1954 Milwaukee Braves season

1954 Milwaukee Braves
LeagueNational League
BallparkMilwaukee County Stadium
CityMilwaukee, Wisconsin
Record89–65 (.578)
League place3rd
OwnersLouis R. Perini
General managersJohn J. Quinn
ManagersCharlie Grimm
RadioWEMP
WTMJ
(Earl Gillespie, Blaine Walsh)
← 1953
1955 →

The 1954 Milwaukee Braves season was the second in Milwaukee and the 84th overall season of the franchise.

Offseason

Regular season

  • July 31, 1954: Joe Adcock hit four home runs in one game.[3] The four home runs were hit 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.[4]
  • August 1, 1954: Eddie Mathews hit the 100th home run of his career.[5]

Season standings

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Giants 97 57 .630 — 53‍–‍23 44‍–‍34
Brooklyn Dodgers 92 62 .597 5 45‍–‍32 47‍–‍30
Milwaukee Braves 89 65 .578 8 43‍–‍34 46‍–‍31
Philadelphia Phillies 75 79 .487 22 39‍–‍39 36‍–‍40
Cincinnati Redlegs 74 80 .481 23 41‍–‍36 33‍–‍44
St. Louis Cardinals 72 82 .468 25 33‍–‍44 39‍–‍38
Chicago Cubs 64 90 .416 33 40‍–‍37 24‍–‍53
Pittsburgh Pirates 53 101 .344 44 31‍–‍46 22‍–‍55

Record vs. opponents

1954 National League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Team BKN CHC CIN MIL NYG PHP PIT STL
Brooklyn — 15–7 16–6 10–12 9–13 13–9 15–7 14–8
Chicago 7–15 — 8–14 6–16 7–15 7–15 15–7 14–8
Cincinnati 6–16 14–8 — 10–12 7–15 14–8 15–7 8–14
Milwaukee 12–10 16–6 12–10 — 10–12 13–9 14–8 12–10
New York 13–9 15–7 15–7 12–10 — 16–6 14–8 12–10
Philadelphia 9–13 15–7 8–14 9–13 6–16 — 16–6 12–10
Pittsburgh 7–15 7–15 7–15 8–14 8–14 6–16 — 10–12
St. Louis 8–14 8–14 14–8 10–12 10–12 10–12 12–10 —


Notable transactions

  • June 1954: Lee Maye was signed as an amateur free agent by the Braves.[6]
  • June 14, 1954: Sibby Sisti was released by the Braves.[7]

Roster

1954 Milwaukee Braves
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

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
C Del Crandall 138 463 112 .242 21 64
1B Joe Adcock 133 500 154 .308 23 87
2B Danny O'Connell 146 541 151 .279 2 37
SS Johnny Logan 154 560 154 .275 8 66
3B Eddie Mathews 138 476 138 .290 40 103
LF Hank Aaron 122 468 131 .280 13 69
CF Bill Bruton 142 567 161 .284 4 30
RF Andy Pafko 138 510 146 .286 14 69

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
Jack Dittmer 66 192 47 .245 6 20
Jim Pendleton 71 173 38 .220 1 16
Catfish Metkovich 68 123 34 .276 1 15
Bobby Thomson 43 99 23 .232 2 15
Charlie White 50 93 22 .237 1 8
Roy Smalley Jr. 25 36 8 .222 1 7
Sam Calderone 22 29 11 .379 0 5
Mel Roach 3 4 0 .000 0 0
Billy Queen 3 2 0 .000 0 0
Sibby Sisti 9 0 0 ---- 0 0

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
Warren Spahn 39 283.1 21 12 3.14 136
Lew Burdette 38 238.0 15 14 2.76 79
Gene Conley 28 194.1 14 9 2.96 113
Jim Wilson 27 127.2 8 2 3.52 52

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
Chet Nichols Jr. 35 122.1 9 11 4.41 55
Bob Buhl 31 110.1 2 7 4.00 57

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
Dave Jolly 47 11 6 10 2.43 62
Ernie Johnson 40 5 2 2 2.81 68
Ray Crone 19 1 0 1 2.02 33
Joey Jay 15 1 0 0 6.50 13
Dave Koslo 12 1 1 1 3.12 7
Phil Paine 11 1 0 0 3.86 11
Charlie Gorin 5 0 1 0 1.86 12

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Toledo Sox American Association George Selkirk
AA Atlanta Crackers Southern Association Whit Wyatt
A Jacksonville Braves Sally League Ben Geraghty
A Lincoln Chiefs Western League Whitey Wietelmann and Glenn McQuillen
B Corpus Christi Clippers Big State League Billy Capps
B Miami Beach/Greater Miami Flamingos Florida International League Pepper Martin
B Evansville Braves Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League Bob Coleman
C Eau Claire Braves Northern League Charlie Root
C Quebec Braves Provincial League George McQuinn
D Wellsville Braves PONY League Ted Sepkowski
D Lawton Braves Sooner State League Travis Jackson

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Atlanta, Quebec, Lawton
Miami Beach franchise transferred to Miami, May 20, 1954; Florida International League folded, July 27

Notes

  1. ^ Art Fowler page at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ Catfish Metkovich page at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 258, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ Eddie Mathews | The Baseball Page
  6. ^ Lee Maye page at Baseball Reference
  7. ^ Sibby Sisti page at Baseball Reference

References