1948 in baseball

Last updated January 28, 2025

The following are the baseball events of the year 1948 throughout the world.

Champions

Major League Baseball

Negro League World Series: Homestead Grays over Birmingham Black Barons (4–1)
World Series: Cleveland Indians over Boston Braves (4–2)
All-Star Game, July 13 at Sportsman's Park: American League, 5–2
Negro League Baseball All-Star Game: West, 3–0

Other champions

Winter Leagues

Club tournaments

Interamerican Series: Buffalo All-Stars

Awards and honors

Statistical leaders

	American League		National League		Negro American League		Negro National League
Stat	Player	Total	Player	Total	Player	Total	Player	Total
AVG	Ted Williams (BRS)	.369	Stan Musial (SLC)	.376	Artie Wilson (BIR)	.433	Lester Lockett (BAL)	.362
HR	Joe DiMaggio (NYY)	39	Ralph Kiner (PIT) Johnny Mize (NYG)	40	Willard Brown (KC)	7	Luke Easter (HOM) Lester Lockett (BAL)	6
RBI	Joe DiMaggio (NYY)	155	Stan Musial (SLC)	131	Willard Brown (KC)	54	Lester Lockett (BAL)	53
W	Hal Newhouser (DET)	21	Johnny Sain (BSB)	24	Jim LaMarque (KC)	9	Bill Byrd (BAL)	10
ERA	Gene Bearden (CLE)	2.43	Harry Brecheen (SLC)	2.24	Ford Smith (KC)	2.43	Bill Ricks (PHS)	1.56
K	Bob Feller (CLE)	164	Harry Brecheen (SLC)	149	Jim LaMarque (KC)	80	Joe Black (BAL)	85

Major league baseball final standings

American League final standings

v
t
e
American League
Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Cleveland Indians	97	58	.626	—	48‍–‍30	49‍–‍28
Boston Red Sox	96	59	.619	1	55‍–‍23	41‍–‍36
New York Yankees	94	60	.610	2½	50‍–‍27	44‍–‍33
Philadelphia Athletics	84	70	.545	12½	36‍–‍41	48‍–‍29
Detroit Tigers	78	76	.506	18½	39‍–‍38	39‍–‍38
St. Louis Browns	59	94	.386	37	34‍–‍42	25‍–‍52
Washington Senators	56	97	.366	40	29‍–‍48	27‍–‍49
Chicago White Sox	51	101	.336	44½	27‍–‍48	24‍–‍53

Red Sox

White Sox

Indians

Tigers

Athletics

Browns

Yankees

Senators

Locations of teams for the 1942–1953 American League seasons

American League

National League final standings

v
t
e
National League
Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Boston Braves	91	62	.595	—	45‍–‍31	46‍–‍31
St. Louis Cardinals	85	69	.552	6½	44‍–‍33	41‍–‍36
Brooklyn Dodgers	84	70	.545	7½	36‍–‍41	48‍–‍29
Pittsburgh Pirates	83	71	.539	8½	47‍–‍31	36‍–‍40
New York Giants	78	76	.506	13½	37‍–‍40	41‍–‍36
Philadelphia Phillies	66	88	.429	25½	32‍–‍44	34‍–‍44
Cincinnati Reds	64	89	.418	27	32‍–‍45	32‍–‍44
Chicago Cubs	64	90	.416	27½	35‍–‍42	29‍–‍48

Braves

Dodgers

Cubs

Reds

Giants

Phillies

Pirates

Cardinals

Locations of teams for the 1943–1952 National League seasons

National League

Negro league baseball final standings

All Negro leagues standings below are per Seamheads.^[1]

Negro American League final standings

vs. Negro American League						vs. Major Black Teams
Negro American League	W	L	T	Pct.	GB	W	L	T	Pct.
⁽¹⁾ Birmingham Black Barons	62	28	2	.685	—	67	40	3	.623
⁽²⁾ Kansas City Monarchs	65	35	3	.646	2	69	37	3	.647
Cleveland Buckeyes	47	53	3	.471	20	50	58	4	.464
Indianapolis Clowns	38	55	5	.413	25½	45	78	7	.373
Memphis Red Sox	42	63	4	.404	27½	49	69	4	.418
Chicago American Giants	35	55	1	.390	27	38	60	2	.390

⁽¹⁾ First half champion ⁽²⁾ Second half champion

Black Barons

American Giants

Clowns

Buckeyes

Monarchs

Red Sox

Locations of teams for the 1948 Negro American League season

Negro American League

Negro National League final standings

This was the sixteenth and final season of the Negro National League. Homestead and Baltimore each won a half of the season. As such, they were matched against each other in the postseason. In the playoffs, Homestead won Games 1 and 2 before a curfew called Game 3 in the ninth inning. Game 4 went to Baltimore, but Homestead had protested that Game 3 should be played from where Game 3 had been stopped (8–4, bases loaded) rather than the start of the ninth inning (tied). The league agreed, but Baltimore refused to play and therefore forfeited.^[2]

vs. Negro National League						vs. Major Black Teams
Negro National League	W	L	T	Pct.	GB	W	L	T	Pct.
⁽²⁾ Homestead Grays	46	24	2	.653	—	58	25	4	.690
⁽¹⁾ Baltimore Elite Giants	49	29	2	.625	1	53	30	2	.635
Newark Eagles	32	29	1	.524	9½	39	34	3	.533
Philadelphia Stars	30	33	2	.477	12½	34	35	3	.493
New York Cubans	19	29	1	.398	16	30	31	1	.492
New York Black Yankees	9	41	0	.180	27	13	48	0	.213

