The 1960 Major League Baseball season was played from April 12 to October 13, 1960. It was the final season contested by 16 clubs and the final season that a 154-game schedule was played in both the American League and the National League. The AL began using the 162-game schedule
the following season, with the NL following suit in 1962.
March 13 – The
Chicago White Sox unveil new road uniforms with the players' names above the number on the back, another innovation by Sox owner
Bill Veeck.
March 24 –
CommissionerFord Frick says he will not allow the Continental League to pool players in the Western Carolinas League as it would violate existing agreements between the major and minor leagues.
In a deal that will haunt the
Cleveland Indians, general manager
Frank Lane sends
Norm Cash to the
Detroit Tigers for third baseman
Steve Demeter. Cash would be Detroit's regular first baseman for the next 14 years and hit 373 home runs for them, while Demeter would play only four games for Cleveland.
On Easter Sunday,
Cleveland Indians general manager
Frank Lane completes his second trade with the
Detroit Tigers in five days when he sends
Rocky Colavito, the American League's co-leader in home runs for 1959, to the Motor City in exchange for
Harvey Kuenn, the league's defending batting champion. Colavito, an unparalleled fan favorite in Cleveland, would hit 173 home runs before returning to the Tribe in 1965. Kuenn would report to Cleveland, pull a muscle, and never be the same hitter. He would be traded after one season.
Indians general manager
Frank Lane continues to swap, sending Cleveland favorite
Herb Score to the
Chicago White Sox for
Barry Latman. Score and
Rocky Colavito, traded three days previously, were the last two players to predate Lane's arrival in Cleveland.
April 19:
Before a home crowd of 41,661,
Minnie Miñoso celebrates his return to the
Chicago White Sox with a fourth-inning
grand slam against the
Kansas City Athletics. Leading off the bottom of the ninth with the score tied 9–9, Miñoso hits a solo homer for his sixth RBI.
April 29 – At home, the
St. Louis Cardinals crush the
Chicago Cubs, 16–6.
Stan Musial plays his 1,000th game at first base, becoming the first major league player ever with that many at two positions (1,513 games in the outfield). A bright spot for the Cubs is
Ernie Banks, who hits two home runs to break
Gabby Hartnett's club record of 231 homers.
The
Chicago Cubs make a trade with WGN (AM), plucking
Lou Boudreau out of the broadcast booth to replace
Charlie Grimm (6–11) as Cubs manager. "Jolly Cholly", meanwhile, replaces Boudreau behind the mike. The Cubs win, 5–1, over the
Pirates as pitcher
Dick Ellsworth gains his first ML victory.
Baltimore Orioles catcher
Gus Triandos sets a pair of
American League records with three
passed balls in one inning (6th) and four in one game, but knuckleballer
Hoyt Wilhelm, making a rare start, goes seven innings and gets credit for a 6–4 Baltimore win over the
Chicago White Sox.
Early Wynn records his 2,000th strikeout in a no-decision effort for Chicago. Triandos' passed ball mark for an inning will be tied by reserve backstop
Joe Ginsberg in six days, and
Tom Egan will collect five PBs in 1970 to erase Triandos' name off the list.
Pitcher
Larry Sherry and catcher
Norm Sherry of the
Dodgers become the 10th sibling battery in ML history. Norm belts an 11th-inning home run to give his reliever brother Larry a 3–2 win against the
Phillies.
May 12 – Duplicating
Sam Jones' effort of the previous day, the
Giants'
Jack Sanford pitches a two-hit, 1–0 win over the
Phillies. Sanford matches Jones by striking out 11 and walking three.
The
Philadelphia Phillies suffer their third straight 1–0 shutout, losing to the host
Cincinnati Reds. The Phillies, losers of back-to-back 1–0 games in
San Francisco, tie the major-league record for consecutive 1–0 losses.
Jim O'Toole's win is Cincinnati's ninth straight.
Two days after being traded from the Phillies to the
Cubs,
Don Cardwell pitches a
no-hitter against the
St. Louis Cardinals. A brilliant, leaping catch of
Carl Sawatski's line drive by
George Altman in the eighth inning saves Cardwell's gem.
Ernie Banks' home run paces the 4–0 win, the first no-hitter against the Cards since May 11, 1919.
