- Source: 1956 Cincinnati Redlegs season
The 1956 Cincinnati Redlegs season consisted of the Redlegs finishing in third place in the National League with a record of 91–63, two games behind the NL Champion Brooklyn Dodgers. The Redlegs were managed by Birdie Tebbetts and played their home games at Crosley Field, where they drew 1,125,928 fans, third-most in their league.
Offseason
November 28, 1955: Hobie Landrith was traded by the Redlegs to the Chicago Cubs for Hal Jeffcoat.
January 31, 1956: Jackie Collum was traded by the Redlegs to the St. Louis Cardinals for Brooks Lawrence and Sonny Senerchia.
Prior to 1956 season: Joe Azcue was signed as an amateur free agent by the Redlegs.
Regular season
The Redlegs were in first place at mid-season and stayed in the pennant race until the last day of the season, ending up with a 91–63 record, two games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers. For his efforts, the Baseball Writers' Association of America voted Birdie Tebbetts as the 1956 Manager of the Year.
The 1956 Redlegs tied the National League and MLB record for home runs in a season, hitting 221 over 155 regular-season games. (The 1947 Giants also slugged 221 in 155 games played.) Three Redlegs hit more than 35 homers, with Frank Robinson (38) establishing a record for rookies; Wally Post (36) and Ted Kluszewski (35) were the others. Gus Bell (29) and Ed Bailey (28) came within reach of the 30-home-run mark, Bailey in only 383 at bats. The mark stood until 1961, when the New York Yankees hit 240 homers in the first year of the modern 162-game schedule.
On Sunday, June 24, following a doubleheader sweep of the Brooklyn Dodgers, eleven Redlegs players appeared on the panel quiz show What's My Line?.
= Season standings
== Record vs. opponents
== Notable transactions
=April 1, 1956: Jim Pearce was assigned by the Redlegs to the St. Louis Cardinals.
= Roster
=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
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
= Pitching
=Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Douglas
References
External links
1956 Cincinnati Redlegs season at Baseball Reference