⁽¹⁾ First half champion ⁽²⁾ Second half champion

Elite Giants

Grays

Black Yankees

Cubans

Eagles

Stars

Locations of teams for the 1948 Negro National League season

Negro National League
Notes: Homestead Grays played in both Washington, D.C. and Pittsburgh, with the majority in Washington, D.C.
New York Black Yankees played in both Rochester and New York, with the majority in Rochester.

Negro league postseason

1948 was the 23rd and final time that there was a "Playoff Series" held between black baseball teams. 1913 is retroactively the only one not in the major league era of Negro league baseball (1920–1948). 1948 is the only time that saw both the American and National League hold a postseason series to determine the pennant (Major League Baseball would not hold such a format for 21 years).^[3]^[4]

Negro American League Championship Series: Birmingham Black Barons over Kansas City Monarchs 4–3 (one tie).
Negro National League Championship Series: Homestead Grays over Baltimore Elite Giants 2–1 (one forfeit).
1948 Negro World Series: Homestead Grays over Birmingham Black Barons 4–1.

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League final standings

Eastern Division

Rank	Team	W	L	Pct.	GB
1	Grand Rapids Chicks	77	48	.616	—
2	Muskegon Lassies	67	58	.536	10
3	South Bend Blue Sox	57	69	.452	20+1⁄2
4	Fort Wayne Daisies	53	73	.421	24+1⁄2
5	Chicago Colleens	47	77	.379	29+1⁄2

Western Division

Rank	Team	W	L	Pct.	GB
1	Racine Belles	77	49	.616	—
2	Rockford Peaches	75	50	.600	1+1⁄2
3	Peoria Redwings	71	55	.563	6
4	Kenosha Comets	62	64	.421	15
5	Springfield Sallies	41	84	.328	35+1⁄2

Events

January

January 27 – The Cleveland Indians obtain center fielder Thurman Tucker from the Chicago White Sox for catcher Ralph Weigel. Tucker will start 54 games in center for Cleveland in 1948, second only to future Hall-of-Famer Larry Doby.
January 30 – Herb Pennock, general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies since 1944, dies suddenly at age 53 from a cerebral hemorrhage after he collapses in a hotel lobby in New York City. Pennock was also a star southpaw pitcher who won 241 games for three American League teams, most notably the New York Yankees, between 1912 and 1934. Club president R. R. M. Carpenter Jr. takes on the Phillies' GM portfolio.

February

February 7 – The Philadelphia Phillies trade outfielder Johnny Wyrostek and cash to the Cincinnati Reds for 1947 National League All-Star shortstop Eddie Miller.
February 12 – The Philadelphia Athletics sign veteran free-agent slugger Rudy York, released ten days earlier by the Chicago White Sox.
February 24 – In George Weiss' first major trade since his appointment as general manager of the New York Yankees on October 7, 1947, he deals catcher Aaron Robinson and pitchers Bill Wight and Fred Bradley to the Chicago White Sox for left-handed starting pitcher Ed Lopat. The 29-year-old Lopat has posted a 50–49 won–lost record, with a 3.18 earned run average, in 113 games for Chicago since 1944; in 7½ seasons with the Yankees, he will go 113–59 (3.19) and win five World Series rings.
February 27 – Pitcher Herb Pennock, who died January 30, and third baseman Pie Traynor are elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

March

March 6 – The Boston Braves obtain starting second baseman Eddie Stanky from the Brooklyn Dodgers for infielder/outfielder Bama Rowell, first baseman Ray Sanders, and $40,000. When it's determined that Sanders was injured when the deal was made, he's returned to Boston on April 18, and the Braves compensate Brooklyn with $60,000 in additional cash. Until an ankle fracture sidelines him July 8, the combative Stanky will spark the 1948 Braves into contention for the National League pennant.
March 17 – Bama Rowell's stay in Brooklyn lasts only 11 days when the Dodgers sell his contract to the Philadelphia Phillies.
March 26 – After one season with the St. Louis Browns, catcher Jake Early returns to the Washington Senators via a cash transaction. The lefty-swinging receiver made the 1943 American League All-Star team as a Senator.
March 29 – The Philadelphia Phillies claim pitcher Ed Heusser, 38, off waivers from the Brooklyn Dodgers. Heusser went 19–3 (2.73) in 1947 for the Triple-A Montreal Royals.
March 30 – The Pacific Coast League (PCL) integrates, as catcher/third baseman Johnny Ritchey of the San Diego Padres pinch hits against the Los Angeles Angels. Ritchey is a former member of the Chicago American Giants who had batted .324 in 1947. He never plays in the American or National leagues, but spends seven years in the PCL.

