1949 in baseball

Last updated October 31, 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 (BRO)	.342
HR	Ted Williams (BOS)	43	Ralph Kiner (PIT)	54
RBI	Vern Stephens (BOS) Ted Williams (BOS)	159	Ralph Kiner (PIT)	127
W	Mel Parnell (BOS)	25	Warren Spahn (BSN)	21
ERA	Mike Garcia (CLE)	2.36	Dave Koslo (NYG)	2.50
K	Virgil Trucks (DET)	153	Warren Spahn (BSN)	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 20 – The Detroit Tigers purchase the contract of outfielder Don Lund from the St. Louis Browns. Lund, 25, a former star athlete at the University of Michigan, will go to coach the Wolverines' baseball team to the 1962 College World Series championship and serve as key Tigers' executive.^[1]
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 National League.
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.^[2]
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 assured that surgery is unnecessary and returns to the Yankees. The as yet undiagnosed heel ailment will continue to plague DiMaggio throughout the season. DiMaggio 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 12 – Joe DiMaggio returns to Johns Hopkins Hospital due to continuing pain in his right heel. The Yankee center fielder is diagnosed with a bone spur, which will cause him to miss 65 games during the season.
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." Gene Woodling plays center field in place of the injured Joe DiMaggio.
- 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 26 – Brooklyn Dodgers Gene Hermanski, Jackie Robinson, and Gil Hodges combine for a 7–4–3 triple play during a 5–2 win over the visiting Boston Braves. It is the only triple play in Brooklyn Dodgers history.
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.^[3]
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 the 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 10 – Southpaw knuckle-baller Mickey Haefner allows a first-inning single to Larry Doby, then holds Doby's Cleveland Indians hitless the rest of the way, as the visiting Washington Senators eke out a 1–0 road victory.^[4] Haefner's is the first of eight one-hitters this year in the majors.^[5]
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 13 – Commissioner of Baseball Happy Chandler awards the contract of former Negro leagues shortstop Artie Wilson to the New York Yankees after the Bombers lodge a formal complaint over Wilson's signing with the rival Cleveland Indians. Although he's assigned to Triple-A Oakland and never called to the Yankee varsity, Wilson becomes one of the first players to break the organization's color barrier. At Oakland, where he's the Oaks' only black player, he's befriended by 21-year-old second baseman Billy Martin, who offers to become Wilson's roommate.^[6]^[7]
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.
- Gil Hodges hits a grand slam and collects eight RBI for the Brooklyn Dodgers in their 20–7 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
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 14:
- Wally Westlake hits for the cycle in the Pittsburgh Pirates' come-from-behind 4–3 win over the Boston Braves at Forbes Field. A solid but unspectacular outfielder (one All-Star selection) over his ten-year MLB career, Westlake hits for the cycle for the second time in two years, the first man ever to achieve the feat twice. He completes his "cycle" with a ninth-inning double that drives in the Bucs' winning run.^[8] He is the first of three MLB players to hit for the cycle in 1949.^[5]
- Following the Phillies 4–1 win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, first baseman Eddie Waitkus is shot by Ruth Ann Steinhagen, an obsessed fan, at Chicago's Edgewater Beach Hotel. The shooting occurs just before midnight. The bullet punctures Waitkus' lung and lodges near his heart. After undergoing four operations, he recovers enough to play the following season, but he is not the same ballplayer. At the time of the shooting, Waitkus was batting .304 and leading the all-star voting among National League first basemen. Waitkus' shooting serves as the inspiration for the "Roy Hobbs" character in the Bernard Malamud novel, The Natural , and its subsequent film adaptation.
June 15:
- 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 24 – The Boston Red Sox pound the St. Louis Browns for 25 hits in a 21–2 win. Ted Williams contributes seven RBI to go along with two home runs, three runs scored, and a stolen base.
June 25 – Gil Hodges hits for the cycle, including two homers, and drives in four as the Brooklyn Dodgers humble the Pittsburgh Pirates by a football-like score of 17–10. Forbes Field fans witness their second "cycle" in 11 days. The teams combine for nine home runs, one shy of the record.^[5]^[9]
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.
