | 601 | 196 | .326 | 30 | 95 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| 105 | 320 | 88 | .275 | 19 | 54 | |
| 85 | 226 | 50 | .221 | 7 | 19 | |
| 95 | 164 | 39 | .238 | 3 | 23 | |
| 63 | 133 | 25 | .188 | 4 | 10 | |
| 44 | 136 | 42 | .309 | 3 | 10 | |
| 43 | 121 | 27 | .223 | 1 | 8 | |
| 31 | 71 | 14 | .197 | 0 | 0 | |
| 20 | 56 | 10 | .179 | 0 | 5 | |
| 9 | 14 | 5 | .357 | 0 | 1 | |
| 10 | 10 | 1 | .100 | 0 | 1 | |
| 16 | 9 | 4 | .444 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | 8 | 1 | .125 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | 3 | 2 | .667 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| 38 | 290 | 22 | 11 | 3.07 | 150 | |
| 40 | 275.1 | 20 | 10 | 2.91 | 113 | |
| 11 | 73 | 5 | 2 | 3.45 | 27 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| 28 | 147.1 | 10 | 6 | 3.42 | 84 | |
| 23 | 140 | 9 | 7 | 2.70 | 74 | |
| 16 | 96.2 | 6 | 4 | 2.70 | 84 | |
| 18 | 96.2 | 7 | 5 | 2.14 | 74 | |
| 26 | 72 | 0 | 6 | 4.88 | 53 | |
| 27 | 55 | 1 | 3 | 3.93 | 31 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| 38 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 3.68 | 37 | |
| 19 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3.02 | 26 | |
| 15 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8.10 | 13 | |
| 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4.26 | 7 |
1958 World Series
Game 1
October 1, 1958, at Milwaukee County Stadium in Milwaukee, WisconsinGame 2
October 2, 1958, at Milwaukee County Stadium in Milwaukee, WisconsinGame 3
October 4, 1958, at Yankee Stadium in New York CityGame 4
October 5, 1958, at Yankee Stadium in New York CityGame 5
October 6, 1958, at Yankee Stadium in New York CityGame 6
October 8, 1958, at Milwaukee County Stadium in Milwaukee, WisconsinGame 7
October 9, 1958, at Milwaukee County Stadium in Milwaukee, WisconsinAwards and honors
1958 Major League Baseball All-Star GameStarters: Hank Aaron, Del Crandall, and Warren Spahn
Reserves: Eddie Mathews, Don McMahon