1950 in baseball

Last updated October 03, 2025

The following are the baseball events of the year 1950 throughout the world.

Champions

Major League Baseball

World Series: New York Yankees over Philadelphia Phillies (4–0)
All-Star Game, July 11 at Comiskey Park: National League, 4–3 (14 innings)

Other champions

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: Rockford Peaches
Amateur World Series: Cuba
College World Series: Texas
First Japan Series: Mainichi Orions over Shochiku Robins (4–2)
Little League World Series: North Austin Lions, Austin, Texas
Negro League Baseball All-Star Game: West, 5–3

Winter leagues

Club tournaments

Awards and honors

Most Valuable Player
- American League: Phil Rizzuto (NYY)
- National League: Jim Konstanty (PHP)
Rookie of the Year
- American League: Walt Dropo (BRS)
- National League: Sam Jethroe (BSB)
The Sporting News Player of the Year Award
- Phil Rizzuto (NYY)
The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Award
- American League: Bob Lemon (CLE)
- National League: Jim Konstanty (PHP)
The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award
- Red Rolfe (DET)

Statistical leaders

	American League		National League
Stat	Player	Total	Player	Total
AVG	Billy Goodman (BRS)	.354	Stan Musial (SLC)	.346
HR	Al Rosen (CLE)	37	Ralph Kiner (PIT)	47
RBI	Walt Dropo (BRS) Vern Stephens (BRS)	144	Del Ennis (PHP)	126
W	Bob Lemon (CLE)	23	Warren Spahn (BSB)	21
ERA	Early Wynn (CLE)	3.20	Sal Maglie (NYG)	2.71
K	Bob Lemon (CLE)	170	Warren Spahn (BSB)	191

Major league baseball final standings

American League final standings

v
t
e
American League
Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	98	56	.636	—	53‍–‍24	45‍–‍32
Detroit Tigers	95	59	.617	3	50‍–‍30	45‍–‍29
Boston Red Sox	94	60	.610	4	55‍–‍22	39‍–‍38
Cleveland Indians	92	62	.597	6	49‍–‍28	43‍–‍34
Washington Senators	67	87	.435	31	35‍–‍42	32‍–‍45
Chicago White Sox	60	94	.390	38	35‍–‍42	25‍–‍52
St. Louis Browns	58	96	.377	40	27‍–‍47	31‍–‍49
Philadelphia Athletics	52	102	.338	46	29‍–‍48	23‍–‍54

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
Philadelphia Phillies	91	63	.591	—	48‍–‍29	43‍–‍34
Brooklyn Dodgers	89	65	.578	2	48‍–‍30	41‍–‍35
New York Giants	86	68	.558	5	44‍–‍32	42‍–‍36
Boston Braves	83	71	.539	8	46‍–‍31	37‍–‍40
St. Louis Cardinals	78	75	.510	12½	48‍–‍28	30‍–‍47
Cincinnati Reds	66	87	.431	24½	38‍–‍38	28‍–‍49
Chicago Cubs	64	89	.418	26½	35‍–‍42	29‍–‍47
Pittsburgh Pirates	57	96	.373	33½	33‍–‍44	24‍–‍52

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	Rockford Peaches	67	44	.604	—
2	Fort Wayne Daisies	62	43	.590	2
3	Kenosha Comets	63	46	.578	3
4	Grand Rapids Chicks	59	53	.527	8½
5	South Bend Blue Sox	55	55	.500	11½
6	Racine Belles	50	59	.459	16
7	Peoria Redwings	44	63	.411	21
8	Kalamazoo Lassies	36	73	.330	30

Nippon Professional Baseball final standings

Central League final standings

Central League	G	W	L	T	Pct.	GB
Shochiku Robins	137	98	35	4	.737	—
Chunichi Dragons	137	89	44	4	.669	9.0
Yomiuri Giants	140	82	54	4	.603	17.5
Osaka Tigers	140	70	67	3	.511	30.0
Taiyo Whales	140	69	68	3	.504	31.0
Nishi Nippon Pirates	136	50	83	3	.376	48.0
Kokutetsu Swallows	138	42	94	2	.309	57.5
Hiroshima Carp	138	41	96	1	.299	59.0

Pacific League final standings

Pacific League	G	W	L	T	Pct.	GB
Mainichi Orions	120	81	34	5	.704	—
Nankai Hawks	120	66	49	5	.574	15.0
Daiei Stars	120	62	54	4	.534	19.5
Hankyu Braves	120	54	64	2	.458	28.5
Nishitetsu Clippers	120	51	67	2	.432	31.5
Tokyu Flyers	120	51	69	0	.425	32.5
Kintetsu Pearls	120	44	72	4	.379	37.5