Since there is no rule limiting the size or shape of the catcher's mitt,
Baltimore manager
Paul Richards combats the team passed-ball problem while catching
Hoyt Wilhelm (38 in 1959; 11 so far this year) by devising an oversized
mitt to gather in Wilhelm's fluttering knuckleball. It is half again as large as the standard glove and 40 ounces heavier. Wilhelm goes the distance in beating
New York, 3–2, at
Yankee Stadium. Catcher
Clint Courtney has no passed balls behind the plate.
May 28 – Manager
Casey Stengel is hospitalized with a virus and high fever and will miss 13 games. The
Yankees go 7–6 under interim manager
Ralph Houk.
June
June 12 – In a record-tying three-hour-and-52-minute, 9-inning game,
Willie McCovey's pinch-hit
grand slam, the first slam of his career, and
Orlando Cepeda's three-run double pace the
Giants to a 16–7 rout of the
Braves.
June 19 – In a brilliant pair of pitching performances,
Orioles pitchers
Hoyt Wilhelm and
Milt Pappas throw shutouts to beat the host
Detroit Tigers. Wilhelm allows two hits in winning the opener, 2–0, over
Jim Bunning, and Pappas allows three hits in winning the nightcap, 1–0, over
Don Mossi.
Jim Gentile and
Ron Hansen collect home runs as catcher
Clint Courtney, using the big glove designed by manager
Paul Richards, is twice charged with batter interference, the first loading the bases in the 4th inning.
June 24 –
Willie Mays belts two home runs and makes 10 putouts to lead the
Giants in a 5–3 win at
Cincinnati. Mays adds three RBI, three runs scored, a single and a steal of home.
June 26 – Hoping to speed up the election process, the
Hall of Fame changes its voting procedures. The new rules allow the Special Veterans Committee to vote annually, rather than every other year, and to induct up to two players a year. The
BBWAA is authorized to hold a runoff election of the top 30 vote getters if no one is elected in the first ballot.
June 30 –
Dick Stuart blasts three consecutive home runs, as the
Pirates split with the
Giants. Stuart drives in seven runs and joins
Ralph Kiner as the second Pirates player to hit three home runs in a game at
Forbes Field.
July
July 4 –
Mickey Mantle's three-run first-inning home run off
Hal Woodeshick is the 300th of his career. Mantle becomes the 18th major leaguer to join the 300 home run club, but the
Yankees drop a 9–8 decision to the
Senators.
July 9 –
Jim Coates suffers his first loss after nine straight wins, and 14 straight over two seasons, as the
Boston Red Sox beat the
Yankees, 6–5. The Sox are led by
Vic Wertz, who hit a home run, double and single to drive in four runs. Coates' major-league career-record is 17–2.
July 18 – The
National League votes to expand to 10 clubs if the
Continental League does not join organized baseball. The new NL clubs would invade CL territories.
July 19:
In a spectacular ML debut,
Juan Marichal of the
San Francisco Giants pitches no-hit ball until
Clay Dalrymple pinch-hit singles with two out in the 7th inning. Marichal winds up with 12 strikeouts and a one-hit 2–0 win against the
Phillies, becoming the first
National League pitcher since 1900 to debut with a one-hitter.
July 20 – At
Cleveland Municipal Stadium,
Mickey Mantle golfs a
Gary Bell pitch over the auxiliary scoreboard into the distant upper deck in right field, matching
Luke Easter as the only major league players to reach that spot. Cleveland holds on for an 8–6 win over the
Yankees.
July 21 –
Robin Roberts pitches his third career one-hitter, and the third one-hitter of the season in new
Candlestick Park.
Felipe Alou spoils Roberts' no-hit bid in the fifth inning of a 3–0
Phillies victory. Third baseman
Joe Morgan fields the hit, but falls down and cannot make a throw.
July 22 – At
Fenway Park, the
Boston Red Sox down the
Cleveland Indians, 6–4.
Vic Wertz has a three-run home run and four RBI.
Ted Williams also homers, and in the 7th inning, steals second base. Williams sets a major league record as the only player to steal bases in four consecutive decades. He would be matched by
Rickey Henderson in 2000. The Indians'
Jimmy Piersall homers twice, with both round-trippers coming off winner
Ike Delock.
July 30 – Just as he predicts,
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher
Art Mahaffey picks off the first batter to get a hit against him. Then with the next batter to get a hit, he does it again.
