1950 Major League Baseball season

Last updated

1950 MLB season
League American League (AL)
National League (NL)
Sport Baseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 18 – October 1, 1950
World Series:
  • October 4–7, 1950
Number of games154
Number of teams16 (8 per league)
Regular season
Season MVP AL: Phil Rizzuto (NYY)
NL: Jim Konstanty (PHP)
AL champions New York Yankees
  AL runners-up Detroit Tigers
NL champions Philadelphia Phillies
  NL runners-up Brooklyn Dodgers
World Series
Champions New York Yankees
  Runners-up Philadelphia Phillies
Finals MVP Jerry Coleman (NYY)
MLB seasons
Locations of teams for the 1942–1953 American League seasons
ButtonRed.svg American League
Locations of teams for the 1943–1952 National League seasons
ButtonBlue.svg National League

The 1950 major league baseball season began on April 18, 1950. The regular season ended on October 1, with the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 47th World Series on October 4 and ended with Game 4 on October 7. The Yankees swept the Phillies in four games, capturing their 13th championship in franchise history, and their second in a five-run World Series.

Contents

The 17th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played on July 11, hosted by the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, with the National League winning, 4–3.

On April 18, the Boston Braves become the fifth team in MLB to break the color line when they fielded Sam Jethroe. [1]

The only no-hitter of the season was pitched by Vern Bickford on August 9, in the Boston Braves 7–0 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers. [2] [3] This season saw the first use of a bullpen car, by the Cleveland Indians. [4]

On Opening Day, April 18, the Boston Braves become the fifth team in professional baseball to break the color line when they fielded Sam Jethroe. [5]

Schedule

The 1950 schedule consisted of 154 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 22 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place since the 1904 season (except for 1919) and would be used until 1961 in the American League and 1962 in the National League.

Opening Day took place on April 18, featuring all sixteen teams, the first time since 1947. The final day of the regular season was on October 1, which also saw all sixteen teams play, continuing the trend from 1946. This was the first time since 1947 that all sixteen teams played their first and last games on the same days. The World Series took place between October 4 and October 7.

Rule changes

The 1950 season saw the following rule changes: [6]

Teams

LeagueTeamCityStadiumCapacityManager
American League Boston Red Sox Boston, Massachusetts Fenway Park 35,200 Joe McCarthy,
Steve O'Neill
Chicago White Sox Chicago, Illinois Comiskey Park 47,400 Jack Onslow,
Red Corriden
Cleveland Indians Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland Stadium 73,811 Lou Boudreau
Detroit Tigers Detroit, Michigan Briggs Stadium 58,000 Red Rolfe
New York Yankees New York, New York Yankee Stadium 67,000 Casey Stengel
Philadelphia Athletics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 33,166 Connie Mack
St. Louis Browns St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 34,000 Zack Taylor
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. Griffith Stadium 29,731 Bucky Harris
National League Boston Braves Boston, Massachusetts Braves Field 37,106 Billy Southworth
Brooklyn Dodgers New York, New York Ebbets Field 32,111 Burt Shotton
Chicago Cubs Chicago, Illinois Wrigley Field 38,690 Frankie Frisch
Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati, Ohio Crosley Field 30,101 Luke Sewell
New York Giants New York, New York Polo Grounds 54,500 Leo Durocher
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 33,166 Eddie Sawyer
Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Forbes Field 33,730 Billy Meyer
St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 34,000 Eddie Dyer

Standings

American League

American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 9856.636—53‍–‍2445‍–‍32
Detroit Tigers 9559.617350‍–‍3045‍–‍29
Boston Red Sox 9460.610455‍–‍2239‍–‍38
Cleveland Indians 9262.597649‍–‍2843‍–‍34
Washington Senators 6787.4353135‍–‍4232‍–‍45
Chicago White Sox 6094.3903835‍–‍4225‍–‍52
St. Louis Browns 5896.3774027‍–‍4731‍–‍49
Philadelphia Athletics 52102.3384629‍–‍4823‍–‍54