Events

January

January 10 – R. R. M. Carpenter Jr., the 34-year-old owner of the Philadelphia Phillies, announces that his team is abandoning its six-year-old attempt to rebrand itself as the Philadelphia Blue Jays. Returning whole-heartedly to their original moniker, in use since 1885, the 1950 Phillies will deck themselves out in red-pinstriped home uniforms with bright red caps, sweatshirts and socks, and Phillies in red script across their shirtfronts.
January 31 – In perhaps the most prominent and controversial amateur free agent signing of the era, the Pittsburgh Pirates sign southpaw pitching phenom Paul Pettit, 18, out of a suburban Los Angeles high school for a record-setting $100,000 bonus. Of that total, $85,000 buys out a Hollywood film producer who had acquired the rights to Pettit's life story. At the behest of "jilted" MLB clubs, the office of Commissioner of Baseball Happy Chandler conducts an investigation that clears the Pirates of any wrongdoing.^[1]

February

February 9 – The Chicago White Sox acquire veteran catcher and native Chicagoan Phil Masi, 34, from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a cash transaction.
February 10 – The Cincinnati Reds sell pitcher Johnny Vander Meer, 35, to the Chicago Cubs for an undisclosed amount of cash. In 1938‚ Vander Meer became the first pitcher in major league history to pitch two consecutive no-hitters, displaying his mastery over the Boston Bees (June 11) and the Brooklyn Dodgers (June 15), setting a record that still stands today.
February 14 – The Chicago Cubs hire Wid Matthews as director of player personnel and de facto general manager. Matthews, 54, is a long-time associate of Branch Rickey's and most recently was the Midwest scouting supervisor of Rickey's Brooklyn Dodgers. He succeeds Charlie Grimm, who returns to uniform as manager of the Dallas Eagles of the Double-A Texas League.^[2]
February 17 – The Cleveland Indians release pitcher Leroy "Satchel" Paige. The 43-year-old pitching great from the Negro leagues appeared in 52 games for Cleveland after joining the team in July 1948, fashioned a 10–8 record and 2.78 earned run average, with four complete games, two shutouts and six saves over 1½ seasons, and won a 1948 World Series ring.
February 27 – In a tie-breaking game, Carta Vieja pitcher Chet Brewer defeats Puerto Rico's Caguas, 9–3, to give Panama the title in the 1950 Caribbean Series. Panama third baseman Joe Tuminelli, who hit two home runs and drove in six runs, is named Most Valuable Player.

March

March 22 – Engineers from General Electric demonstrate an "electronic umpire" at the Brooklyn Dodgers' spring camp in Vero Beach, Florida. Along with calling balls and strikes, the device is designed to calculate the speed of pitchers' offerings.^[3]
March 26 – The New York Giants purchase the contract of pitcher Jack Kramer from the Boston Red Sox. Kramer, 32, is in the twilight of a 12-year MLB career that saw him help pitch the 1944 St. Louis Browns to the American League pennant (17 wins, 2.49 ERA), post a stellar 1–0 (0.00 ERA) record in 11 innings in the 1944 World Series, and go 18–5 for the second-place 1948 Bosox.

April

April 11 – The Texas League Opening Day between the Dallas Eagles and Tulsa Oilers is staged at the Cotton Bowl. Hall of Fame members Frank Baker‚ Ty Cobb‚ Mickey Cochrane‚ Dizzy Dean‚ Charlie Gehringer, Travis Jackson and Tris Speaker are featured. The regular Dallas Eagles team takes to the field after Dean throws out the first pitch. 53‚578 fans‚ by then the largest paid crowd in minor-league history‚ enthusiastically enjoy the exhibition.
April 18:
- President Harry Truman throws out two balls at the traditional Presidential Opener at Griffith Stadium – one left-handed and the other right-handed. The game marks 87-year-old Connie Mack's Golden Anniversary season as manager of the visiting Philadelphia Athletics, who have made a major off-season trade looking to build upon their promising 1949 campaign and return to contention, and added gold trim to their uniforms in Mack's honor.^[4] However, the homestanding Washington Senators get the Athletics' season off on a sour note, scoring five first-inning runs and ultimately dealing Mack an 8–7 defeat.^[5]
- The Boston Braves become the fifth of the 16 MLB teams to break the baseball color line with the debut of fleet centerfielder Sam Jethroe. At the Polo Grounds‚ Jethroe goes 2-for-4‚ including a home run, to lead the Braves to an 11–4 beating of the New York Giants behind winning pitcher Warren Spahn. Jethroe will be selected 1950's National League Rookie of the Year after leading the Senior Circuit with 35 stolen bases.
- Billy Martin, later to become one of baseball's most controversial figures as a player and eventual manager, makes his major league debut at age 21, getting hits in both of his at bats, and scoring a run, and driving in three for the New York Yankees in a 15–10 win over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park's Opening Day.^[6] The Yanks overcome a 10–4 Boston lead with a nine-run eighth inning.^[7]
- Vin Scully makes his debut as a broadcaster for the Brooklyn Dodgers, calling two innings of the team's 9–1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies at Shibe Park. Scully will retire from broadcasting after a 67-year tenure, the longest (as of 2024) for any baseball broadcaster.
- The first night Opening Day game in major league history is played at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, with the Cardinals defeating the Pirates 4–2‚ behind the six-hit pitching of Gerry Staley. Stan Musial and Red Schoendienst contribute with a home run each for the winners.
- Third baseman Ken Keltner, 33, is released by the Cleveland Indians. Best known for his stellar defensive plays that halted Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak on July 17, 1941, he further cemented himself in Cleveland lore by catching the final, game-clinching out of the 1948 World Series. The Boston Red Sox immediately sign Keltner as a free agent, then use him sparingly until releasing him for good on June 6.
April 27 – The St. Louis Cardinals deal left-hander Ken "Hook" Johnson to the Philadelphia Phillies for outfielder Johnny Blatnik. Johnson, 27 and known for his curveball, threw a one-hitter for the Redbirds in his first MLB start on September 27, 1947, but his career has been marred by control problems.^[8]
April 30 – In St. Louis, southpaws Harry Brecheen of the Cardinals and Johnny Schmitz of the visiting Chicago Cubs battle into the bottom of the 13th inning without allowing a run. Then, with one out, catcher Del Rice blasts a home run to give the Cardinals the 1–0 victory. Rice's game-winner is only the fourth hit of the day off Schmitz; meanwhile, Brecheen fans eight Cubbies.^[9]

