The following are the baseball events of the year 1956 throughout the world. [edit] Champions [edit] Major League Baseball [edit] Other champions [edit] Awards and honors [edit] Major League Baseball Statistical Leaders 1 Major League Triple Crown Batting Winner [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 30 - Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees narrowly misses hitting the first home run ever hit completely out of Yankee Stadium. In 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.
[edit] July-September [edit] October-December - 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.
- 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.
[edit] Births [edit] January-February [edit] March-April [edit] May-June [edit] July-August [edit] September-October [edit] November-December [edit] Deaths - January 4 - John Beckwith, 55, star infielder of the Negro Leagues
- January 23 - Billy Evans, 71, American League umpire from 1906 to 1927, later the general manager of the Indians and Tigers
- February 8 - Long Tom Hughes, 77, pitcher for the Chicago Orphans at the turn of the XX 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
- 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
- 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 30 - John Shea, 59, pitcher for the 1928 Boston Red Sox
- December 27 - Hob Hiller, 63, infielder for the Boston Red Sox in the early 1920s
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