1949 in baseball

Last updated February 23, 2025

The following are the baseball events of the year 1949 throughout the world.

Champions

Major League Baseball

World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers (4–1)
All-Star Game, July 12 at Ebbets Field: American League, 11–7

Caribbean leagues

Club tournaments

Other champions

Awards and honors

Baseball Hall of Fame
Most Valuable Player
- Ted Williams (AL)
- Jackie Robinson (NL)
Rookie of the Year
- Roy Sievers (AL)
- Don Newcombe (NL)
The Sporting News Player of the Year Award
- Ted Williams (AL) – OF, Boston Red Sox
The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award
- Casey Stengel (AL) – New York Yankees

Statistical leaders

	American League		National League
Stat	Player	Total	Player	Total
AVG	George Kell (DET)	.343	Jackie Robinson (BKN)	.342
HR	Ted Williams (BRS)	43	Ralph Kiner (PIT)	54
RBI	Vern Stephens (BRS) Ted Williams (BRS)	159	Ralph Kiner (PIT)	127
W	Mel Parnell (BRS)	25	Warren Spahn (BSB)	21
ERA	Mike Garcia (CLE)	2.36	Dave Koslo (NYG)	2.50
K	Virgil Trucks (DET)	153	Warren Spahn (BSB)	151

Major league baseball final standings

American League final standings

v
t
e
American League
Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	97	57	.630	—	54‍–‍23	43‍–‍34
Boston Red Sox	96	58	.623	1	61‍–‍16	35‍–‍42
Cleveland Indians	89	65	.578	8	49‍–‍28	40‍–‍37
Detroit Tigers	87	67	.565	10	50‍–‍27	37‍–‍40
Philadelphia Athletics	81	73	.526	16	52‍–‍25	29‍–‍48
Chicago White Sox	63	91	.409	34	32‍–‍45	31‍–‍46
St. Louis Browns	53	101	.344	44	36‍–‍41	17‍–‍60
Washington Senators	50	104	.325	47	26‍–‍51	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
Brooklyn Dodgers	97	57	.630	—	48‍–‍29	49‍–‍28
St. Louis Cardinals	96	58	.623	1	51‍–‍26	45‍–‍32
Philadelphia Phillies	81	73	.526	16	40‍–‍37	41‍–‍36
Boston Braves	75	79	.487	22	43‍–‍34	32‍–‍45
New York Giants	73	81	.474	24	43‍–‍34	30‍–‍47
Pittsburgh Pirates	71	83	.461	26	36‍–‍41	35‍–‍42
Cincinnati Reds	62	92	.403	35	35‍–‍42	27‍–‍50
Chicago Cubs	61	93	.396	36	33‍–‍44	28‍–‍49

Braves

Dodgers

Cubs

Reds

Giants

Phillies

Pirates

Cardinals

Locations of teams for the 1943–1952 National League seasons

National League

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League final standings

Rank	Team	W	L	Pct.	GB
1	South Bend Blue Sox	75	36	.676	—
2	Rockford Peaches	75	36	.676	—
3	Grand Rapids Chicks	57	54	.514	18
4	Kenosha Comets	58	55	.505	19
5	Fort Wayne Daisies	52	57	.477	23
6	Muskegon Lassies	46	66	.411	29+1⁄2
7	Racine Belles	45	65	.409	29+1⁄2
8	Peoria Redwings	36	73	.330	39

Nippon Professional Baseball final standings

Team	G	W	L	T	Pct.	GB
Yomiuri Giants	134	85	48	1	.639	-
Hankyu Braves	136	69	64	3	.519	16.0
Daiei Stars	134	67	65	2	.508	17.5
Nankai Hawks	135	67	67	1	.500	18.5
Chunichi Dragons	137	66	68	3	.493	19.5
Osaka Tigers	137	65	69	3	.485	20.5
Tokyu Flyers	138	64	73	1	.467	23.0
Taiyo Robins	133	52	81	0	.391	33.0

