1948 Boston Red Sox season
| 1948 Boston Red Sox | |
|---|---|
| Major League affiliations | |
| |
| Location | |
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| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Tom Yawkey |
| General manager(s) | Joe Cronin |
| Manager(s) | Joe McCarthy |
| Local television | WBZ-TV/WNAC-TV (Jim Britt, Tom Hussey, Bump Hadley) |
| Local radio | WHDH (Jim Britt, Tom Hussey) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The 1948 Boston Red Sox season was the 48th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished second in the American League (AL) with a record of 96 wins and 59 losses, including the loss of a one-game playoff to the Cleveland Indians after both teams had finished the regular schedule with identical 96–58 records. The first Red Sox season to be broadcast on television, broadcasts were then alternated between WBZ-TV and WNAC-TV but with the same broadcast team regardless of broadcasting station.
Offseason[edit]
In December 1947, the Red Sox made a deal with the St. Louis Browns. The Sox acquired Vern Stephens, Billy Hitchcock, and pitchers Jack Kramer and Ellis Kinder. The deal cost $375,000 and 11 Red Sox players.[1]
Notable transactions[edit]
- Prior to 1948 season (exact date unknown)
- Milt Bolling was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox.[2]
- Bob Smith[3] was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox.
Regular season[edit]
In 1948, Kramer led the American League in winning percentage.[1] The manager of the team was former New York Yankees manager Joe McCarthy, who replaced the outgoing Joe Cronin. Cronin had led the Red Sox to an 83–71 record in 1947, finishing in third place.[4]
Throughout 1948, the Sox, New York Yankees, and the Cleveland Indians slugged it out for the pennant. At the end of the regular season, Boston and Cleveland were tied for first place. Each team had a record of 96 wins and 58 losses, two games ahead of the Yankees.
American League Playoff[edit]
At the end of the season, the Red Sox and the Indians were tied for first place. This led to the American League's first-ever one-game playoff. The game was played at Fenway Park on Monday, October 4, 1948. The start time was 1:15 pm EST.
McCarthy picked former St. Louis Browns pitcher Denny Galehouse, who had an 8–7 pitching record, to be his starter. The Indians won the game by the score of 8–3. Indians third baseman Ken Keltner contributed to the victory with his single, double, and 3-run homer over the Green Monster in the 4th inning. Later, McCarthy said he had no rested arms and that there was no else who could pitch.[1] Mel Parnell and Ellis Kinder claimed that they were both ready to pitch.[1]
Season standings[edit]
| American League | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Indians | 97 | 58 | .626 | -- |
| Boston Red Sox | 96 | 59 | .619 | 1 |
| New York Yankees | 94 | 60 | .610 | 2.5 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 84 | 70 | .545 | 12.5 |
| Detroit Tigers | 78 | 76 | .506 | 18.5 |
| St. Louis Browns | 59 | 94 | .386 | 37 |
| Washington Senators | 56 | 97 | .366 | 40 |
| Chicago White Sox | 51 | 101 | .336 | 44.5 |
Record vs. opponents[edit]
1948 American League Records Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYY | PHI | STL | WSH | |||||
| Boston | — | 14–8 | 11–12 | 15–7 | 14–8 | 12–10 | 15–7 | 15–7 | |||||
| Chicago | 8–14 | — | 6–16 | 8–14 | 6–16 | 6–16 | 8–13–1 | 9–12–1 | |||||
| Cleveland | 12–11 | 16–6 | — | 13–9 | 10–12 | 16–6 | 14–8–1 | 16–6 | |||||
| Detroit | 7–15 | 14–8 | 9–13 | — | 9–13 | 12–10 | 11–11 | 16–6 | |||||
| New York | 8–14 | 16–6 | 12–10 | 13–9 | — | 12–10 | 16–6 | 17–5 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 10–12 | 16–6 | 6–16 | 10–12 | 10–12 | — | 18–4 | 14–8 | |||||
