1948 Boston Red Sox
LeagueAmerican League
BallparkFenway Park
CityBoston, Massachusetts
Record96–59 (.619)
League place2nd (1 GB)
OwnersTom Yawkey
PresidentTom Yawkey
General managersJoe Cronin
ManagersJoe McCarthy
TelevisionWBZ-TV/WNAC-TV
(Jim Britt, Tom Hussey, Bump Hadley)
RadioWHDH
(Jim Britt, Tom Hussey)
StatsESPN.com
BB-reference
Seasons

The 1948 Boston Red Sox season was the 48th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. After 154 regular-season games, the Red Sox and Cleveland Indians finished atop the American League with identical records of 96 wins and 58 losses. The teams then played a tie-breaker game, which was won by Cleveland, 8–3.[1] Thus, the Red Sox finished their season with a record of 96 wins and 59 losses, one game behind Cleveland.

This was the first Red Sox season to be broadcast on television, with broadcasts alternated between WBZ-TV and WNAC-TV, with the same broadcast team regardless of broadcasting station. The first Red Sox game to be broadcast on television was on July 2, 1948, a 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Athletics.[2][3]

Offseason

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.[4]

Notable transactions

  • Prior to 1948 season (exact date unknown)

Regular season

In 1948, Kramer led the American League in winning percentage.[4] 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.[7]

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

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. According to Mel Parnell, McCarthy chose Galehouse on the basis that he pitched well in relief against the Indians in Cleveland, whilst Billy Hitchcock reasoned that McCarthy chose Galehouse on the grounds that Galehouse's slider would keep Cleveland's right-handed hitters away from Fenway's left-field wall.[8]

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.[4] Mel Parnell and Ellis Kinder claimed that they were both ready to pitch.[4]

Season standings

American League W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cleveland Indians 9758 0.626 — 48–30 49–28
Boston Red Sox 9659 0.619 1 55–23 41–36
New York Yankees 9460 0.610 2½ 50–27 44–33
Philadelphia Athletics 8470 0.545 12½ 36–41 48–29
Detroit Tigers 7876 0.506 18½ 39–38 39–38
St. Louis Browns 5994 0.386 37 34–42 25–52
Washington Senators 5697 0.366 40 29–48 27–49
Chicago White Sox 51101 0.336 44½ 27–48 24–53

Record vs. opponents

1948 American League record

Sources:
Team BOS CWS CLE DET NYY PHA SLB WSH
Boston —14–811–1215–714–812–1015–715–7
Chicago 8–14—6–168–146–166–168–13–19–12–1
Cleveland 12–1116–6—13–910–1216–614–8–116–6
Detroit 7–1514–89–13—9–1312–1011–1116–6
New York 8–1416–612–1013–9—12–1016–617–5
Philadelphia 10–1216–66–1610–1210–12—18–414–8
St. Louis 7–1513–8–18–14–111–116–164–18—10–12
Washington 7–1512–9–16–166–165–178–1412–10—

Opening Day lineup

 7Dom DiMaggioCF
 6Johnny Pesky3B
 9Ted WilliamsLF
 2Stan Spence1B
 5Vern StephensSS
 1Bobby Doerr2B
 4Sam MeleRF
 8Birdie TebbettsC
15Joe DobsonP

Roster

1948 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

 Manager

Coaches

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

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
CBirdie Tebbetts128446125.280568
1BBilly Goodman127445138.310166
2BBobby Doerr140527150.28527111
SSVern Stephens155635171.28529137
3BJohnny Pesky143565159.281355
OFTed Williams137509188.36925127
OFStan Spence11439192.2351261
OFDom DiMaggio155648185.285987

Other batters

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 Moses7818949.259229
Sam Mele6618042.233225
Billy Hitchcock4912437.29812
Matt Batts4611837.314124
Jake Jones3610521.20018
Lou Stringer4111.09111
Babe Martin442.50000
Tom Wright321.50000
Neill Sheridan210.00000
Johnny Ostrowski110.00000

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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 Dobson38245.116103.56116
Mel Parnell35212.01583.1477
Jack Kramer29205.01852.3572
Ellis Kinder28178.01073.7453
Mickey Harris20113.27105.3042
Windy McCall11.10120.250

Other pitchers

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 Galehouse27137.1884.0038
Dave Ferriss31115.1735.2330

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Earl Johnson3510454.5345
Tex Hughson153105.126
Harry Dorish90105.655
Earl Caldwell811013.005
Mickey McDermott70006.1717
Chuck Stobbs60006.434
Cot Deal41000.002
Mike Palm30006.001

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Louisville Colonels American Association Nemo Leibold and Owen Scheetz
AA Birmingham Barons Southern Association Fred Walters
A Scranton Red Sox Eastern League Mike Ryba
B Lynn Red Sox New England League Eddie Popowski
B Roanoke Red Sox Piedmont League Pinky Higgins
C El Paso Texans Arizona–Texas League Wally Millies
C Auburn Cayugas Border League Phillip "Barnie" Hearn
C San Jose Red Sox California League Marv Owen
C Oneonta Red Sox Canadian–American League Red Marion
D Milford Red Sox Eastern Shore League Clayton Sheedy
D Oroville Red Sox Far West League Nino Bongiovanni
D Valley Rebels Georgia–Alabama League Jesse Danna
D Wellsville Red Sox PONY League Tom Carey

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Birmingham, Scranton, Oneonta, Milford

Source:[9]: 426 

References

  1. ↑ Wancho, Joseph. "October 4, 1948: Rookie Bearden wins 20th, Boudreau homers twice as Indians win pennant in AL tiebreaker". SABR. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  2. ↑ Nowlin, Bill (2023). Boston Red Sox Firsts: The Players, Moments, and Records that were First in Team History. Essex, Connecticut: Lyons Press. p. 61. ISBN 9781493073382.
  3. ↑ "Philadelphia Athletics vs Boston Red Sox Box Score: July 2, 1948". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Cole, Milton; Kaplan, Jim (2009). The Boston Red Sox: An Illustrated History. North Dighton, Massachusetts: World Publications Group. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-57215-412-4.
  5. ↑ Milt Bolling page at Baseball Reference
  6. ↑ Bob Smith page at Baseball Reference
  7. ↑ Cole, Milton; Kaplan, Jim (2009). The Boston Red Sox: An Illustrated History. North Dighton, Massachusetts: World Publications Group. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-57215-412-4.
  8. ↑ Parker, Gary R. (2002). Win or Go Home: Sudden Death Baseball. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. pp. 73–74. ISBN 0-7864-1096-5.
  9. ↑ Lloyd Johnson; Miles Wolff, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 978-1932391176.
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