Matchups
In 1952 the Dodgers, led by manager Chuck Dressen, paced the NL in runs scored (775), home runs (153) and stolen bases (90). Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson and George Shuba batted over .300, while Roy Campanella (97) and Gil Hodges (102) paced the team in RBI’s. The Dodgers had no dominant pitchers with Carl Erskine (206.2) the lone pitcher with over 200 innings and rookie Joe Black leading the team with 15 wins. Manager Dressen used 14 starting pitchers on the year, but as a unit, the pitchers combine to finished second in the NL in team ERA. Defensively, the Dodgers led the NL with a .982 fielding percentage, and Campanella gunned down 29 of 52 (56%) would-be base stealers.
The Yankees, led by the effusive Casey Stengel, recovered from the retirement of Joe DiMaggio, and the loss of Bobby Brown, Joe Coleman and Tom Morgan to the service. The Yankees matched the Dodgers in hitting as they finished first or second in the AL in runs scored, home runs, batting average, and slugging percentage. Mickey Mantle had a breakout season leading the Yankees in batting (.311), and slugging (.530). Yogi Berra led the Yanks in runs (97), HR’s (30) and RBI’s (98). The Yankees had a solid pitching staff that led the AL in ERA (3.14). Allie Reynolds led the team with 20 wins and led the league with 2.08 ERA. Casey Stengel rotated his pitchers all year with seven having at least 12 starts, but none working more than 35 games. Defensive standout Phil Rizzuto led AL shortstops with 458 assists and made only 19 errors.
Read more about this topic: 1952 World Series