Events

January

January 12 – The New York Giants are fined $2,000, and manager Leo Durocher $500, for signing coach Freddie Fitzsimmons while he was still under contract to the Boston Braves. Fitzsimmons gets a $500 fine and a 30-day spring training suspension.
January 17 – The New York Yankees sell the contract of right-hander Bill Bevens to the Chicago White Sox. Bevens, 32, was one of the most talked-about players of the 1947 World Series—starting Game 4 and holding the Brooklyn Dodgers hitless over 82⁄3 innings before surrendering a pinch double and the game itself to Cookie Lavagetto's clutch hit. Bevens makes one more appearance in pinstripes, in a Game 7 victory, before a dead arm keeps on the sidelines for all of 1948. In fact, Bevens never pitches another MLB game after the 1947 Fall Classic. The White Sox return him to the Bombers because of his sore arm on March 28 and Bevens sits out the 1949 campaign as well. He's able to hurl in the minors from 1950–1953 before leaving baseball.
January 25 – Lou Boudreau is rewarded for the Cleveland Indians' championship with a two-year, $65,000 annual contract as shortstop-manager.
January 27 – Fred Saigh buys out the interest of Robert Hannegan and now controls 90 percent of the St. Louis Cardinals' stock. Saigh and Hannegan had swung the purchase in 1947 with only $60,300 in cash in a $4 million deal. Hannegan comes out with $866,000 profit in two years.
January 28 – The New York Giants sign their first black players, outfielder Monte Irvin and pitcher Ford Smith. They are assigned to minor-league Jersey City. Irvin will star for the Giants and be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, but Smith never makes the major leagues.
January 29 – The Pittsburgh Pirates acquire pitcher Murry Dickson from the St. Louis Cardinals for $125,000.

February

February 2 – Brothers Bill DeWitt and Charlie DeWitt gain control of the St. Louis Browns by acquiring 57 percent of the stock from Richard Muckerman for $1 million.
February 7 – Perennial All-Star and three-time former Most Valuable Player Joe DiMaggio signs with the New York Yankees for $100,000, the first six-figure contract in Major League history.
February 9 – A federal appeals court orders the $300,000 suit against Major League Baseball by former New York Giants outfielder and Mexican League "contract jumper" Danny Gardella back to a lower court for trial.
February 19 – The defending world champion Cleveland Indians sign Homestead Grays slugger Luke Easter to a free-agent contract and assign him to San Diego of the Pacific Coast League. Easter, 33, led the 1948 Negro National League in home runs. Although hampered by knee miseries, he will hit 25 homers and bat .363 in 80 PCL games and be called up to Cleveland in August.^[1]
February 20 – The first Caribbean Series is inaugurated with a doubleheader at Havana. In the first game, Indios de Mayagüez of Puerto Rico faces Spur Cola Colonites of Panama, while the Cuban host team, Alacranes del Almendares, takes on Cervecería Caracas of Venezuela in the nightcap. The Cuban club will win the best-of-six-days Series with a perfect 6–0 record, followed by Venezuela (3–3), Panama (2–4) and Puerto Rico (1–5).

March

March 1 – The St. Louis Browns, owners of Sportsman's Park, move to evict the St. Louis Cardinals in order to gain a rental increase.
March 2 – Joe DiMaggio leaves the New York Yankees' spring training camp to have an ailing right heel examined at Johns Hopkins Hospital. DiMaggio is told that no surgery is needed and he returns to Florida, but the heel will continue to bother him. The star is hitting just 7-for-31 in the Grapefruit League.
March 8 – Former Cardinals pitchers Max Lanier and Fred Martin, late of the Mexican League, file a $2.5 million suit against Major League Baseball. A federal judge on April 1 will deny their right to be reinstated.
March 28 – Manager Leo Durocher of the New York Giants makes a deal with his former team, the Brooklyn Dodgers, acquiring right-handed hurler Hank Behrman, 27, in a straight-cash transaction.

April

April 8 – Dissension rumors surround the defending National League-champion Boston Braves after manager Billy Southworth calls a closed meeting of the club in a South Carolina hotel.
April 18 – On Opening Day, the Philadelphia Phillies shut out the Boston Braves, 4–0, behind Ken Heintzelman at Braves Field, and the Washington Senators defeat the Philadelphia Athletics 3–2 at Griffith Stadium.
April 19
- At pregame ceremonies marking the season opener in Yankee Stadium, a granite monument to the late Babe Ruth is unveiled in center field. Plaques honoring Lou Gehrig and Miller Huggins are also presented. Mayor William O'Dwyer, Governor Thomas E. Dewey, and Babe's widow, Claire Merritt Ruth, are in attendance. In the game—Casey Stengel's debut as manager of the Yankees—the Bombers edge the Senators 3–2 on Tommy Henrich's ninth-inning solo home run, what will later be termed a "walk-off homer."
- In Brooklyn, the Dodgers pay tribute to Jack "Shorty" Laurice, the club's "number one" fan and leader of the Ebbets Field "Sym-phony" band. Laurice died in 1948.
- Before 53,000 at Briggs Stadium, Detroit Tigers rookie Johnny Groth homers twice in his first three at-bats against the Chicago White Sox.
April 20 – Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Willie Jones hits four consecutive doubles, tying an NL mark with Dick Bartell (1933) and Ernie Lombardi (1935).
April 24 – Lloyd Merriman of the Cincinnati Reds hits a home run and a triple in his first major league game.
April 28 – A New York fan charges Leo Durocher with assault after the Giants lose 15–2 to Brooklyn. Commissioner Happy Chandler suspends Durocher but he is absolved on May 3. Chandler criticizes teams for relaxed security that allows fans on the field.
April 30 – Rocky Nelson hits an "inside-the-glove" two-run home run in short center-left field to turn a ninth inning 3–1 Chicago Cubs lead into a 4–3 St. Louis Cardinals victory. Cubs center fielder Andy Pafko's catch is ruled a trap by umpire Al Barlick, as Pafko races in, holding the ball high as runners circle the bases.

