1954 Cleveland Indians season

1954 Cleveland Indians
1954 American League Champions
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
Cleveland Municipal Stadium (since 1932)
Cleveland, Ohio (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	Myron H. Wilson
General manager(s)	Hank Greenberg
Manager(s)	Al López
Local television	WXEL
Local radio	WERE (1300)
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The 1954 Cleveland Indians advanced to the World Series for the first time in six years. It was the team's third American League championship in franchise history. The Indians' 111-43 record is the all-time record for winning percentage by an American League team (.721.)

For more than 60 years, the Tribe had been the only team in Major League Baseball to have compiled two different 11-game winning streaks within the same season, until the Toronto Blue Jays were able to accomplish the rare feat during the 2015 regular season.^[1]

However, their great regular-season record would not be enough to win the World Series, as the Indians lost in four games to the New York Giants, after which the Indians would not return to the Fall Classic until 1995.

Offseason

February 19, 1954: Bill Upton and Lee Wheat were traded by the Indians to the Philadelphia Athletics for Dave Philley.^[2]

Regular season

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB
Cleveland Indians	111	43	.721	--
New York Yankees	103	51	.669	8
Chicago White Sox	94	60	.610	17
Boston Red Sox	69	85	.448	42
Detroit Tigers	68	86	.442	43
Washington Senators	66	88	.429	45
Baltimore Orioles	54	100	.351	57
Philadelphia Athletics	51	103	.331	60

Record vs. opponents

1954 American League Records Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	NYY	PHI	WSH
Baltimore	—	11–11	7–15	3–19	8–14	5–17	10–12	10–12
Boston	11–11	—	5–17	2–20–2	14–8	9–13	15–7	13–9
Chicago	15–7	17–5	—	11–11	12–10–1	7–15	17–5	15–7
Cleveland	19–3	20–2–2	11–11	—	14–8	11–11	18–4	18–4
Detroit	14–8	8–14	10–12–1	8–14	—	6–16	13–9	9–13
New York	17–5	13–9	15–7	11–11	16–6	—	18–4–1	13–9
Philadelphia	12–10	7–15	5–17	4–18	9–13	4–18–1	—	10–12–1
Washington	12–10	9–13	7–15	4–18	13–9	9–13	12–10–1	—

Notable transactions

April 12, 1954: Hal Newhouser was signed as a free agent by the Indians.^[3]
June 1, 1954: Bob Chakales was traded by the Indians to the Baltimore Orioles for Vic Wertz.^[4]

Roster

1954 Cleveland Indians

Roster

Pitchers

23 Bob Chakales

19 Bob Feller

25 Mike Garcia

26 Bob Hooper

22 Dave Hoskins

11 Art Houtteman

21 Bob Lemon

12 Don Mossi

20 Ray Narleski

16 Hal Newhouser

38 José Santiago

28 Dick Tomanek

24 Early Wynn

Catchers

15 Joe Ginsberg

15 Mickey Grasso

4 Jim Hegan

18 Hal Naragon

Infielders

1 Bobby Ávila

36 Sam Dente

6 Bill Glynn

5 Hank Majeski

37 Rocky Nelson

8 Rudy Regalado

7 Al Rosen

2 George Strickland

23 Vic Wertz

Outfielders

14 Larry Doby

33 Bob Kennedy

3 Dale Mitchell

17 Dave Philley

34 Dave Pope

32 Al Smith

31 Wally Westlake

Other batters

33 Jim Dyck

9 Luke Easter

Manager

10 Al López

Coaches

44 Tony Cuccinello

43 Mel Harder (Pitching)

42 Red Kress

40 Bill Lobe

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	Hegan, JimJim Hegan	139	423	99	.234	11	40
1B	Wertz, VicVic Wertz	94	295	81	.275	14	48
2B	Ávila, BobbyBobby Ávila	143	555	189	.341	15	67
3B	Rosen, AlAl Rosen	137	466	140	.300	24	102
SS	Strickland, GeorgeGeorge Strickland	112	361	77	.213	6	37
LF	Smith, AlAl Smith	131	481	135	.281	11	50
CF	Doby, LarryLarry Doby	153	577	157	.272	32	126
RF	Philley, DaveDave Philley	133	452	102	.226	12	60

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
Westlake, WallyWally Westlake	85	240	63	.263	11	42
Regalado, RudyRudy Regalado	65	180	45	.250	2	24
Glynn, BillBill Glynn	111	171	43	.251	5	18
Dente, SamSam Dente	68	169	45	.266	1	19
Majeski, HankHank Majeski	57	121	34	.281	3	17
Pope, DaveDave Pope	60	102	30	.294	4	13
Naragon, HalHal Naragon	46	101	24	.238	0	12
Mitchell, DaleDale Mitchell	53	60	17	.283	1	6
Grasso, MickeyMickey Grasso	4	6	2	.333	1	1
Easter, LukeLuke Easter	6	6	1	.167	0	0
Nelson, RockyRocky Nelson	4	4	0	.000	0	0
Ginsberg, JoeJoe Ginsberg	3	2	1	.500	0	1
Dyck, JimJim Dyck	2	1	1	1.000	0	1
Kennedy, BobBob Kennedy	1	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
Wynn, EarlyEarly Wynn	40	270.2	23	11	2.73	155
Garcia, MikeMike Garcia	45	258.2	19	8	2.64	129
Lemon, BobBob Lemon	36	258.1	23	7	2.72	110
Houtteman, ArtArt Houtteman	32	188	15	7	3.35	68
Feller, BobBob Feller	19	140	13	3	3.09	59