May

May 2 – Just recalled from Triple-A to fill in for injured first baseman Billy Goodman, lanky rookie Walt Dropo is two-for-two in a 6–2 Boston Red Sox victory over the Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park. Dropo, 27, immediately becomes a Bosox regular; he goes on to co-lead the American League in runs batted in (144, tied with teammate Vern Stephens), slug 34 homers, bat .322, start for the AL in the All-Star Game, and win his circuit's Rookie of the Year Award. Goodman, meanwhile, returns to the Bosox lineup May 22 as a second baseman and later moves to the outfield—gaining enough plate appearances to win the AL batting title (.354).
May 4 – The second-division Chicago White Sox enjoy a rare feast in the New York Yankees' home ballyard, collecting 23 hits and shutting out the Bombers, 15–0, in the Bronx. Bob Cain tosses a five-hitter, Jim Busby and Gus Zernial each lash four safeties, and Hank Majeski belts his third homer of 1950. Uncharacteristically, the Yankees are charged with four errors.^[10]
May 6 – Five different Boston Braves—Bob Elliott, Sid Gordon, Willard Marshall, Luis Olmo and Earl Torgeson—hit home runs in a 15–11 trouncing of the Cincinnati Reds, and the Braves set a National League record of 13 home runs in three consecutive games‚ breaking the mark of 12 set by the New York Giants from July 1–3‚ 1947. Grady Hatton and Ron Northey hit consecutive homers for the Reds in a losing cause.
May 8 – The Washington Senators deal outfielder Clyde Vollmer to the Boston Red Sox for shortstop Merl Combs and outfielder Tommy O'Brien.
May 9 – Ralph Kiner of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits his second grand slam in three days—and the eighth of his career—then adds a three-run homer to drive in seven runs, as the Pirates beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 10–5.
May 10 – The last-place Cincinnati Reds (5–13) make three deals, trading catcher Walker Cooper to the Boston Braves for infielder Connie Ryan, purchasing the contract of pitcher Willie Ramsdell from the Brooklyn Dodgers, and selling infielder Jimmy Bloodworth to the Philadelphia Phillies.
May 11 – After he misplays a ball in the Fenway Park outfield, Red Sox fans boo Ted Williams. He reacts by making an obscene gesture three times, once to the fans in right field, next to those in center, and finally to fans along the left-field line. The boos continue when Williams comes to bat, driving him to leave the batter's box and spit toward a group of booing fans near home plate.^[11] The Red Sox (now 14–9) drop a doubleheader to the Detroit Tigers (12–5) and fall out of first place; they trail Detroit by a full game in the American League standings.^[12]
May 12 – One day after his outburst, Williams issues an apology to Red Sox fans.
May 15:
- The Red Sox unconditionally and unceremoniously release the only Black player in their organization, Piper Davis, from their Scranton affiliate after he plays only 15 games. Davis, 33, is leading the team—which is 2–13 and last in the Class A Eastern League—in doubles (four), home runs (three), and runs batted in (ten), with a batting average of .333.^[13] "What does a player have to do to make the grade?" a frustrated Davis asks a local sportswriter.^[14] Tom Yawkey's Red Sox will take nine more years before breaking the baseball color line.
- The New York Yankees sell the contracts of two players—one to each St. Louis franchise: the Browns obtain right-handed pitcher Cuddles Marshall and the Cardinals get outfielder/sometime pitcher Johnny Lindell.
May 17 – The arch-rival New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers make a rare deal with each other, with the Giants purchasing the contract of third baseman Spider Jorgensen. The Giants also sell 38-year-old veteran catcher Ray Mueller, famous as the "Iron Man" for his prodigious "most consecutive games caught" record set during the mid-1940s, to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
May 26:
- The Philadelphia Athletics, whose season began with the hope of pennant contention in Connie Mack's 50th year as manager, compound their on-field woes—they've dropped 21 of their first 32 American League games—with severe dissension among the Mack family itself.^[15] Mack's younger son Connie Jr. and Ben Macfarland (a member of the Shibe family), along with Mack's wife, are arrayed in one ownership faction, while Mack's older sons Roy and Earle by his first marriage form the opposition. Today, the Connie Jr./Macfarland tandem engineer the removal of Earle Mack as the club's assistant manager and heir apparent to Connie Sr., and name Baseball Hall of Fame former catcher Mickey Cochrane general manager and head of the front office, while Jimmy Dykes is elevated from coach to assistant manager. Roy and Earle Mack, who remain co-owners, begin planning to buy out their half-brother, stepmother and Macfarland and regain control of the team. To do so, they will go into debt that will seriously hamper their efforts to keep the club solvent in coming years.^[4]
- The 8–22 Chicago White Sox, lodged in last place in the American League, replace manager Jack Onslow with coach Red Corriden, who will handle the club for the remainder of 1950.
May 31 – The White Sox and Washington Senators make a six-player trade, with Chicago sending pitcher Ray Scarborough, first baseman Eddie Robinson and second baseman Al Kozar to Washington for pitcher Bob Kuzava, second baseman Cass Michaels and outfielder Johnny Ostrowski.

