#20: 1957 Chicago White Sox, 49.4 WAR162<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The 1957 White Sox had a fine season, but finished second, 8 games behind the Yankees. This edition was part of a group of very competitive Chicago teams starting in the mid-50s, and including the 1954 and 1955 teams.<\/p>\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThe Sox had a good offense, finishing third in runs behind the Yankees and Red Sox, and easily leading the league in stolen bases. They ranked third in BA and OPS, but first in walks and OBP; the team was built on reaching base and manufacturing runs. Pitching was a strength, although the team’s 3.35 ERA was a distant second to the Yankees. The White Sox staff led the AL in shutouts and ranked second in WHIP.<\/p>\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nNellie Fox<\/a> and Minnie Minoso<\/a> were the star position players for Chicago, with Fox batting .317 (.403 OBP) and scoring 110 runs while playing a standout second base. Minoso led the league with 36 doubles and batted .310; he also was hit by 21pitches as part of his .408 OBP. Shortstop Luis Aparicio<\/a> led the AL with 28 steals as part of a productive supporting cast. Dick Donovan<\/a> (16-6, 2.77 ERA) and Billy Pierce<\/a> (20-12) led the pitching staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Dodgers nosed out the Braves (by 1 game) and the Redlegs (by 2 games) in an exciting NL pennant race before falling to the Yankees in a seven-game World Series. The loss was especially bittersweet, as the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles for the 1958 season, leaving their fan base behind.<\/p>\n\n\n The Dodgers scored 720 runs on the season, well behind the 775 from the Redlegs, and trailed them in home runs as well. They ranked just fourth in BA, but first in OBP, thanks to drawing 64 more walks than their closest competitor. Their .761 OPS ranked second for the season. The pitching was solid, ranking a distant second (to the Braves) in ERA and first in WHIP, strikeouts, and strikeout-to-walk rate.<\/p>\n\n\n Duke Snider<\/a> had one of his best seasons, belting 43 homers, drawing 99 walks, and sweeping the OBP (.399), SLG (.598), and OPS (.997) categories. Jim Gilliam<\/a> enjoyed a fine season, stealing 21 bases while batting .300 with a .399 OBP, and 37-year-old Jackie Robinson<\/a> posted a .382 OBP with 12 steals in 117 games. Gil Hodges<\/a> (32 homers, 87 RBI) and Randy Jackson<\/a> provided additional support. The mound was anchored by Don Newcombe<\/a>, who led the NL in wins (27) and WHIP (0.989) on his way to the NL MVP and Cy Young<\/a> awards. Sal Maglie<\/a> had a fine age-39 season, winning 13 games with a 2.87 ERA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Braves bounced back from their near miss in 1956 with a comfortable 8-game margin over the Cardinals to claim the 1957 pennant. They went on to defeat the Yankees in a seven-game World Series.<\/p>\n\n\n The Braves topped the NL with 772 runs, 25 more than the Redlegs. They also slugged 199 home runs, had 62 triples, and a .442 slugging percentage, all tops in the league. The team ranked second in BA and OPS, a single point behind the Redlegs. The Braves’ pitching posted the second-best ERA in the NL, but had only the fifth-best WHIP, due to issuing the second-most walks in the league.<\/p>\n\n\n Hank Aaron<\/a> and Eddie Matthews formed a fearsome power duo for Milwaukee; Aaron slugged 44 homers with 132 RBI and 118 runs scored, all NL-best numbers. Mathews popped 32 homers of his own to go with 109 runs scored and 94 RBI, and Johnny Logan<\/a> batted .279 while providing exceptional defense at shortstop. Red Schoendienst<\/a> batted .310 from his second base position to round out the top position performers. The ageless Warren Spahn<\/a> posted a 21-11 record with 18 complete games at age 36, winning the Cy Young award in the process. Bob Buhl<\/a> was the next best option for the Braves, going 18-7 with a 2.74 ERA, and Lew Burdette<\/a> had an ordinary season by his standards, but still managed 17 wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 1955 White Sox finished third in the AL, behind the Yankees and Indians. Their Pythagorean win projection had them winning 95 games, 8 more than the Indians’ projection, but still trailing the Yankees.<\/p>\n\n\n Offense was an issue for the Sox, as their 725 runs ranked just fourth for the season, even though they topped the AL with a .268 BA. Unfortunately for Chicago, they lacked power, ranking just sixth in home runs, seventh in triples, and third in doubles. This combination led to a fifth-place OPS ranking. Pitching kept the Sox in the hunt, with the second-best ERA and top WHIP in the AL. The pitching staff issued the fewest walks in the league, leading to the second-best strikeout-to-walk rate behind the Indians.<\/p>\n\n\n The White Sox lacked big-name hitters in their lineup, relying on their pitching and contributions from a variety of batters. Second baseman Nellie Fox led the way with a .311 BA, and an AL-best 17 hit by pitches, followed by Minnie Minoso and his .387 OBP and 19 steals. Catcher Sherm Lollar<\/a> had a strong season behind the plate while batting .261 with 16 homers, and shortstop Chico Carrasquel<\/a> played fine defense and scored 83 runs for the Sox. Billy Pierce was the mound ace, winning 15 while topping the AL in ERA (1.97), WHIP, and strikeout-to-walk rate. Dick Donovan was the team’s next best option, and also logged 15 wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The <\/mark>Dodgers rebounded from their 1951 collapse and loss to the Giants by finishing 4.5 games ahead of their crosstown rivals to claim the NL pennant. They then lost to the Yankees in a seven-game World Series.<\/p>\n\n\n The Dodgers easily topped the NL in runs and had a curious split where they were better on the road (51-24) than at home (45-33). Their 153 homers were tops in the league, as were the team’s 90 stolen bases. They ranked just third in BA, but topped the NL in both OBP and OPS. The Dodgers pitching ranked second in ERA and first in strikeouts, but just fourth in WHIP, as the staff issued plenty of walks.<\/p>\n\n\n Jackie Robinson had one of his finest seasons, leading the NL with a .440 OBP and stealing 24 bases while drawing 106 walks and scoring 104 runs. Gil Hodges drew 107 walks and hammered 32 homers, and Pee Wee Reese<\/a> led the league with 30 steals while drawing another 86 walks. Duke Snider batted .303 with 21 homers, and Andy Pafko<\/a> added another 19 long balls. Carl Erskine<\/a> posted a 14-6 mark with a 2.70 ERA to lead the pitching corps, aided by Billy Loes<\/a> (13-8, 2.69 ERA) and Joe Black<\/a> (15-4, 15 saves, 2.15 ERA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s it for the first entry in our MLB Team Rankings for the 1950s decade! Stay tuned for the countdown from #15 to #11, arriving in a few days. As always, thanks for reading!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Welcome to the first countdown post in our series of MLB team rankings for the 1950s. As a reminder, the teams are ranked from #20 through #1 based on aggregate WAR162. For the 1950s (1950-1959), a total of 160 teams were eligible (16 teams x 10 seasons), so the top 20 teams are a fairly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[72,41,66,47,64],"class_list":["post-3824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dashboards","tag-1950s","tag-mlb-statistics","tag-rankings","tag-team-war","tag-war162"],"yoast_head":"\n#19: 1956 Brooklyn Dodgers, 50.1 WAR162<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n#18: 1957 Milwaukee Braves, 50.5 WAR162<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n#17: 1955 Chicago White Sox, 50.6 WAR162<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n#16: 1952 Brooklyn Dodgers, 50.7 WAR<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nSummary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n