May

May 1 – Elmer Valo becomes the first American League player to hit two bases-loaded triples in a game when he leads the Philadelphia Athletics to a 15–9 win in the first of two games against the Washington Senators. Valo will hit a third bases-loaded triple on July 18, to tie Shano Collins for the AL mark, set in 1918. The A's take Game 2, 7–3, called after seven innings.
May 3 – Taking advantage of the shortened fence installed by Chicago White Sox general manager Frank Lane, the Washington Senators belt seven home runs – and need them all – in beating Chicago, 14–12 in 10 innings. This is the first time in MLB history a team has collected seven homers in an extra-inning contest. Clyde Vollmer leads the long-ball parade with a pair, followed by Mark Christman, Gil Coan, Al Evans, Eddie Robinson and Bud Stewart. The Sox get homers from Joe Tipton and Gus Zernial.
May 4:
- Chicago White Sox infielder Floyd Baker, who will play 874 games in his 13-year major league career, hits his only career home run off pitcher Sid Hudson, into "Home Run Lane", named for the new fence installed by Sox' GM Frank Lane, in an 8–7 loss to the Washington Senators.
- A day after the two teams played to a 13-inning, 14–14 tie, the Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox 5–1 behind Virgil Trucks' three-hitter. The Tigers shell Boston pitcher Mickey Harris for 14 hits in 52⁄3 innings.

