1966 Major League Baseball season
| 1966 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Number of games | 162 |
| Number of teams | 20 (10 per league) |
| TV partner(s) | NBC |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Steve Chilcott |
| Picked by | New York Mets |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | AL: Frank Robinson (BAL) NL: Roberto Clemente (PIT) |
| AL champions | Baltimore Orioles |
| AL runners-up | Minnesota Twins |
| NL champions | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| NL runners-up | San Francisco Giants |
| World Series | |
| Champions | Baltimore Orioles |
| Runners-up | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| World Series MVP | Frank Robinson (BAL) |
The 1966 major league baseball season began on April 11, 1966. The regular season ended on October 2, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 63rd World Series on October 5 and ended with Game 4 on October 9. The Orioles swept the Dodgers in four games, capturing their first championship in franchise history. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Los Angeles Dodgers from the 1965 season.
The 37th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, was held on July 12 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. The National League won, 2–1.
The Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta, Georgia as the Atlanta Braves, being the seventh team since 1953 to relocate, and the fourth of National League teams since then. The move from Milwaukee was the second time in modern-era baseball (since 1901) that the city was left without a team. Previously, the 1901 Milwaukee Brewers moved to St. Louis following the 1901 season (the team, the St. Louis Browns, went on to relocate to Baltimore as the Baltimore Orioles in 1953). Major league baseball would return to Milwaukee in 1970 with the relocation of the American League Seattle Pilots as the Milwaukee Brewers. The National League would see its return in 1998 when the Brewers transferred in to the league.
Three teams played the 1966 season in new stadiums. On April 12, the Braves ushered in Atlanta Stadium with the Pittsburgh Pirates taking a 3–2 win in 13 innings. One week later, Anaheim Stadium opened with the California Angels losing to the Chicago White Sox, 3–1 in the Angels' debut following their move from Los Angeles to nearby Orange County. On May 8, the St. Louis Cardinals closed out old Sportsman's Park/Busch Stadium I with a 10–5 loss to the San Francisco Giants before opening the new Busch Memorial Stadium four days later with a 4–3 win in 12 innings over the Atlanta Braves.