April

April 3 – The Cleveland Indians purchase the contract of right-handed relief pitcher Russ Christopher from the Philadelphia Athletics. Christopher, 30, will save 17 games for the pennant-bound Indians, most in the American League. A childhood victim of rheumatic fever that permanently weakened his heart, Christopher will retire from baseball after the 1948 World Series with a championship ring.
April 7 – The Philadelphia Phillies acquire Dick Sisler from the St. Louis Cardinals for infielder Ralph LaPointe and $30,000. A part-time player in St. Louis, Sisler, 27, will win a regular job in Philadelphia as a left-fielder and first baseman, and his home run in extra-innings against the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field on October 1, 1950, will deliver only the second pennant in Phillies history.
April 18:
- At Yankee Stadium, 62,369 fans—the largest ever for an exhibition game—watch the Brooklyn Dodgers edge the New York Yankees, 5–3.
- Before 26,663 fans at Fenway Park, the Boston Braves salvage a victory in the three-game exhibition series with the Boston Red Sox, winning 3–2 behind a solid pitching performance from Warren Spahn.
- The St. Louis Cardinals re-sign outfielder Joe Medwick. The future Hall-of-Famer, 37, had spent 1947 with the Redbirds, his second tour of duty with the club, batting .307 in 75 games as a backup outfielder and pinch-hitter, but was released October 14. Medwick will appear as a pinch hitter in 20 games this season for the Cardinals until July 25, when he opts to retire.
April 19 – In a duel of Baseball Hall of Fame managers, Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics spoil Joe McCarthy's debut as pilot of the Boston Red Sox by sweeping an Opening Day doubleheader, 5–4 and 4–2, at Fenway Park. McCarthy is returning to baseball after retiring from the New York Yankees on May 23, 1946.
April 20 – George Vico of the Detroit Tigers hits a home run off the very first pitch he sees in the majors. In doing so, he became the fifth player in major league history to accomplish the feat.
April 21 – Leo Durocher of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who returned from his one-year suspension one day earlier, uses 24 players, a new MLB record, in a 9–5 loss to the New York Giants.
April 25 – Ted Kluszewski of the Cincinnati Reds hits the first home run of his distinguished career, a three-run shot off the Pittsburgh Pirates' Hal Gregg.

May

May 3 – The Brooklyn Dodgers release third baseman Cookie Lavagetto, ending his MLB playing career. Lavagetto, 35, hasn't appeared in an official game for the 1948 Dodgers, but he leaves behind an indelible memory in his final MLB hit: his pinch double against Bill Bevens that spoiled Bevens' no-hitter and delivered a 3–2 Brooklyn victory in the ninth inning of Game 4 of the 1947 World Series.
May 11 – The Boston Braves and Cincinnati Reds exchange outfielders, with righthanded-handed hitting Danny Litwhiler going to Cincinnati for lefty-swinging Marv Rickert, assigned to Triple-A Milwaukee. Rickert will be called to Boston in late September to replace Braves' left-fielder Jeff Heath, when Heath's broken ankle keeps him out of the 1948 World Series.
May 16 – Pete Gray, one-armed outfielder with the 1945 St. Louis Browns, starts his comeback with Class A Elmira.
May 23 – When the 12–19 Cincinnati Reds, who've been the National League's cellar-dwellers since May 9, defeat the defending NL champion Brooklyn Dodgers 6–5 at Ebbets Field, they drop the 11–18 Dodgers into last place in the Senior Circuit. It's Brooklyn's eighth straight loss. The Dodgers will once again fall into the NL basement May 26 at 12–19 before a four-game win streak boosts them into seventh place, but their early-season struggles bode ominously for the future of manager Leo Durocher.
May 27 – With their fifth straight victory, 7–3 over the Washington Senators at Griffith Stadium, the 22–10 Philadelphia Athletics take over first place in the American League, jumping over the 19–9 Cleveland Indians. In 1946, Connie Mack's outfit had gone 49–105 and finished last for the sixth time in seven years.