May 5:
- Charlie Gehringer, star second baseman of the Detroit Tigers from 1925 though 1941, is selected for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Two days later, the Old-Timers committee will select Kid Nichols and Mordecai Brown.
- At the Polo Grounds, Johnny Mize pounds a tenth-inning home run and the New York Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3–2 to sweep their three-game series. The homer, off Murry Dickson, is the 300th for Mize. Reliever Hank Behrman, in for Sheldon Jones, pitches out of tight jams in the ninth and tenth innings for the win. Wally Westlake is stranded in the tenth after reaching Behrman for a leadoff triple.
- Before the start of a series with the New York Yankees, the Chicago White Sox get rid of Comiskey Park's trick left-field fence. The five-foot chicken wire barrier, erected to cut the distance by 20 feet, resulted in 11 home runs in eight games, but opponents hit seven of them. The AL will subsequently rule that fences cannot be moved more than once a season. The Yankees still win today, 7–5, to go 13–3. Tommy Henrich has the only homer, while Johnny Lindell, Yankees left fielder, twice makes catches that would've cleared the wire fence. Allie Reynolds, with help from Joe Page, is the winning pitcher.
- At Cleveland, Bob Feller, making his first start since pitching two innings in the season opener and coming up with a sore shoulder, beats the Boston Red Sox 7–3. Cleveland scores six runs in the second inning, including a three-run home run by Ken Keltner off Jack Kramer. On the next pitch, rookie Minnie Miñoso, making his second start, hits his first major-league homer. Ted Williams and Bobby Doerr hit 8th-inning homers for the Red Sox, while Joe Gordon adds a homer in the 5th for Cleveland.
- Two outfielders change clubs when Boston Red Sox acquire Al Zarilla from the St. Louis Browns for Stan Spence and cash considerations.
May 6 – Philadelphia Athletics pitcher Bobby Shantz makes a sensational debut, tossing nine hitless innings in relief in a 13-inning 5–4 Athletics win over the Detroit Tigers. Shantz finally gives up two hits and a run in the 13th, but old-timer Wally Moses, now back with the A's, saves him with a two-run home run in the bottom of the 13th.
May 8:
- At Shibe Park, the Cincinnati Reds score five runs in the ninth inning to take a 7–3 lead, but the Philadelphia Phillies tie to go into extra innings. Cincinnati then scores seven runs in the 12th to win 14–7.
- Sam Breadon, owner of the St. Louis Cardinals from 1920 to 1947, dies at age 72. Robert E. Hannegan, the man to whom Breadon sold the Redbirds, will himself pass away on October 6 at age 46.
May 9:
- At Tiger Stadium, the Detroit Tigers set back the first-place New York Yankees 4–1, behind the five-hit pitching of Ted Gray. Vic Raschi also allows just five hits, including a home run by Dick Wakefield, in taking the loss.
- The first-place New York Giants win their seventh game in a row as pitcher Sheldon Jones stops the Chicago Cubs 7–2. Aided by ten walks and home runs by Sid Gordon and Willard Marshall, the Giants pin the loss on starter Ralph Hamner, who allows one hit in three innings.
May 11 – The Boston Red Sox release veteran right-hander Denny Galehouse. Only seven months before, the 37-year-old hurler had been manager Joe McCarthy's surprise, and controversial, selection as the Bosox' starting pitcher in the 1948 American League tie-breaker game at Fenway Park. Galehouse's poor three-inning stint doomed the Red Sox, who lost the 1948 AL pennant by dropping an 8–3 decision to the Cleveland Indians. He makes two ineffective relief appearances for Boston in 1949, before today's release ends his MLB career.
May 14 – Roy Sievers hits a home run and a double to drive in four runs, leading the St. Louis Browns' 8–3 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Slick-fielding Detroit first baseman Paul Campbell ties a major league record by making two unassisted double plays. While with minor league Montreal in 1941, Campbell started 26 DPs at first base.
May 15:
- In a doubleheader at Comiskey Park, Chicago White Sox pitchers Bill Wight and Al Gettel shut out the Cleveland Indians, 10–0 and 2–0.
- Boston Braves pitcher Vern Bickford stops the Brooklyn Dodgers 4–0, allowing just four singles. One is by Gil Hodges, extending his hitting streak to 17 games. Jim Russell switch-hits a home run and double to pin the loss on Morrie Martin. The Braves start Al Lakeman at first base in place of Earl Torgeson, who separated his shoulder yesterday when he attempted to block Jackie Robinson on a double play. Torgeson will be operated on tomorrow and will be sidelined several months.
May 16 – The Chicago Cubs receive infielder Bob Ramazzotti from the Brooklyn Dodgers in exchange for infielder Hank Schenz and $25,000.
May 18 – The Brooklyn Dodgers send Marv Rackley to the Pittsburgh Pirates for fellow outfielder Johnny Hopp and $25,000. The trade will be nullified June 7, with each player returning to his former organization.
May 22 – Brooklyn pitcher Don Newcombe makes his first major league start a dandy, shutting out the Cincinnati Reds 3–0 in the first game of a doubleheader at Crosley Field. It's the first shutout in an NL debut in 11 years and extends Brooklyn's win streak at Cincinnati to 19 games going back to June 1947. Newcombe gives up hits to the first two batters, then allows just three more hits while walking none. He drives in two runs as well. In the second game, Ken Raffensberger surpasses Newcombe by firing a one-hitter to beat the Dodgers, 2–0, tossing only 83 pitches. The only hit is a leadoff single by Gil Hodges in the eighth inning. Raffensberger pitched two one-hitters against the Dodgers during the 1948 season.
May 24 – Striking out the last six St. Paul batters, Mickey McDermott of Triple-A Louisville fans a total of 20 for a new American Association record. Southpaw McDermott wins 3–1, striking out the side in the third, fifth, sixth, eighth and ninth innings.
May 27 – The Cleveland Indians start the season so badly, 12–17, that owner Bill Veeck arranges a "Second Opening Day". Behind pitcher Al Benton, Cleveland make it a success, beating the Chicago White Sox 4–0. The Indians do rise to second place, within 2½ games of the top, but they will finish third, eight games back.
May 28 – White Sox rookie left fielder Gus Zernial breaks his collarbone making a diving catch against the Indians. He will be out of action for two months. Cleveland pushes across a run in the ninth inning against Howie Judson to take a 3–2 victory. Early Wynn is the winning pitcher.

