1948 Boston Red Sox season

Major League Baseball season March 2026 November 2013 Boston Red Sox 1948 American League Fenway Park Boston, Massachusetts 96–59 (.619) 2nd Tom Yawkey Tom Yawkey Joe Cronin Joe McCarthy WBZ-TV/WNAC-TV(Jim Britt, Tom Hussey, Bump Hadley) WHDH(Jim Britt, Tom Hussey) bos BOS The 1948 Boston Red Sox season was the 48th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. After 154 regular-season games, the Red Sox and Cleveland Indians finished atop the American League with identical records of 96 wins and 58 losses. The teams then played a tie-breaker game, which was won by Cleveland, 8–3.https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/october-4-1948-rookie-bearden-wins-20th-boudreau-homers-twice-as-indians-win-pennant-in-al-tiebreaker/ October 4, 1948: Rookie Bearden wins 20th, Boudreau homers twice as Indians win pennant in AL tiebreaker Joseph Wancho SABR October 4, 2020 Thus, the Red Sox finished their season with a record of 96 wins and 59 losses, one game behind Cleveland. This was the first Red Sox season to be broadcast on television, with broadcasts alternated between WBZ-TV and WNAC-TV, with the same broadcast team regardless of broadcasting station. The first Red Sox game to be broadcast on television was on July 2, 1948, a 4–2 loss to the Philadelphia Athletics.Nowlin Bill Boston Red Sox Firsts: The Players, Moments, and Records that were First in Team History Lyons Press 2023 9781493073382 Essex, Connecticut 61Philadelphia Athletics vs Boston Red Sox Box Score: July 2, 1948 https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS194807020.shtml live https://web.archive.org/web/20230419091045/https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS194807020.shtml April 19, 2023 2023-05-07 Baseball-Reference.com en Offseason In December 1947, the Red Sox made a deal with the St. Louis Browns. The Sox acquired Vern Stephens, Billy Hitchcock, and pitchers Jack Kramer and Ellis Kinder. The deal cost $375,000 and 11 Red Sox players.The Boston Red Sox: An Illustrated History Milton Cole Jim Kaplan 30 World Publications Group North Dighton, Massachusetts 2009 978-1-57215-412-4 Notable transactions Prior to 1948 season (exact date unknown) Milt Bolling was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox.Milt Bolling page at Baseball Reference Bob SmithBob Smith page at Baseball Reference was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox. Regular season In 1948, Kramer led the American League in winning percentage. The manager of the team was former New York Yankees manager Joe McCarthy, who replaced the outgoing Joe Cronin. Cronin had led the Red Sox to an 83–71 record in 1947, finishing in third place.The Boston Red Sox: An Illustrated History Milton Cole Jim Kaplan 29 World Publications Group North Dighton, Massachusetts 2009 978-1-57215-412-4 Throughout 1948, the Sox, New York Yankees, and the Cleveland Indians slugged it out for the pennant. At the end of the regular season, Boston and Cleveland were tied for first place. Each team had a record of 96 wins and 58 losses, two games ahead of the Yankees. American League Playoff At the end of the season, the Red Sox and the Indians were tied for first place. This led to the American League's first-ever one-game playoff. The game was played at Fenway Park on Monday, October 4, 1948. The start time was 1:15 pm EST. McCarthy picked former St. Louis Browns pitcher Denny Galehouse, who had an 8–7 pitching record, to be his starter. According to Mel Parnell, McCarthy chose Galehouse on the basis that he pitched well in relief against the Indians in Cleveland, whilst Billy Hitchcock reasoned that McCarthy chose Galehouse on the grounds that Galehouse's slider would keep Cleveland's right-handed hitters away from Fenway's left-field wall.Parker Gary R. Win or Go Home: Sudden Death Baseball McFarland & Company 2002 0-7864-1096-5 Jefferson, North Carolina 73–74 The Indians won the game by the score of 8–3. Indians third