June

June 2 – The Detroit Tigers' future Hall-of-Fame third baseman George Kell hits for the cycle in a 16–2 crushing of the Philadelphia Athletics at Shibe Park.^[16] Kell's is the first of five "cycles" in the major leagues this season, most since 1940.
- Others to hit for the cycle in 1950 are: the Pittsburgh Pirates' Ralph Kiner, another future Hall of Famer, June 25 against Brooklyn at Ebbets Field; Roy Smalley of the Chicago Cubs, June 28 against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field; Elmer Valo of the Athletics, August 2 against the White Sox at Comiskey Park; and Hoot Evers of the Tigers, September 7 against Cleveland at Briggs Stadium.^[17]
June 7 – The Chicago Cubs deal veteran catcher Bob Scheffing to the Cincinnati Reds for outfielder Ron Northey.
June 7–8 – Burying the American League's cellar-dwellers under an avalanche of runs, the third-place Boston Red Sox rout the St. Louis Browns 20–4^[18] and 29–4^[19] in successive days at Fenway Park. The Red Sox mash 51 hits over the two games, including 12 home runs. Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman Bobby Doerr slugs three homers and drives in eight in the June 8 contest. Boston sets an MLB record that day for extra-base hits in a nine-inning game (17). Their 29 runs scored remains in the record books until the Texas Rangers tally 30 against the Browns' successor franchise, the Baltimore Orioles, in 2007.
June 14 – First baseman Mickey Vernon is traded by the Cleveland Indians to his original team, the Washington Senators, for pitcher Dick Weik.
June 15:
- The New York Yankees obtain pitchers Tom Ferrick and Joe Ostrowski and third baseman Leo Thomas from the St. Louis Browns for pitchers Don Johnson and Duane Pillette, second baseman Snuffy Stirnweiss, outfielder Jim Delsing, and $50,000. Reliever Ferrick will contribute eight wins and nine saves to the Yankees' pennant drive, then capture one of the Yanks' four victories in their sweep of the 1950 World Series.
- Left-hander Billy Pierce one-hits the Yankees in a 5–0 Chicago White Sox victory at Comiskey Park. New York third baseman Billy Johnson spoils Pierce's no-hit bit with a fifth-inning single.

