| 1956 Baltimore Orioles | |
|---|---|
| Major League affiliations | |
| |
| Location | |
| |
| Results | |
| Record | 69–85 (.448) |
| League place | 6th |
| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Jerold Hoffberger, Clarence Miles |
| General manager(s) | Paul Richards |
| Manager(s) | Paul Richards |
| Local television | WMAR-TV/WAAM/WBAL-TV |
| Local radio | WCBM (Ernie Harwell, Chuck Thompson, Bailey Goss) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The 1956 Baltimore Orioles season involved the Orioles finishing 6th in the American League with a record of 69 wins and 85 losses.
Offseason
- October 10, 1955: Ed Lopat was released by the Orioles.[1]
Regular season
- September 20, 1956: Catcher Tom Gastall was killed in a plane crash.[2]
- September 30, 1956: Joe Frazier hit a home run in the last at bat of his career.[3]
Season standings
| American League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 97 | 57 | 0.630 | — | 49–28 | 48–29 |
| Cleveland Indians | 88 | 66 | 0.571 | 9 | 46–31 | 42–35 |
| Chicago White Sox | 85 | 69 | 0.552 | 12 | 46–31 | 39–38 |
| Boston Red Sox | 84 | 70 | 0.545 | 13 | 43–34 | 41–36 |
| Detroit Tigers | 82 | 72 | 0.532 | 15 | 37–40 | 45–32 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 69 | 85 | 0.448 | 28 | 41–36 | 28–49 |
| Washington Senators | 59 | 95 | 0.383 | 38 | 32–45 | 27–50 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 52 | 102 | 0.338 | 45 | 22–55 | 30–47 |
Record vs. opponents
1956 American League Records Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | NYY | WSH | |||||
| Baltimore | — | 6–16 | 9–13 | 5–17 | 13–9 | 15–7 | 9–13 | 12–10 | |||||
| Boston | 16–6 | — | 14–8 | 13–9–1 | 12–10 | 12–10 | 8–14 | 9–13 | |||||
| Chicago | 13–9 | 8–14 | — | 15–7 | 13–9 | 14–8 | 9–13 | 13–9 | |||||
| Cleveland | 17–5 | 9–13–1 | 7–15 | — | 11–11 | 17–5 | 10–12 | 17–5 | |||||
| Detroit | 9–13 | 10–12 | 9–13 | 11–11 | — | 16–6 | 12–10 | 15–7–1 | |||||
| Kansas City | 7–15 | 10–12 | 8–14 | 5–17 | 6–16 | — | 4–18 | 12–10 | |||||
| New York | 13–9 | 14–8 | 13–9 | 12–10 | 10–12 | 18–4 | — | 17–5 | |||||
| Washington | 10–12 | 13–9 | 9–13 | 5–17 | 7–15–1 | 10–12 | 5–17 | — | |||||
Notable transactions
- May 14, 1956: Billy Loes was purchased by the Orioles from the Brooklyn Dodgers for $20,000.[4]
- May 21, 1956: Dave Philley and Jim Wilson were traded by the Orioles to the Chicago White Sox for Mike Fornieles, Connie Johnson, George Kell and Bob Nieman.[5]
- July 13, 1956: Morrie Martin was selected off waivers by the Orioles from the Chicago White Sox.[6]
- August 17, 1956: Hal Smith was traded by the Orioles to the Kansas City Athletics for Joe Ginsberg.[7]
Roster
| 1956 Baltimore Orioles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
| Catchers
Infielders
| Outfielders
| Manager Coaches
| ||||||
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 |
|---|
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chuck Diering | 50 | 97 | 18 | .186 | 1 | 4 |
| Joe Frazier | 45 | 74 | 19 | .257 | 1 | 12 |
| Tom Gastall | 32 | 56 | 11 | .196 | 0 | 4 |
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 |
|---|
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erv Palica | 29 | 116.1 | 4 | 11 | 4.49 | 62 |
| Fred Besana | 7 | 17.2 | 1 | 0 | 5.60 | 7 |
| Charlie Beamon | 2 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 1.38 | 14 |
| Ron Moeller | 4 | 8.2 | 0 | 1 | 4.15 | 2 |
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 |
|---|
Farm system
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Vancouver Mounties | Pacific Coast League | Lefty O'Doul |
| AA | San Antonio Missions | Texas League | Joe Schultz |
| A | Columbus Foxes | Sally League | Skeeter Newsome |
| B | Lubbock Hubbers/Texas City Texans | Big State League | Bill Krueger and Jay Haney |
| C | Phoenix Stars | Arizona–Mexico League | Bill Capps |
| C | Aberdeen Pheasants | Northern League | George Staller |
| D | Thomson Orioles | Georgia State League | Barney Lutz and Enid Drake |
| D | Paris Orioles | Sooner State League | Jimmy Adair and Barney Lutz |
Lubbock franchise transferred to Texas City and renamed, July 8, 1956
Notes
- ^ Ed Lopat at Baseball-Reference
- ^ List of athletes who have died in plane crashes
- ^ http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/feats18.shtml
- ^ Billy Loes at Baseball-Reference
- ^ Dave Philley at Baseball-Reference
- ^ Morrie Martin at Baseball-Reference
- ^ Joe Ginsberg at Baseball-Reference
References
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
- 1956 Baltimore Orioles team at Baseball-Reference
- 1956 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com