1950 in baseball

Last updated February 25, 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 Braves (June 11) and the Brooklyn Dodgers (June 15), setting a record that still stands today.
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 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 several off-season trades looking to build upon their promising 1949 campaign and return to contention, and added gold trim to their uniforms in Mack's honor. 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.^[2]
- 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.^[3] The Yanks overcome a 10–4 Boston lead with a nine-run eighth inning.^[4]
- 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.

May

May 6 – The Boston Braves hit five home runs in a 15–11 trouncing of the Cincinnati Reds. This gives the Braves a National League record of 13 home runs in three consecutive games‚ breaking the mark of 12 set by the New York Giants on July 1‚ 2‚ 3‚ 1947. Grady Hatton and Ron Northey hit consecutive homers for the Reds in a lost 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 8th of his career-, and adds a three-run homer to drives 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 a misplay of a ball in the outfield, Red Sox fans boo Ted Williams. Williams reacts to the fans by giving the fans in the outfield section an obscene gesture (Williams make the gesture three times, once to the fans in right field, next, fans in center field, and finally the fans in left). The boos continue when Williams comes to bat, driving Williams to leave the batters box and spit on a group of fans nearby that were booing him.^[5]
May 12 – One day after his emotional outburst, Ted Williams issues an apology to Red Sox fans.
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. 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.
- 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 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 and 29–4 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.

June 18 – Future Baseball Hall of Famer Joe McCarthy steps down as manager of the Boston Red Sox and ends his legendary career. "Marse Joe", 63, retires with a won-lost 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.
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 – 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 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.

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 homered for the Pirates, while Cliff Chambers was the winning pitcher. Red Schoendienst of the Cardinals went 5-for-5 in a lost cause.
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 at Chicago's Comiskey Park. Williams does not return until September 7 and he will hit "only" .317, a career-low to this point, in 89 games during 1950.
July 18 – 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 from the Kansas City Monarchs. The Yankees also purchased another contract from Kansas City, that of catcher Elston Howard.
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.

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 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.
August 13 – At Shibe Park, the New York Giants earn a split in their four-games series with the National League-leading Philadelphia Phillies. In their second full season under Leo Durocher, the resurgent Giants will finish 86–68, in third place, three games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers and five in arrears of the 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.^[6]
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 5 – The New York Yankees purchase the contract of outfielder Johnny Hopp from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
September 7 – 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 five to play, the second-place Detroit Tigers drop a back-breaking ten-inning game to the home-standing Cleveland 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.^[7] The Tigers ultimately finish three games in arrears of the Yankees when the season ends a week later.
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.

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 won 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 will return 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.^[8]
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.

November

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 champoionship. 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 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.^[9]
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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