1956 California League season

1956 California League season California League Baseball April 20 – September 3 140 8 Regular season Fresno Cardinals Dick Whitman, San Jose JoSox Playoffs Fresno Cardinals Stockton Ports List of Carolina League seasons CALL 1955 California League season 1955 1957 California League season 1957 The 1956 California League was a Class C baseball season played between April 20 and September 3. Eight teams played a 140-game schedule, as the top four teams qualified for the playoffs. The Fresno Cardinals won the California League championship, defeating the Stockton Ports in the final round of the playoffs. Team changes The Bakersfield Indians ended their affiliation with the Brooklyn Dodgers and began a new affiliation with the Philadelphia Phillies. The club would be renamed to the Bakersfield Boosters. The Reno Silver Sox began an affiliation with the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Salinas Packers ended their affiliation with the Pittsburgh Pirates and began a new affiliation with the Milwaukee Braves. The San Jose Red Sox ended their affiliation with the Boston Red Sox. The club would be renamed to the San Jose JoSox. Teams 1956 California League Team City MLB Affiliate Stadium Bakersfield Boosters Bakersfield, California Philadelphia Phillies Sam Lynn Ballpark Fresno Cardinals Fresno, California St. Louis Cardinals Fresno State College Park Modesto Reds Modesto, California New York Yankees Del Webb Field Reno Silver Sox Reno, Nevada Brooklyn Dodgers Moana Stadium Salinas Packers Salinas, California Milwaukee Braves Salinas Municipal Stadium San Jose JoSox San Jose, California None San Jose Municipal Stadium Stockton Ports Stockton, California None Billy Hebert Field Visalia Cubs Visalia, California None Recreation Ballpark Map of teams left 10px California League Teams 475 450 400 25 50 California 450 California 35.40 -119.02 Black pog.svg 80 right Boosters #ffe California 36.75 -119.77 Black pog.svg 80 right Cardinals #ffe California 37.66 -120.99 Black pog.svg 80 right Reds #ffe California 39.49 -119.80 Black pog.svg 80 right Silver Sox #ffe California 36.70 -121.65 Black pog.svg 80 left Packers #ffe California 37.32 -121.86 Black pog.svg 80 left JoSox #ffe California 37.98 -121.29 Black pog.svg 80 left Ports #ffe California 36.33 -119.30 Black pog.svg 80 right Cubs #ffe Regular season Summary The Fresno Cardinals finished with the best record in the regular season for the second consecutive season. Standings CALL Standings at stats-crew.com, URL accessed October 9, 2025 California League Team Win Loss % GB Fresno Cardinals 91 49 91 49 – Stockton Ports 83 57 83 57 8 San Jose JoSox 79 61 79 61 12 Reno Silver Sox 73 67 73 67 18 Visalia Cubs 67 73 67 73 24 Modesto Reds 66 74 66 74 25 Salinas Packers 53 87 53 87 38 Bakersfield Boosters 48 92 48 92 43 League Leaders Batting leaders 1956 CALL Batting Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed October 9, 2025 Stat Player Total AVG Dick Whitman, San Jose JoSox .391 H Dick Greco, Modesto Reds 192 R Bud Heslet, Visalia Cubs 147 2B Dick Greco, Modesto Reds 39 3B Tony Alomar, Fresno Cardinals 20 HR Bud Heslet, Visalia Cubs 51 RBI Bud Heslet, Visalia Cubs 172 SB Henry Mitchell, Modesto Reds 34 Pitching leaders 1956 CALL Pitching Leaders at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed October 9, 2025 Stat Player Total W Pete Hernandez, Visalia Cubs 24 ERA Alvin Spearman, Stockton Ports 2.62 CG Pete Hernandez, Visalia Cubs 29 SHO Elmer Franklin, Visalia Cubs Louis Hribar, Reno Silver Sox 9 IP Pete Hernandez, Visalia Cubs 287.0 SO Dave Jordan, Stockton Ports 227 Playoffs The playoffs were expanded to two rounds, the league semi-finals and the final series. The semi-finals would be 1 vs. 3 and 2 vs. 4. The semi-finals were a best-of-three series and the finals would remain a best-of-five series. The Fresno Cardinals won their second consecutive, and third overall, California League championship, defeating the Stockton Ports in four games. Playoff bracket Semi-finals Finals 1 Fresno 2 3 San Jose 0 2 Stockton 2 4 Reno 1 1 Fresno 3 2 Stockton 1 Awards California League awards Award name Recipient Most Valuable Player Dick Whitman, San Jose JoSox See also 1956 Major League Baseball season References External links Minor League Baseball official website California League season Category:1956 in sports in California Category:1956 in sports in Nevada