1955 St. Louis Cardinals season
The 1955 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 74th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 64th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 68–86 during the season and finished seventh in the National League, 30½ games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers.
| 1955 St. Louis Cardinals | |
|---|---|
| Major League affiliations | |
| |
| Location | |
| |
| Results | |
| Record | 68–86 (.442) |
| League place | 7th |
| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | August "Gussie" Busch |
| General manager(s) | Richard A. Meyer |
| Manager(s) | Eddie Stanky, Harry Walker |
| Local television | KTVI |
| Local radio | KMOX (Harry Caray, Jack Buck, Joe Garagiola) |
| Stats | ESPN.com BB-reference |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
Outfielder Bill Virdon won the Rookie of the Year Award this year, batting .281, with 17 home runs and 68 RBIs. This was the second consecutive year a Cardinal won the Rookie of the Year Award, with Wally Moon winning the previous season. The Cardinals would have this occur again in 1985 and 1986, with Vince Coleman and Todd Worrell, respectively.
Offseason
- October 19, 1954: Peanuts Lowrey was released by the Cardinals.[1]
- November 22, 1954: Jim King was drafted from the Cardinals by the Chicago Cubs in the 1954 rule 5 draft.[2]
- November 30, 1954: Benny Valenzuela was drafted by the Cardinals from the Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings in the 1954 minor league draft.[3]
- December 8, 1954: Ray Jablonski and Gerry Staley were traded by the Cardinals to the Cincinnati Redlegs for Frank Smith.[4]
- Prior to 1955 season: Duke Carmel was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cardinals.[5]
Regular season
Season standings
| National League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 98 | 55 | 0.641 | — | 56–21 | 42–34 |
| Milwaukee Braves | 85 | 69 | 0.552 | 13½ | 46–31 | 39–38 |
| New York Giants | 80 | 74 | 0.519 | 18½ | 44–35 | 36–39 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 77 | 77 | 0.500 | 21½ | 46–31 | 31–46 |
| Cincinnati Redlegs | 75 | 79 | 0.487 | 23½ | 46–31 | 29–48 |
| Chicago Cubs | 72 | 81 | 0.471 | 26 | 43–33 | 29–48 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 68 | 86 | 0.442 | 30½ | 41–36 | 27–50 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 60 | 94 | 0.390 | 38½ | 36–39 | 24–55 |
Record vs. opponents
1955 National League Records Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BR | CHC | CIN | MIL | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
| Brooklyn | — | 14–7–1 | 12–10 | 15–7 | 13–9 | 16–6 | 14–8 | 14–8 | |||||
| Chicago | 7–14–1 | — | 11–11 | 7–15 | 12–10 | 10–12 | 11–11 | 14–8 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 10–12 | 11–11 | — | 9–13 | 9–13 | 11–11 | 14–8 | 11–11 | |||||
| Milwaukee | 7–15 | 15–7 | 13–9 | — | 14–8 | 14–8 | 11–11 | 11–11 | |||||
| New York | 9–13 | 10–12 | 13–9 | 8–14 | — | 10–12 | 17–5 | 13–9 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 6–16 | 12–10 | 11–11 | 8–14 | 12–10 | — | 15–7 | 13–9 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 8–14 | 11–11 | 8–14 | 11–11 | 5–17 | 7–15 | — | 10–12 | |||||
| St. Louis | 8–14 | 8–14 | 11–11 | 11–11 | 9–13 | 9–13 | 12–10 | — | |||||
Notable transactions
- June 3, 1955: Del Rice was traded by the Cardinals to the Milwaukee Braves for Pete Whisenant.[6]
Roster
| 1955 St. Louis Cardinals | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CF | Bill Virdon | 144 | 534 | 150 | .281 | 17 | 68 |
| RF | Wally Moon | 152 | 593 | 175 | .295 | 19 | 76 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Walker | 11 | 14 | 5 | .357 | 0 | 1 |
| Dick Rand | 3 | 10 | 3 | .300 | 1 | 3 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luis Arroyo | 35 | 159 | 11 | 8 | 4.19 | 68 |
| Ben Flowers | 4 | 27.1 | 1 | 0 | 3.62 | 19 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Smith | 28 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3.23 | 17 |
| Al Gettel | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 7 |
Awards and honors
- Red Schoendienst, second base, starter
- Luis Arroyo, reserve
- Harvey Haddix, reserve
- Stan Musial, reserve[7]
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rochester, Fresno, Paducah, Hamilton; LEAGUE CO-CHAMPIONS: Johnson City[8]
References
- Peanuts Lowrey at Baseball-Reference
- Jim King at Baseball-Reference
- Benny Valenzuela at Baseball-Reference
- Ray Jablonski at Baseball-Reference
- Duke Carmel at Baseball-Reference
- Del Rice at Baseball-Reference
- http://baseball-almanac.com/asgbox/yr1955as.shtml
- Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007