June

June 2 – At Shibe Park, the Philadelphia Phillies hit five home runs during the same inning (the eighth) in a 12–3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, tying the major league mark set by the 1939 New York Giants. Andy Seminick belts two, while Del Ennis, Willie Jones and Schoolboy Rowe have one each. Jones adds a triple as Granny Hamner's double jumps the extra bases total to 18, still a record. Seminick collects three homers overall.
June 5 – Commissioner Happy Chandler lifts his 1946 ban on all players who jumped to the Mexican League. Only Sal Maglie will make a significant mark after the exile. Lou Klein will be the first jumper to make a major-league box score, successfully pinch-hitting on June 16.
June 6 – The Pittsburgh Pirates deal veteran right-hander Kirby Higbe to the New York Giants for pitcher Ray Poat and infielder Bobby Rhawn, reuniting the 34-year-old Higbe with his old manager in Brooklyn, Leo Durocher. The Pirates also lose pitcher Bob Muncrief on waivers to the Chicago Cubs.
June 9:
- Philadelphia Athletics pitcher Dick Fowler records nine putouts in a 12-inning 1–0 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
- Pennsylvania's two other MLB clubs, the Pirates and the Phillies, go 18 innings at Philadelphia's Shibe Park before the Phils eke out a 4–3 victory. Pittsburgh's Murry Dickson is the hard-luck loser, allowing the winning tally after throwing 112⁄3 innings of shutout relief; Jim Konstanty, who holds the Bucs scoreless over nine full frames out of the Phillie bullpen, gets the win.
June 12 – Frank Frisch, who began the season as coach with the New York Giants, replaces Charlie Grimm as manager of the last-place (19–31) Chicago Cubs.
June 13:
- The so-far disappointing Boston Red Sox (25–24 on the season) shake up their roster by sending left-hander Mickey Harris and outfielder Sam Mele to the Washington Senators for right-hander Walt Masterson.
- In a trade of catchers, the New York Giants send Walker Cooper to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Ray Mueller.
June 15:
- Eddie Waitkus of the Philadelphia Phillies is shot by 19-year-old Ruth Steinhagen, an obsessed fan, at Chicago's Edgewater Beach Hotel. She will later be placed in a mental hospital. After battling for his life, Waitkus recovers and will come back to play the following season.
- The Chicago Cubs make a consequential, all-outfielder trade, acquiring Hank Sauer and Frankie Baumholtz from the Cincinnati Reds for Peanuts Lowrey and Harry Walker. Sauer, 32, will transform from a struggling major-leaguer to a fearsome right-handed slugger—bashing 198 homers in 6½ seasons as a Cub mainstay, winning 1952's National League MVP as co-home-run champion, making two All-Star teams, and becoming a Wrigley Field favorite.
- It's also a big day for Hank's younger brother, Ed Sauer, 30, a reserve outfielder. The St. Louis Cardinals sell Ed's contract to the Pittsburgh Pirates, who immediately trade him to the Boston Braves for catcher Phil Masi.
- San Francisco Seals rookie outfielder Dino Restelli joins the Pittsburgh Pirates and hits seven home runs in his first 39 at-bats. He will finish with 12, hitting .250 in 72 games, and is out of the NL the next year.
June 16 – The Boston Braves bring up 19-year-old Del Crandall from Evansville of the Class B Three-I League and make him their regular catcher. Crandall will make 11 National League All-Star teams and capture four Gold Glove Awards between 1953 and 1962.
June 26:
- At Yankee Stadium, Pat Mullin of the Detroit Tigers hits three home runs in a Detroit 12–4 win over the New York Yankees.
- At Forbes Field, and one day after thrashing the seventh-place Pittsburgh Pirates, 17–10, in a contest featuring a combined nine home runs, the Brooklyn Dodgers continue to rake, knocking 22 hits (although only one is a homer) to down the Bucs, 15–3. The lone long ball belongs to Brooklyn's Carl Furillo, who goes five for five, scores four times, and drives in four.

June 28 – After missing the first 69 games of the season because of an ailing heel, Joe DiMaggio returns to the New York Yankees lineup with a single and a home run to beat the Boston Red Sox 6–4 in a night game at Fenway Park. DiMaggio will hit four homers in a three-game sweep.
June 29 – Mickey Owen and Luis Olmo rejoin the Brooklyn Dodgers from Mexican League exile. Owen is claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs on July 2 without appearing in a game for Brooklyn.

July

July 3 – At the Polo Grounds, New York Giants pitcher Monte Kennedy hits a grand slam and shuts out the Brooklyn Dodgers 16–0.
July 4:
- At Ebbets Field, the Brooklyn Dodgers (44–28) increase their National League lead to two games over the St. Louis Cardinals (42–30) by winning the holiday twin bill from the Philadelphia Phillies, 7–1 and 8–4, while St. Louis divides with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
- In the American League, the first-place New York Yankees and runner-up Philadelphia Athletics each sweep their doubleheaders, enabling the 48–25 Yanks to maintain their 4½-game bulge over the 44–30 Mackmen. In The Bronx, the Bombers defeat the slumbering Boston Red Sox, 3–2 and 6–4, while at Shibe Park, the Athletics take two from the Washington Senators, 9–7 and 8–0.
July 6 – Cincinnati Reds catcher Walker Cooper, acquired recently from the Giants, collects six hits in seven at-bats, including three home runs with 10 RBI, and scores five times in a 23–4 Cincinnati victory over the Chicago Cubs.
July 7 – New York Giants pitcher Dave Koslo hits the first two home runs of his career while beating the Philadelphia Phillies 11–3 at the Polo Grounds.
July 8 – Hank Thompson and Monte Irvin are the first black players in Giants franchise history. Thompson starts at second base, and Irvin pinch-hits in the eighth inning. Thompson was also the first black to play for the St. Louis Browns in 1947, 12 days after Larry Doby's AL debut with the Cleveland Indians.
July 12 – The National League commits five errors, allowing the American League to record an 11–7 triumph in the All-Star Game at Ebbets Field. The contest marks the first appearance of black players: Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe in the NL lineup and Larry Doby among the AL stars.
July 24 – The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 14–1. This win gives St. Louis three straight victories at Ebbets Field, as they take over the lead Brooklyn has held through most of the season.
July 26 – Philadelphia Athletics outfielder Wally Moses gets his 2,000th career hit off Joe Ostrowski of the St. Louis Browns.
July 28:
- A 12-for-25 run raises Jackie Robinson's NL-leading average to .364. He will win the batting title at .342.
- Detroit Tigers pitcher Dizzy Trout hits a ninth-inning grand slam against the Washington Senators as the Tigers win 13–7 at Griffith Stadium.
July 31 – At Crosley Field, Sid Gordon of the New York Giants blasts two home runs in the second inning of game two, as the Giants sweep the Cincinnati Reds, 10–0 and 9–0, behind pitchers Larry Jansen and Adrián Zabala.