National League

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Philadelphia Phillies 9163.591—48‍–‍2943‍–‍34
Brooklyn Dodgers 8965.578248‍–‍3041‍–‍35
New York Giants 8668.558544‍–‍3242‍–‍36
Boston Braves 8371.539846‍–‍3137‍–‍40
St. Louis Cardinals 7875.51012½48‍–‍2830‍–‍47
Cincinnati Reds 6687.43124½38‍–‍3828‍–‍49
Chicago Cubs 6489.41826½35‍–‍4229‍–‍47
Pittsburgh Pirates 5796.37333½33‍–‍4424‍–‍52

Postseason

Bracket

World Series
      
AL New York Yankees 12103*5
NL Philadelphia Phillies 0 1 2 2

*Denotes walk-off

Managerial changes

Off-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
Boston Braves Johnny Cooney Billy Southworth
Washington Senators Joe Kuhel Bucky Harris

In-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
Boston Red Sox Joe McCarthy Steve O'Neill
Chicago White Sox Jack Onslow Red Corriden

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Billy Goodman (BRS).354
OPS Larry Doby (CLE).986
HR Al Rosen (CLE)37
RBI Walt Dropo (BRS)
Vern Stephens (BRS)		144
R Dom DiMaggio (BRS)131
H George Kell (DET)218
SB Dom DiMaggio (BRS)15
Pitching leaders
StatPlayerTotal
W Bob Lemon (CLE)23
L Alex Kellner (PHA)20
ERA Early Wynn (CLE)3.20
K Bob Lemon (CLE)170
IP Bob Lemon (CLE)288.0
SV Mickey Harris (WSH)15
WHIP Early Wynn (CLE)1.250

National League

Hitting leaders
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Stan Musial (SLC).346
OPS Stan Musial (SLC)1.034
HR Ralph Kiner (PIT)47
RBI Del Ennis (PHP)126
R Earl Torgeson (BSB)120
H Duke Snider (BKN)199
SB Sam Jethroe (BSB)35
Pitching leaders
StatPlayerTotal
W Warren Spahn (BSB)21
L Bob Rush (CHC)20
ERA Sal Maglie (NYG)2.71
K Warren Spahn (BSB)191
IP Vern Bickford (BSB)311.2
SV Jim Konstanty (PHP)22
WHIP Larry Jansen (NYG)1.065

Awards and honors

Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA AwardNational LeagueAmerican League
Rookie of the Year Sam Jethroe (BSB) Walt Dropo (BRS)
Most Valuable Player Jim Konstanty (PHP) Phil Rizzuto (NYY)

Other awards

The Sporting News Awards
AwardNational LeagueAmerican League
Player of the Year [14] — Phil Rizzuto (NYY)
Pitcher of the Year [15] Jim Konstanty (PHP) Bob Lemon (CLE)
Rookie of the Year [16] — Whitey Ford (NYY)
Manager of the Year [17] — Red Rolfe (DET)
Executive of the Year [18] — George Weiss (NYY)

Home field attendance

Team nameWins%±Home attendance%±Per game
New York Yankees [19] 981.0%2,081,380−8.9%27,031
Detroit Tigers [20] 959.2%1,951,4747.2%24,092
Cleveland Indians [21] 923.4%1,727,464−22.7%22,435
Boston Red Sox [22] 94−2.1%1,344,080−15.8%17,456
Philadelphia Phillies [23] 9112.3%1,217,03548.5%15,603
Brooklyn Dodgers [24] 89−8.2%1,185,896−27.4%15,204
Pittsburgh Pirates [25] 57−19.7%1,166,267−19.5%15,146
Chicago Cubs [26] 644.9%1,165,9442.0%14,948
St. Louis Cardinals [27] 78−18.8%1,093,411−23.6%14,387
New York Giants [28] 8617.8%1,008,878−17.2%13,275
Boston Braves [29] 8310.7%944,391−12.7%11,954
Chicago White Sox [30] 60−4.8%781,330−16.6%9,890
Washington Senators [31] 6734.0%699,697−9.2%8,970
Cincinnati Reds [32] 666.5%538,794−23.9%7,089
Philadelphia Athletics [33] 52−35.8%309,805−62.1%4,023
St. Louis Browns [34] 589.4%247,131−8.8%3,340

See also

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References

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  3. ↑ "National League No Hitters". Baseball Almanac . Retrieved October 1, 2012.
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  21. ↑ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
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  25. ↑ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
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  28. ↑ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  29. ↑ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  30. ↑ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
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  32. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
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  34. ↑ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
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