The 1948 Boston Red Sox season was the 48th season in the franchise's

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), ...

history. After 154 regular-season games, the

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 ...

and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

finished atop 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 ...

with identical records of 96 wins and 58 losses. The teams then played a tie-breaker game, which was won by Cleveland, 8–3. 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 WBZ-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent station WSBK-TV (ch ...

and

WNAC-TV WNAC-TV (channel 64), branded on-air as Fox Providence, is a television station in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, affiliated with Fox and The CW. It is owned by Mission Broadcasting, which maintains a local marketing agreement (LMA) ...

, with the same broadcast team regardless of broadcasting station.

Offseason

In December 1947, the Red Sox made a deal with 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 p ...

. The Sox acquired

Vern Stephens Vernon Decatur Stephens (October 23, 1920 – November 3, 1968) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from through . An eight-time All-Star, Stephens was notable for being the American L ...

Billy Hitchcock William Clyde Hitchcock (July 31, 1916 – April 9, 2006) was an American professional baseball infielder, coach, manager and scout. In Major League Baseball ( MLB), he was primarily a third baseman, second baseman and shortstop who appeared i ...

, and pitchers Jack Kramer and

Ellis Kinder Ellis is a surname of Welsh and English origin. Retrieved 21 January 2014 An independent French origin of the surname is said to derive from the phrase fleur-de-lis. Surname A * Abe Ellis (Stargate), a fictional character in the TV series '' ...

. The deal cost $375,000 and 11 Red Sox players.

Notable transactions

* Prior to 1948 season (exact date unknown) **

Milt Bolling Milton Joseph Bolling (August 9, 1930 – January 19, 2013) was a shortstop in Major League Baseball who played from 1952 through 1958 for the Boston Red Sox (1952–1957), Washington Senators (1957) and Detroit Tigers (1958). Bolling batted a ...

was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox. ** Bob SmithBob Smith page at Baseball Reference
/ref> was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox.

Regular season

In 1948, Kramer led the

in winning percentage. The manager of the team was former

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

manager

Joe McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most vis ...

, who replaced the outgoing

Joe Cronin Joseph Edward Cronin (October 12, 1906 – September 7, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, manager and executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop, most notably as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Cronin spe ...

. Cronin had led the Red Sox to an 83–71 record in 1947, finishing in third place. Throughout 1948, the Sox,

, and the

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 Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

on Monday, October 4, 1948. The start time was 1:15 pm EST. McCarthy picked former

pitcher

Denny Galehouse Dennis Ward Galehouse (December 7, 1911 – December 12, 1998) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Browns between 1934 and 1949. Galehouse batted and threw right-handed. ...

, who had an 8–7 pitching record, to be his starter. The Indians won the game by the score of 8–3. Indians third baseman

Ken Keltner Kenneth Frederick Keltner (October 31, 1916 – December 12, 1991) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from 1937 to 1950, most prominently as a member of the Cleveland Indians where h ...

contributed to the victory with his

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, double, and 3-run homer over the

Green Monster The Green Monster is a popular nickname for the left field wall at Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. The wall is from home plate and is a popular target for right-handed hitters. Overview The wall was part ...

in the 4th inning. Later, McCarthy said he had no rested arms and that there was no else who could pitch.

Mel Parnell Melvin Lloyd Parnell (June 13, 1922 – March 20, 2012) was a professional baseball pitcher who spent his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Boston Red Sox. Listed at and , he threw and batted left-handed. Playing career Parne ...

and

claimed that they were both ready to pitch.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day lineup

Roster

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''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Birmingham, Scranton, Oneonta, Milford Source:

References

External links

1948 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference1948 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com
{{Boston Red Sox Boston Red Sox seasons

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 ...

1940s in Boston