Misplaced Pages

#850149

103-620: Sandersville played as a minor league affiliate of the Milwaukee Braves in 1953 and New York Giants in 1955 to 1956. Baseball Hall of Fame member Willie McCovey played for the 1955 Sandersville Giants in his first professional season and led the Georgia State League in RBI. Sandersville first hosted a minor league baseball team in 1953. Sandersville became a new franchise in the eight–team Class D level Georgia State League , replacing

206-564: A White Sox –Braves World Series, as the cities are only about 75 miles (120 km) apart along the west shore of Lake Michigan . However, it was not to be. Though consistently behind both the Braves and Giants all season, the Dodgers won the league title with two straight wins against the Braves, ending the Braves' pennant streak at two. The Dodgers would go on to defeat the White Sox in six games in

309-414: A 9-game win streak put the team only 3½ games behind the eventual World Series winning New York Giants by August 15. The team finished the season 89–65 (.578) and 8 games behind. The 1955 team saw even less success than the previous season under new general manager John Quinn and new manager Charlie Grimm . By May 28, the team was 10½ games behind, and would never be closer than 10 games behind for

412-659: A Major League baseball team, as well as the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . The minor league Milwaukee Brewers were scheduled to begin play at the start of the 1953 season. However, in the first move of a Major League team in half a century, on March 18, 1953, the National League approved owner Lou Perini's move of the Boston Braves to Milwaukee 8–0 because of his "fine standing" with

515-651: A batter could foul off any number of pitches with no strikes counted against him; this gave an enormous advantage to the batter. After the 1919 World Series between the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds, baseball was rocked by allegations of a game-fixing scheme known as the Black Sox Scandal . Eight players— "Shoeless" Joe Jackson , Eddie Cicotte , Claude "Lefty" Williams , George "Buck" Weaver , Arnold "Chick" Gandil , Fred McMullin , Charles "Swede" Risberg , and Oscar "Happy" Felsch —intentionally lost

618-406: A chance for recreation and for taking their minds off their work even more than before." With the approval of President Roosevelt, spring training began in 1942 with few repercussions. The war interrupted the careers of stars including Stan Musial , Bob Feller , Ted Williams , and Joe DiMaggio , but baseball clubs continued to field their teams. Branch Rickey, president and general manager of

721-612: A combined 1,226 home runs as Braves, with 850 of those coming while the franchise was in Milwaukee), while Warren Spahn , Lew Burdette , and Bob Buhl anchored the rotation. In the inaugural season of the Braves in Milwaukee, the team found success early on. For the latter half of May and most of June, the Braves held a narrow lead in the National League. By the June 15 trade deadline, the team

824-478: A formal classification system for minor leagues, the forerunner of today's system that was refined by Branch Rickey . Several other early defunct baseball leagues are considered major leagues, and their statistics and records are included with those of the two modern major leagues. In 1969, the Special Baseball Records Committee of Major League Baseball officially recognized six major leagues:

927-500: A grand jury in Pittsburgh related to cocaine trafficking. The 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike from August 12, 1994, to April 25, 1995, caused the cancellation of over 900 games and the forfeit of the entire 1994 postseason. Routinely in the late 1990s and early 2000s, baseball players hit 40 or 50 home runs in a season, a feat that was considered rare even in the 1980s. It later became apparent that at least some of this power surge

1030-584: A little better in subsequent campaigns—but in their eighth season (1969) the Mets became the first of the 1960s expansion teams to play in the postseason, culminating in a World Series title over the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles. In 1966, the major leagues moved to the "Deep South" when the Braves moved to Atlanta. In 1968, the Kansas City Athletics moved west to become the Oakland Athletics . In 1969,

1133-646: A man for many reasons. Color is not one of them." That year, Robinson won the inaugural Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award (separate NL and AL Rookie of the Year honors were not awarded until 1949). Less than three months later, Larry Doby became the first African-American to break the color barrier in the American League with the Cleveland Indians. The next year, a number of other black players entered

SECTION 10

#1732870179851

1236-431: A one-armed outfielder, got the chance to advance to the major leagues. However, MLB rosters did not include any black players through the end of the war. Black players, many of whom served in the war, were still restricted to playing Negro league baseball . Wartime blackout restrictions , designed to keep outdoor lighting at low levels, caused another problem for baseball. These rules limited traveling and night games to

1339-528: A single-game MLB attendance record in their first home appearance with 78,672 fans. In 1961, the first Washington Senators franchise moved to Minneapolis–St. Paul to become the Minnesota Twins . Two new teams were added to the American League at the same time: the Los Angeles Angels (who soon moved from downtown L.A. to nearby Anaheim ) and a new Washington Senators franchise. The NL added

