# 1947 Boston Red Sox season

The 1947 Boston Red Sox season was the 47th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished third in the American League (AL) with a record of 83 wins and 71 losses, 14 games behind the New York Yankees, who went on to win the 1947 World Series.
Red Sox left fielder Ted Williams won the Triple Crown, leading the AL in home runs (32), runs batted in (114), and batting average (.343).

## Offseason

* November 1, 1946: Virgil Stallcup drafted from the Red Sox by the Cincinnati Reds in the 1946 rule 5 draft.
* November 17, 1946: Tom Poholsky was drafted from the Red Sox by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1946 minor league draft.
* March 1947: Frankie Hayes was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.

## Regular season

After a memorable 1946 season, the Red Sox added lights to Fenway Park for the first time. 1947 looked like another big year for Boston, but Boo Ferriss, Mickey Harris, and Tex Hughson all had arm trouble, and from 62 wins in 1946 they dropped to 29 in 1947. Boston finished 3rd, 21 wins less than their American League Championship season a year earlier, 14 games behind the eventual world champion New York Yankees. Joe Dobson was the top winner with 18 wins, and Ted Williams hit .343, with 32 homers and 114 RBIs, to secure his second Triple Crown.
On July 20, Hank Thompson and Willard Brown of the St. Louis Browns played against the Boston Red Sox. It was the first time that two black players appear in a major league game together since 1884.

### Season standings

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| New York Yankees | 97 | 57 | .630 | — | 55‍–‍22 | 42‍–‍35 |
| Detroit Tigers | 85 | 69 | .552 | 12 | 46‍–‍31 | 39‍–‍38 |
| Boston Red Sox | 83 | 71 | .539 | 14 | 49‍–‍30 | 34‍–‍41 |
| Cleveland Indians | 80 | 74 | .519 | 17 | 38‍–‍39 | 42‍–‍35 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 78 | 76 | .506 | 19 | 39‍–‍38 | 39‍–‍38 |
| Chicago White Sox | 70 | 84 | .455 | 27 | 32‍–‍43 | 38‍–‍41 |
| Washington Senators | 64 | 90 | .416 | 33 | 36‍–‍41 | 28‍–‍49 |
| St. Louis Browns | 59 | 95 | .383 | 38 | 29‍–‍48 | 30‍–‍47 |

### Record vs. opponents

1947 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYY | PHA | SLB | WSH |
| Boston | — | 16–6–1 | 9–13 | 12–10–1 | 9–13 | 10–12–1 | 15–7 | 12–10 |
| Chicago | 6–16–1 | — | 11–11 | 7–15 | 10–12 | 11–11 | 11–11 | 14–8 |
| Cleveland | 13–9 | 11–11 | — | 8–14–2 | 7–15 | 11–11–1 | 17–5 | 13–9 |
| Detroit | 10–12–1 | 15–7 | 14–8–2 | — | 8–14–1 | 11–11 | 15–7 | 12–10 |
| New York | 13–9 | 12–10 | 15–7 | 14–8–1 | — | 13–9 | 15–7 | 15–7 |
| Philadelphia | 12–10–1 | 11–11 | 11–11–1 | 11–11 | 9–13 | — | 13–9 | 11–11 |
| St. Louis | 7–15 | 11–11 | 5–17 | 7–15 | 7–15 | 9–13 | — | 13–9 |
| Washington | 10–12 | 8–14 | 9–13 | 10–12 | 7–15 | 11–11 | 9–13 | — |

### Opening Day lineup

| 39 | Eddie Pellagrini | 3B |
| 6 | Johnny Pesky | SS |
| 7 | Dom DiMaggio | CF |
| 9 | Ted Williams | LF |
| 1 | Bobby Doerr | 2B |
| 3 | Rudy York | 1B |
| 14 | Sam Mele | RF |
| 8 | Hal Wagner | C |
| 21 | Tex Hughson | P |

### Notable transactions

* May 20, 1947: Hal Wagner was traded to the Detroit Tigers for Birdie Tebbetts.
* May 21, 1947: Frankie Hayes was released.