June

June 2 – The Cleveland Indians trade pitcher Al Gettel and outfielder Pat Seerey to the Chicago White Sox for outfielder Bob Kennedy.
June 4 – At Griffith Stadium, the visiting Indians break a scoreless deadlock with a five-run 15th inning to defeat the Washington Senators, 5–0. Cleveland hits two triples (struck by Joe Gordon and Wally Judnich) during their winning rally. Though technically trailing the 27–14 Philadelphia Athletics by half a game in the standings, 24–12 Cleveland holds first place in the American League by .008.
June 7 – The Chicago Cubs claim infielder Gene Mauch off waivers from the Brooklyn Dodgers.
June 13 – Appearing at Yankee Stadium just nine weeks before his death, the legendary Babe Ruth is honored by the New York Yankees in an emotional pre-game ceremony and his jersey number 3 is retired. This will be his final appearance at "The House That Ruth Built", which is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
June 14 – Allowing three inherited runners to score, then two more runs of his own making, in only one-third of an inning—and costing the Philadelphia Athletics a ballgame to the lowly St. Louis Browns—Philadelphia relief pitcher Nels Potter is "fired" by his livid, 85-year-old manager, Connie Mack, in front of his teammates in the clubhouse.^[5] With his unconditional release, free-agent Potter takes his services to the Boston Braves, whom he helps win the 1948 National League pennant.
June 15 – The first-place Cleveland Indians swap left-handers with the poverty-stricken, seventh-place Browns, acquiring Sam Zoldak from St. Louis for Bill Kennedy and $100,000. Zoldak will win nine games for Cleveland through season's end, including four during the heat of September's pennant race.
June 29 – The Boston Braves sign teenaged "bonus baby" Johnny Antonelli, a left-handed pitcher out of a Rochester, New York, high school. His $50,000 bonus means that Antonelli must be kept on the Braves' MLB roster—and it rankles established Boston pitchers like Johnny Sain whose salaries are puny by comparison.^[6]
June 30 – Bob Lemon fires a no-hitter as the Cleveland Indians defeat the Detroit Tigers, 2–0.

July

July 4 – Scoring 14 runs in the eighth inning, the Boston Red Sox break a five-all tie to overwhelm the Philadelphia Athletics 19–5 at Fenway Park. The win lifts the talented but slow-starting Red Sox to 33–32; they had been 15–24 as recently as June 2.
July 7 – The Cleveland Indians sign right-hander Leroy "Satchel" Paige, 41, legendary Negro league pitcher since his 1927 debut with the Birmingham Black Barons, and "a man who became bigger than the game ... [who] quickly became the biggest drawing-card in Negro baseball, able to overpower batters with a buggy-whipped fastball." ^[7] He will pitch in formerly segregated "Organized Baseball" into 1966, and even hurl three scoreless innings in an official American League game at age 58 on September 25, 1965. Paige will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971.
July 8 – Boston Braves second baseman Eddie Stanky breaks his right ankle sliding into third base in the third inning of a 7–4 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. Batting .325 as a key contributor to the Braves' first-place showing so far, Stanky will not be able to return to the regular lineup until September 28.
July 13:
- At Sportsman's Park, home of the St. Louis Browns, the American League defeats the National League, 5–2, in the All-Star Game. The Junior Circuit overcomes a first-inning, 2–0 deficit to seize the victory, with winning pitcher Vic Raschi also delivering a two-run single that ices the AL's triumph.
- Standings at All-Star break reveal surprises in each league. The 46–31 Boston Braves, pennant-less since 1914, lead the National League by 5½ games over the 39–35 Pittsburgh Pirates, who finished seventh in 1947. The defending champion Brooklyn Dodgers are languishing 8½ games behind Boston. In the American League, the 45–28 Cleveland Indians lead the formerly downtrodden Philadelphia Athletics (48–32) by a half-game, with the New York Yankees 1½ games back at 44–32. Cleveland has not captured a league title since 1920.

