1949 Cleveland Indians season

March 2026 November 2013 Cleveland Indians 1949 American League Cleveland Municipal Stadium Cleveland, Ohio Bill Veeck, Ellis Ryan Bill Veeck Lou Boudreau WEWS-TV(Bob Neal, Tris Speaker) WJW(Jack Graney, Jimmy Dudley) The 1949 season was the 49th season in the history of the Cleveland Indians. The club entered the season as the defending World Champions. On March 5, 1949, Indians minority owner Bob Hope donned a Cleveland Indians uniform and posed with manager Lou Boudreau and vice president Hank Greenberg as the World Series champions opened spring training camp in Tucson, Arizona.http://www.cleveland.com/homegrown/index.ssf?/homegrown/more/hope/allroads.html For our favorite son Bob Hope, all roads lead back home to Ohio www.cleveland.com https://web.archive.org/web/20110607122530/http://www.cleveland.com/homegrown/index.ssf?%2Fhomegrown%2Fmore%2Fhope%2Fallroads.html June 7, 2011 Offseason November 15, 1948: 1948 minor league draft Bob Chakales was drafted by the Indians from the Philadelphia Phillies.Bob Chakales at Baseball Reference Grant Dunlap was drafted from the Indians by the New York Yankees.Grant Dunlap at Baseball Reference December 14, 1948: Ed Klieman, Joe Haynes, and Eddie Robinson were traded by the Indians to the Washington Senators for Mickey Vernon and Early Wynn.Mickey Vernon at Baseball Reference Prior to 1949 season: Brooks Lawrence was signed as an amateur free agent by the Indians.Brooks Lawrence at Baseball Reference Regular season Following their 1948 World Series championship, the 1949 Indians season proved to be a disappointment. Despite having the best overall pitching and fielding statistics in either the American or National Leagues, the Indians finished a distant third place behind the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. A team roster that boasted eight future members of the Baseball Hall of Fame (Lou Boudreau, Larry Doby, Bob Feller, Joe Gordon, Bob Lemon, Satchel Paige, Minnie Miñoso, and Early Wynn) could not deliver a second consecutive championship to Cleveland. During the season, Indians fan Charlie Lupica spent 117 days on a flagpole, waiting for the Indians to regain first place. They never did, and he gave up his pursuit when the Indians were mathematically eliminated on September 25.https://books.google.com/books?id=Owky8jDHut4C&q=%22Charlie+Lupica%22&pg=PA114 Veeck--As In Wreck: The Autobiography of Bill Veeck Bill Veeck Ed Linn April 7, 2001 University of Chicago Press 9780226852188 April 22, 2018 Google Books Season standings Record vs. opponents CLE Notable transactions April 28, 1949: Grant Dunlap was returned to the Indians by the New York Yankees. Opening Day Lineup +Opening Day Starters # Name Position34 Dale Mitchell LF37 Larry Doby CF5 Lou Boudreau SS4 Joe Gordon 2B3 Mickey Vernon 1B6 Ken Keltner 3B33 Bob Kennedy RF10 Jim Hegan C19 Bob Feller P 1949 Opening Day Lineup at Baseball-Reference Roster 1949 Cleveland Indians Roster Pitchers 30 Gene Bearden 22 Al Benton 19 Bob Feller 25 Mike Garcia 27 Steve Gromek 21 Bob Lemon 29 Satchel Paige 26 Frank Papish 24 Early Wynn 20 Sam Zoldak Catchers 10 Jim Hegan 11 Mike Tresh Infielders  1 Bobby Ávila  2 Johnny Berardino  8 Ray Boone  5 Lou Boudreau  4 Joe Gordon  6 Ken Keltner  7 Al Rosen  3 Mickey Vernon Outfielders 31 Allie Clark 37,14 Larry Doby  9 Luke Easter 32 Hank Edwards 33 Bob Kennedy 18 Minnie Miñoso 34 Dale Mitchell 17 Milt Nielsen 36 Hal Peck  9 Herman Reich 38 Thurman Tucker Other batters 15 Fred Marsh Manager  5 Lou Boudreau Coaches 43 Mel Harder (Pitching) 41 Bill McKechnie (Third base) 45 Steve O'Neill 42 Muddy Ruel 44 George Susce Player stats = Indicates team leader = Indicates league leader 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 RBICJim Hegan152468105.224855 1B Mickey Vernon 153 584 170 .291 18 832B Joe Gordon148533136.2512084 SS Lou Boudreau 134 475 135 .284 4 603BKen Keltner8024657.232830OFDale Mitchell149640203.317356OFLarry Doby147547153.2802485OFBob Kennedy121424117.276957 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 RBIRay Boone8625865.252426Thurman Tucker8019748.244014Johnny Berardino5011623.198013Allie Clark357413.17619Luke Easter214510.22202Al Rosen23447.15905Mike Tresh38378.21601Hal Peck33299.31009Minnie Miñoso9163.18811Hank Edwards5154.26711Bobby Ávila31143.21403Milt Nielsen391.11100Herman Reich121.50000Fred Marsh100.---00 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 SOBob Lemon37279.222102.99138Bob Feller36211.015143.75108Early Wynn26164.21174.1562Gene Bearden32127.0885.1041 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 Steve Gromek 40 92.0463.3322Sam Zoldak2753.0124.2511 Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SOAl Benton4096102.1241Mike Garcia4114522.3694Satchel Paige314753.0454Frank Papish251013.1923 Awards and honors Dale Mitchell, American League leader, triples (23)Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 98, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, 978-0-451-22363-0 Team ERA of 3.36 lowest in MLB for 1949https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/1949-standard-pitching.shtml 1949 Major League Baseball Standard Pitching Baseball-Reference.com Baseball-Reference.com en 2017-10-24 Team fielding percentage of .983 highest in MLB for 1949https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1949-standard-fielding.shtml 1949 American League Standard Fielding Baseball-Reference.com Baseball-Reference.com en 2017-10-24 All Star Game Larry Doby, Outfielder, reserve Joe Gordon, Second baseman, reserve Jim Hegan, Catcher, reserve Bob Lemon, Pitcher, reserve Dale Mitchell, Outfielder, reserve Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA San Diego Padres Pacific Coast League Bucky Harris AA Oklahoma City Indians Texas League Joe Vosmik A Dayton Indians Central League Ski Melillo A Wilkes-Barre Barons Eastern League Bill Norman B St. Petersburg Saints Florida International League Myril Hoag, Harry Sullivan, Johnny Beazley and Dick Porter B Harrisburg Senators Interstate League Les Bell B Spartanburg Peaches Tri-State League Kerby Farrell C Tucson Cowboys Arizona–Texas League Gene Lillard C Bakersfield Indians California League Harry Griswold C Pittsfield Indians Canadian–American League Gene Hasson C Burlington Indians Central Association Lloyd Brown D Cordele Indians Georgia–Florida League Hal Lee D Iola Indians Kansas–Oklahoma–Missouri League Winlow Johnson D Union City Greyhounds KITTY League Tony Rensa and Rudy York D Stroudsburg Poconos North Atlantic League Frank Radler D Zanesville Indians Ohio–Indiana League Pat McLaughlin D Batavia Clippers PONY League Ed Kobesky D Green Bay Blue Jays Wisconsin State League Phil SeghiLEAGUE CHAMPIONS: StroudsburgJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007 Notes 2 References 1949 Cleveland Indians at Baseball Reference 1949 Cleveland Indians at Baseball Almanac Category:Cleveland Guardians seasons Cleveland Indians season Cleveland Indians Category:1940s in Cleveland