Curt Flood and
Bill White of the
St. Louis Cardinals are the base runner victims, but St. Louis still wins, 6–3. In his next game, the first batter to get a hit off Mahaffey will be
Jim Marshall, and Mahaffey will pick him off as well.
August
August 2 – In an agreement with the major leagues, the
Continental League abandons plans to join the
American League and
National League.
Walter O'Malley, chairman of the NL Expansion Committee, says, "We immediately will recommend expansion and that we would like to do it in
1961."
Milwaukee Braves owner
Lou Perini proposes a compromise that four of the CL territories be admitted to the current majors in orderly expansion.
Branch Rickey's group quickly accepts. The Continental League ends without playing a game.
August 8 – Before a day crowd of 48,323, the largest day crowd ever at
Comiskey Park, cheer
White Sox pitcher
Billy Pierce four-hit victory over the
Yankees, 9–1. Pierce faces just 31 batters.
August 9 – With fine relief pitching of
Lindy McDaniel in the opener and a five-hitter by
Curt Simmons in the nightcap, the
St. Louis Cardinals sweep the
Philadelphia Phillies, 5–4 and 6–0. Phillies'
Tony Taylor ties a major league record for a second baseman by going the entire doubleheader (18 innings) without a putout – the first to achieve the feat since
Connie Ryan, also of the Phillies, on June 14, 1953.
August 10 –
Ted Williams blasts a pair of home runs and a double to pace the
Red Sox to a 6–1 win over the
Cleveland Indians. Williams has 21 homers for the season. The first of the two today, #512, moves him past
Mel Ott into fourth place on the all-time list. After the game, Williams announces that he will retire at the end of the season.
August 18 – Facing just the minimum 27 batters,
Lew Burdette of the
Milwaukee Braves almost pitches a
perfect game, instead settling for a 1–0
no-hitter against the
Phillies.
Tony González, the only Phillies base runner, reached first base in the fifth inning after being hit by a pitch and was wiped out in a double play. The Milwaukee pitcher also scores the only run of the game.
August 20 –
Ted Williams draws the 2,000th walk of his career in the
Red Sox' split of a twi-night doubleheader with the
Orioles. Williams joins
Babe Ruth as the only major leaguers to collect 2,000 walks.
Rickey Henderson in 2000, and
Barry Bonds in 2003, will join the select 2,000 walks group.
August 30 –
Boston Red Sox second baseman
Pete Runnels goes 6-for-7, as Boston edge the
Tigers in the 15-inning opener of a twin bill. Runnels' 15th-inning double brings
Frank Malzone home with the winning run to win, 5–4. Runnels has three more hits in the nightcap victory, 3–2 in 10 innings. His six hits are the most in an
American League game since July 8, 1955. With 9-for-11 in the doubleheader, Runnels ties the major league record.
September 10 – In
Detroit,
YankeesMickey Mantle hit a home run in the sixth inning, the ball clearing the right field roof and landing in the Brooks Lumber Yard across Trumbull Avenue. In
June 1985, Mantle's blow was retroactively measured at 643 feet, and will be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records at that distance.
September 13–18-year-old outfielder
Danny Murphy becomes the youngest
Chicago Cubs player to hit a home run when he clouts a three-run homer off
Bob Purkey of the
Cincinnati Reds, as the Reds win 8–6 at home. Murphy will play just 49 games for the Cubs from 1960–62. He will come back as a pitcher for the
Chicago White Sox in 1969–70.
September 15 –
Willie Mays ties the modern major league record with three triples in a game against the
Phillies. The last
National League player to hit three triples in a game was
Roberto Clemente, in 1958.
September 16:
At the age of 39,
Warren Spahn notches his 11th 20-win season with a 4–0
no-hitter against the
Phillies. Spahn also sets a
Milwaukee club record with 15 strikeouts in handing the last-place Phils their 90th loss of the year.
The
Baltimore Orioles (83–58) and
New York Yankees (82–57) open a crucial four games series with the Orioles just .002 in back of New York. Three days later, during a doubleheader, the Yankees will sweep Baltimore. The faltering Birds, now four back, will end up in second place, eight games back.
September 18 – At
Wrigley Field,
Ernie Banks sets a record by drawing his 27th intentional walk of the season.