July 16:
- New York City’s National League arch-enemies share front-page headlines with the Cold War, conflict in the Middle East, and the upcoming U.S. Presidential election, when the Giants and Dodgers engage in a stunning game of managerial musical chairs.^[8]^[9]
  - Mel Ott, a future Hall-of-Fame slugger who has worn a Giant uniform since his debut at age 17 in 1926, steps down from the managing post he has held since Opening Day 1942. Ott, now 39, has skippered the Giants through a rare period of mediocrity in their so-far illustrious history. When he quits, his 1948 team is 37–38 (.493), tied for fifth place, and 8½ games behind the NL-leading Boston Braves. Ott departs with a 464–530–10 (.467) mark over 6½ seasons—and two last-place finishes. He moves into a front-office job, and never again manages in the majors.^[10]
  - In an even greater shock, Brooklyn’s pilot, Leo Durocher, is let out of his two-year contract to take Ott’s place at the Polo Grounds, where he has been reviled as an implacable foe. Despite his recent, year-long suspension for “conduct detrimental to baseball” that sidelined him during 1947, Durocher, 42, has been the face of the Dodgers’ rise to hard-playing pennant contender since he became player-manager in 1939. He has led the Dodgers to a 738–565–15 (.566) overall record and the 1941 NL championship, but his 1948 club, expected to defend its 1947 pennant, was a disappointing 35–37 (.486) under his command.^[11] In his last game in a Brooklyn uniform, he directed the 1948 NL All-Stars to a 5–2 defeat on July 13. Under Durocher, this year’s Giants will show only slight improvement, with a 41–38 mark, but by 1951—after a roster makeover inspired by Durocher's brand of aggressive baseball—they will battle the Dodgers in one of the greatest late-season pennant races in baseball annals.
  - The Dodgers replace Durocher by calling Burt Shotton, 63, a longtime associate of Brooklyn president and general manager Branch Rickey, back into harness as their skipper. As acting manager of the 1947 Dodgers during Durocher’s suspension, Shotton presided over a team that won 92 of the 152 games on his watch, captured the NL pennant by five games, and pushed the New York Yankees to seven games in the 1947 World Series. The colorful Durocher’s polar opposite—for example, because Shotton refuses to wear a uniform, he must remain in the Brooklyn dugout during games and can't take the field to dispute umpires' decisions—he will revive the 1948 Dodgers, who finish third. Then they win another pennant under him in 1949, and just miss a third title in 1950, before he’s fired in the wake of Rickey’s ouster from the team’s front office.^[12]
- The Philadelphia Phillies, 37–42 (.468) and seventh in the National League, also change managers, firing Ben Chapman and putting coach Dusty Cooke in charge on an interim basis. Chapman, former Yankees' outfielder of the 1930s, has compiled a 196–276–2 record since becoming the club's skipper June 30, 1945. His tenure will become notorious when the 1947 Phillies, led by Chapman, hurl racist barbs to ruthlessly bench-jockey Jackie Robinson during an April series at Ebbets Field.^[13]
July 18 – Chicago White Sox left fielder Pat Seerey hits four home runs in a game against the Philadelphia Athletics, to become the fifth Major League player to do so. The White Sox win, 12–11, in 11 innings.
July 22 – Two weeks after losing Eddie Stanky to a broken ankle for at least 60 days, the NL-leading Boston Braves absorb another blow when regular centerfielder Jim Russell is hospitalized in Cincinnati, suffering from unexplained weight loss and a high fever. Eventually diagnosed with subacute bacterial endocarditis, Russell appears in only seven more games in 1948, and none after August 10. He recovers over the winter, however, and is able to appear in 130 games in 1949.^[14]
July 24 – Four members of the Duluth Dukes of the Class C Northern League are killed and 14 are injured when the team bus collides with a truck on a highway near St. Paul, Minnesota. The driver of the truck is also killed. Injured players include Mel McGaha, a future major league manager, and Elmer Schoendienst, younger brother of St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Red Schoendienst. The tragedy recalls the 1946 bus crash involving the Spokane Indians, which took the lives of nine players.^[15]
July 25 – Joe Dobson tosses a six-hitter and Dom DiMaggio and Bobby Doerr provide the runs batted in, as the scorching Boston Red Sox shut down the Cleveland Indians 3–0 to grab a share of first place in the American League. The Bosox have won 39 of their last 51 games dating to June 3, and will remain in the pennant hunt for the rest of the AL campaign.
July 27 – Eddie Sawyer replaces interim boss Dusty Cooke as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. Sawyer, 37, has worked with many of the younger Philadelphia players as skipper of their high level farm clubs at Utica and Toronto.

August

August 2 – The St. Louis Cardinals amass 20 hits and thrash the New York Giants, 21–5, at the Polo Grounds. Backup catcher Del Wilber drives in five runs.
August 3 – The Chicago Cubs acquire veteran second baseman Emil Verban from the Phillies on waivers. Verban, 32, will bat .280 in 199 games with the Cubs through September 12, 1950, and gain a measure of immortality in 1975 when a group of Chicago fans in Washington, D.C., christen themselves "the Emil Verban Society".
August 5 – The seventh-place Cincinnati Reds (44–56 and 13½ games out of first) dismiss second-year manager Johnny Neun and replace him with former ace starting pitcher Bucky Walters. With 1939's National League Most Valuable Player at the helm, the Reds win only 20 of the 53 remaining games on their schedule.
August 12 – In the second game of a doubleheader, the Cleveland Indians rap out 29 hits in a 26–3 win over the St. Louis Browns. The Indians set a major league record as 14 different players hit safely. Rookie knuckle-baller Gene Bearden improves his pitching record to 11–3 (2.56 ERA). The Tribe's split of the twin bill puts them a half-game behind the front-running Philadelphia Athletics.
August 16 – Babe Ruth, arguably the greatest player in baseball history, dies from cancer in New York City at the age of 53. On August 17, his open casket is placed on display in the rotunda of Yankee Stadium, where it remains for two days; 77,000 people file past to pay him tribute.
August 18 – Rex Barney of the Brooklyn Dodgers one-hits the Philadelphia Phillies, 1–0, at Shibe Park. Putsy Caballero's fifth-inning single is the home side's only hit, while Barney issues three walks. Brooklyn's only run off Robin Roberts comes in the top of the first; it's unearned.
August 21 – The second Little League World Series tournament is held in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Lock Haven All Stars of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania defeated the St. Petersburg All Stars of St. Petersburg, Florida in the championship game, by a score of 5–4.
August 25 – At Forbes Field, the visiting Brooklyn Dodgers lead the Pittsburgh Pirates 11–9 in the bottom of the ninth, two out, and two men on. Reliever Carl Erskine enters the game to face Bucs' pinch hitter Eddie Bockman. With the count three balls, one strike, the Dodgers replace Erskine with Hank Behrman, and Bockman grounds out to seemingly end the game in a Brooklyn triumph. But Pirates' manager Billy Meyer protests that the Dodgers have violated Rule 17, Section 4, which mandates that a non-injured hurler (Erskine) must face at least one hitter for a full at bat before he can be removed from the game.^[16] His protest is upheld by NL president Ford Frick. When the game is resumed September 21 at Ebbets Field, Bockman takes ball four from Behrman, loading the bases, before Pirate shortstop Stan Rojek clears them with a triple, and Pittsburgh claims a 12–11 victory. Erskine is charged with walking Bockman, and the loss.^[17]
August 26 – The Boston Red Sox take the "rubber game" of a three-contest series at Fenway Park, defeating the Cleveland Indians, 8–4, behind Mel Parnell's tenth victory and future Hall-of-Famer Bobby Doerr's eighth-inning, tie-breaking three-run homer. In winning, the Red Sox take a half-game lead over the Indians and a one-game advantage over the New York Yankees in the American League race; all three clubs are tied in loss column with 47 setbacks.
August 29–30 — Disrupting the National League's pennant race, the visiting Dodgers sweep consecutive-day doubleheaders from the St. Louis Cardinals at Sportsman's Park. Brooklyn's four victories, coupled with the Boston Braves' three straight defeats at the hands of the Pirates in Pittsburgh, enable the Dodgers (68–51) to leapfrog both Boston (69–55) and St. Louis (67–57) to take the lead in the Senior Circuit. Under Burt Shotton, who returned to the manager's post July 16, Brooklyn has gone 32–14.

