The 1957 PCL season faced uncertainty about the impending “invasion of major league baseball” in 1958. While the meetings, wheeling and dealing and politics took place off the diamond, the historic San Francisco Seals, a charter member of the Golden Era of the league, 1903–1957, played baseball and clinched the pennant two days before the season ended. We follow this team one game at a time as players faced historic rivals from spring training through the final game of the era.
Readers experience minor league baseball as it was more than fifty years ago when there were no agents, next year’s contract was based on this year’s performance, and PCL teams consisted of a blend of major league veterans and minor leaguers on the cusp. The Pacific Coast League was no ordinary league, the Seals were no ordinary team, and 1957 was no ordinary season.

P.J. Dragseth is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), a former secondary school teacher, and writer for a small local newspaper. She lives in Rogue River, Oregon.

P.J. Dragseth
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 236
Bibliographic Info: 45 photos, appendix, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2013
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6545-3
eISBN: 978-0-7864-9320-3
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments  ix

Foreword by Ken Aspromonte  1

Preface  3

One. Play Ball! The Birth of Pro

Baseball on the Pacific Coast  7

Two. Spring Training  41

Three. April  55

Four. May  76

Five. June  98

Six. July  117

Seven. August  140

Eight. September  164

Epilogue  191

The 1957 San Francisco Seals Roster  193

Appendix: The Seals by the Numbers  213

Bibliography  217

Index  221