1952 – Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Joe Black, who posted a 15-4 record with 85 strikeouts and a 2.15 ERA, is voted National League Rookie of the Year, receiving 19 of 24 first place votes. Hoyt Wilhelm, Dick Groat and Eddie Mathews also garner first-place votes.
Commissioner Ford Frick states his belief that the Pacific Coast League will eventually reach major league status. The PCL is the only minor league in history to be given the “Open” classification, considered a step above the AAA level, that limited the rights of big league clubs to draft players from its teams, and is perceived as a precursor to the circuit becoming a third major league.
1952 – American League President Will Harridge says there will be greater fines for managers who use abusive language while arguing with umpires.
1952 – The Baseball Writers Association of America name Philadelphia Athletics pitcher Bobby Shantz the American League Most Valuable Player. Shantz posted a 24-7 record with 152 strikeouts and a 2.48 ERA during the regular season and also claimed the honor of being The Sporting News American League Pitcher of the Year.
The Pacific Coast League announces its teams will play a reduced 176-game schedule next season. The PCL clubs, however, will continue to play 180 contests next season as they have for the past two years.
1952 – Stan Musial makes his major league pitching debut. Harvey Haddix moves to right field, Hal Rice shifts to center, and Musial pitches to Frank Baumholtz. After Baumholtz grounds out to third, everyone returns to their positions.
1952 – The Braves’ Eddie Mathews hits 3 home runs as Boston breaks a 10-game losing streak and beats Brooklyn, 11 – 3. Virgil Jester wins, his last in the majors and the last victory for the Boston Braves franchise.
In front of the second largest crowd this season, with many of the 8,822 fans rooting for the Dodgers, the Braves play their final home game in Boston. Brooklyn catcher Roy Campanella hits the last home run at Braves Field in an 8-2 victory over the Milwaukee-bound club.
In a Cold War move, the Russians decry the American game of baseball by citing their own game of “lapka” as being the progenitor of baseball. They call American players “slaves.” The State Department links the Soviet claim as the founders of baseball as part of its “Hate America” campaign.
The Pirates become the first team to wear helmets in which the temples are protected. The headgear is worn both at the plate and in the field.
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