1947 Major League Baseball season

Last updated

1947 MLB season
League American League (AL)
National League (NL)
Sport Baseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 15 – September 28, 1947
World Series:
  • September 30 – October 6, 1947
Number of games154
Number of teams16 (8 per league)
Regular season
Season MVP AL: Joe DiMaggio (NYY)
NL: Bob Elliott (BSB)
AL champions New York Yankees
  AL runners-up Detroit Tigers
NL champions Brooklyn Dodgers
  NL runners-up St. Louis Cardinals
World Series
Champions New York Yankees
  Runners-up Brooklyn Dodgers
MLB seasons
Locations of teams for the 1942–1953 American League seasons
ButtonRed.svg American League
Locations of teams for the 1943–1952 National League seasons
ButtonBlue.svg National League

The 1947 major league baseball season began on April 15, 1947. The regular season ended on September 28, with the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 44th World Series on September 30 and ended with Game 7 on October 6. In the second iteration of this Subway Series World Series matchup, the Yankees defeated the Dodgers, four games to three, capturing their 11th championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1943.

Contents

The 14th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played on July 8, hosted by the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, with the American League winning, 2–1.

The 1947 season is most notable as the year that the baseball color line broke, thanks to the Brooklyn Dodgers starting Jackie Robinson on Opening Day. [1]

Integration: Breaking the color line

On April 15, Opening Day for the National League's Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie Robinson was in the Dodgers' lineup, playing first base against the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field. [1] His appearance in a major league game broke the baseball color line, the practice of excluding players of black African descent. Though he endured epithets and death threats, as well as a slow start, his skill would earn him the first ever Rookie of the Year award, named in Robinson's honor 40 years later. [2]

Halfway through the season on July 5, the American League's Cleveland Indians debuted Larry Doby, becoming the first black player in the American League and breaking the AL color line. Doby was a more low-key figure, suffered many of the same indignities that Robinson did, albeit with less press coverage. [3]

Kansas City Monarchs star Willard Brown and teammate Hank Thompson briefly played for the St. Louis Browns, becoming the third and fourth Black players in either the NL or AL, and made the St. Louis Browns the first of either the NL or AL to field two Black players on one roster. Brown was the first black player to hit a home run in the American League.

Schedule

The 1947 schedule consisted of 154 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 22 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place since the 1904 season (except for 1919) and would be used until 1961 in the American League and 1962 in the National League.

Opening Day took place on April 15, featuring all sixteen teams, continuing the trend from 1945. The final day of the regular season was on September 28, which also saw all sixteen teams play, continuing the trend from the previous season. This was the first time since 1940 that all sixteen teams played their first and last games on the same days. The World Series took place between September 30 and October 6.

Teams

LeagueTeamCityStadiumCapacityManager
American League Boston Red Sox Boston, Massachusetts Fenway Park 35,500 Joe Cronin
Chicago White Sox Chicago, Illinois Comiskey Park 47,400 Ted Lyons
Cleveland Indians Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland Stadium 78,811 Lou Boudreau
Detroit Tigers Detroit, Michigan Briggs Stadium 58,000 Steve O'Neill
New York Yankees New York, New York Yankee Stadium 70,000 Bucky Harris
Philadelphia Athletics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 33,166 Connie Mack
St. Louis Browns St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 31,250 Muddy Ruel
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. Griffith Stadium 32,000 Ossie Bluege
National League Boston Braves Boston, Massachusetts Braves Field 36,706 Billy Southworth
Brooklyn Dodgers New York, New York Ebbets Field 34,219 Clyde Sukeforth,
Burt Shotton
Chicago Cubs Chicago, Illinois Wrigley Field 38,396 Charlie Grimm
Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati, Ohio Crosley Field 30,101 Johnny Neun
New York Giants New York, New York Polo Grounds 54,500 Mel Ott
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 33,166 Ben Chapman
Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Forbes Field 33,730 Billy Herman,
Bill Burwell
St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 31,250 Eddie Dyer

Standings

American League

American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 9757.630—55‍–‍2242‍–‍35
Detroit Tigers 8569.5521246‍–‍3139‍–‍38
Boston Red Sox 8371.5391449‍–‍3034‍–‍41
Cleveland Indians 8074.5191738‍–‍3942‍–‍35
Philadelphia Athletics 7876.5061939‍–‍3839‍–‍38
Chicago White Sox 7084.4552732‍–‍4338‍–‍41
Washington Senators 6490.4163336‍–‍4128‍–‍49
St. Louis Browns 5995.3833829‍–‍4830‍–‍47

