The 1949 Washington Senators, the 49th season of the

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

franchise, won 50 games, lost 104, and finished in eighth and last place in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

. It was the worst showing by the Washington club in 40 years, since the 1909 Senators lost 110 games. The team was managed by

Joe Kuhel Joseph Anthony Kuhel (June 25, 1906 – February 26, 1984) was an Americans, American professional baseball baseball player, player and manager (baseball), manager. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he was a first baseman who played in the Major League Bas ...

; it played its home games at

Griffith Stadium Griffith Stadium stood in Washington, D.C., from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street (left field), and between W Street and Florida Avenue NW. The site was once home to a wooden baseball park. Built in 1891, it was called Bounda ...

, where it drew 770,745 fans, seventh in the circuit. The Senators actually won 25 of their first 45 games and stood in third place after Sunday, June 5, 1949. But they would win only 25 games more all season, playing at an abysmal .229 rate over their last 109 contests. In today's 162-game schedule, that would have resulted in a 37–125 mark, surpassing the 1962 Mets' record for futility. At year's end, manager Kuhel would be replaced by

Bucky Harris Stanley Raymond "Bucky" Harris (November 8, 1896 – November 8, 1977) was an American professional baseball second baseman, manager and executive. While Harris played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators and Detroit Tige ...

, the Senators' 1924 "boy wonder" manager, now 53, returning for a third term as skipper of the Senators.

Offseason

* October 4, 1948: John Sullivan,

Tom Ferrick Tom Ferrick, Jr. (1949) is an editor, reporter and columnist long active in print and web journalism in Philadelphia. Until 2013, he was senior editor of Metropolis, a local news and information Web site based in Philadelphia that he founded in 20 ...

and $25,000 were traded by the Senators to the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

for

Sam Dente Samuel Joseph Dente (April 26, 1922 – April 21, 2002) was a shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for five different teams between 1947 and 1955. Listed at , 175 lb., Dente batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Harrison, New ...

. * Prior to 1949 season: Jim Pearce was signed as a free agent by the Senators.

Regular season

On September 28, Senators pitcher

Ray Scarborough Rae Wilson Scarborough (July 23, 1917 – July 1, 1982) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Washington Senators (1942–1943 and 1946–1950), Chicago White Sox (1950), Boston Red Sox (1951–52), New York Yankees ( ...

ended

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 ...

' streak of most consecutive games reaching base safely at 84 games. Scarborough gave up just four hits in a 4–1

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

win over the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

Johnny Pesky John Michael Pesky (born John Michael Paveskovich; February 27, 1919 – August 13, 2012), nicknamed "The Needle" and "Mr. Red Sox", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He was a shortstop and third baseman during a t ...

made the final out with Williams on deck.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* May 24, 1949:

Milo Candini Mario Cain "Milo" Candini (August 3, 1917 – March 17, 1998) was an American professional baseball pitcher. A , right-hander, he played all or part of eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators (1943–44; 1946– ...

was traded by the Senators to the Oakland Oaks for

Lloyd Hittle Lloyd Eldon "Red" Hittle (February 21, 1924 – March 3, 2012) was an American professional baseball player. The left-handed pitcher appeared in 47 games in Major League Baseball for the – 50 Washington Senators.1949 Washington Senators at Baseball-Reference1949 Washington Senators team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
{{Minnesota Twins Minnesota Twins seasons Washington Senators season

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...