baseman Ken Keltner contributed to the victory with his single, double, and 3-run homer over the Green Monster in the 4th inning. Later, McCarthy said he had no rested arms and that there was no else who could pitch. Mel Parnell and Ellis Kinder claimed that they were both ready to pitch. Season standings Record vs. opponents BOS Opening Day lineup  7 Dom DiMaggio CF 6 Johnny Pesky 3B 9 Ted Williams LF 2 Stan Spence 1B 5 Vern Stephens SS 1 Bobby Doerr 2B 4 Sam Mele RF 8 Birdie Tebbetts C15 Joe Dobson P Roster 1948 Boston Red Sox Roster Pitchers 20 Earl Caldwell 28 Cot Deal 15 Joe Dobson 20 Harry Dorish 33 Dave Ferriss 25 Denny Galehouse 19 Mickey Harris 21 Tex Hughson 12 Earl Johnson 16 Ellis Kinder 18 Jack Kramer 35 Windy McCall 36 Mickey McDermott 20 Mike Palm 17 Mel Parnell 22 Chuck Stobbs Catchers 14 Matt Batts 34 Babe Martin  8 Birdie Tebbetts Infielders  1 Bobby Doerr 10 Billy Goodman 11 Billy Hitchcock  3 Jake Jones  6 Johnny Pesky  5 Vern Stephens 26 Lou Stringer Outfielders  7 Dom DiMaggio  4 Sam Mele 24 Wally Moses  2 Stan Spence  9 Ted Williams Other batters 27 Johnny Ostrowski 23 Neill Sheridan 23 Tom Wright Manager -- Joe McCarthy Coaches 30 Del Baker (Third base) 32 Earle Combs (First base) 31 Paul Schreiber (Hitting) 29 Larry Woodall (Bullpen) Player stats Batting Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C Birdie Tebbetts 128 446 125 .280 5 68 1B Billy Goodman 127 445 138 .310 1 66 2B Bobby Doerr 140 527 150 .285 27 111 SS Vern Stephens 155 635 171 .285 29 137 3B Johnny Pesky 143 565 159 .281 3 55 OF Ted Williams 137 509 188 .369 25 127 OF Stan Spence 114 391 92 .235 12 61 OF Dom DiMaggio 155 648 185 .285 9 87 Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI Wally Moses 78 189 49 .259 2 29 Sam Mele 66 180 42 .233 2 25 Billy Hitchcock 49 124 37 .298 1 2 Matt Batts 46 118 37 .314 1 24 Jake Jones Jake Jones (baseball) 36 105 21 .200 1 8 Lou Stringer 4 11 1 .091 1 1 Babe Martin 4 4 2 .500 0 0 Tom Wright Tom Wright (baseball) 3 2 1 .500 0 0 Neill Sheridan 2 1 0 .000 0 0 Johnny Ostrowski 1 1 0 .000 0 0 Pitching Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Joe Dobson 38 245.1 16 10 3.56 116 Mel Parnell 35 212.0 15 8 3.14 77 Jack Kramer Jack Kramer (baseball) 29 205.0 18 5 4.35 72 Ellis Kinder 28 178.0 10 7 3.74 53 Mickey Harris 20 113.2 7 10 5.30 42 Windy McCall 1 1.1 0 1 20.25 0 Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Denny Galehouse 27 137.1 8 8 4.00 38 Dave Ferriss 31 115.1 7 3 5.23 30 Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO Earl Johnson Earl Johnson (baseball) 35 10 4 5 4.53 45 Tex Hughson 15 3 1 0 5.12 6 Harry Dorish 9 0 1 0 5.65 5 Earl Caldwell 8 1 1 0 13.00 5 Mickey McDermott 7 0 0 0 6.17 17 Chuck Stobbs 6 0 0 0 6.43 4 Cot Deal 4 1 0 0 0.00 2 Mike Palm Mike Palm (baseball) 3 0 0 0 6.00 1 Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Louisville Colonels American Association Nemo Leibold and Owen Scheetz AA Birmingham Barons Southern Association Fred Walters A Scranton Red Sox Eastern League Mike Ryba B Lynn Red Sox New England League Eddie Popowski B Roanoke Red Sox Piedmont League Pinky Higgins C El Paso Texans Arizona–Texas League Wally Millies C Auburn Cayugas Border League Phillip "Barnie" Hearn C San Jose Red Sox California League Marv Owen C Oneonta Red Sox Canadian–American League Red Marion D Milford Red Sox Eastern Shore League Clayton Sheedy D Oroville Red Sox Far West League Nino Bongiovanni D Valley Rebels Georgia–Alabama League Jesse Danna D Wellsville Red Sox PONY League Tom Carey LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Birmingham, Scranton, Oneonta, Milford Source:The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball Lloyd Johnson Miles Wolff Third Baseball America 2007 978-1932391176426 References External links 1948 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference 1948 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com Category:Boston Red Sox seasons Boston Red Sox Boston Red Sox Category:1940s in Boston