1442-534: A successful Baltimore chop, the batter hits the ball forcefully into the ground, causing it to bounce so high that the batter reaches first base before the ball can be fielded and thrown to the first baseman. The adoption of the foul strike rule—in the NL in 1901, in the AL two years later—quickly sent baseball from a high-scoring game to one where scoring runs became a struggle. Before this rule, foul balls were not counted as strikes:

1545-465: A then-NL record 1.8 million fans. The success of the team was noted by many owners. Not coincidentally, the Philadelphia Athletics , St. Louis Browns , Brooklyn Dodgers , and New York Giants all relocated over the next five years. As the 1950s progressed, the reinvigorated Braves became increasingly competitive. Sluggers Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron drove the offense (they would hit

1648-563: Is a professional baseball league and the highest level of organized baseball in the United States and Canada . One of the "Big Four" major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada , MLB comprises 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. Formed in 1876 and 1901, respectively,

1751-669: The Boston Braves became the Milwaukee Braves , the St. Louis Browns became the Baltimore Orioles , and the Philadelphia Athletics became the Kansas City Athletics . The 1958 Major League Baseball season began to turn Major League Baseball into a nationwide league. Walter O'Malley , owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers and "perhaps the most influential owner of baseball's early expansion era," moved his team to Los Angeles, marking

1854-597: The Fitzgerald Pioneers team in league play. The Douglas Trojans , Dublin Irish , Eastman Dodgers , Hazlehurst-Baxley Cardinals , Jesup Bees , Statesboro Pilots and Vidalia Indians teams joined Sandersville in beginning Georgia State League play on April 20, 1953. In their first season of minor league play, the Sandersville "Wacos" finished their first season of play with a record of 48–77. Playing as an affiliate of

1957-473: The Great Depression and World War II without any of its teams folding. Shortly after the war, Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier . Some teams moved to different cities in the 1950s and 1960s. The AL and NL added eight clubs in the 1960s: two in 1961, two in 1962, and four in 1969. Player discontent with established labor practices, especially the reserve clause, led to the organization of

2060-530: The Great Depression , baseball's popularity had begun a downward turn in the early 1930s. By 1932, only two MLB teams turned a profit. Attendance had fallen, due at least in part to a 10% federal amusement tax added to baseball ticket prices. Baseball owners cut their rosters from 25 men to 23, and even the best players took pay cuts. Team executives were innovative in their attempts to survive, creating night games, broadcasting games live by radio, and rolling out promotions such as free admission for women. Throughout

2163-653: The Houston Astros and the New York Mets in 1962. The Astros (known as the "Colt .45s" during their first three seasons) became the first southern major league franchise since the Louisville Colonels folded in 1899 and the first franchise to be located along the Gulf Coast . The Mets established a reputation for futility by going 40–120 during their first season of play in the nation's media capital—and by playing only

SECTION 20

#1732870179851

2266-593: The International League . The Braves had bought the Crackers in order to secure the major-league rights to the Atlanta area; in those days, the owner of a minor-league team also owned the major league rights to that city. The Braves completed the move to Atlanta prior to the 1966 season, and drew over 1.5 million in the new stadium that first year. Before that season, they moved the Crackers to Richmond, Virginia as

2369-529: The Kansas City Athletics (who moved to Oakland in 1968 ), Allen courted the Braves, who announced their intention to move to Atlanta for the 1965 season. However, an injunction filed in Wisconsin forced the Braves to play a lame-duck season in Milwaukee, but the home attendance was less than 560,000. In the interim, Atlanta Stadium played host to the Braves' new Triple-A affiliate, the Atlanta Crackers of

2472-512: The Major League Baseball Players Association to collectively bargain with the owners, which in turn led to the introduction of free agency in baseball. Modern stadiums with artificial turf surfaces began to change the game in the 1970s and 1980s. Home runs dominated the game during the 1990s. In the mid-2000s, media reports disclosed the use of anabolic steroids among MLB players; a 2006–07 investigation produced

2575-534: The Milwaukee Braves , the Wacos were managed by Gabby Grant, Parnell Ruark, Luscius Morgan and Julian Morgan, placing sixth in the Georgia State League and finishing 33.0 games behind the first place Hazlehurst-Baxley Cardinals. In the 1954 season, the Sandersville Wacos finished a distant last in the Georgia State League, which reduced to a six–team league. With a record of 33–97, the Wacos finished 52.5 games behind

2678-605: The Mitchell Report , which found that many players had used steroids and other performance-enhancing substances , including at least one player from each team. Each team plays 162 games per season, with Opening Day traditionally held during the first week of April. Six teams in each league then advance to a four-round postseason tournament in October, culminating in the World Series , a best-of-seven championship series between