September

September 1 – After a poor (14–17) August that costs them the National League lead, then dropping the opening game of today's Crosley Field doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds, the Boston Braves capture the nightcap, 11–1, behind pitchers Glenn Elliott and Clyde Shoun. The victory kicks off a 16–2 run that boosts the Braves back into first place on September 3; by the time the hot streak ends on September 22, Boston holds a commanding 7½-game lead in the NL.

September 6 – Labor Day doubleheaders increase the odds for an "all-Boston" World Series. In the American League, the Red Sox sweep the Washington Senators at Griffith Stadium, while the contending New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians split their twin bills. In the National, the Braves sweep their nearest rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers, at Braves Field: Warren Spahn throws a 14-inning complete game in the opener for a 2–1 triumph; and in Game 2, Johnny Sain holds the Dodgers off the scoreboard and gets credit for a six-inning, 4–0 triumph when the contest is halted by darkness. In the AL, the 82–48 Red Sox lead the 81–50 Yankees by 1½ and 78–53 Cleveland by 4½. In the Senior Circuit, the 76–57 Braves lead 70–59 Brooklyn by four lengths, with the 68–58 Pittsburgh Pirates and 70–60 St. Louis Cardinals each 4½ games back.^[18]
September 9 – Rex Barney of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitches a 2–0 no-hitter over the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds.
September 13 – Cleveland Indians pitcher Don Black, 32, is rushed to St. Vincent Charity Hospital after he suffers a cerebral hemorrhage while batting during the second inning of a home game against the St. Louis Browns. Collapsing to his knees, he loses consciousness after teammates assist him to the dugout.^[19] On September 22, Cleveland owner Bill Veeck organizes "Don Black Night" at Municipal Stadium. Black's teammates pay for their own tickets to the contest, over 76,000 attend and $40,000 is raised for the pitcher's medical care.^[20] After being hospitalized for a month, Black recovers from the ordeal and attends spring training in 1949, but he will never pitch again in the majors.
September 16 – New York Yankees general manager George Weiss denies persistent reports that he is at odds with field manager Bucky Harris over the issue of minor-league player call-ups. Harris, who led the 1947 Bombers to their 11th world championship and 15th AL pennant, also issues a denial, and says he's focusing on guiding the 1948 Yankees, who today are only one game out of first place, to another World Series. He adds: "If, after the season is over, regardless of the outcome, Mr. Topping, Mr. Webb and Mr. Weiss decide not to re-engage me as manager, that is OK with me."^[21] After his Yankees win 94 games but finish 2½ games out of the lead when the 1948 campaign ends October 3, Harris' contract is not renewed.
September 22:
- En route to the finest season of his Hall-of-Fame career, Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals posts his fourth five-hit game of 1948 in an 8–2 victory over league-leading Boston at Braves Field. In those four games (April 22, May 19, June 22, and today), Musial has lashed 20 hits in 21 at bats (for a batting average of .952) with four doubles, a triple, and two homers, scored 11 runs, and driven in ten. In today's game, Musial swings at only five pitches—and racks up a homer, a double, and three singles; he also ties Ty Cobb's record for most five-hit games in a single season, set in 1922.^[22]
- On "Don Black Night," the homestanding Cleveland Indians score three first-inning runs and never look back, as they pay tribute to their stricken teammate by defeating the Boston Red Sox and climbing into a tie with the Bosox for the American League lead. Ken Keltner's two-run homer is the big blow, Bob Feller goes the distance for his 17th victory, and Cleveland wins its seventh in a row.
September 24 – In the Bronx, Billy Johnson clouts a three-run pinch homer to help his New York Yankees defeat the Boston Red Sox, 9–6. With Cleveland falling to the Detroit Tigers, 4–3, there's now a three-way tie among the Yankees, Red Sox and Indians for the AL pennant. Each team sports a 91–56 record with seven to play.
September 26 – At Braves Field, Bob Elliott hits a three-run homer powering the Boston Braves to a 3–2 triumph over the New York Giants, and clinching the Braves' first National League pennant since 1914.
September 27 – The Washington Senators acquire Clyde Vollmer from the Cincinnati Reds for fellow outfielder Carden Gillenwater.
September 29 – Only one day after getting Eddie Stanky back into their lineup after he fractured his right ankle July 8, the National League champion Boston Braves suffer another major injury. Left fielder Jeff Heath is lost for the World Series when he sustains a compound fracture of his left ankle; like Stanky's, Heath's injury comes at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field during a slide. Heath had batted .319 with 20 home runs in 115 games for Boston; in the Series, his place will be taken by lefty-swinging Marv Rickert and the right-handed Mike McCormick.
September 30 – The New York Yankees purchase the contract of Gene Woodling from San Francisco of the Pacific Coast League. Woodling, 26, will win five World Series rings (1949–1953) as a member of the Yankees' outfield "platoon."