June 18 – The Cleveland Indians score 14 runs in the bottom of the first inning and overwhelm the visiting Philadelphia Athletics, 21–2, to sweep a doubleheader against Connie Mack's hapless squad. Cleveland makes only six first-inning hits (although one of them is Ray Boone's three-run bomb) but takes advantage of seven walks issued by Lou Brissie and Carl Scheib.^[20]
June 20 – Former Birmingham Black Barons centerfielder Willie Mays, 19, is signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent. He makes his minor league debut with the Class B Trenton Giants on June 24 at Municipal Stadium in Hagerstown, Maryland against the Hagerstown Braves. Mays will collect 179 hits in 455 at bats (.393), with 38 doubles, 11 triples, 18 home runs, and 88 runs scored in 116 total games in less than a calendar year in the minors before his National League debut on May 25, 1951.
June 22:
- An ailing Joe McCarthy, manager of the Boston Red Sox, arrives at his Western New York farm for a rest after being confined to his hotel room in Chicago since June 18 with an illness reported to be "influenza" and "pleurisy."^[21] Tomorrow, McCarthy will officially step down as the Bosox' manager and end his legendary career. "Marse Joe", 63, retires with a record of 2,125–1,333–29 for an all-time-best .615 winning percentage, including seven World Series championships and eight American League pennants during his tenure (1931 through May 23, 1946) with the New York Yankees. He previously had won a National League flag in 1929 with the Chicago Cubs. McCarthy, whose two full seasons with the Red Sox produced frustrating, second place finishes thanks to end-of-season losses, is replaced in Fenway Park's home dugout by coach Steve O'Neill, himself a veteran manager.
- Insurance executive H. Gabriel Murphy becomes the second-largest shareholder in the Washington Senators when he acquires 40.4% of the team's stock from John Jachym. Murphy is an ally of chief stockholder (at 44%) and team president Clark Griffith, and his purchase ensures that Griffith will remain in control of the franchise he has operated since 1912. However, in 1960, Murphy will file suit in federal court against Clark Griffith's nephew and successor, Calvin, in a futile attempt to keep the Senators from moving to Minneapolis–Saint Paul.
June 23 – Eleven home runs are struck in today's 10–9 victory for the Detroit Tigers over the New York Yankees at Briggs Stadium. Detroit, the winning side, slugs five of them, but are out-homered by the visiting Yanks. Hoot Evers and Hank Bauer trade two-homer days.^[22]
June 24
- The Philadelphia Phillies top the Chicago Cubs, 5–4, on a pair of two-run home runs by shortstop Granny Hamner and catcher Andy Seminick. The energetic Whiz Kids now trail the Brooklyn Dodgers by a game.^[23]
- At Ebbets Field, a curfew suspends today's game between the Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates in the bottom of the eighth inning, with Brooklyn in the midst of a five-run uprising that gives them a 19–12 lead. The game will be completed August 1, with the Dodgers adding two more runs to ultimately defeat the Bucs, 21–12, on the strength of 25 hits.^[24]
June 25 – The Korean War begins not even five years after the end of World War II; in baseball there is immediate concern over a potential large-scale conscription of players into the military, as in the previous decade. The Korean conflict's impact will be most keenly felt this season by the Phillies, who will lose the services of starting pitcher Curt Simmons for the last three weeks of September and the 1950 World Series when his National Guard unit is mobilized.^[25] Simmons, 21, departs for active duty with a record of 17–8 (3.40) with 11 complete games in 27 starts.

July

July 1 – The first-place Philadelphia Phillies defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 6–4, behind unbeaten rookie right-hander Bob Miller, 24, who improves to 7–0 on the season. "Fireman" Jim Konstanty earns his ninth save.
July 2 – Cleveland Indians great Bob Feller wins his 200th major league game, 5–3, over the Detroit Tigers.
July 8 – At Forbes Field, pinch-hitter Jack Phillips hits a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a come-from-behind, 7–6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Phillips' shot comes off Harry Brecheen, and he becomes the first pinch-hitter to belt a walk-off grand slam in major league history. Ralph Kiner and Stan Rojek also homer for the Pirates, while Cliff Chambers is the winning pitcher. Red Schoendienst of the Cardinals is 5-for-5 in a lost cause.
July 9 – The All–Star break sees the Philadelphia Phillies (44–29–2) a game in front of the St. Louis Cardinals (43–30), two ahead of the Boston Braves (42–31–2), and 4½ up on the Brooklyn Dodgers (38–32–1) in the National League; in the Junior Circuit, the Detroit Tigers (49–26–1) hold a three-game edge on the New York Yankees (47–30) and a 4½-game margin on the Cleveland Indians (46–32).
July 10 – The New York Giants find a gem on the waiver wire, acquiring right-hander Jim Hearn from the St. Louis Cardinals. Hearn, 29, will immediately earn a place in the Giants' starting rotation, throw five shutouts in only three months (to lead all National League pitchers in 1950), then win 17 games in 1951 to help New York take the NL pennant.
July 11 – Ted Williams fractures his left elbow in the All–Star Game when he crashes into Comiskey Park's left-field wall successfully chasing down Ralph Kiner's long fly. Williams does not return until September 7 and he will hit "only" .317, a career-low to this point, in 89 games during 1950. The NL All-Stars take the game, 4–3, on Red Schoendienst's 14th-inning homer off Ted Gray.
July 18:
- There's a mid-July logjam at the top of the National League standings: the Boston Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals are all 46–34 (.575) and the fourth-place Brooklyn Dodgers (43–34) are only 1½ games back.
- The Pittsburgh Pirates' ownership reorganizes when John W. Galbreath becomes majority owner, succeeding Frank E. McKinney, who divests himself of his interest. Bing Crosby and Thomas P. Johnson remain minority partners. The original four-man group, led by McKinney, bought the franchise from the heirs of Barney Dreyfuss in August 1946. Galbreath and his family will direct the fortunes of the Bucs until 1985.
July 19 – The New York Yankees purchase the contracts of pitcher Frank Barnes and catcher Elston Howard from the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League.
July 20 – The Philadelphia Athletics send high-priced 1949 acquisition Bob Dillinger to the Pittsburgh Pirates on waivers. Third baseman Dillinger is batting .309 with 110 hits in 84 games, but has angered Philadelphia manager Connie Mack with his indifferent play on defense.^[26]
July 23 – Sheldon Jones of the New York Giants throws 72⁄3 innings of hitless ball against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field before Rube Walker singles for the Cubs' only safety of the game. Jones gets the complete-game shutout, 3–0.^[27]
July 25 – By sweeping a doubleheader at Shibe Park, 7–0 and 1–0, against the Cubs, the Philadelphia Phillies take over undisputed possession of first place in the National League race, a half-game in front of the St. Louis Cardinals. Bubba Church and Robin Roberts spin the pair of shutouts, allowing nine total hits.