| St. Louis | 7–15 | 13–8–1 | 8–14–1 | 11–11 | 6–16 | 4–18 | — | 10–12 | |||||
| Washington | 7–15 | 12–9–1 | 6–16 | 6–16 | 5–17 | 8–14 | 12–10 | — | |||||
Opening Day lineup[edit]
| 7 | Dom DiMaggio | CF |
| 6 | Johnny Pesky | 3B |
| 9 | Ted Williams | LF |
| 2 | Stan Spence | 1B |
| 5 | Vern Stephens | SS |
| 1 | Bobby Doerr | 2B |
| 4 | Sam Mele | RF |
| 8 | Birdie Tebbetts | C |
| 15 | Joe Dobson | P |
Roster[edit]
| 1948 Boston Red Sox | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats[edit]
Batting[edit]
Starters by position[edit]
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Birdie Tebbetts | 128 | 446 | 125 | .280 | 5 | 68 |
| 1B | Billy Goodman | 127 | 445 | 138 | .310 | 1 | 66 |
| 2B | Bobby Doerr | 140 | 527 | 150 | .285 | 27 | 111 |
| SS | Vern Stephens | 155 | 635 | 171 | .285 | 29 | 137 |
| 3B | Johnny Pesky | 143 | 565 | 159 | .281 | 3 | 55 |
| OF | Ted Williams | 137 | 509 | 188 | .369 | 25 | 127 |
| OF | Stan Spence | 114 | 391 | 92 | .235 | 12 | 61 |
| OF | Dom DiMaggio | 155 | 648 | 185 | .285 | 9 | 87 |
Other batters[edit]
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wally Moses | 78 | 189 | 49 | .259 | 2 | 29 |
| Sam Mele | 66 | 180 | 42 | .233 | 2 | 25 |
| Matt Batts | 46 | 118 | 37 | .314 | 1 | 24 |
| Billy Hitchcock | 49 | 124 | 37 | .298 | 1 | 2 |
| Jake Jones | 36 | 105 | 21 | .200 | 1 | 8 |
| Lou Stringer | 4 | 11 | 1 | .091 | 1 | 1 |
| Babe Martin | 4 | 4 | 2 | .500 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Wright | 3 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 0 |
| Neill Sheridan | 2 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Johnny Ostrowski | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching[edit]
Starting pitchers[edit]
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Dobson | 38 | 245.1 | 16 | 10 | 3.56 | 116 |
| Mel Parnell | 35 | 212 | 15 | 8 | 3.14 | 77 |
| Jack Kramer | 29 | 205 | 18 | 5 | 2.35 | 72 |
| Ellis Kinder | 28 | 178 | 10 | 7 | 3.74 | 53 |
| Mickey Harris | 20 | 113.2 | 7 | 10 | 5.30 | 42 |
| Windy McCall | 1 | 1.1 | 0 | 1 | 20.25 | 0 |
Other pitchers[edit]
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denny Galehouse | 27 | 137.1 | 8 | 8 | 4.00 | 38 |
| Dave Ferriss | 31 | 115.1 | 7 | 3 | 5.23 | 30 |
Relief pitchers[edit]
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earl Johnson | 35 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 4.53 | 45 |
| Tex Hughson | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5.12 | 6 |
| Harry Dorish | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.65 | 5 |
| Earl Caldwell | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13.00 | 5 |
| Mickey McDermott | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.17 | 17 |
| Chuck Stobbs | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.43 | 4 |
| Cot Deal | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 |
| Mike Palm | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 | 1 |
Farm system[edit]
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Birmingham, Scranton, Oneonta, Milford[5]
Notes[edit]
- ^ a b c d The Boston Red Sox, Milton Cole and Jim Kaplan, p.30, World Publications Group, North Dighton, Massachusetts, ISBN 1-57215-412-8
- ^ Milt Bolling page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Bob Smith page at Baseball Reference
- ^ The Boston Red Sox, Milton Cole and Jim Kaplan, p.29, World Publications Group, North Dighton, Massachusetts, ISBN 1-57215-412-8
- ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
References[edit]
- 1948 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference
- 1948 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com
