The Detroit Tigers finished in 4th place in the AL in 1956. A 21 year old Al Kaline (pictured) was in his 3rd full season in the Major Leagues playing for Detroit. He won the batting title in 1955 with a .340 BA. The '56 Tigers were a very good team with lots of hitting and average pitching, but they'll be hard pressed to overcome the New York Yankees. The New York Yankees were a very good team that season and won the AL Pennant by 9 games over the 2nd place Cleveland Indians. Yankee outfielder Mickey Mantle won the Triple Crown in 1956 with a .353 BA, 52 HR, and 130 RBI.
In the NL, it was a different story. There was a very close 3 team pennant race between the Brooklyn Dodgers, Milwaukee Braves, and Cincinnati Reds. The Dodgers prevailed and won by 1 game over the Braves, 2 games over the Reds. Pitcher Don Newcombe 27-7 led the Dodgers to the pennant along with the hitting of Duke Snider (.292, 45, 101) and Gil Hodges (.265, 32, 87). Hank Aaron (.328, 26, 92) helped lead Milwaukee and rookie Frank Robinson (.290, 38, 83) was one of the big reasons Cincinnati was in the hunt.
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