# 1949 Chicago White Sox season

The 1949 Chicago White Sox season was the White Sox's 49th season in the major leagues, and their 50th season overall. They finished with a record of 63–91, good enough for sixth place in the American League, 34 games behind the first place New York Yankees.

## Offseason

* November 10, 1948: Tod Davis was drafted from the White Sox by the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1948 rule 5 draft.

## Regular season

The 1949 White Sox were the last American League team in the 20th century to hit more triples than home runs. The club had 66 triples compared to 43 home runs.

### Season standings

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| New York Yankees | 97 | 57 | .630 | — | 54‍–‍23 | 43‍–‍34 |
| Boston Red Sox | 96 | 58 | .623 | 1 | 61‍–‍16 | 35‍–‍42 |
| Cleveland Indians | 89 | 65 | .578 | 8 | 49‍–‍28 | 40‍–‍37 |
| Detroit Tigers | 87 | 67 | .565 | 10 | 50‍–‍27 | 37‍–‍40 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 81 | 73 | .526 | 16 | 52‍–‍25 | 29‍–‍48 |
| Chicago White Sox | 63 | 91 | .409 | 34 | 32‍–‍45 | 31‍–‍46 |
| St. Louis Browns | 53 | 101 | .344 | 44 | 36‍–‍41 | 17‍–‍60 |
| Washington Senators | 50 | 104 | .325 | 47 | 26‍–‍51 | 24‍–‍53 |

### Record vs. opponents

1949 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYY | PHA | SLB | WSH |
| Boston | — | 17–5 | 8–14 | 15–7–1 | 9–13 | 14–8 | 15–7 | 18–4 |
| Chicago | 5–17 | — | 7–15 | 8–14 | 7–15 | 6–16 | 15–7 | 15–7 |
| Cleveland | 14–8 | 15–7 | — | 13–9 | 10–12 | 9–13 | 15–7 | 13–9 |
| Detroit | 7–15–1 | 14–8 | 9–13 | — | 11–11 | 14–8 | 14–8 | 18–4 |
| New York | 13–9 | 15–7 | 12–10 | 11–11 | — | 14–8 | 17–5–1 | 15–7 |
| Philadelphia | 8–14 | 16–6 | 13–9 | 8–14 | 8–14 | — | 12–10 | 16–6 |
| St. Louis | 7–15 | 7–15 | 7–15 | 8–14 | 5–17–1 | 10–12 | — | 9–13 |
| Washington | 4–18 | 7–15 | 9–13 | 4–18 | 7–15 | 6–16 | 13–9 | — |

### Opening Day lineup

* Floyd Baker, 3B
* Dave Philley, CF
* Luke Appling, SS
* Gus Zernial, LF
* Pat Seerey, RF
* Cass Michaels, 2B
* Steve Souchock, 1B
* Joe Tipton, C
* Al Gettel, P

### Notable transactions

* June 2, 1949: Jerry Scala, a player to be named later, and cash were traded by the White Sox to the Oakland Oaks for Catfish Metkovich. The Oaks returned Jerry Scala to the White Sox on June 11, and the Chicago White Sox sent Earl Rapp to the Oaks to complete the trade.
* September 13, 1949: Jack Bruner was signed as an amateur free agent by the White Sox.