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
Narleski, RayRay Narleski	42	3	3	13	2.22	52
Mossi, DonDon Mossi	40	6	1	7	1.94	55
Newhouser, HalHal Newhouser	26	7	2	7	2.51	25
Hooper, BobBob Hooper	17	0	0	2	2.72	12
Hoskins, DaveDave Hoskins	14	0	1	0	3.04	9
Chakales, BobBob Chakales	3	2	0	0	0.87	3
Santiago, JoséJosé Santiago	1	0	0	0	0.00	1
Tomanek, DickDick Tomanek	1	0	0	0	5.40	0

1954 World Series

Main article: 1954 World Series

This was the first time the Cleveland Indians were swept in a World Series. The only highlight for the Indians was that they kept the Yankees from winning their sixth straight series. The last time the Yankees had not won the series or pennant beforehand was 1948, when, again, the Indians kept them out (although that year, they won the Series). It was also the only World Series from 1949 to 1958 which did not feature the Yankees.

Game 1

September 29, 1954, at the Polo Grounds in New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Cleveland (A)	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	8	0
New York (N)	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	5	9	3
W: Marv Grissom (1–0) L: Bob Lemon (0–1)
HR: NYG – Dusty Rhodes (1)

Game 2

September 30, 1954, at the Polo Grounds in New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cleveland (A)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	8	0
New York (N)	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	x	3	4	0
W: Johnny Antonelli (1–0) L: Early Wynn (0–1)
HR: CLE – Al Smith (1) NYG – Dusty Rhodes (2)

Game 3

October 1, 1954, at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York (N)	1	0	3	0	1	1	0	0	0	6	10	1
Cleveland (A)	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	4	2
W: Rubén Gómez (1–0) L: Mike Garcia (0–1) S: Hoyt Wilhelm (1)
HR: CLE – Vic Wertz (1)

Game 4

October 2, 1954, at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York (N)	0	2	1	0	4	0	0	0	0	7	10	3
Cleveland (A)	0	0	0	0	3	0	1	0	0	4	6	2
W: Don Liddle (1–0) L: Bob Lemon (0–2) S: Johnny Antonelli (1)
HR: CLE – Hank Majeski (1)

Composite Box

1954 World Series (4–0): New York Giants (N.L.) over Cleveland Indians (A.L.)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
New York Giants	1	2	6	0	7	1	1	0	0	3	21	33	7
Cleveland Indians	3	0	0	0	3	0	2	1	0	0	9	26	4
Total Attendance: 251,507 Average Attendance: 62,877
Winning Player's Share: – $11,118 Losing Player's Share – $6,713

Award winners

All-Star Game

Al Rosen, first baseman, starter
Bobby Ávila, second baseman, starter
Larry Doby, reserve
Mike Garcia, reserve
Bob Lemon, reserve

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Indianapolis Indians	American Association	Kerby Farrell
A	Reading Indians	Eastern League	Pinky May
B	Keokuk Kernels	Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League	Jo-Jo White
B	Spartanburg Peaches	Tri-State League	Jimmy Bloodworth
C	Fargo-Moorhead Twins	Northern League	Phil Seghi
C	Sherbrooke Indians	Provincial League	Mark Wylie
D	Jacksonville Beach Sea Birds	Florida State League	Spud Chandler
D	Tifton Indians	Georgia–Florida League	Ed Hartness
D	Pauls Valley Raiders	Sooner State League	Lloyd Pearson and Bennie Warren

Notes

↑ Perry, Dayn (August 13, 2015). "Blue Jays become first team since '54 Indians with two 11-game win streaks". CBSsports.com.
↑ Dave Philley page at Baseball Reference
↑ Hal Newhouser page at Baseball-Reference
↑ Bob Chakales page at Baseball-Reference
↑ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
↑ Roger Maris: Baseball's Reluctant Hero, p.68, Tom Clavin and Danny Peary, Touchstone Books, Published by Simon & Schuster, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-1-4165-8928-0

References

External links

1954 Cleveland Indians at BaseballLibrary.com

American League champions

1954 MLB season by team

American League	Baltimore Boston Chicago Cleveland Detroit New York Philadelphia Washington

National League	Brooklyn Chicago Cincinnati Milwaukee New York Philadelphia Pittsburgh St. Louis

1954 All-Star Game 1954 World Series

Cleveland Indians

Founded in 1894
Formerly the Grand Rapids Rustlers, Cleveland Lake Shores, Cleveland Bluebirds, Cleveland Broncos, and Cleveland Naps
Based in Cleveland, Ohio

Franchise

Ballparks

Culture and lore

Rivalries

Cincinnati Reds

Key personnel

Owner: Larry Dolan
Chairman/CEO: Paul Dolan
President: Chris Antonetti
General manager: Mike Chernoff
Manager: Terry Francona

Postseason appearances (12)

Division championships (8)

American League pennants (6)

World Series championships (2)

1920
1948

Hall of Fame inductees

Minors

Media

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