- The Brooklyn Dodgers continue to rake, knocking 22 hits (although only one is a homer) to down the Pittsburgh Pirates, 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 65 games of the season due to a bone spur in his right heel, Joe DiMaggio awakes in early June to find the pain in his heel has disappeared. DiMaggio returns to the Yankee lineup with a home run and a single in a 5–4 win over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. The crowd of 36,228 is the largest for a night game in Fenway history. With the win, the first-place Yankees move 4½ games ahead of the second-place Philadelphia Athletics and 6 games ahead of the third-place Red Sox. 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.
- The Yankees come back from a seven-run deficit to defeat the Red Sox, 9–7. Joe DiMaggio belts two home runs in the win, a three-run shot in the fifth and a tie-breaking two-run blast in the eighth that provides the margin of victory.
June 30 – Joe DiMaggio belts his fourth home run in three games, a three-run shot off the left field light tower at Fenway Park. DiMaggio's home run powers the Yankees to a 6–3 victory and a three-game sweep of the Red Sox. The Red Sox drop to fifth-place, 8 games behind the front-running Yankees.

July

July 2 – Monte Kennedy of the New York Giants shuts out the Brooklyn Dodgers, 16–0. Kennedy contributes a seventh-inning grand slam to his cause. The 16-run margin sets a club record for biggest shutout win that would stand until 2000.
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 Yankees take the first game, 3–2, and the rain-shortened second, 6–4. The sweep leaves the Red Sox 12 games behind the first-place Yankees. Meanwhile, 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, ties a modern record with six hits in seven at-bats, including three home runs with 10 RBI, and scores five times in a 23–4 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Cincinnati's 26 hits and 23 runs scored are the most of any MLB club in a 1949 contest.^[10]
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, called up three days earlier from Jersey City, become the first black players in Giants franchise history. Thompson starts at second base, and Irvin pinch-hits in the eighth inning. When Thompson steps in against Brooklyn Dodger Don Newcombe, it is the first time in major league history that a black batter and pitcher have squared off.^[11] The Dodgers win the game, 4–3. 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. The Giants are the fourth MLB franchise to break the baseball color line.
- A 16-inning affair between the Phillies and Braves ends at 1:01 a.m., becoming, to date, the latest-ending National League game in history. The Braves win the game, 4–3.
July 12 – The American League defeats the National League, 11–7, in the All-Star Game at Ebbets Field. The NL commits five errors in the game. The contest is noteworthy for also being the first Midsummer Classic to feature black players: Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, and Don Newcombe of the National League, and Larry Doby of the American League.
July 24 – The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 14–1, to give St. Louis three straight victories at Ebbets Field, as they take over the NL lead Brooklyn has held through most of the season. Stan Musial hits for the cycle and drives in four runs.^[5]
July 26 – Philadelphia Athletics outfielder Wally Moses gets his 2,000th career hit off Joe Ostrowski of the St. Louis Browns in a 5–4 win.
July 28:
- A 12-for-25 run raises Jackie Robinson's NL-leading average to .364. He will win the batting title at a career-high .342 average.
- 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 3 – Boston Red Sox pitcher Ellis Kinder strikes out 14 batters in a 9–3 win over the St. Louis Browns. It is the most strikeouts by a Sox pitcher since Smoky Joe Wood struck out 15 in 1911.
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 shortshop.
- Adrián Zabala sets a National League record by balking three times in the Giants' 3–1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Despite the loss, the Cardinals remain 1/2 game ahead in the National League by virtue of the second-place Brooklyn Dodgers' loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
August 7 – In the first game of a doubleheader against the Browns, Yankees catcher Yogi Berra suffers a fractured thumb when he is hit by a pitch after hitting a three-run home run in his previous at bat. The injury will keep Berra out of the Yankee lineup until September. The Yankees win the game, 20–2.
August 8 – Carl Furillo returns to the Dodgers' lineup after an injury and collects two hits and a run scored in Brooklyn's 2–1 win over the rival Giants. The win keeps the Dodgers tied with the Cardinals for first place. Furillo will hit .431 over the final eight weeks of the season and finish at .322, fourth best in the league.