National League

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Brooklyn Dodgers 9460.610—52‍–‍2542‍–‍35
St. Louis Cardinals 8965.578546‍–‍3143‍–‍34
Boston Braves 8668.558850‍–‍2736‍–‍41
New York Giants 8173.5261345‍–‍3136‍–‍42
Cincinnati Reds 7381.4742142‍–‍3531‍–‍46
Chicago Cubs 6985.4482536‍–‍4333‍–‍42
Philadelphia Phillies 6292.4033238‍–‍3824‍–‍54
Pittsburgh Pirates 6292.4033232‍–‍4530‍–‍47

Postseason

Bracket

World Series
         
AL New York Yankees 5108 2 26 5
NL Brooklyn Dodgers 3 3 93*1 82

*Denotes walk-off

Managerial changes

Off-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
Brooklyn Dodgers Leo Durocher Clyde Sukeforth
Cincinnati Reds Hank Gowdy Johnny Neun
New York Yankees Johnny Neun Bucky Harris
Pittsburgh Pirates Spud Davis Billy Herman
St. Louis Browns Zack Taylor Muddy Ruel

In-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
Brooklyn Dodgers Clyde Sukeforth Burt Shotton
Pittsburgh Pirates Billy Herman Bill Burwell

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Ted Williams 1 (BRS).343
OPS Ted Williams (BRS)1.133
HR Ted Williams 1 (BRS)32
RBI Ted Williams 1 (BRS)114
R Ted Williams (BRS)125
H Johnny Pesky (BRS)207
SB Bob Dillinger (SLB)34

1 American League Triple Crown batting winner

Pitching leaders
StatPlayerTotal
W Bob Feller (CLE)20
L Hal Newhouser (DET)17
ERA Joe Haynes (CWS)2.42
K Bob Feller (CLE)196
IP Bob Feller (CLE)299.0
SV Ed Klieman (CLE)
Joe Page (NYY)		17
WHIP Bob Feller (CLE)1.194

National League

Hitting leaders
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Harry Walker (PHP/ SLC ).363
OPS Ralph Kiner (PIT)1.055
HR Ralph Kiner (PIT)
Johnny Mize (NYG)		51
RBI Johnny Mize (NYG)138
R Johnny Mize (NYG)137
H Tommy Holmes (BSB)191
SB Jackie Robinson (BKN)29
Pitching leaders
StatPlayerTotal
W Ewell Blackwell (CIN)22
L Johnny Schmitz (CHC)18
ERA Warren Spahn (BSB)2.33
K Ewell Blackwell (CIN)193
IP Warren Spahn (BSB)289.2
SV Hugh Casey (BKN)18
WHIP Warren Spahn (BSB)1.136

Awards and honors

Joe DiMaggio (1951) Joe DiMaggio 1951.png
Joe DiMaggio (1951)

Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA AwardNational LeagueAmerican League
Rookie of the Year Jackie Robinson (BKN)—
Most Valuable Player Bob Elliott (BSB) Joe DiMaggio (NYY)

Other awards

The Sporting News Awards
AwardNational LeagueAmerican League
Player of the Year [4] — Ted Williams (BRS)
Rookie of the Year [5] Jackie Robinson (BKN)—
Manager of the Year [6] — Bucky Harris (NYY)
Executive of the Year [7] Branch Rickey (BKN)—

Baseball Hall of Fame

Home field attendance

Team nameWins%±Home attendance%±Per game
New York Yankees [8] 9711.5%2,178,937−3.8%28,298
Brooklyn Dodgers [9] 94−2.1%1,807,5260.6%23,173
New York Giants [10] 8132.8%1,600,79331.2%21,063
Cleveland Indians [11] 8017.6%1,521,97844.0%19,513
Boston Red Sox [12] 83−20.2%1,427,3150.7%17,621
Detroit Tigers [13] 85−7.6%1,398,093−18.8%17,476
Chicago Cubs [14] 69−15.9%1,364,0391.6%17,266
Pittsburgh Pirates [15] 62−1.6%1,283,53171.1%16,247
Boston Braves [16] 866.2%1,277,36131.7%16,589
St. Louis Cardinals [17] 89−9.2%1,247,91317.5%16,207
Philadelphia Athletics [18] 7859.2%911,56646.6%11,687
Philadelphia Phillies [19] 62−10.1%907,332−13.2%11,784
Cincinnati Reds [20] 739.0%899,97525.7%11,688
Chicago White Sox [21] 70−5.4%876,948−10.8%11,693
Washington Senators [22] 64−15.8%850,758−17.2%11,049
St. Louis Browns [23] 59−10.6%320,474−39.1%4,162

Events

April–June

July–September

October–December

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Spatz, Lyle. "April 15, 1947: Jackie Robinson's major league debut". SABR . Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Sports News". Associated Press. July 14, 1987.
  3. ↑ McMurray, John. "Larry Doby". SABR . Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Rookie of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  7. ↑ "MLB Executive of the Year Award | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  8. ↑ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  10. ↑ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  17. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
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