August

August 5 – The Chicago White Sox acquire Cuban pitcher Luis Alomá from the Detroit Tigers for Venezuelan righty Álejandro Carrasquel, one of the Mexican League "exiles" recently reinstated by Organized Baseball.
August 6 – Luke Appling appears in his 2,154th game as a shortstop, surpassing the major league mark set by Rabbit Maranville. Appling will finish his career with 2,218 games at SS.
August 8 – Carl Furillo returns to the Brooklyn Dodgers lineup after an injury and hits .431 in the final eight weeks of the season. He will finish at .322, fourth best in the NL.
August 9 – Dom DiMaggio's 34-game hitting streak is on the line against Vic Raschi and the New York Yankees. Hitless in his first four at-bats, Dom hits a sinking line drive in the eighth inning that his brother Joe catches at his shoetops. The Boston Red Sox win 6–3 to move 5½ games behind the Yankees. Dom had started his streak after going hitless against Raschi.
August 15 – Reports of clubhouse turmoil plague the defending National League champion Boston Braves all season.^[2] Manager Billy Southworth, who has battled personal tragedy and alcoholism for years, is rumored to be drinking again and some players are known to be contemptuous of him.^[3] Braves owner Lou Perini prevails on Southworth to take a leave of absence, and he departs today with his team at 55–54–2, in fourth place in the National League and 13½ games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers. Boston will recover briefly under coach Johnny Cooney but it finishes under .500 at season's end.
August 21 – A barrage of bottles from the Shibe Park stands as protest of a decision by umpire George Barr over a trapped fly ball results in the first forfeiture in the major leagues in seven years. The New York Giants, who receive this 4–0 forfeit over the Philadelphia Phillies, gave one away in 1942 when hordes of youngsters invaded the Polo Grounds field.
August 22 – The New York Giants sell veteran slugger Johnny Mize to the New York Yankees for $40,000.
August 27 – Former Mexican League jumpers Max Lanier and Fred Martin drop their $2.5 million suit against Major League Baseball.