August

August 2 – The Cleveland Indians sever ties with Gene Bearden, releasing him on waivers to the Washington Senators. As a rookie in 1948, left-hander Bearden pitched the Tribe to an American League pennant and World Series championship. But, less than two years after his triumphant season, the "phenom" has become a journeyman: he'll see service with the Senators, St. Louis Browns, Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox before exiting the majors after the 1953 season.
August 3 – The AL-leading Tigers add to their pitching staff by purchasing the contract of veteran right-hander Hank Borowy, 34, from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Detroit currently holds a two-game edge over the New York Yankees.
August 6 – At Comiskey Park, Boston Red Sox pitcher Ellis Kinder hits a grand slam off Chicago White Sox ace Billy Pierce. Kinder collects six RBI, and his slam comes after an intentional walk to Birdie Tebbetts. Kinder also stops White Sox rookie Chico Carrasquel's hitting streak at 24 games. In the nightcap, pitcher Joe Dobson allows seven hits and the Red Sox win‚ 4–3‚ to sweep Chicago.
August 11 – At Braves Field, Vern Bickford of the Boston Braves pitches a 7–0 no-hitter over the Brooklyn Dodgers. Bickford walks four, including two in the ninth, but is bailed out when Duke Snider bounces into a game-ending double play.^[28]
August 15 – Ed "Whitey" Ford, a 21-year-old left-hander recalled from Triple-A Kansas City in late June, tosses a three-hitter for the first shutout and complete game of what will be a Hall-of-Fame career, and earns the New York Yankees a split of their doubleheader against the Washington Senators at Griffith Stadium. New York's 9–0 triumph kicks off a torrid, three-week stretch that sees the Bombers win 20 of 23 games, and gain first place in the American League on August 30.
August 16 – New York Giants right-hander Sal Maglie, in his first season back in the National League after a four-year absence caused by his defection to the Mexican League and subsequent suspension, surrenders a mammoth, eighth-inning, three-run homer to Gil Hodges that lands on the roof of the Polo Grounds' left-field grandstand. Then Maglie shuts down Brooklyn for the rest of the way to secure a 16–7 victory.^[29]
- Maglie's recovery from Hodges' blast sets off the majors' longest consecutive scoreless innings pitched streak of 1950. "Sal the Barber" does not allow a run for the next four weeks, hurling four complete-game shutouts and posting two frames of scoreless relief. Finally, on September 13, the Pittsburgh Pirates will tally a run (on Gus Bell's homer) in the seventh inning of Maglie's 3–1 four-hit victory to end his scoreless streak at 452⁄3 innings.^[17] Maglie, now 33, will go 18–4 and lead NL hurlers in earned run average and winning percentage in 1950.
- In their second full season under Leo Durocher, the resurgent Giants will finish 86–68, in third place, five games in arrears of the Philadelphia Phillies.
August 28 – Roy and Earle Mack, elder sons of Connie Mack, regain ownership control of the Philadelphia Athletics by acquiring stock held by their half-brother, Connie Jr., their stepmother, and Ben Macfarland. To do so, they secure a $1.75 million loan from the Connecticut General Life Insurance Company in exchange for a mortgage on Shibe Park and all concessions and rental income. They also announce that Connie Sr., 87, will continue as manager "indefinitely." However, servicing the loan will soon prove to be a fatal income drain that will doom the club's future in Philadelphia.^[4]^[15]
August 31 – Gil Hodges of the Brooklyn Dodgers becomes the sixth Major Leaguer to belt four home runs in a single game. Hodges hits home runs off of four different Boston Braves pitchers and finishes the game with nine runs batted in. Brooklyn trounces Boston, 19–3.

