1951 Brooklyn Dodgers season

The 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers season was the 62nd season for the Brooklyn Dodgers franchise in the MLB. The Dodgers led the National League for much of the season, holding a 13-game lead as late as August. However, a late season collapse and a hot streak by the New York Giants led to a classic three-game playoff series. Bobby Thomson's dramatic ninth-inning home run off Dodger reliever Ralph Branca in the final game of a tie-breaker series won the pennant for the Giants and was immortalized as the Shot Heard 'Round the World.

Offseason

October 10, 1950: Chuck Connors and Dee Fondy were traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago Cubs for Hank Edwards and cash.
October 13, 1950: Buddy Hicks was purchased from the Dodgers by the Philadelphia Phillies.
November 16, 1950: Morrie Martin was drafted from the Dodgers by the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1950 rule 5 draft.
February 6, 1951: Chico FernÃÂ¡ndez was signed by the Dodgers as an amateur free agent.

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day Lineup

Notable transactions

June 8, 1951: Tommy Brown was traded by the Dodgers to the Philadelphia Phillies for Dick Whitman and cash.
June 15, 1951: Bruce Edwards, Joe Hatten, Eddie Miksis and Gene Hermanski were traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago Cubs for Johnny Schmitz, Rube Walker, Andy Pafko and Wayne Terwilliger.
June 18, 1951: Bob Lillis was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers.
July 24, 1951: Ben Taylor was traded by the Dodgers to the St. Louis Browns for Johnny Bero, Joe Lutz and cash.
August 31, 1951: Ross Grimsley was purchased from the Dodgers by the Chicago White Sox.

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

Tied with Warren Spahn (Boston) for league lead

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

Shot Heard 'Round the World

One of the more famous episodes in major league baseball history, and possibly one of the greatest moments in sports history, the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" is the name given to Bobby Thomson's walk-off home run that clinched the National League pennant for the New York Giants over their rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers. This game was the third of a three-game playoff series resulting from one of baseball's most memorable pennant races. The Giants had been thirteen and a half games behind the league-leading Dodgers in August, but under Durocher's guidance and with the aid of a sixteen-game winning streak, caught the Dodgers to tie for the lead on the last day of the season. The radio broadcast of Bobby Thomson's pennant-winning home run was chronicled on a 1955 Columbia Masterworks vinyl LP record, "The Greatest Moments in Sports."