2781-509: The National Baseball Hall of Fame have been elected. The color and design of the retired numbers on commemorative markers and other in-stadium signage reflect the primary uniform design at the time the player was on the team. Eddie Mathews * Red Schoendienst Enos Slaughter Warren Spahn * Hank Aaron *† Major League Baseball This is an accepted version of this page Major League Baseball ( MLB )

2884-516: The Richmond Braves . Following the team's departure from Milwaukee after the 1965 season, the city was quickly considered for expansion, as stated by Commissioner of Baseball William Eckert in May 1966, citing that expansion would occur in "eight to 10 years." However, by 1968, Milwaukee was rejected for expansion due to its close proximity to Chicago . As early as June 1969, an MLB memo envisaged

2987-463: The St. Louis Cardinals , they choked the season and finished at 92–62 (.597) , 1 game behind the Dodgers, who finished at 93–61 (.604) . The first half of the 1957 season saw the Braves in-and-out of first place, mostly between them and the Cincinnati Redlegs and St. Louis Cardinals . August 7 saw the Braves take the first place in the National League, a lead they would hold for the rest of

3090-598: The Texas Rangers . In 1977, baseball expanded again , adding a second Canadian team, the Toronto Blue Jays , as well as the Seattle Mariners . Subsequently, no new teams were added until the 1990s and no teams moved until 2005. By the late 1960s, the balance between pitching and hitting had swung in favor of the pitchers. In 1968—later nicknamed "the year of the pitcher" —Boston Red Sox player Carl Yastrzemski won

3193-650: The World Baseball Softball Confederation jointly manage the international World Baseball Classic tournament. In the 1860s, aided by soldiers playing the game in camp during the Civil War , "New York"-style baseball expanded into a national game and spawned baseball's first governing body, the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP). The NABBP existed as an amateur league for 12 years. By 1867, more than 400 clubs were members. Most of

Sandersville Giants - Misplaced Pages Continue

3296-468: The World Series winning Pittsburgh Pirates . Two players threw no-hitters against the Philadelphia Phillies : Lew Burdette on August 18 and Warren Spahn on September 16. Milwaukee's home attendance slipped under 1.5 million for the first time since the move from Boston. The 1961 season saw the Braves hover around fourth and fifth for most of the season. After the June 15 trade deadline,

3399-505: The World Series . The Braves finished their season at 86–70 (.551) . The next six years were up-and-down for the Braves. The Braves were somewhat mediocre as the 1960s began but fattened up on the expansion New York Mets and Houston Colt .45s (now the American League Astros) starting in 1962. The 1960 season under new manager Chuck Dressen saw the Braves somewhat fall of from the previous season, but for vast majority of

3502-780: The first and second Negro National Leagues (1920–1931 and 1933–1948), the Eastern Colored League (1923–1928), the American Negro League (1929), the East–West League (1932), the Negro Southern League (1932), and the Negro American League (1937–1948). In 2021, baseball reference website Baseball-Reference.com began to include statistics from those seven leagues into their major-league statistics. In May 2024, Major League Baseball announced that it

3605-557: The 1960s and 1970s, as baseball expanded, NFL football had been surging in popularity, making it economical for many of these cities to build multi-purpose stadiums instead of single-purpose baseball fields. Because of climate and economic issues, many of these facilities had playing surfaces made from artificial turf , as well as the oval designs characteristic of stadiums designed to house both baseball and football. This often resulted in baseball fields with relatively more foul territory than older stadiums. These characteristics changed

3708-458: The 1990s. During the 1980s, baseball experienced a number of significant changes the game had not seen in years. Home runs were on the decline throughout the decade, with players hitting 40 home runs just 13 times and no one hitting more than 50 home runs in a season for the first time since the Dead-ball era (1900–1919). The 1981 Major League Baseball strike from June 12 until July 31 forced

3811-526: The AL and NL caused shock waves throughout the baseball world. At a meeting at the Leland Hotel in Chicago in 1901, the other baseball leagues negotiated a plan to maintain their independence. A new National Association was formed to oversee these minor leagues. After 1902, the NL, AL, and NA signed a new National Agreement which tied independent contracts to the reserve-clause contracts. The agreement also set up

3914-486: The American League batting title with an average of just .301, the lowest in the history of Major League Baseball. Detroit Tigers pitcher Denny McLain won 31 games, making him the only pitcher to win 30 games in a season since Dizzy Dean in 1934. St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Bob Gibson achieved an equally remarkable feat by allowing an ERA of just 1.12. Following these pitching performances, in December 1968

4017-869: The American and National Leagues both added two expansion franchises . The American League added the Seattle Pilots (who became the Milwaukee Brewers after one disastrous season in Seattle) and the Kansas City Royals . The NL added the first Canadian franchise, the Montreal Expos , as well as the San Diego Padres . In 1972, the second Washington Senators moved to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to become

