| Boston Red Sox | |
| Season: | 1948 |
| League: | American League |
| Ballpark: | Fenway Park |
| City: | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Record: | 96–59 (.619) |
| League Place: | 2nd (1 GB) |
| Owners: | Tom Yawkey |
| President: | Tom Yawkey |
| General Managers: | Joe Cronin |
| Managers: | Joe McCarthy |
| Television: | WBZ-TV/WNAC-TV (Jim Britt, Tom Hussey, Bump Hadley) |
| Radio: | WHDH (Jim Britt, Tom Hussey) |
| Espntn: | bos |
| Brtn: | 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.[1] 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.[2] [3]
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.[4]
In 1948, Kramer led the American League in winning percentage.[4] 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.[7]
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.
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.[8]
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.
| 7 | CF | |
| 6 | 3B | |
| 9 | LF | |
| 2 | 1B | |
| 5 | SS | |
| 1 | 2B | |
| 4 | RF | |
| 8 | C | |
| 15 | P | |
| 1948 Boston Red Sox | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | CatchersInfielders | OutfieldersOther batters | ManagerCoaches (Third base) (First base) (Hitting) (Bullpen) | ||||||
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 | 128 | 446 | 125 | .280 | 5 | 68 | ||
| 1B | 127 | 445 | 138 | .310 | 1 | 66 | ||
| 2B | 140 | 527 | 150 | .285 | 27 | 111 | ||
| SS | 155 | 635 | 171 | .285 | 29 | 137 | ||
| 3B | 143 | 565 | 159 | .281 | 3 | 55 | ||
| OF | 137 | 509 | 188 | .369 | 25 | 127 | ||
| OF | 114 | 391 | 92 | .235 | 12 | 61 | ||
| OF | 155 | 648 | 185 | .285 | 9 | 87 |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78 | 189 | 49 | .259 | 2 | 29 | ||
| 66 | 180 | 42 | .233 | 2 | 25 | ||
| 49 | 124 | 37 | .298 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 46 | 118 | 37 | .314 | 1 | 24 | ||
| 36 | 105 | 21 | .200 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 4 | 11 | 1 | .091 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 4 | 4 | 2 | .500 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | 245.1 | 16 | 10 | 3.56 | 116 | ||
| 35 | 212.0 | 15 | 8 | 3.14 | 77 | ||
| 29 | 205.0 | 18 | 5 | 4.35 | 72 | ||
| 28 | 178.0 | 10 | 7 | 3.74 | 53 | ||
| 20 | 113.2 | 7 | 10 | 5.30 | 42 | ||
| 1 | 1.1 | 0 | 1 | 20.25 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 137.1 | 8 | 8 | 4.00 | 38 | ||
| 31 | 115.1 | 7 | 3 | 5.23 | 30 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 4.53 | 45 | ||
| 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5.12 | 6 | ||
| 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.65 | 5 | ||
| 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13.00 | 5 | ||
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.17 | 17 | ||
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.43 | 4 | ||
| 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 | 1 |
See also: Minor League Baseball.
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Birmingham, Scranton, Oneonta, Milford
Source:[9]