September

September 3 – In American Association action, Columbus Red Birds pitcher Cot Deal starts and completes a 20-inning game against the Louisville Colonels. In addition to winning the game and giving up one earned run during the 20 innings, Deal collects four hits in eight at-bats.
September 9 – Despite terrorizing the NL with his bat and baserunning during the season, Jackie Robinson is picked off base by Dave Koslo, the fourth time this year New York Giants pitchers have nabbed him.
September 13 – For the second time in his career, Ralph Kiner hits home runs in four consecutive at bats, over two games. Kiner performed the same feat in 1947. The two home runs today are numbers 33 and 34. Kiner's 1949 total will include 25 on the road, 29 at Forbes Field, 14 of them in the bullpen enclosure still known as Greenberg Gardens.
September 15 – Veteran Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Tiny Bonham dies following an appendectomy and stomach surgery at the age of 36, just 18 days after his last pitching performance, an 8–2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. His widow, Ruth, will receive the first benefits under the players pension plan, $90 a month for 10 years.
September 20 – Jackie Robinson steals home in a 5–0 Brooklyn Dodgers victory against the Chicago Cubs. It is his fifth steal of home this year and the 13th in his three years in the NL. That is the most in the majors since Ben Chapman stole his 15th and last in 1940, his 11th season.
September 24:
- Boston Braves third baseman Bob Elliott hits three successive home runs as the Braves down the Giants 6–4.
- At Fenway Park, Ellis Kinder pitches a six-hit shutout and Ted Williams lines his 42nd home run to beat the New York Yankees 2–0 and pull the Red Sox one game behind New York. Kinder is 15-1 at Fenway this season.
September 25:
- The St. Louis Cardinals, in first place for two months, win their final home game, and the Dodgers lose to the Phillies, maintaining the Cards' 1½ game lead.
- Despite 71 injuries that kept players out of games, Casey Stengel and his New York Yankees have been in first place all season. But today the Boston Red Sox move into a tie for first place with a 4–1 victory over Allie Reynolds. Ted Williams hits his 43rd home run, and Mel Parnell wins his 25th game of the season. Parnell is 16–3 at Fenway Park this year. Joe DiMaggio listens to the game from a hospital, bedridden with pneumonia. The Yankees return to New York and are greeted at Grand Central Station by a huge crowd of fans, including Mrs. Babe Ruth, who predicts, "Whoever wins tomorrow should go all the way."
September 26 – Before 67,434 at Yankee Stadium, the Boston Red Sox survive a rhubarb-filled 7–6 win when Johnny Pesky scores on a disputed squeeze play. Leading by one game, the Red Sox will visit the Washington Senators in a three-game series before their last two games of the year against the New York Yankees.
September 27 – The Boston Red Sox, winners of 16 out of the last 19 with the Senators, take the opener at Griffith Stadium 6–4.
September 28:
- Facing Ray Scarborough, the Senators' top pitcher, the Boston Red Sox take a 1–0 lead into the ninth inning only to have the Senators tie it up. Mel Parnell, in relief for Boston, bounces a curve ball past catcher Birdie Tebbetts, and the winning run scores from third base.
- The New York Yankees, taking two out of three games from the Philadelphia Athletics, stay one game behind the Boston Red Sox with two games left.
- Called up from Triple-A Toronto in mid-September, outfielder Ed Sanicki of the Philadelphia Phillies gets his third hit of the season. All three are home runs. On September 14, Sanicki had homered with two men on his first big-league at bat, against Rip Sewell of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
September 29 – The St. Louis Cardinals lose 7–2 to former Redbird Murry Dickson, now with the Pittsburgh Pirates, following a Red Munger defeat. The Dodgers take two games from the Braves and a half-game lead in the NL.
September 30:
- The Boston Red Sox outlast the Washington Senators 11–9 to move into New York for the showdown for the AL pennant.
- Ralph Kiner hits his 54th home run, his 16th in September, as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat Herm Wehmeier and the Cincinnati Reds 3–2. Kiner's monthly total eclipses Cy Williams' 1923 NL mark.

October

October 1–2 – Coming into the last weekend of the season, the Boston Red Sox are one game ahead of the New York Yankees, with the only games remaining being two against each other at Yankee Stadium; thus there can be no playoff for the American League pennant. The Yankees win both games, 5–4 on Saturday behind Johnny Lindell's batting heroics, and 5–3 on Sunday backed by Vic Raschi's complete game, to capture their 16th AL flag since 1921; it's the first title of the ten that manager Casey Stengel will oversee through 1960.
October 2 – The National League pennant is also decided on the season's last day. At Shibe Park, the visiting Brooklyn Dodgers score two runs in the top of the tenth inning on singles by Duke Snider and Luis Olmo, and Jack Banta completes a heroic, 41⁄3-inning shutout relief performance, to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies, 9–7. The Dodgers preserve their one-game lead over the runner-up St. Louis Cardinals, who also triumph today, 13–5 over the Chicago Cubs. For the Dodgers, it's their fifth NL title of the modern, post-1901 era.
October 9 – The New York Yankees defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 10–6, in Game 5 of the World Series, to win their 12th world championship, four games to one. This is the second time in three years that the Yankees have bested the Dodgers in the Fall Classic, and represents the first of an unprecedented five straight World Series titles for the "Bronx Bombers".
October 19:
- Three weeks after acquiring Venezuelan shortstop Chico Carrasquel from the Brooklyn Dodgers' organization for two minor leaguers and cash consideration‚ the Chicago White Sox steal second baseman Nellie Fox from the Philadelphia Athletics in exchange for backup catcher Joe Tipton. For the next six seasons, Carrasquel and Fox will form the ChiSox' double play combination and the team regains its winning ways in 1951.
- Bucky Harris becomes the first manager to be hired a third time by the same team when he succeeds Joe Kuhel as skipper of the Washington Senators. Harris, 52, previously helmed the Senators from 1924–1928 (winning the 1924 World Series and 1925 AL pennant) and 1935–1942. More recently, Harris had won a World Series and finished third with a 94–60 record as pilot of the 1947–1948 New York Yankees. Under Kuhel, Washington plummeted into last place in the Junior Circuit in 1949, losing 104 games.
October 23 – Luke Sewell, who served as acting manager of the Cincinnati Reds for the last three games of the 1949 season when Bucky Walters was released, is named Cincinnati's full-fledged skipper for 1950. A former standout American League catcher, Sewell, 48, is known as the man who managed the 1944 St. Louis Browns to the only AL pennant they have ever won in their history.