September

September 2 – At Braves Field, the Philadelphia Phillies' Curt Simmons out-duels Boston's Johnny Sain, 2–0, for his 17th triumph of 1950, and the Phillies' 35th win in their last 48 games. Now 80–47, they maintain a seven-game lead over second-place Brooklyn in the National League.
September 5 – The New York Yankees purchase the contract of outfielder Johnny Hopp from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
September 7:
- With a tie of their own, the Detroit Tigers pull into a tie with the Yankees for the American League lead by battling the Cleveland Indians to a 13–13 deadlock over ten innings before the Briggs Stadium contest is called due to darkness. Hoot Evers collects five hits and hits for the cycle. The stalemate gives Detroit an 82–48–3 (.631) record and a two-percentage-point lead over New York (83–49–1, .629), who lost today. The statistics (including Evers' feat) will stand, but the game will be replayed in full during Detroit's end-of-season home series against Cleveland.^[30]
- The St. Louis Cardinals purchase the contract of outfielder Peanuts Lowrey from the Cincinnati Reds.
September 24 – Trailing the New York Yankees by 1½ games with only eight to play, the second-place Tigers drop a back-breaking ten-inning game to the home-standing Indians, 2–1. The game, played under smoke-filled skies caused by forest fires blazing across Lake Erie, is lost when Detroit catcher Aaron Robinson fails to see his first baseman record an out on Luke Easter's grounder with the bases loaded. Thinking that a force play is still in effect, when he gets the throw to execute a 3–2–3 double play, Robinson touches home to "force" the incoming Cleveland baserunner, Bob Lemon. However, because the out at first base demanded that Robinson tag the runner, not the plate, Lemon is able to score the Indians' winning tally.^[31] The Tigers ultimately finish three games in arrears of the Yankees when the season ends a week later.
September 25 – Rookie Whitey Ford wins his ninth straight decision as a major-leaguer, hurling a complete game, 7–4 triumph for the Yankees against the Washington Senators. Two days later, in relief against the Philadelphia Athletics at Shibe Park, Ford gives up a game-winning, two-run, ninth-inning homer to Sam Chapman and suffers the first loss of his career.
September 27 – Seventeen-year-old Harry Chiti makes his MLB debut for the Chicago Cubs. Chiti's best remember for something that happened later in his career. He would become the first player in major league history traded for himself.
September 30:
- The Brooklyn Dodgers pull within one game of the National League lead, winning 7–3 over the Philadelphia Phillies in the first of a two-games series at Ebbets Field. Duke Snider and Roy Campanella hit home runs for the Dodgers, as Erv Palica (13–8) is the winning pitcher. Bob Miller (11–6) is the loser.
- At Fenway Park, sixth-inning RBI hits by Gene Woodling, Billy Martin and Yogi Berra (a two-run homer) key an eventual 6–5 victory over the Boston Red Sox, and enable the New York Yankees to claim their 17th AL pennant since 1921.

October

October 1:
- At Ebbets Field, the Philadelphia Phillies clinch the National League pennant on a tenth-inning, three-run home run by left fielder Dick Sisler against Don Newcombe, in a dramatic 4–1 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers on the season's last day. An inside-the-park home run by Pee Wee Reese accounts for the only Dodgers' run; a potential ninth-inning winning rally is quelled when Richie Ashburn easily throws out Brooklyn baserunner Cal Abrams at home plate. Robin Roberts, making his third start in five days, earns his 20th victory of the season. It's only the second NL title in the Phils' 68-year-long history, and their first since 1915.
- At Comiskey Park, Gus Zernial of the Chicago White Sox becomes the first player to hit three home runs in his team's final game of a regular season, doing so in the White Sox' 10–6 loss in the second game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Browns. Zernial will be joined by Dick Allen in 1968 and Evan Longoria in 2012 as players to hit three home runs in their team's regular-season finale.
October 7 – The New York Yankees defeat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5–2, in Game 4 of the World Series to win undefeated their thirteenth world championship. The Phillies will not appear again in the postseason until 1976, and they will not appear again in the World Series until they win it for the very first time in 1980.
October 8 – Former MLB catcher Paul Richards, 42, is named manager of the Chicago White Sox. In 1950, Richards had led the Triple-A Seattle Rainiers to only a 96–104 record over the lengthy Pacific Coast League season, but in Chicago he will turn around the on-field fortunes of the long-bedraggled franchise, posting a 342–265–6 (.563) mark and four first-division finishes.
October 10 – The Chicago Cubs acquire two first basemen from the Brooklyn Dodgers in exchange for outfielder Hank Edwards and cash. One of them is Dee Fondy, who will become the Cubs' regular first sacker. The other is Chuck Connors, a Brooklyn native who will eventually become an actor and gain fame as the star of TV's The Rifleman .
October 16 – Eddie Dyer, manager of the St. Louis Cardinals since Opening Day 1946, resigns his post after a disappointing, fifth-place finish. He leaves with a 446–325–6 (.578) record over five seasons, with one World Series championship. Dyer, 51, steps away from baseball and returns full-time to his successful business career in Houston.
October 18 – Hall-of-Famer Connie Mack, 87, retires as manager of the Philadelphia Athletics after 50 years at the helm—the only pilot the team has known since its founding in 1901. Assistant manager Jimmy Dykes, 53, who played for "The Tall Tactician" between 1918 and 1932, then spent all or part of 13 seasons between 1934 and 1946 as manager of the Chicago White Sox, is named Mack's successor. Mack, who retains the title of team president and his ownership stake, retires after having won nine American League pennants and five World Series championships over his half century with the Athletics; however, he compiled a losing winning percentage (.484) over that time, and his Philadelphia teams finished last 17 times and were frequently in financial distress.^[32]
October 26:
- A seismic change occurs in the Brooklyn Dodgers' front office. One-quarter owner Walter O'Malley announces that Branch Rickey's contract as president and general manager will not be renewed, and that he has acquired Rickey's 25% interest to become principal owner, controlling 50% of the team's stock. O'Malley, 47, assumes the club presidency and promotes two Dodger executives to vice president: Montreal Royals' general manager Buzzie Bavasi, who will supervise the MLB Dodgers' baseball operations, and assistant minor league director Fresco Thompson, who will run the far-flung Brooklyn farm system. O'Malley thus triumphs in a long-running power struggle with Rickey over the Dodger organization.^[33]^[34]
- Phil Rizzuto, New York Yankees' shortstop, wins the American League MVP Award for 1950, capturing 16 of 23 first-place votes. Versatile Billy Goodman of the Boston Red Sox, the AL batting champ, is a distant second.
October 27 – Joe Gordon's 11-year big league playing career ends when he's released by the Cleveland Indians. The future Hall of Fame second baseman, 35, who won five World Series rings over that span, becomes the player-manager of the Sacramento Solons of the Pacific Coast League.

