1954 Brooklyn Dodgers season explained

Brooklyn Dodgers
Season:	1954
League:	National League
Ballpark:	Ebbets Field
City:	Brooklyn, New York
Owners:	Walter O'Malley, James & Dearie Mulvey, Mary Louise Smith
President:	Walter O'Malley
General Managers:	Buzzie Bavasi
Managers:	Walter Alston
Television:	WOR-TV
Radio:	WMGM Vin Scully, Connie Desmond, André Baruch

The 1954 Brooklyn Dodgers season was the first season for new manager Walter Alston, who replaced Chuck Dressen, who had been fired during a contract dispute. Alston led the team to a 92–62 record, finishing five games behind the league champion New York Giants.

In addition to Alston, the 1954 Dodgers had two other future Hall of Fame managers on their roster in pitcher Tommy Lasorda and outfielder Dick Williams. First baseman Gil Hodges and reserve infielder Don Zimmer would also go on to successful managerial careers.

Offseason

• October 1, 1954: Rocky Nelson was traded by the Dodgers to the Cleveland Indians for Bill Abernathie and cash.^[1]
• March 28, 1954: Bobby Morgan was traded by the Dodgers to the Philadelphia Phillies for Dick Young and cash.^[2]

Regular season

• On July 31, 1954, Joe Adcock hit four home runs off four different Brooklyn Dodgers pitchers, becoming the seventh player in major league history to hit four home runs in one game. Additionally, Adcock hit a double, setting a major league record of 18 total bases.^[3]
• September 22, 1954: In a game against the New York Giants, Karl Spooner struck out 15 batters in his very first game, setting a Major League record. J. R. Richard would tie the record in 1971.^[4]

Opening Day Lineup

Opening Day Lineup

	Name	Position
19		2B
1		SS
4		CF
42		LF
39	Roy Campanella	C
14		1B
6		RF
3		3B
17		P

^[5]

Notable transactions

• May 4, 1954: Art Ceccarelli was purchased from the Dodgers by the New York Yankees.^[6]
• May 11, 1954: Rocky Nelson was purchased by the Dodgers from the Cleveland Indians.^[1]
• June 9, 1954: Wayne Belardi was traded by the Dodgers to the Detroit Tigers for Ernie Nevel, Johnny Bucha, Chuck Kress and cash.^[7]

Roster

1954 Brooklyn Dodgers
Roster
Pitchers		CatchersInfielders		Outfielders		ManagerCoaches

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		111	397	82	.207	19	51
1B		154	579	176	.304	42	130
2B		146	607	171	.282	13	52
SS		141	554	171	.309	10	69
3B		88	261	64	.245	7	26
LF		79	263	72	.274	9	34
CF		149	584	199	.341	40	130
RF		150	547	161	.294	19	96

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
	124	386	120	.311	15	59
	77	226	53	.235	2	17
	50	155	28	.181	5	23
	48	91	25	.275	2	14
	45	65	10	.154	2	10
	16	34	5	.147	1	2
	24	33	6	.182	0	0
	34	25	1	.040	0	1
	10	13	2	.154	0	1
	13	12	1	.083	0	2
	11	9	2	.222	0	1

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	260.1	18	15	4.15	166
	36	180.1	11	6	3.99	70
	29	151.2	11	7	4.27	79
	28	147.2	13	5	4.14	97
	29	144.1	9	8	4.55	82
	2	18.0	2	0	0.00	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
	25	67.2	3	3	5.32	25
	15	63.0	3	4	5.00	31
	24	62.2	5	2	4.02	25

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
	60	8	4	24	3.22	58
	47	7	6	4	4.15	43
	23	1	1	3	8.20	25
	14	1	1	1	3.25	21
	6	0	0	0	3.14	5
	5	0	0	0	11.57	3
	4	0	0	0	5.00	5

Awards and honors

• 1954 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
  • Roy Campanella starter
  • Jackie Robinson starter
  • Duke Snider starter
  • Carl Erskine reserve
  • Gil Hodges reserve
  • Pee Wee Reese reserve
• TSN Major League All-Star Team
  • Duke Snider

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Newport News, Great Falls

References

• Baseball-Reference season page
• Baseball Almanac season page

External links

• 1954 Brooklyn Dodgers uniform
• Brooklyn Dodgers reference site
• Acme Dodgers page
• Retrosheet

Notes and References

1. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/nelsoro01.shtml Rocky Nelson page at Baseball Reference
2. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/morgabo01.shtml Bobby Morgan page at Baseball Reference
3. 100 Things Braves Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die: Revised and Updated, Jack Wilkinson, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2019, ISBN 978-1-62937-694-3, p.168
4. Web site: K street: Strasburg racks up the strikeouts . Seidel. Jeff. June 9, 2010. . June 13, 2010.
5. https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NY1/NY1195404130.shtml 1954 Opening Day Lineup
6. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/ceccaar01.shtml Art Ceccarelli page at Baseball Reference
7. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/belarwa01.shtml Wayne Belardi page at Baseball Reference