August 9 – Dominic 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, DiMaggio hits a sinking line drive in the eighth inning that his brother Joe catches at his shoetops. Nevertheless, Dom's 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.^[12] 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.^[13] 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 17 – The St. Louis Cardinals move back into first place with a 4–3 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
August 21 – A barrage of bottles from the Shibe Park stands—hurled to protest umpire George Barr's decision over a trapped fly ball to Phillie Richie Ashburn—results in the first forfeiture in the major leagues in seven years. The New York Giants, who were ahead 4–2 with one out in the ninth today over the Philadelphia Phillies when the forfeit is declared,^[14] gave one away in 1942 when hordes of youngsters invaded the Polo Grounds field.
August 22:
- The New York Yankees acquire 36-year-old slugger Johnny Mize from the NL Giants for $40,000. Mize, a future Hall of Famer (Class of 1981), smashed 51 homers in 1947, 40 in 1948, and 18 in 107 games so far this season. At the time, the Yankees' lead over the now second-place Boston Red Sox is down to 2½ games.
- The Boston Braves score two runs in the ninth inning to defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 7–6. One of the runs comes on Eddie Stanky's first home run of the season. The loss is Brooklyn's sixth in seven games and drops the Dodgers two games behind the Cardinals.
August 26:
- In their 4–2 victory over the first-place St. Louis Cardinals today at the Polo Grounds, four New York Giants, including manager Leo Durocher, are ejected by umpires Larry Goetz and Lou Jorda.^[15]
- With a doubleheader sweep of the White Sox, the Red Sox close to within 1½ games of the Yankees. The Red Sox win the first game, 11–4, behind Mel Parnell, who becomes the majors' first 20-game winner of the season, and Ted Williams, who slams his 31st and 32nd home runs of the season. The Red Sox take the second game, 10–7.
August 27 – Former Mexican League "jumpers" Max Lanier and Fred Martin drop their $2.5 million suit against Major League Baseball.
August 28 – In the first game of a doubleheader in Chicago, Tommy Henrich crashes into the wall while chasing a Chuck Kress fly ball and fractures two vertebrae. The injury will sideline Henrich for three weeks. In the second game, the newly acquired Johnny Mize dislocates his shoulder. With the exception of seven pinch-hit appearances, he will miss the rest of the regular season. The Yankees are also playing without Yogi Berra, who fractured his thumb earlier in the month. Despite the injuries, the Yankees sweep the doubleheader by scores of 8–7 and 7–5.

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 4 – The Cardinals sweep a doubleheader against the Reds, 6–4 and 11–2, to push their lead over the Dodgers to 2½ games.
September 5 – The Yankees sweep a Labor Day doubleheader at Shibe Park against the Athletics. Joe DiMaggio hits a grand slam and drives in five runs in the Yankees' 13–4 win in the opener. The Yankees take the second game, which was shortened by darkness, 5–2. The Yankees lead over the Red Sox now stands at 1½ games.
September 8 – In an 8–0 win over the Chicago Cubs, Red Schoendienst steals the St. Louis Cardinals' 17th and final base of the season, setting a major league record for fewest steals in a season.
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.
- At Yankee Stadium, Ellis Kinder wins his 19th game of the season as the Red Sox pound the Yankees, 7–1, cutting the Yankees' lead in the American League to 1½ games.
September 10 – Stan Musial's two-out, two-run home run in the top of the ninth gives the Cardinals a 6–5 win over the Cincinnati Reds, which maintains St. Louis' one-game lead in the National League.
September 11:
- The Washington Senators set a major league record for the most base on balls in an inning by surrendering 11 in the third inning during a 20–5 rout at the hands of the New York Yankees.^[16]
- Stan Musial blasts three home runs as the Cardinals sweep a doubleheader from the Cincinnati Reds, 7–5 and 7–4, to extend their lead over the Dodgers to 1½ games.
September 13 – Ralph Kiner ties a major league record held by six players with his 4th grand slam of the season. In the Pirates' 11–6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, Kiner hits 2 home runs and drives in 6 runs. The 2 home runs come in his first 2 at-bats of the game. Kiner had homered in his final 2 at-bats in yesterday's game, making it 4 home runs in 4 consecutive at-bats over 2 games. It is the 2nd time in his career that Kiner has accomplished the feat, having previously done so in 1947. 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 14 – Ellis Kinder wins his 20th game of the season, shutting out the Detroit Tigers, 1–0, at Fenway Park. It is also Kinder's 10th consecutive win. Kinder joins teammate Mel Parnell as a 20-game winner. It is the last time this century that the Red Sox will feature a pair of 20-game winners.
