The Yankees won their third straight pennant, their seventh of the decade. They had the league's top pitching staff, but it was a group effort. The Yankees had a group of pitchers who excelled in limitied roles, including Whitey Ford, who missed almost half the season.
         The second Cy Young Award was voted upon this season. Again, there was only one for both leagues; the winner was a National Leaguer, Warren Spahn of the Braves.

         Dick Donovan of the White Sox was the only AL pitcher to receive a Cy Young vote; but in the MVP vote he finished behind both Jim Bunning and Billy Pierce. I believe that Bunning was the best pitcher in the league; he led the league in innings pitched and had a great ERA. Pierce's ERA was a little high, but he had the innings and the wins and was one of the best pitchers in the league at the time.
         I would give Boston's Frank Sullivan the edge over Donovan; Sullivan did not have a great won-loss record, but he was a hard worker, and had a great ERA in Fenway Park. Sullivan also allowed the fewest baserunners per nine innings of any AL starter. I would also rank Donovan just slightly ahead of the Yankee trio of Shantz, Turley and Sturdivant.
         This was Bunning's first full season in the majors, and it may have been his best. Bunning never again won 20 games in season, though he would four times finish with 19. Bunning was one of the best pitchers of the 1960's, and would finish his career with 224 wins. A couple of decades after he retired, Bunning became a popular Hall Of Fame candidate; in 1988, he fell just three votes shy of gaining entrance. The writers wouldn't put him in, but the Veteran's Committee eventually inducted him.
         Though Bunning was a fine pitcher, his greatness is uncertain. I think a very good case can be made that Billy Pierce was a better pitcher. Bunning ranks with a group of pitchers that includes Don Drysdale, Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, and Luis Tiant. Some of these guys get in, some don't.