4120-486: The Braves a favorable stadium deal. For the first two years, the team would pay only $ 1,000 a year for the use of Milwaukee County Stadium. For the next three years, the team would pay 5% of ticket prices and concessions. After that, the rent would be negotiated afresh, with the Braves being required to open their books. Milwaukee went wild over the Braves, who were welcomed as genuine heroes. The Braves finished 92–62 (.597) in their first season in Milwaukee, and drew

4223-461: The Braves from moving to Atlanta for the 1965 season, attendance plummeted to 555,000. The team saw the Braves perform slightly worse than the previous season. However, in the months of June and August, the team was largely in second place behind the Los Angeles Dodgers by only a few games, having led the National League only on August 18 and 20 by only ½ games ahead. Outside these months,

Sandersville Giants - Misplaced Pages Continue

4326-427: The Braves in Milwaukee saw less success than the previous season. Though the team went on a 10-game win streak towards the end of May, they only led the National League for the last week of May, at most 1½ games ahead. Following a losing record in June, the team never recovered, and dropped to 15½ games behind on July 14 and 21. The team would remain in third place for almost the entirety of the remaining season, even when

4429-413: The Braves to a 68–40 (.630) record for the rest of the season, leading for the majority of the season. For the second half of July, all of August, and most of September, the Braves held a small lead in the National League, in a tight race with the Brooklyn Dodgers and Cincinnati Redlegs . Going into the last series of the season, the Braves held a ½ game lead over the Dodgers. In losing the series 1–2 to

4532-582: The Braves would be consistently between 6 and 14½ games behind, eventually finishing the season in fourth place, at 83–71 (.539) , 10 games behind the Cincinnati Reds . Warren Spahn threw his 300th career victory on August 11 and threw his second no-hitter, this time against the San Francisco Giants on April 28. After the game on September 2, manager Chuck Dressen was replaced by Birdie Tebbetts . The team's home attendance continued its decline;

4635-468: The Brooklyn Dodgers, began making efforts to introduce a black baseball player to the previously all-white professional baseball leagues in the mid-1940s. He selected Jackie Robinson from a list of promising Negro league players. After obtaining a commitment from Robinson to "turn the other cheek" to any racial antagonism directed at him, Rickey agreed to sign him to a contract for $ 600 a month. In what

4738-759: The Dodgers when they came to town, abandoning the Negro league teams that they had followed exclusively. Robinson's promotion met a generally positive, although mixed, reception among newspaper writers and white major league players. Manager Leo Durocher informed his team, "I don't care if he is yellow or black or has stripes like a fucking zebra. I'm his manager and I say he plays." After a strike threat by some players, NL President Ford C. Frick and Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler let it be known that any striking players would be suspended. Robinson received significant encouragement from several major-league players, including Dodgers teammate Pee Wee Reese who said, "You can hate

4841-473: The Georgia State League with a .332 batting average. Pitchers Leo Quatro and Victor Davis led the league with 15 wins and 183 strikeouts, respectively. Future Baseball Hall of Fame member Willie McCovey played for the 1955 Sandersville Giants and led the league in RBI. Having signed his first professional contract for $ 175.00 per month, McCovey was 17 years old and in his first professional season out of Mobile, Alabama . McCovey hit .305 with 19 home runs and led

4944-667: The Great Depression, no MLB teams moved or folded. The onset of World War II created a shortage of professional baseball players, as more than 500 men left MLB teams to serve in the military. Many of them played on service baseball teams that entertained military personnel in the US or in the Pacific. MLB teams of this time largely consisted of young men, older players, and those with a military classification of 4F , indicating mental, physical, or moral unsuitability for service. Men like Pete Gray ,

5047-485: The MLB Playing Rules Committee voted to reduce the strike zone from knees to shoulders to top of knees to armpits and lower the pitcher's mound from 15 to 10 inches, beginning in the 1969 season. In 1973, the American League, which had been suffering from much lower attendance than the National League, sought to increase scoring even further by initiating the designated hitter (DH) rule. Throughout

5150-457: The NA proved ineffective. The league placed its emphasis on clubs rather than on players. Clubs could now enforce player contracts, preventing players from jumping to higher-paying clubs. Clubs were required to play the full schedule of games instead of forfeiting scheduled games when the club was no longer in the running for the league championship, which happened frequently under the NA. A concerted effort

5253-592: The NL and AL cemented their cooperation with the National Agreement in 1903, making MLB the oldest major professional sports league in the world. They remained legally separate entities until 2000, when they merged into a single organization led by the commissioner of baseball . MLB is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan . Baseball's first all-professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings ,

SECTION 50

#1732870179851

5356-438: The NL and American Association champions met in a postseason championship series—the first attempt at a World Series . The two leagues merged in 1892 as a single 12-team NL, but the NL dropped four teams after the 1899 season. This led to the formation of the American League in 1901 under AL president Ban Johnson , and the resulting bidding war for players led to widespread contract-breaking and legal disputes. The war between

