1953 Fantasy Astrology Recap
View the 1953 FABL Lineups Here!
The 1953 MLB season took place exactly 70 years before the current season. And because of a trick of the math, I have now completed exactly 70 seasons in my Fantasy Astrology Baseball project (counting every season from 1953 to 2022… don’t ask me how subtraction works). Maybe there is some good karma because this is an anniversary year, but the four division winners were as clear cut as can be in 1953. Not only did the winners stay the same regardless of positional eligibility, but the top four scoring signs in the league went to the playoffs!
Tops in the league this year was the Taurus Bulls, who would not win their next league championship until – wait for it – 2006! What’s most ironic about a Taurus victory in this particular year is that their lineup did not feature legendary center fielder Willie Mays. Although the Say Hey Kid was an All-Star every year from 1954 to 1972, he missed all of 1953 due to military service. The stars of the 1953 team were first baseman Mickey Vernon (2,394 / 15.8), catcher Yogi Berra (2,004 / 14.6), and of course Warren Spahn (3,079 / 88.0) on the mound, who had the only 3,000-point season among Negative Polarity pitchers.
Ignoring positional eligibility puts Scorpio in second place, thanks to a star-studded lineup featuring Stan “The Man” Musial (2,905 / 18.5) and Ralph “The Mouth” Kiner (2,342 / 14.8) in the outfield. (NOTE: not Kiner’s actual nickname.) Behind the plate was the real-life National League MVP Roy Campanella (2,626 / 18.2), who led his Brooklyn Dodgers to the pennant. The top Stingers pitcher was Mike Garcia (2,197 / 57.8), and Lew Burdette (1,649 / 35.8) was technically the top Negative reliever, even though he started 13 of his 46 appearances. The positional controversy comes with slotting center fielder Bobby Thomson (2,034 / 13.2) at third base, but the Glasgow, U.K. native would actually have had holdover eligibility based on 91 games at the hot corner during the previous season.
Either way you calculate it, Libra finishes in third place, with three of the four award winners in the Positive Polarity. Phillies ace Robin Roberts (3,319 / 75.4) once again led all MLB in fantasy points, while sophomore third baseman Eddie Mathews (2,845 / 18.1) thrived after his Braves made the move from Boston to Milwaukee for the 1953 season. Second baseman Jim Gilliam (2,160 / 14.3) took home real-life Rookie of the Year honors for the Dodgers, pushing trailblazing Aquarian Jackie Robinson over to left field and third base. You also might have heard of this quadruple dose of Yankees teammates: Mickey Mantle (2,012 / 15.8), Whitey Ford (1,710 / 53.4), Johnny Sain (1,812 / 45.3), and Phil Rizzuto (1,163 / 8.7).
Without bending the positional rules for Scorpio, Leo leapfrogs Libra into second place. The Lions didn’t have an especially star-studded roster: their top scorers were infielder Ray Boone (2,143 / 15.9), who split his season between both third base and shortstop AND between Cleveland and Detroit, and Bob Porterfield (2,036 / 59.9), ace of the Washington Senators. But what put them over the edge was lots of depth and a strong bullpen, led by Red Sox closer Ellis Kinder (1,912 / 27.7), Giants sophomore Hoyt Wilhelm (1,418 / 20.9), and occasional Dodgers starter Clem Labine (1,287 / 34.8). Speaking of the Dodgers, Virgo center fielder Duke Snider (3,029 / 19.8) led all batters in fantasy points, edging out Pisces third baseman Al Rosen (2,989 / 19.3) for the Negative MVP. And speaking of Virgo, Snider’s Flowers teammate Harvey Haddix (2,474 / 68.7) won the Negative Rookie of the Year.