The Yankees won their fourth straight pennant and World Series this year; the Indians finished second, two games back. This was the second of six consecutive seasons that New York and Cleveland were the top two teams in the league. The Yankees finished first each year except 1954.
         Both teams had great offenses, and outstanding pitching. But this was one year that neither team had the best pitcher in the league.

         Bobby Shantz was an impressive young left-hander who was hitting his peak with the Philadelphia Athletics. The Athletics had lost 102 games in 1950, but had begun to pull themselves out of the abyss with the maturity of Shantz. He was so highly thought of, that he even won the MVP this year.
        Shantz's dominance was short-lived. He started only 16 games next season, and pitched poorly. In 1955 he appeared in only two games. His career didn't come back to life until 1957, when he was dealt to the Yankees, and became a valuable starter/reliever on Casey Stengel's staff. Shantz continued pitching until he was almost 40; he finished his career exclusively as a reliever, and had some outstanding seasons with the Cardinals in the early 60's.
         After Shantz, almost all of the best starters were either Indians (Mike Garcia, Bob Lemon, Early Wynn) or Yankees (Allie Reynolds, Vic Raschi). Reynolds was 37 years old, and had his only 20-win season. He was a late bloomer; this was probably his best season, and he would retire two years later. The three Cleveland starters are virtually indistinguishable in their performance; Garcia and Lemon were likely the best.
         Billy Pierce also pitched great, but again didn't get much support from a weak Chicago offense. Pierce's career reminds me of Dave Stieb in the 1980's; he was an outstanding pitcher, but his best won-loss records weren't until later in his career, when his team had matured, but he himself was no longer in top form as a pitcher.