5459-467: The National Association (NA), was formed in 1871. Its amateur counterpart disappeared after only a few years. The modern Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves franchises trace their histories back to the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players in the 1870s. In 1876, the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs (later known as the National League or NL) was established after

5562-502: The National League, American League, American Association, Union Association (1884), Players' League (1890), and Federal League (1914–1915). The status of the National Association as a major league has been a point of dispute among baseball researchers; while its statistics are not recognized by Major League Baseball, its statistics are included with those of other major leagues by some baseball reference websites, such as Retrosheet . Some researchers, including Nate Silver , dispute

5665-600: The World Series in exchange for a ring worth $ 100,000 ($ 1,712,780.35 in 2022 dollars). Despite being acquitted, all were permanently banned from Major League Baseball. Baseball's popularity increased in the 1920s and 1930s. The 1920 season was notable for the death of Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians . Chapman, who was struck in the head by a pitch and died a few hours later, became the only MLB player to die of an on-field injury. Both leagues quickly began to require

5768-431: The Yankees stormed back to take the last three games, the last two in Milwaukee, in large part to World Series MVP Bob Turley , the winning pitcher in games five and seven. The 1959 season, under new general manager John McHale , saw a tight three-way race between the Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers , San Francisco Giants for the pennant race. The Braves led the National League in May and June, whereas in July and August,

5871-474: The cancellation of 713 total games and resulted in a split-season format. In 1985, Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb 's all-time hits record with his 4,192nd hit, and in 1989 Rose received a lifetime ban from baseball as a result of betting on baseball games while manager of the Cincinnati Reds . Rose was the first person to receive a lifetime ban from baseball since 1943. 1985 also saw the Pittsburgh drug trials which involved players who were called to testify before

5974-403: The center field fence, and the Huntington Avenue Grounds of the Boston Red Sox , which was 635 feet (194 m) to the center field fence, thus home runs were rare, and "small ball" tactics such as singles , bunts , stolen bases , and the hit-and-run play dominated the strategies of the time. Hitting methods like the Baltimore chop were used to increase the number of infield singles. On

6077-469: The collar and down the middle of shirt. Red script "Braves" was across the chest with navy trim. At various times, there was piping around each sleeve. Piping on the uniform could be red or navy depending on the year. Road uniforms were the same format, but on a gray shirt. The Braves have retired four numbers in the history of the franchise related to its tenure in Milwaukee. Of the four Milwaukee Braves whose numbers have been retired, all who are eligible for

6180-573: The condition of the baseball itself. The baseball used American rather than the modern Australian wool yarn and was not wound as tightly, affecting the distance that it would travel. More significantly, balls were kept in play until they were mangled, soft and sometimes lopsided. During this era, a baseball cost three dollars, equal to $ 52.72 today (in inflation-adjusted USD ), and owners were reluctant to purchase new balls. Fans were expected to throw back fouls and (rare) home runs. Baseballs also became stained with tobacco juice, grass, and mud, and sometimes

6283-419: The fast-growing city of Atlanta , led by Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr. , constructed a new $ 18 million, 52,007–60,606 seat multi-purpose stadium in less than one year, Atlanta Stadium (later on known as Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium from 1976 until 1996 with its demolition in 1997), which was officially opened in 1965 in hopes of luring an existing major league and/or NFL / AFL team. After the city failed to lure

SECTION 60

#1732870179851

6386-404: The first major league franchise on the West Coast. O'Malley also helped persuade the rival New York Giants to move west to become the San Francisco Giants. Giants owner Horace Stoneham had been contemplating a move to Minnesota amid slumping attendance at the aging Polo Grounds ballpark when O'Malley invited him to meet San Francisco Mayor George Christopher in New York. After Stoneham

6489-437: The first place Douglas Trojans. The Giants finished the regular season with a record of 60–47 under player/manager Pete Pavlick . In the 1955 playoffs, the Giants defeated the Hazlehurst-Baxley Cardinals 3 games to 1 to advance. In the Finals against the Douglas Trojans, the series was tied at 3 games each. Game 7 was cancelled due to rain and the teams were declared Georgia State League co–champions. Jack Elias of Sandersville led

6592-425: The franchise, winning the 1957 World Series and the National League pennant in 1958 . The team never finished with a losing record. The Milwaukee Braves had an overall win–loss record of 1,146–890–8 (.563) during their 13 years in Milwaukee. Three former Milwaukee Braves players were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame . Construction began on Milwaukee County Stadium in 1950 in hopes of both luring