October 26 – After his disgruntled players had voted skipper Billy Southworth, a future Hall-of-Fame manager, only a half-share of the Boston Braves' fourth-place World Series money, Commissioner Happy Chandler steps in to restore Southworth's full amount due.^[4] Suffering from stress and rumored to be battling a drinking problem, Southworth took a leave of absence for the last 45 games of the 1949 season. He will return to the Braves' helm in 1950.

November

November 18 – Brooklyn Dodgers infielder Jackie Robinson, who hit 16 home runs with 124 RBI and led the National League with a .342 batting average, becomes the first African American to win the Most Valuable Player Award. Stan Musial, Ralph Kiner, and teammate Pee Wee Reese are the runners-up.
November 21 – Bill Veeck sells the Cleveland Indians for $2.2 million to a local syndicate headed by Ellis Ryan. Hank Greenberg will be the new general manager.
November 25 – Boston Red Sox left fielder Ted Williams, who lost the Triple Crown when his batting average was .0002 below that of George Kell, wins the American League MVP Award with 13 of 22 first place votes, with the rest of the votes going to Phil Rizzuto (5), Joe Page (3) and Mel Parnell (1).
November 26 – In Japanese baseball, the Central League is joined by the Pacific League.

December

December 1 – Attendance in major league parks drops to 20.2 million fans, down from 20.9 million in 1948. The New York Yankees (2.28 million) and Cleveland Indians (2.23 million) lead the way, but the St. Louis Browns fall to 270,396, 16th and last in MLB.^[5]
December 6 – The New York Yankees release outfielder Charlie Keller, 33, a five-time American League All-Star and 5x World Series champion during his 11 years in pinstripes. Keller will sign with the Detroit Tigers as a free agent on December 28.
December 13 – Seeking to add talent to a winning, 81–73 team and give 86-year-old manager Connie Mack "one last pennant" in his 50th year at the helm, the Philadelphia Athletics send third baseman Frankie Gustine, shortstop Billy DeMars, outfielder Ray Coleman, a minor leaguer, and an astronomical (for them) $100,000 to the St. Louis Browns for All-Star third baseman Bob Dillinger and outfielder Paul Lehner. Dillinger is a .309 lifetime hitter and three-time AL stolen base champion, but his indifferent defense has tarnished his reputation. His stay in Philadelphia will last only 84 games in 1950 before he's waived, and his acquisition will be deemed an expensive blunder.^[6]
December 14:
- After prolonged rumors and denials, the New York Giants make a momentous trade with the Boston Braves, acquiring shortstop and 1948 National League Rookie of the Year Alvin Dark, 27, and sparkplug veteran second baseman Eddie Stanky, 34, from Boston for pitcher Red Webb, shortstop Buddy Kerr, and hard-hitting outfielders Sid Gordon and Willard Marshall.^[7] Dark and Stanky are both critics of the Braves' veteran manager, Billy Southworth;^[2] but, while the trade is first seen as an "impulsive mistake" on the part of the Giants, the two infielders will contribute to their first-division finish in 1950 and NL pennant in 1951. The Braves, meanwhile, are stripped of their double-play combination, and only Gordon contributes meaningfully to their early 1950s teams.^[8]
- The Chicago White Sox trade relief specialist Ed Klieman to the Philadelphia Athletics for third baseman Hank Majeski. Klieman led the American League in saves in 1947 with 17 as a member of the Cleveland Indians.
- The St. Louis Cardinals reacquire outfielder and former National League batting champ Harry Walker, most recently with the Cincinnati Reds, for second baseman Lou Klein (just returned from Mexican League exile and subsequent suspension) and outfielder Ron Northey.
- The Detroit Tigers send right-hander Lou Kretlow and $100,000 to the St. Louis Browns for second baseman Jerry Priddy. The following day, the Browns claim left-hander Stubby Overmire on waivers from the Tigers.
- The Boston Braves trade pitcher Bill Voiselle to the Chicago Cubs for infielder Gene Mauch.
December 17 – The New York Yankees acquire outfielder Dick Wakefield, an erstwhile American League All-Star, from the Detroit Tigers for first baseman Dick Kryhoski.
December 24 – Making a deal on Christmas Eve, the Boston Braves trade outfielders Jim Russell and Ed Sauer, plus cash, to the Brooklyn Dodgers for outfielder Luis Olmo.

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