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 18 – The injury-plagued Yankees receive another blow when Joe DiMaggio is stricken with pneumonia. Without DiMaggio, the Yankee still top the Indians, 7–3, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Red Sox, however, keep pace with an 11–5 rout of the visiting White Sox to remain 2½ games behind the Yanks. Ted Williams hits his 39th and 40th home runs of the season and drives in 6 runs, giving him 153 RBI for the season. Teammate Vern Stephens also hits his 40th home run and drives in his 150th run.
September 19:
- The Yankees stretch their lead of the idle Red Sox to 3 games with a 6–0 blanking of the Indians.
- Ralph Kiner hits his 50th home run of the season, but the Pirates fall to the Giants, 6–4, in extra-innings.
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 21:
- The Yankees squander an 8–1 lead at Yankee Stadium and fall to the Chicago White Sox, 9–8. Coupled with the Red Sox' 9–6 victory over the Indians, the Yankees lead shrinks to 2 games.
- The Cardinals and Dodgers split a doubleheader at Sportsman's Park, leaving the Cards in front by 1½ games. The Cards take the first game, 1–0, while the Dodgers answered back with a 5–0 win in the second.
September 22 – The Dodgers amass 19 hits and 13 walks in a 19–6 rout of the host Cardinals, bringing the Bums to within a 1/2 game of first-place. Carl Furillo has 7 RBI for Brooklyn. In a losing effort, Stan Musial hits his 32nd home run of the season—his 21st against lefties, a major league record for a left-handed batter that will later be matched by Ken Griffey Jr. in 1996 and 1998.
September 24:
- Bob Elliott hits three consecutive home runs in the Boston Braves' 6–4 win over the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds. Warren Spahn wins his 20th game, becoming the first National League pitcher this season to do so. For the decade, Elliot collects a league-best 903 RBI.
- 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 wins his 13th straight game, is 15–1 at Fenway this season, and moves to 4–0 on the season against the Yankees.
September 25:
- At their final home game, the Cardinals win 6–1 over the Cubs on the Cardinals' final game. Coupled with the Dodgers' 5–3 loss to the Phillies, the Cardinals end the day with a 1½ game lead in the National League. The Cardinals held first place for two months to this point.
- 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 67,634 at Yankee Stadium, the Red Sox come away with a 7–6 win and move into sole possession of first place when Johnny Pesky scores on a disputed squeeze play. The Sox rally from a 6–3 deficit by scoring four runs in the eighth. The winning run scores when Bobby Doerr drops a surprise squeeze bunt in front of Tommy Henrich, playing first base, and Pesky slides under the catcher's tag at home plate. Umpire Bill Grieve calls Pesky safe, and Casey Stengel is fined for a post-game confrontation with the ump. Now ahead by one game, the Sox depart for a three-game set in Washington before going back to New York for a final two-game showdown against the 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, maintaining a one game lead on the Yankees, who also won their game, as Vic Raschi won his 20th game of the season, defeating the Atheltics, 3–1.
- The Cardinals fall to the Pirates, 6–4, cutting their lead over the idle Dodgers to 1 game.
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 wild pitch 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 with a seesaw battle against the A's, 7–5, stay one game behind the Boston Red Sox with two games left. Joe DiMaggio, down 18 pounds from his bout with pneumonia, takes batting practice for the Yankees.
- 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. It is Dickson's 5th win of the season against his former team. Meanwhile, the Dodgers sweep a doubleheader against the Braves, 9–2 and 8–0, moving them ahead of the Cardinals by a 1⁄2 game in the National League.
September 30:
- The Boston Red Sox outlast the Washington Senators 11–9 to move into New York for the showdown for the AL pennant, as the Yankees are defeated by Dick Fowler and the A's, 4–1. Aided by 14 walks, the Sox win the game despite being outhit by the Senators, 18–5.
- 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:
- Joe DiMaggio returns to the lineup after his weeks-long bout with pneumonia. The Boston Red Sox, needing to win just 1 of their final 2 games at Yankee Stadium to clinch the pennant, squander a 4–0 lead and fall to the New York Yankees, 5–4. DiMaggio scores the first run of the game and Johnny Lindell's home run provides the winning margin. The Yankees and Red Sox find themselves deadlocked atop the American League with a winner-take-all showdown set for the final day of the season.