6695-429: The hole " between the corner and middle infielders. Starting pitchers were no longer expected to throw complete games ; it was enough for a starter to pitch 6–7 innings and turn the game over to the team's closer , a position which grew in importance over these decades. As stolen bases increased, home run totals dropped. After Willie Mays hit 52 home runs in 1965, only one player ( George Foster ) reached that mark until

6798-405: The internet throughout North America and in several other countries. MLB has the highest total season attendance of any sports league in the world; in 2023, it drew more than 70.75 million spectators. MLB also oversees Minor League Baseball , which comprises lower-tier teams affiliated with the major league clubs, and the MLB Draft League , a hybrid amateur-professional showcase league. MLB and

6901-401: The juice of licorice, which some players would chew for the purpose of discoloring the ball. Also, pitchers could manipulate the ball through the use of the spitball (In 1921, use of this pitch was restricted to a few pitchers with a grandfather clause ). Additionally, many ballparks had large dimensions, such as the West Side Grounds of the Chicago Cubs, which was 560 feet (170 m) to

7004-478: The last season exceeding one million was in 1961. The 1962 season saw the Braves consistently in sixth place from mid-May through mid-September. Before July 22, the team had a negative record, though after this date would have a positive record for the remainder of the season. The team finished the season in fifth at 86–76 (.531) , 15½ games behind the San Francisco Giants . Hank Aaron his Milwaukee career high 45 home runs. Attendance fell off significantly below

7107-414: The league champion Vidalia Indians, placing sixth in the Georgia State League final standings, while playing under managers Dave Madison and Sid West. In 1955, the franchise became the Sandersville "Giants," as the team became a minor league affiliate of the New York Giants and won a co-championship. The Giants placed second in the Georgia State League regular season standings, finishing 5.5 gases behind

7210-455: The league with 113 RBI in 107 games for Sandersville. Said McCovey in his 1986 Baseball Hall of Fame acceptance speech: "My first manager in pro ball, Pete Pavlick; Pete was the skipper of the Class D Sandersville Club in the Georgia State League where I broke in, in 1955. He and his wife were the first to adopt me. They used to invite me to their home after the game and became very close to me. I also remember one of my teammates there, his name

7313-421: The league with 95 runs scored. Sandersville's Al Milley led the Georgia State League with 103 RBI and Giant pitcher Gilbert Bassetti had 21 wins to lead the league. The Georgia State League permanently folded following the 1956 season. Sandersville, Georgia has not hosted another minor league team. The Sandersville Wacos and Giants teams played minor league home games at Sandersville Baseball Park . The ballpark

7416-591: The major leagues. Satchel Paige was signed by the Indians and the Dodgers added star catcher Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe , who was later the first winner of the Cy Young Award for his outstanding pitching. MLB banned the signing of women to contracts in 1952, but that ban was lifted in 1992. There have been no female MLB players since then. From 1903 to 1952, the major leagues consisted of two eight-team leagues whose 16 teams were located in ten cities, all in

7519-557: The major-league status of the Union Association by pointing out that franchises came and went and that the St. Louis club was deliberately "stacked"; the St. Louis club was owned by the league's president and it was the only club that was close to major-league caliber. In December 2020, Major League Baseball announced its recognition of seven leagues within Negro league baseball as major leagues:

7622-471: The nature of professional baseball, putting a higher premium on speed and defense over home-run hitting power since the fields were often too big for teams to expect to hit many home runs and foul balls hit in the air could more easily be caught for outs. Teams began to be built around pitching—particularly their bullpens—and speed on the basepaths. Artificial surfaces meant balls traveled quicker and bounced higher, so it became easier to hit ground balls " in

7725-504: The newly founded Seattle Pilots of the American League moving to Milwaukee. Concerns for the Pilots' viability led to several attempts to relocate the team to Milwaukee, which lead to Pilots owner Dewey Soriano to try and sell the team. Following failed attempts to sell to former Braves minority owner Bud Selig and several deals involving Westin Hotels head Eddie Carlson , and bankruptcy of

7828-423: The newly relocated San Francisco Giants . The Braves would secure first place for the rest of the season from July 30, finishing the season 92–62 (.597) , 8 games ahead, securing their second consecutive National League pennant. In the World Series , the Braves jumped out to a three games to one lead in against New York once more, thanks in part to the strength of Warren Spahn 's and Lew Burdette 's pitching. But

7931-527: The northeastern and mid-western United States: New York City had three teams and Boston , Chicago, Philadelphia , and St. Louis each had two teams. St. Louis was the southernmost and westernmost city with a major league team. The longest possible road trip, from Boston to St. Louis, took about 24 hours by railroad. After a half-century of stability, starting in the 1950s, teams began to move out of cities with multiple teams into cities that had not had them before. From 1953 to 1955, three teams moved to new cities:

8034-514: The only season that the Milwaukee Braves finished " second division ", having placed in the lower half of the league. Hank Aaron hit 44 home runs and notched 130 RBI, and Warren Spahn was once again the ace of the staff. There was a slight uptick in attendance, though still below 800,000. The 1964 season saw the Braves slightly improve from the previous season. By the All-Star break, the team

8137-480: The other owners and also because there was an open city for his minor league team then in Milwaukee. The minor league Brewers moved to Toledo, Ohio , and changed their name to the Mudhens . The full AP quote about fine standing: "Warren Giles, National League president, repeated again and again that 'Perini's fine standing with the other club owners was the most important reason for their approval.'" Milwaukee County gave

8240-515: The point that the 1942 season was nearly canceled. On January 14, 1942, MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis wrote to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt , pleading for the continuation of baseball during the war. Roosevelt responded, "I honestly feel that it would be best for the country to keep baseball going. There will be fewer people unemployed and everybody will work longer hours and harder than ever before. And that means that they ought to have

8343-432: The previous season, falling below 800,000. The 1963 season was the first under the ownership of William Bartholomay and new manager Bobby Bragan . The Braves performed slightly worse than the previous season. After the All-Star break, the Braves were consistently between 7 and 16 games behind, finishing the season in sixth at 84–78 (.519) , 15 games behind the World Series winning Los Angeles Dodgers . This would be

8446-659: The regular season standings, finishing 7.0 games behind the first place Douglas Reds . In the first round of the playoffs, Sandersville defeated the Thomson Orioles 3 games to 2. In the last Georgia State League games ever played, the Giants lost to the Douglas Reds 3 games to 1 in the Finals. Frank Reveira of Sandersville led the Georgia State League in batting average, hitting .332, while Giant players Pete Pavlick and Dan Sarver both led

8549-602: The regular season, then went on to its first World Series win in over 40 years, defeating the New York Yankees of Yogi Berra , Mickey Mantle , and Whitey Ford in seven games. Burdette, the Series MVP , threw three complete game victories, giving up only two earned runs, including the seventh game in New York, a 5–0 shutout. The first half of the 1958 season saw the Braves in-and-out of first place, mostly between them and

8652-461: The remainder of the season, even though they held second place in the National League from July 7 until the season's end, trailing the eventual World Series winning Brooklyn Dodgers . The team finished the season 85–69 (.552) and 13½ games behind. Under opening day manager Charlie Grimm , the Braves got off to a mediocre start at 24–22 (.522) . After a loss on Saturday, June 16, the owners dismissed him and replaced him with Fred Haney , who led

8755-459: The season, finishing at 95–59 (.617) . The team celebrated their first pennant in nine years. Spearheaded by Hank Aaron's MVP season , he led the National League in home runs and RBI. Perhaps the most memorable of his 44 round-trippers that season came on September 23, a two-run walk-off home run that gave the Braves a 4–2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals and clinched the league championship. The team drew over 2.2 million at home during

8858-544: The season, the team would place in second or third, always within 8 games behind. The closest the team was to leading was on July 24, when they were at 52–36 (.591) and 0 games ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates , though were ahead by percentage (the Pirates were at 53–37 (.589) ). From August 6 on, the Braves were consistently between 5 and 8 games behind and finished the season in second place at 88–66 (.571) , 7 games behind

8961-613: The strongest clubs remained those based in the Northeastern United States. For professional baseball 's founding year, MLB uses the year 1869—when the first professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings , was established. A schism developed between professional and amateur ballplayers after the founding of the Cincinnati club. The NABBP split into an amateur organization and a professional organization. The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players , often known as

9064-455: The team hovered at its worst, 4½ games behind. The three-way race continued into the last week of September, when the Giants fell off (having led in July and August). By the season's end, both the Braves and Dodgers were tied at 86–68 (.558) , resulting in a regular season best-of-three tie-breaker series to determine the winner of the pennant. Many residents of Chicago and Milwaukee were hoping for

9167-399: The team hovered between fourth and fifth place. The Braves finished the season in fifth at 86–76 (.531) , 11 games behind the World Series winning Dodgers. Lou Perini sold the Braves to a Chicago -based group led by William Bartholomay after the 1962 season. The ink had barely dried on the deal when Bartholomay started shopping the Braves to a larger television market. At the same time,

9270-539: The team on March 31—seven days before Opening Day—the team was sold to Selig and the team was moved to Milwaukee as the Milwaukee Brewers . The National League's 32-year hiatus from the city would end in 1998 when the Brewers were transferred to the National League due to realignment resulting from the 1998 Major League Baseball expansion . When the team moved to Milwaukee, their uniforms were largely unchanged. The home uniforms were plain white with thin piping going around