October

October 1–3 – The final weekend of the American League's intense pennant race sees the second-place Boston Red Sox catch the front-running Cleveland Indians on the season's final day to force the first tie-breaker game in the AL's 48-year history.
- On Friday, October 1, Cleveland (95–56 to begin the day) falls to the visiting Detroit Tigers, 5–3, while the Red Sox and New York Yankees (both 94–58) are idle. The Indians' 57th loss of the year cuts their lead to one full game.
- On October 2, the Red Sox eliminate the Yankees from contention with a 5–1 victory at Fenway Park; Jack Kramer earns the win, and Ted Williams' 25th home run is the winning blow. Meanwhile, Cleveland maintains its one-game lead when Gene Bearden throws his second-straight shutout in an 8–0 blanking of the Tigers.
- On Sunday, October 3, the Red Sox trounce the Yankees, 10–5, to end the regular season 96–58. Meanwhile, Detroit's Hal Newhouser, a future Hall of Famer, holds the Indians to five hits and a single run, and their 7–1 setback drops the Tribe, now 96–58, into a dead heat with the Red Sox for the AL pennant. Boston wins a coin toss and will host a single-game playoff the next day.
October 3 – The AL's cellar-dwellers, the Chicago White Sox, dismiss former pitching great Ted Lyons as their manager and appoint longtime baseball man Jack Onslow, 59, their new pilot for 1949. Lyons, who won 260 games over 21 years in a White Sox uniform, had compiled a 185–245–4 (.430) record since taking the club's helm May 26, 1946.
October 4:
- Shortstop-manager Lou Boudreau goes four-for-four with two solo home runs and three runs scored, Ken Keltner adds a two-run shot, and Gene Bearden wins his 20th game, pitching a complete game with two days' rest, as the Cleveland Indians defeat the Boston Red Sox, 8–3, in a one-game showdown at Fenway Park. The Indians win the second AL pennant in their history and first since 1920. The Red Sox' defeat disappoints local fans who have been rooting for an "All-Boston" World Series matchup with the National League Braves. It's the second time such an event has been thwarted: in 1891, the NL champion Boston Beaneaters refused to meet the American Association champion Boston Reds in a proposed "world series" due to inter-league squabbling over player contracts.
- The Chicago Cubs trade two-time NL home-run and RBI champion (1943, 1944) Bill "Swish" Nicholson to the Philadelphia Phillies for fellow outfielder and former National League batting king (1947) Harry Walker.
October 6 – The 1948 World Series opens at Braves Field with the Cleveland Indians' Bob Feller throwing a two-hitter—but he loses the contest, 1–0, when Boston's Phil Masi is ruled safe at second base on a disputed pick-off play in the eighth inning. Masi then scores the game's only run on a single by Tommy Holmes. A still photo of the pick-off later reveals Masi is "out by a foot".^[23] Johnny Sain hurls a complete game four-hitter.
October 8 – The St. Louis Cardinals release centerfielder Terry Moore, a fixture in their lineup since 1935 (excluding his three years of World War II service). Moore, 35, will remain with the Cardinals as a member of Eddie Dyer's coaching staff.
October 9:
- In World Series Game 4 at Cleveland Stadium, Larry Doby's solo homer in the third inning is the margin of victory as the Indians defeat the Boston Braves, 2–1, behind Steve Gromek and push the Braves to the brink of elimination. Doby becomes the first black player to hit a home run in a World Series.
- The Chicago White Sox name Frank Lane general manager, succeeding Leslie O'Connor. Lane, 53, a former farm system director of the Cincinnati Reds, has largely been a minor-league executive over his career and spent 1948 as president of the Triple-A American Association. He will soon earn the nicknames "Frantic Frank" and "Trader Lane" for his penchant for constant roster-churning, but his transactions will revitalize the White Sox.
October 11:
- The Cleveland Indians defeat the Boston Braves, 4–3, in Game 6 to capture the second World Series in team history, four games to two. Bob Lemon earns his second win of the series, with rookie sensation Gene Bearden, who threw a complete-game shutout victory in Game 3, gaining a save in relief. Through 2024, the Indians have yet to win another Fall Classic.
- The Chicago Cubs sell the contract of pitcher Russ Meyer to the Philadelphia Phillies.
October 12 – Confirming rumors that have swirled for a week, the New York Yankees hire Casey Stengel, 58, to replace Bucky Harris as their manager, beginning with the 1949 season.^[24] Stengel's Oakland Oaks won the 1948 Pacific Coast League title, but his major-league managerial record to date has been subpar: 581–742–10 (.439) over nine seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1934–1936) and Boston Bees/Braves (1938–1943), and one over-.500 campaign.^[25]

