| Brooklyn Dodgers | |
| Season: | 1948 |
| League: | National League |
| Ballpark: | Ebbets Field |
| City: | Brooklyn, New York |
| Owners: | James & Dearie Mulvey, Walter O'Malley, Branch Rickey, John L. Smith |
| President: | Branch Rickey |
| Managers: | Leo Durocher, Ray Blades, Burt Shotton |
| Radio: | WMGM Red Barber, Connie Desmond, Ernie Harwell |
Leo Durocher returned as manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers to start the 1948 season but was fired in mid-season. He was replaced first by team coach Ray Blades and then by Burt Shotton, who had managed the team to the 1947 pennant. The Dodgers finished third in the National League after this tumultuous season.
The 1948 Dodgers were very much a work in progress, beginning to coalesce into the classic "Boys of Summer" teams of the 1950s. Gil Hodges was in the opening day lineup, but as a catcher. He would only be shifted to first base after the emergence of Roy Campanella. Jackie Robinson started the season at second base—Eddie Stanky had been traded just before the start of the season to make room for Robinson at his natural position; he had played first base during his 1947 rookie season. Pee Wee Reese was the only "Boys of summer" regular to already be ensconced at his position, shortstop. Billy Cox had been acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates during the offseason, but as one of nine players who would see time at third for the team that year, he only played 70 games at the position. Carl Furillo was already a regular, but in center field. Duke Snider was brought up to the team in mid-season, and it was not until 1949 that Furillo moved to right field and Snider became the regular center fielder.
Preacher Roe and Ralph Branca were in the starting rotation, but Carl Erskine only appeared in a handful of games, and Don Newcombe would not join the staff until the following year.
Future Hall of Famer Roy Campanella made his major league debut on April 20.[6] In July, Campanella replaced Bruce Edwards as the club's starting catcher. This marked the first time that a major league team had two black players in its everyday lineup.[7]
On September 9, Rex Barney pitched a no-hitter against the New York Giants. He walked two batters and struck out four in a 2–0 victory.
| 1948 Brooklyn Dodgers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | CatchersInfielders | Outfielders | ManagerCoaches | ||||||
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 | 83 | 279 | 72 | .258 | 9 | 45 | ||
| 1B | 134 | 481 | 120 | .249 | 11 | 70 | ||
| 2B | 147 | 574 | 170 | .296 | 12 | 85 | ||
| 3B | 88 | 237 | 59 | .249 | 3 | 15 | ||
| SS | 151 | 566 | 155 | .274 | 9 | 75 | ||
| OF | 133 | 400 | 116 | .290 | 15 | 60 | ||
| OF | 108 | 364 | 108 | .297 | 4 | 44 | ||
| OF | 88 | 281 | 92 | .327 | 0 | 15 |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 96 | 286 | 79 | .276 | 8 | 54 | ||
| 86 | 221 | 47 | .213 | 2 | 16 | ||
| 60 | 165 | 48 | .291 | 0 | 20 | ||
| 63 | 161 | 43 | .267 | 4 | 32 | ||
| 53 | 160 | 39 | .244 | 5 | 21 | ||
| 42 | 146 | 38 | .260 | 1 | 21 | ||
| 54 | 145 | 35 | .241 | 2 | 20 | ||
| 64 | 127 | 30 | .236 | 1 | 19 | ||
| 65 | 123 | 30 | .244 | 3 | 22 | ||
| 31 | 90 | 27 | .300 | 1 | 13 | ||
| 27 | 69 | 13 | .188 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 12 | 13 | 2 | .154 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 9 | 12 | 2 | .167 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44 | 246.2 | 15 | 13 | 3.10 | 138 | ||
| 36 | 215.2 | 14 | 9 | 3.51 | 122 | ||
| 17 | 80.2 | 2 | 7 | 5.36 | 32 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | 208.2 | 13 | 10 | 3.58 | 73 | ||
| 34 | 177.2 | 12 | 8 | 2.63 | 86 | ||
| 41 | 125.1 | 6 | 6 | 4.45 | 74 | ||
| 17 | 64.0 | 6 | 3 | 3.23 | 29 | ||
| 4 | 7.1 | 0 | 1 | 6.14 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 3.1 | 0 | 1 | 8.10 | 1 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 4.05 | 42 | ||
| 28 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2.44 | 23 | ||
| 27 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5.19 | 34 | ||
| 22 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 8.00 | 7 | ||
| 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8.03 | 5 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.60 | 1 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.23 | 2 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 0 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