### 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
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Birdie Tebbetts | 90 | 291 | 87 | .299 | 1 | 28 |
| 1B | Jake Jones | 109 | 404 | 95 | .235 | 16 | 76 |
| 2B | Bobby Doerr | 146 | 561 | 145 | .258 | 17 | 95 |
| 3B | Sam Dente | 46 | 168 | 39 | .232 | 0 | 11 |
| SS | Johnny Pesky | 155 | 638 | 207 | .324 | 0 | 39 |
| OF | Ted Williams | 156 | 528 | 181 | .343 | 32 | 114 |
| OF | Sam Mele | 123 | 453 | 137 | .302 | 12 | 73 |
| OF | Dom DiMaggio | 136 | 513 | 145 | .283 | 8 | 71 |

#### 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 | RBI |
| Wally Moses | 90 | 255 | 70 | .275 | 2 | 27 |
| Eddie Pellagrini | 74 | 231 | 47 | .203 | 4 | 19 |
| Rudy York | 48 | 184 | 39 | .212 | 6 | 27 |
| Roy Partee | 60 | 169 | 39 | .231 | 0 | 16 |
| Don Gutteridge | 54 | 131 | 22 | .168 | 2 | 5 |
| Leon Culberson | 47 | 84 | 20 | .238 | 0 | 11 |
| Merl Combs | 17 | 68 | 15 | .221 | 1 | 6 |
| Hal Wagner | 21 | 65 | 15 | .231 | 0 | 6 |
| Rip Russell | 26 | 52 | 8 | .154 | 1 | 3 |
| Matt Batts | 7 | 16 | 8 | .500 | 1 | 5 |
| Eddie McGah | 9 | 14 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 2 |
| Strick Shofner | 5 | 13 | 2 | .154 | 0 | 0 |
| Frankie Hayes | 5 | 13 | 2 | .154 | 0 | 1 |
| Billy Goodman | 12 | 11 | 2 | .182 | 0 | 1 |
| Tom McBride | 2 | 5 | 1 | .200 | 0 | 0 |
| Leslie Aulds | 3 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 0 |

### 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 | SO |
| Joe Dobson | 33 | 228.2 | 18 | 8 | 2.95 | 110 |
| Dave Ferriss | 33 | 218.1 | 12 | 11 | 4.04 | 64 |
| Tex Hughson | 29 | 189.1 | 12 | 11 | 3.33 | 119 |
| Denny Galehouse | 21 | 149.0 | 11 | 7 | 3.32 | 38 |
| Tommy Fine | 9 | 36.0 | 1 | 2 | 5.50 | 10 |

#### 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 |
| Earl Johnson | 45 | 142.1 | 12 | 11 | 2.97 | 65 |
| Fritz Dorish | 41 | 136.0 | 7 | 8 | 4.70 | 50 |
| Mickey Harris | 15 | 51.2 | 5 | 4 | 2.44 | 35 |
| Eddie Smith | 8 | 17.0 | 1 | 3 | 7.41 | 15 |
| Cot Deal | 5 | 12.2 | 0 | 1 | 9.24 | 6 |
| Chuck Stobbs | 4 | 9.0 | 0 | 1 | 6.00 | 5 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Bob Klinger | 28 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3.86 | 12 |
| Johnny Murphy | 32 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2.80 | 9 |
| Bill Zuber | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.33 | 23 |
| Al Widmar | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 1 |
| Bill Butland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 1 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Louisville Colonels | American Association | Nemo Leibold |
| AAA | Toronto Maple Leafs | International League | Elmer Yoter |
| AA | New Orleans Pelicans | Southern Association | Fred Walters |
| A | Scranton Red Sox | Eastern League | Eddie Popowski |
| B | Lynn Red Sox | New England League | Mike Ryba |
| B | Roanoke Red Sox | Piedmont League | Pinky Higgins |
| C | San Jose Red Sox | California League | Marv Owen |
| C | Oneonta Red Sox | Canadian–American League | Red Marion |
| D | Milford Red Sox | Eastern Shore League | Wally Millies |
| D | Wellsville Nitros | PONY League | Tom Carey |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Roanoke