September 19 – The
Chicago White Sox' pennant hopes are damaged with a nightcap 7–6 loss to the
Detroit Tigers, after they win the opener, 8–4. Pinch hitter
Norm Cash scores the decisive run in the second game; he thus ends the season by grounding into no double plays, becoming the first
American League player since league records on this were started in 1940. Teammates
Dick McAuliffe and
Roger Repoz will duplicate this in 1968.
September 20 –
Boston Red Sox outfielder
Carroll Hardy pinch-hits for
Ted Williams, who is forced to leave the game after fouling a ball off his ankle, and grounds into a double play. On May 31, 1961, Hardy will pinch hit for rookie
Carl Yastrzemski, making him the only player to go to bat for both future Hall of Famers. Hardy also hit his first major league home run pinch-hitting for
Roger Maris when both were at
Cleveland (May 18, 1958).
September 28 – In his last major league at bat,
Ted Williams picks out a 1–1 pitch by
Baltimore's
Jack Fisher and drives it 450 feet into the right-center field seats behind the
Boston bullpen. It is Williams' 521st and last career home run, putting him third on the all-time list. Williams stays in the dugout, ignoring the thunderous ovation at
Fenway Park and refusing to tip his hat to the hometown fans.
October 3 – The
New York Yankees head into the
World Series with a 15-game winning streak, the 8th longest streak in the
American League this century, after
Dale Long's two-run 9th-inning home run gives them an 8–7 win over the
Boston Red Sox. The 193 home runs are an AL season record, three better than the 1956 Yankees. RBI leader
Roger Maris drives in three runs, but falls one home run short of
Mickey Mantle's league-high 40.
October 10 –
Bill Mazeroski stars again. His two-run double stakes
Harvey Haddix to a 3–0 lead.
Roy Face is called on once more for another hitless effort to preserve a 5–2 win over the
Yankees and 3–2
World Series lead for the surprising
Pirates.
October 13 – In a 9–9 tie,
Bill Mazeroski leads off the last of the ninth inning and hits what is arguably the most dramatic home run in WS history, off
YankeesRalph Terry, to give the
Pittsburgh Pirates a 10–9 win and the
World Series Championship. The drama of Mazeroski's home run was heightened by the excitement that preceded the home run: seven runs were scored by both teams in a wild and wacky bottom of the eighth and top of the ninth. An oddity in this game – it is the only World Series game with no strikeouts recorded. Another oddity, this one to the 1960 World Series itself – Mazeroski's home run makes this 1960 World Series the only World Series in major league history won by a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of the seventh and deciding game. Despite Mazeroski's heroics, however,
Bobby Richardson is named the
Series MVP, as the Yankees outscore Pittsburgh, 55 to 27.
October 17 – The
National League votes to admit
Houston and New York City teams to the league in 1962, the first structural change since 1900, and to go to a 10-team league.
October 18 – Instituting a mandatory retirement age of 65,
New York Yankees co-owners Dan Topping and Del Webb relieve
Casey Stengel as the team manager. Stengel says "I wasn't retired—they fired me." The veteran skipper has a 1,149–696 career record. Stengel returned to managing in
1962, when he became the first manager of the
New York Mets.
October 20 – Coach
Ralph Houk, at 41 age, is named to succeed
Casey Stengel as the
Yankees manager. Houk had briefly led the Yankees in 1960 when Stengel was hospitalized.
October 27 – Trying to jump ahead of the
National League, the
American League admits
Los Angeles and
Minneapolis teams to the league with plans to have the new clubs begin competition in 1961 in the new 10-team league.
Calvin Griffith is given permission to move the existing
Washington Senators franchise to
Minneapolis–Saint Paul. (An expansion team, also called the Senators, will be placed in Washington.) American League president
Joe Cronin says the league will play a 162-game schedule, with 18 games against each opponent. The
National League will balk, saying the two expansions are not analogous and that the American League was not invited to move into LA.
November 26 –
Twins is the appropriate new name chosen for the club transplanted from Washington, D.C. to the Twin Cities of
Minneapolis–Saint Paul.
December 5 –
American League president
Joe Cronin suggests that if the
National League starts its new New York City franchise in 1961, the AL will stay out of
Los Angeles until 1962. The NL turned down the suggested compromise of November 22 because
Houston will not be ready in 1961.