1959 LA Dodgers Roster, Stats, Schedule, Postseason And Results
After establishing their roots for more than seven decades in Brooklyn, the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles for the 1958 MLB season. They spent four seasons playing at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum before Dodger Stadium was built and opened on April 10, 1962.
After a sub-.500 season in their first year in L.A., the Dodgers bounced back to go 88-68. They finished atop the 1959 National League standings, besting the Milwaukee Braves by two games.
Over in the American League, the Chicago White Sox posted the best record in baseball at 94-60. Given the league only featured 16 teams at the time, the postseason consisted of only two rounds.
The Dodgers defeated the Brewers, then the White Sox in the World Series to capture the first title in L.A. franchise history and second overall.
Regular season
The Dodgers lost their Opening Day matchup with the Chicago Cubs but went 11-6 in April. They regressed in May, then bounced back with an 18-12 showing during June. L.A. continued to remain above .500 in each of the next four months.
That was punctuated by going 16-9 (.640 winning percentage) in September. The Dodgers enjoyed the bulk of their success against the Philadelphia Phillies, whom they finished 17-5 against. The Cincinnati Reds gave the Dodgers the most trouble, as they took 13 of the 22 head-to-head meetings.
Although the Dodgers enjoyed a strong overall season, they never led the NL by more than two games (which came on the final day after a tie-breaker scenario) and fell back of first place by as many as 5.5. games.
Duke Snider helped led the offense as he hit .308/.400/.535 with 11 doubles, 23 home runs and 88 RBI. Gil Hodges led the Dodgers with 25 home runs.
Meanwhile, Don Drysdale was the ace of a pitching staff that also featured Sandy Koufax and Johnny Podres. Drysdale appeared in 44 games (36 starts) and went 17-13 with a 3.46 ERA.
Postseason
A best-of-three series began in Milwaukee, and saw the Dodgers take a 3-2 lead in the seventh that held up for a Game 1 victory. The series then shifted to Los Angeles and saw the Dodgers three outs from facing a Game 3.
Trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Dodgers rallied to tie it behind five singles and a sacrifice fly. After the Braves left the bases loaded in the top of the 11th, the Dodgers rallied with two outs in the bottom half of the inning for a walk-off win.
The White Sox reached the playoffs by winning their first pennant in 40 years — or as it more commonly is known, the 1919 Black Sox Scandal.
Chicago took Game 1, shutting out the Dodgers 11-0. L.A. pulled even with a 4-3 victory and Games 3, 4 and 5 represented the first time the World Series was played on the West Coast.
Each of the three games at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum drew record crowds, including a Game 5 attendance of 92,706 that still stands as a World Series record. The Dodgers won Games 3 and 4 but failed to close out the White Sox at home.
They promptly did so in Game 6 with a 9-3 victory. Relief pitcher Larry Sherry, who recorded two wins and two saves, and appeared in each of the Dodgers’ four victories, was named World Series MVP.
The 1959 World Series was the first in which no pitcher for either club tossed a complete game, and it was the only Fall Classic from 1949 to 1964 that didn’t see any games played in New York City.
