1956 Washington Senators season

1956 Washington Senators
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
Griffith Stadium (since 1911)
Washington, D.C. (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	Calvin Griffith (majority owner, with Thelma Griffith Haynes)
General manager(s)	Calvin Griffith
Manager(s)	Chuck Dressen
Local television	WTTG
Local radio	WWDC (FM) (Arch McDonald, Bob Wolff)
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The 1956 Washington Senators won 59 games, lost 95, and finished in seventh place in the American League. They were managed by Chuck Dressen and played home games at Griffith Stadium.

Offseason

• November 8, 1955: Mickey Vernon, Bob Porterfield, Johnny Schmitz, and Tom Umphlett were traded by the Senators to the Boston Red Sox for Karl Olson, Dick Brodowski, Tex Clevenger, Neil Chrisley, and Al Curtis (minors).^[1]
• February 8, 1956: Mickey McDermott and Bobby Kline were traded by the Senators to the New York Yankees for Lou Berberet, Bob Wiesler, Herb Plews, Dick Tettelbach, and a player to be named later. The Yankees completed the deal by sending Whitey Herzog to the Senators on April 2.^[2]

Regular season

• April 18, 1956: Umpire Ed Rommell was the first umpire to wear glasses in a major league game. The game was played between the Senators and the New York Yankees.^[3]

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB
New York Yankees	97	57	.630	--
Cleveland Indians	88	66	.571	9
Chicago White Sox	85	69	.552	12
Boston Red Sox	84	70	.545	13
Detroit Tigers	82	72	.532	15
Baltimore Orioles	69	85	.448	28
Washington Senators	59	95	.383	38
Kansas City Athletics	52	102	.338	45

Record vs. opponents

1956 American League Records Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	NYY	WSH
Baltimore	—	6–16	9–13	5–17	13–9	15–7	9–13	12–10
Boston	16–6	—	14–8	13–9–1	12–10	12–10	8–14	9–13
Chicago	13–9	8–14	—	15–7	13–9	14–8	9–13	13–9
Cleveland	17–5	9–13–1	7–15	—	11–11	17–5	10–12	17–5
Detroit	9–13	10–12	9–13	11–11	—	16–6	12–10	15–7–1
Kansas City	7–15	10–12	8–14	5–17	6–16	—	4–18	12–10
New York	13–9	14–8	13–9	12–10	10–12	18–4	—	17–5
Washington	10–12	13–9	9–13	5–17	7–15–1	10–12	5–17	—

Roster

1956 Washington Senators
Roster
Pitchers 15 Ted Abernathy 17 Dick Brodowski  8 Bud Byerly 16 Bob Chakales 10,11 Tex Clevenger 39 Hal Griggs 38 Connie Grob 29 Evelio Hernández 27 Camilo Pascual 28 Pedro Ramos 24 Bunky Stewart 18 Chuck Stobbs 26 Dean Stone 21 Bob Wiesler		Catchers 9,10 Lou Berberet 14 Clint Courtney  8 Ed Fitz Gerald Infielders 12 Harmon Killebrew 22 Lyle Luttrell 25 Herb Plews 4,36 Tony Roig  5 Pete Runnels  6 Jerry Snyder 22 José Valdivielso  1 Eddie Yost		Outfielders 30 Whitey Herzog 14,23 Jim Lemon  3 Karl Olson 37 Ernie Oravetz 31,32 Carlos Paula  2 Roy Sievers 32,34 Dick Tettelbach Other batters 41 Tom Wright		Manager  7 Chuck Dressen Coaches 53 Ellis Clary 52 Joe Fitzgerald 54 Billy Jurges 51 Cookie Lavagetto

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
SS	Valdivielso, JoséJosé Valdivielso	90	246	58	.236	4	29

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
Olson, KarlKarl Olson	106	313	77	.246	4	22

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
Abernathy, TedTed Abernathy	5	30.1	1	3	4.15	18

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
Brodowski, DickDick Brodowski	7	17.2	0	3	9.17	8

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
Clevenger, TexTex Clevenger	20	0	0	0	5.40	17

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Louisville Colonels	American Association	Red Marion and Max Carey
AA	Chattanooga Lookouts	Southern Association	Cal Ermer
A	Charlotte Hornets	Sally League	Rollie Hemsley
B	Hobbs Sports	Southwestern League	Pat Stasey
C	Thibodaux Senators	Evangeline League	Bill Dossey
D	Fort Walton Beach Jets	Alabama–Florida League	Bill Brightwell
D	Superior Senators	Nebraska State League	Ray Baker
D	Erie Senators	PONY League	Johnny Welaj

LEAGUE CO-CHAMPIONS: Thibodaux^[4]

Notes

1. Mickey Vernon page at Baseball Reference
2. Whitey Herzog page at Baseball Reference
3. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 43, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
4. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

References

• 1956 Washington Senators at Baseball-Reference
• 1956 Washington Senators team page at www.baseball-almanac.com