The Milwaukee Braves won their second consecutive pennant, but lost in the World Series to the Yankees. The Braves at this time were clearly the class of the league; they had an outstanding lineup, led by Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews, and a fine pitching staff led by Warren Spahn. But this was the last time this group of players would make the playoffs; they spent the next few seasons finding ways not to win, losing the pennant to teams with inferior talent.

         The lone Cy Young Award was handed to an American League pitcher, Bob Turley. He was followed closely by three NL hurlers: Warren Spahn, Bob Friend, and Lew Burdette. Spahn was now 37 years old, but still had more than 100 victories left in his career. Despite his advanced age, Spahn was in the second year of two impressive streaks, one in which he led the league in wins five years in a row, and another in which he led the league in complete games for seven straight years. This was also the third time he led the NL in innings pitched, and the only time he would ever lead in winning percentage.
        Spahn also set a record by winning 20 games for the ninth time in his career, the most ever by a left-handed pitcher. He won the first game of the World Series against the Yankees, working ten innings to win the game 4-3 in extra innings. Five days later, he won Game Four with a complete game, 3-0 shutout, giving his team a 3-1 lead in the Series. Spahn was brought back to pitch Game Six on two days' rest, and threw another 10-inning complete game, this time losing 4-3 in extra innings. It was the last postseason appearance of his career.
        Friend and Burdette were two more veterans who had fine seasons. Burdette was a teammate of Spahn's in Milwaukee, and had perhaps his best season. In 1957, Burdette three times defeated the Yankees in the World Series; this year he won Game Two, extending the streak to four in a row. But the Yankees got their revenge, pounding on Burdette in both Game Five and Game Seven, and winning the Series.
        Bob Friend had one of his best seasons, and led the Pirates to a second-place finish. Friend was 27 years old, and had survived several miserable years with Pittsburgh earlier in the decade, the lowest point in the history of the franchise. Now, Friend was one of the league's workhorses, and earned the nickname "Warrior". He ran into some bad luck in 1959, losing 19 games, but rebounded to have a big season in 1960, when the Pirates were surprise winners of the pennant (edging out the Braves) and the World Series.
        Other good pitchers included Robin Roberts, who had his last good season in a Philadelphia uniform. Roberts was 32 years old, and had struggled badly for two seasons. He pitched well this year, but followed up with three more ugly seasons, and was later dealt to Baltimore, where he survived a few more years.
        "Toothpick" Sam Jones was one of the first modern power pitchers in the game, averaging almost a strikeout an inning. Jones was already 32 years old, and this was his first good season. He had two more good seasons before his career came to a close. Jones' won-loss record wasn't great, but is probably misleading. Jones' team, the Cardinals, had the worst offense in the NL, and likely provided little run support. In addition to being the league's best strikeout pitcher, Jones had a better ERA than anyone except Stu Miller, who was a part-time starter for the Giants.
     Rounding out the top four is not easy. Spahn and Burdette appear to have the best numbers, though they did pitch in a great pitchers' park. But their team won, and they were both outstanding pitchers for many years, so I think they were pretty good regardless. Bob Friend was a battler, but I don't think he was better than either Roberts or Jones; I'll give them the edge.