9373-532: The two league champions first played in 1903. The New York Yankees have the most championships with 27. The reigning champions are the Los Angeles Dodgers , who defeated the New York Yankees in the 2024 World Series . MLB is the third-wealthiest professional sports league by revenue in the world after the National Football League (NFL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). Baseball games are broadcast on television, radio, and

9476-454: The use of new, white baseballs whenever a ball became scuffed or dirty, helping bring the "dead-ball" era to an end. The following year, the New York Yankees made their first World Series appearance. By the end of the 1930s, the team had appeared in 11 World Series, winning eight of them. Yankees slugger Babe Ruth had set the single-season home run record in 1927, hitting 60 home runs; breaking his own record of 29 home runs. Afflicted by

9579-446: Was 37–18 (.673) and 0 games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers , who were only ahead by percentage points, with a record of 36–17 (.679) . Their widest lead was on June 23 and 24, 3 games over the Dodgers, though the team would quickly lose their lead just 3 days later and never recovered. The Dodgers went on to outperform the rest of the league as the Braves finished in second, at 92–62 (.597) and 13 games behind. The sophomore season of

9682-399: Was "absorbing the available Negro Leagues numbers into the official historical record." The period between 1900 and 1919 is commonly referred to as the "dead-ball era". Games of this era tended to be low-scoring and were often dominated by pitchers, such as Walter Johnson , Cy Young , Christy Mathewson , Mordecai Brown , and Grover Cleveland Alexander . The term also accurately describes

9785-472: Was 2 games under .500, in seventh place. For the remainder of the season, the Braves were consistently between 5 and 14½ games behind while consistently in fifth or sixth place. The Braves finished the season in fifth at 88–74 (.543) , 5 games behind the World Series winning St. Louis Cardinals . Despite the consistently lower performance to the previous two seasons, attendance saw a large uptick to over 900,000. After an injunction filed in Wisconsin, blocked

9888-492: Was Ralph Crosby, he was out of New York. We were the only two black players on that team and we had to stay in separate parts of town back then, so Ralph and I became good friends." In the Georgia State League's final season of 1956, the Sandersville Giants placed second in the Georgia State League. The Giants finished the regular season with a record of 70–50 under returning player/manager Pete Pavlick and placed second in

9991-451: Was founded in 1869. The first few decades of professional baseball saw rivalries between leagues, and players often jumped from one team or league to another. These practices were essentially ended by the National Agreement of 1903, in which AL and NL agreed to respect each other's player contracts, including the contentious reserve clause . The period before 1920 was the dead-ball era , when home runs were rarely hit. Professional baseball

10094-603: Was later referred to as "The Noble Experiment", Robinson was the first black baseball player in the International League since the 1880s, joining the Dodgers' farm club, the Montreal Royals , for the 1946 season. The following year, the Dodgers called up Robinson to the major leagues. On April 15, 1947, Robinson made his major league debut at Ebbets Field before a crowd of 26,623 spectators, including more than 14,000 black patrons. Black baseball fans began flocking to see

10197-604: Was located in Sandersville, Georgia. Milwaukee Braves The Milwaukee Braves were a Major League Baseball club that played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin , from 1953 to 1965, having previously played in Boston, Massachusetts , as the Boston Braves . After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia , in 1966 they were renamed the Atlanta Braves . The 13-season tenure in Milwaukee at Milwaukee County Stadium saw varying degrees of success for

10300-574: Was made to curb gambling on games, which was leaving the validity of results in doubt. The first game in the NL—on Saturday, April 22, 1876 (at Jefferson Street Grounds in Philadelphia )—is often pointed to as the beginning of MLB. The early years of the NL were tumultuous, with threats from rival leagues and a rebellion by players against the hated "reserve clause", which restricted the free movement of players between clubs. Teams came and went; 1882

10403-449: Was persuaded to move to California, Time magazine put O'Malley on its cover. MLB Commissioner Ford C. Frick had opposed the meeting, but the dual moves proved successful for both franchises—and for MLB. Had the Dodgers moved out west alone, the St. Louis Cardinals —1,600 mi (2,575 km) away —would have been the closest NL team. Instead, the joint move made West Coast road trips economical for visiting teams. The Dodgers set

10506-487: Was rocked by the Black Sox Scandal , a conspiracy to fix the 1919 World Series . Baseball survived the scandal, albeit with major changes in its governance as the relatively weak National Commission was replaced with a powerful commissioner of baseball with near-unlimited authority over the sport. MLB rose in popularity in the decade following the Black Sox Scandal, and unlike major leagues in other sports it endured

10609-463: Was the first season where the league's membership was the same as the preceding season's, and only four franchises survived to see 1900. Competitor leagues formed regularly and also disbanded regularly. The most successful was the American Association (1882–1891), sometimes called the "beer and whiskey league" for its tolerance of the sale of alcoholic beverages to spectators. For several years,

#850149