- The Brooklyn Dodgers, now ahead by a game in the National League, lose to the Philadelphia Phillies, 6–4. The St. Louis Cardinals, however, lose to the Chicago Cubs, 3–1, preserving the Dodgers' 1-game lead.
- Alex Kellner become the first 20 game winner for the Philadelphia Athletics since Lefty Grove in 1933. However, Kellner has a reversal of fortunes the next season and loses 20 games.^[17]
October 2:
- A crowd of 70,000 packs Yankee Stadium to see the Yankees and Red Sox square off on the final day of the season with the American League pennant hanging in the balance. Phil Rizzuto scores the game's first run after tripling in the 1st. Vic Raschi nurses the 1–0 lead and duels Ellis Kinder into the 8th inning when the Yankees bust out and plate 4 runs off relievers Mel Parnell and Tex Hughson. The Red Sox rally for 3 in the 9th, but it's not enough, as the Yankees win the game, 5–3, and their pennant since 1921. It's the first title of the ten that manager Casey Stengel will oversee through 1960. Ted Williams is hitless in 2 official at-bats and goes 1 for 12 over the final four games of the season, enabling George Kell of the Tigers to edge Williams for the batting title, .3429 to .3427.
- The National League pennant also on the line between the Brooklyn Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals, though in two different games. At Shibe Park in Philadelphia, the Phillies shell Don Newcombe and tie the Dodgers, 7–7, in the 6th. The game heads to extra-innings, where the 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 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 4 – Off-the-field, the NL champion Brooklyn Dodgers continue to deal away minor-league assets, sending Triple-A Montreal outfielder Sam Jethroe, along with Bob Addis, to the Boston Braves for three marginal players. Earlier, Brooklyn had sold Triple-A Hollywood outfielder Irv Noren to the Washington Senators for $50,000, and this month they'll send third base prospect Danny O'Connell to the Pittsburgh Pirates for $50,000 and a minor-league infielder. Jethroe, Noren and O'Connell will go on to noteworthy MLB careers.
October 7 – "Organized Baseball" reaches a settlement with Danny Gardella, the defiant former New York Giant outfielder who was the first U.S. player to "jump" to the Mexican League in 1946, was suspended for five years, then sued in federal court to have the reserve clause overturned in October 1947. Today, Gardella agrees to drop that suit in exchange for a cash payment, and is signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as a free agent. He will appear in one game for the 1950 Cardinals before going to the minor leagues.^[18]
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 11 – The World Series gets underway at Yankee Stadium. The New York Yankees and Allie Reynolds beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 1–0, on Tommy Henrich's home run in the bottom of the 9th off Don Newcombe. Newcombe had struck out 11 and walked none before Henrich's blast. Henrich's shot is the first game-ending home run in World Series history.
October 12 – The Dodgers even the Series at 1–1 with a 1–0 win behind Preacher Roe. Gil Hodges' single in the 2nd drives in Jackie Robinson for the game's only run.
October 13 – With both the Series and game deadlocked at 1–1, the Yankees score 3 runs in the top of the 9th inning at Ebbets Field. The Dodgers answer with 2 runs in the bottom of the frame, but the Yankees hold on to win, 4–3, and take a 2–1 lead in the Series.
October 15:
- The Yankees down the Dodgers 10–6 at Ebbets Field to win the World Series in 5 games. It is the franchise's 12th World Series title. Pinch hitter Bobby Brown drives in 5 runs for the Yankees. Joe Page wins the Babe Ruth Award for the Series.
- The Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League sell the contracts of two young players, second baseman Billy Martin, 21, and outfielder Jackie Jensen, 22, to the New York Yankees; the Oaks also get a "player to be named later", catcher Eddie Malone. The fiery Martin will become a Yankee legend as a player and manager; Jensen, a future (1958) AL Most Valuable Player and three-time RBI champ, will find stardom after he's traded away in May 1952.
October 19:
- Three weeks after acquiring Venezuelan shortstop Alfonso "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 (1947) and finished third with a 94–60 record (1948) as pilot of the 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.^[19] 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 by 24% to 20.2 million fans in 1949, 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.^[20]
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.^[21]
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.^[22] Dark and Stanky are both critics of the Braves' veteran manager, Billy Southworth;^[12] 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.^[23]
- 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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