The Great NY Debate - 1957
The west coast was calling. Both the Dodgers and Giants were fed up with their aging home parks and wanted fresh fields. Queens tried to seduce them, but ultimately LA and SF won out, allowing the Dodgers and Giants maintain their regional rivalry. Not that the championship count left things in doubt, but the two NY franchises were conceding supremacy to the Yankees. There was still one more season to play, however.
As elite as Snider and Mays are, don't get me wrong, the gap was widening with Mantle putting up another MVP season and standing above all peers. Even if the Giants and Dodgers would stay, there was no longer any doubt who was the top tier Centerfielder in NY, Mantle being alone next year was just a visual confirmation.
Perhaps there was a sense of "what's the point" or perhaps the Braves were just that good, but the Milwaukee Braves stood on top of the NL, so the Giants and Dodgers close out their stays in NY without postseason play. The Yankees, of course, won the AL yet again.
And perhaps they were distracted with their "brother" franchises moving out, or perhaps those Braves are just that good, but when Game 7 went final, the Braves were the new champions of baseball.
For the first time since 1948, a team that wasn't from New York won the World Series. The New York city streak of champions was broken.
And perhaps they were distracted with their "brother" franchises moving out, or perhaps those Braves are just that good, but when Game 7 went final, the Braves were the new champions of baseball.
For the first time since 1948, a team that wasn't from New York won the World Series. The New York city streak of champions was broken.
Elsewhere in baseball is Richie Ashburn. The Phillies Hall of Fame Centerfielder had a rather down year in '57, mainly because he would bounce back the next year to lead the league in hitting. Early in the run of NY dominance, Ashburn and the Whiz Kids of 1950 sprung to the top of the NL only to run into the buzzsaw of the Yankees in their 5-straight title run. Richie would sit in Philly and watch the Dodgers and Giants relocate and abandon NY, but he would soon be involved in the city's future.