November

Jim Konstanty Jim Konstanty Bowman card.jpg — Jim Konstanty

November 2 – Philadelphia Phillies relief ace Jim Konstanty is selected the National League MVP for 1950. Appearing in a record 74 games, he won 16 games, saved 22 others, and started his team's first World Series game in 45 years. The veteran 33-year-old moundsman amasses 18 of 24 first-place votes, and outpaces 3x former MVP Stan Musial.
November 3 – Future Baseball Hall of Fame executive Branch Rickey, forced out of the Brooklyn Dodgers' ownership suite and front office just a week earlier, becomes executive vice president and general manager of the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates, succeeding Roy Hamey. Rickey, 68, is renowned for inventing the farm system of player development and building the St. Louis Cardinals into a perennial contender when he ran their front office from 1925 to 1942. Then, from 1943 to 1950, he worked to break the baseball color line and built another leading-edge farm system with the Dodgers, who are poised to become a National League dynasty.
November 9 – After 2,422 games played (and 2,749 career hits) over his 21-season career, the Chicago White Sox release veteran Luke Appling, 43, their long-time shortstop and two-time American League batting champion. "Ol' Aches and Pains" will be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964, and the White Sox will eventually retire Appling's #4 uniform.
November 10 – The Cleveland Indians change managers, replacing playing skipper Lou Boudreau with former catcher Al López, 42, who had been managing Triple-A Indianapolis. Boudreau, 33, had led Cleveland to a 728–649–12 (.529) record over nine full seasons, including the 1948 AL pennant and World Series championship. Eleven days later, the future Hall-of-Fame shortstop is unconditionally released at his own request. Then, on November 27, Boudreau signs a two-year playing contract with the Boston Red Sox worth an estimated $150,000.
November 26 – The Gillette Safety Razor Co. signs a six-year deal, worth an estimated $6 million, with Major League Baseball for the television and radio rights for the World Series.
November 28 – Brooklyn Dodgers majority owner Walter O'Malley continues his house-cleaning as he names PCL Oakland manager and former Brooklyn third-base coach Chuck Dressen, 56, to replace Burt Shotton as the Dodgers' skipper. Shotton, 66, a longtime associate of ousted Dodger president Branch Rickey, compiled a 326–215 record, with two NL pennants, between 1947 and 1950.
November 29 – The St. Louis Cardinals fill their managerial opening when their stellar shortstop, seven-time NL All-Star Marty Marion, hangs up his glove at age 33 and signs a one-year contract.

December

December 5 – Mel Ott hires on for two years to fill the Oakland Oaks managerial spot vacated by Chuck Dressen. Ott last managed on July 15, 1948, his final game as skipper of the New York Giants. He comes to the Pacific Coast League having never played (or managed) a game in minor league baseball.
December 10 – A quiet off-season trade market briefly stirs to life when the Boston Red Sox send pitchers Joe Dobson and Dick Littlefield and outfielder Al Zarilla to the Chicago White Sox for pitchers Ray Scarborough and Bill Wight.
December 11 – Serious dissatisfaction with Commissioner of Baseball Happy Chandler's job performance unexpectedly surfaces at the MLB owners' meeting in Saint Petersburg, Florida. An early discussion of extending Chandler's contract (which expires April 30, 1952) reveals that only nine of the 16 clubs are in favor of retaining the former U.S. Senator from Kentucky. Three votes are then taken, with Chandler failing to gain more than nine "ayes". Chandler offers to quit immediately, then vows he will remain "to the last second of office". The owners then vote unanimously to begin searching for a new Commissioner while Chandler campaigns to keep his post.
December 13 – The Boston Red Sox sell the contract of veteran catcher Birdie Tebbetts to the Cleveland Indians, and purchase backstop Mike Guerra from the Philadelphia Athletics. Tebbetts, 38, is coming off one of his best offensive seasons (.310 in 79 games), but he angered Boston management by publicly criticizing members of the Bosox pitching staff as "juvenile delinquents" and "moronic malcontents" after the season.^[35]
December 28 – The New York Yankees release "Old Reliable," veteran outfielder Tommy Henrich, 37, who won six World Series rings and was selected to five AL All-Star teams during his 11 seasons with the Bombers.

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