November

November 6 – The Detroit Tigers fire manager Steve O'Neill, at the helm since 1943, and replace him with former New York Yankees stalwart third baseman Red Rolfe, who had been Detroit's farm system director. O'Neill's 1945 Tigers won a pennant and World Series; Rolfe has five Fall Classic rings (1936–1939, 1941) from a decade spent with the Yankees.
November 10 – In a move that will give them their pitching ace for the next decade, the Chicago White Sox acquire left hander Billy Pierce from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for former All-Star catcher Aaron Robinson. Detroit sweetens the deal by adding $10,000 in cash. Pierce, 21, will win 186 games for the White Sox over the next 13 years and make seven All-Star teams, while Robinson will last fewer than three seasons in Detroit.
November 25 – Lou Boudreau, 31-year-old shortstop and player-manager of the world champion Cleveland Indians, wins the 1948 American League Most Valuable Player Award; he earns 22 of 24 first-place votes and bests runner-up Joe DiMaggio by 81 points in BBWAA balloting. Boudreau batted .355 with 199 hits, 18 homers (including a pair in the AL's pennant-clinching tie-breaker game), and 106 runs batted in. Using the post-1980s metric of wins above replacement, Boudreau's 1948 WAR of 10.4 leads the Junior Circuit.
November 26 – National League president Ford Frick steps in and pays $350 for funeral services, including the cost of a coffin, for the unclaimed body of former Chicago Cubs slugger Hack Wilson, who led the NL in home runs four times between 1926 and 1930, and in the latter year bashed 56 homers (an NL record that stood for 68 years) and drove in 191 runs (still the MLB RBI all-time record). An alcoholic, Wilson died penniless at age 48 on November 23 after a fall at his Baltimore home; his body lies unidentified for three days in a mortuary.^[26]

December

December 2 – Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals is selected 1948's National League Most Valuable Player. Setting personal bests in almost every category, Musial led the NL in batting average (.376), runs (135), hits (230), doubles (46), triples (18), RBI (131), on-base percentage (.450), slugging percentage (.702), OPS (1.152), total bases (.429), and WAR (11.3). Musial, 28, wins his third MVP trophy since 1943. Pitcher Johnny Sain of the Boston Braves finishes second in the balloting, 80 points behind the St. Louis star.
December 3 – The New York Yankees release veteran shortstop Frankie Crosetti, ending his 17-year playing career. He will remain with the team as third-base coach through the 1968 season.
December 8 – The Pittsburgh Pirates trade young pitcher Cal McLish and three-time NL All-Star third baseman Frankie Gustine to the Chicago Cubs for southpaw Cliff Chambers and catcher Clyde McCullough.
December 13 – In one of their rare missteps, the New York Yankees acquire right-hander Fred Sanford and catcher Roy Partee from the St. Louis Browns for pitchers Red Embree and Dick Starr, catcher Sherm Lollar and $100,000. The Yankees believe that Sanford, a hard thrower who'd lost 21 games for the lowly Browns, will transform into a consistent winner in 1949, but the pitcher quickly loses new manager Casey Stengel's confidence.^[27] Lollar, 24, has been stuck behind Yogi Berra in New York, but given the chance to play regularly in St. Louis, then Chicago, he will join Berra as one of the American League's top catchers of the 1950s.
December 14:
- The world-champion Cleveland Indians add to their starting pitching strength by obtaining future Hall-of-Fame right-hander Early Wynn from the Washington Senators, along with first baseman and former AL batting king Mickey Vernon, for pitchers Joe Haynes and Ed Klieman and first baseman Eddie Robinson. Playing for mostly poor teams, Wynn has compiled a 72–87 won–lost mark and 3.94 earned run average in 191 games for Washington since his 1939 debut; over the next nine years in Cleveland, he will win 20 or more games five times and average 18 victories a season.
- The Chicago Cubs trade pitcher Hank Borowy and first baseman Eddie Waitkus to the Philadelphia Phillies for hurlers Monk Dubiel and Dutch Leonard.
December 15 – "Pistol Pete" Reiser's once-brilliant tenure as the centerfielder of the Brooklyn Dodgers comes to an end when he's traded to the Boston Braves for infielder Nanny Fernandez and outfielder Mike McCormick. Reiser was one of the game's brightest young stars of the pre-World War II era, but a series of serious injuries, most of them caused by his fearless outfield play, took a heavy, career-altering toll on him.^[28]

Movies

The Babe Ruth Story