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Base on balls; SO = Strikeouts; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | SB |
| Herb Adams, CF,LF | 56 | 208 | 26 | 61 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 9 | 16 | .293 | 1 |
| Luke Appling, SS | 142 | 492 | 82 | 148 | 21 | 5 | 5 | 58 | 121 | 24 | .301 | 7 |
| Floyd Baker, 3B | 125 | 388 | 38 | 101 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 40 | 84 | 32 | .260 | 3 |
| Jim Baumer, SS | 8 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | .400 | 0 |
| Billy Bowers, OF | 26 | 78 | 5 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 5 | .192 | 1 |
| Gordon Goldsberry, 1B | 39 | 145 | 25 | 36 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 18 | 9 | .248 | 2 |
| Fred Hancock, SS,3B | 39 | 52 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 9 | .135 | 0 |
| Bill Higdon, CF | 11 | 23 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | .304 | 1 |
| Don Kolloway, 3B | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 |
| Chuck Kress, 1B | 97 | 353 | 45 | 98 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 44 | 39 | 44 | .278 | 6 |
| Rocky Krsnich, 3B | 16 | 55 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 4 | .218 | 0 |
| Dick Lane, LF | 12 | 42 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 3 | .119 | 0 |
| Eddie Malone, C | 55 | 170 | 17 | 46 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 29 | 19 | .271 | 2 |
| Catfish Metkovich, CF,LF | 93 | 338 | 50 | 80 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 45 | 41 | 24 | .237 | 5 |
| Cass Michaels, 2B | 154 | 561 | 73 | 173 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 83 | 101 | 50 | .308 | 5 |
| Johnny Ostrowski, LF,3B | 49 | 158 | 19 | 42 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 31 | 15 | 41 | .266 | 4 |
| Dave Philley, RF | 146 | 598 | 84 | 171 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 44 | 54 | 51 | .286 | 13 |
| Earl Rapp, LF,RF | 19 | 54 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 6 | .259 | 1 |
| Bobby Rhawn, 3B,SS | 24 | 73 | 12 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 8 | .205 | 0 |
| Jerry Scala, CF | 37 | 120 | 17 | 30 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 17 | 19 | .250 | 3 |
| Pat Seerey, RF | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | .000 | 0 |
| Bud Souchock, LF,1B | 84 | 252 | 29 | 59 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 37 | 25 | 38 | .234 | 5 |
| Joe Tipton, C | 67 | 191 | 20 | 39 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 27 | 17 | .204 | 1 |
| Don Wheeler, C | 67 | 192 | 17 | 46 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 27 | 19 | .240 | 2 |
| George Yankowski, C | 12 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .167 | 0 |
| Gus Zernial, LF | 73 | 198 | 29 | 63 | 17 | 2 | 5 | 38 | 15 | 26 | .318 | 0 |
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | SB |
| Fred Bradley, P | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 |
| Jack Bruner, P | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 |
| Bob Cain, P | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 |
| Bill Evans, P | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Al Gettel, P | 19 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .167 | 0 |
| Randy Gumpert, P | 34 | 84 | 7 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 16 | .190 | 0 |
| Mickey Haefner, P | 14 | 23 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | .261 | 0 |
| Howie Judson, P | 26 | 31 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 11 | .065 | 0 |
| Ed Klieman, P | 18 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .250 | 0 |
| Bob Kuzava, P | 29 | 56 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 19 | .036 | 0 |
| Billy Pierce, P | 39 | 51 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 15 | .176 | 0 |
| Marino Pieretti, P | 48 | 38 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | .237 | 0 |
| Clyde Shoun, P | 16 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .200 | 0 |
| Max Surkont, P | 44 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 12 | .045 | 0 |
| Bill Wight, P | 35 | 85 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 27 | .165 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 154 | 5204 | 648 | 1340 | 207 | 66 | 43 | 591 | 702 | 593 | .257 | 62 |

### Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; HR = Home runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K |
| Fred Bradley | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Jack Bruner | 1 | 2 | 8.22 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 7.2 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 4 |
| Bob Cain | 0 | 0 | 2.45 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 11.0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Alex Carrasquel | 0 | 0 | 14.73 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Bill Evans | 0 | 1 | 7.11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| Al Gettel | 2 | 5 | 6.43 | 19 | 7 | 1 | 63.0 | 69 | 48 | 45 | 12 | 26 | 22 |
| Ernest Groth | 0 | 1 | 5.40 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Orval Grove | 0 | 0 | 54.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Randy Gumpert | 13 | 16 | 3.81 | 34 | 32 | 1 | 234.0 | 223 | 111 | 99 | 22 | 83 | 78 |
| Mickey Haefner | 4 | 6 | 4.37 | 14 | 12 | 1 | 80.1 | 84 | 40 | 39 | 9 | 41 | 17 |
| Howie Judson | 1 | 14 | 4.58 | 26 | 12 | 1 | 108.0 | 114 | 65 | 55 | 13 | 70 | 36 |
| Ed Klieman | 2 | 0 | 3.00 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 33.0 | 33 | 15 | 11 | 2 | 15 | 9 |
| Bob Kuzava | 10 | 6 | 4.02 | 29 | 18 | 0 | 156.2 | 139 | 76 | 70 | 6 | 91 | 83 |
| Billy Pierce | 7 | 15 | 3.88 | 32 | 26 | 0 | 171.2 | 145 | 89 | 74 | 11 | 112 | 95 |
| Marino Pieretti | 4 | 6 | 5.51 | 39 | 9 | 4 | 116.0 | 131 | 77 | 71 | 10 | 54 | 25 |
| Clyde Shoun | 1 | 1 | 5.79 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 23.1 | 37 | 17 | 15 | 1 | 13 | 8 |
| Max Surkont | 3 | 5 | 4.78 | 44 | 2 | 4 | 96.0 | 92 | 61 | 51 | 9 | 60 | 38 |
| Bill Wight | 15 | 13 | 3.31 | 35 | 33 | 1 | 245.0 | 254 | 106 | 90 | 9 | 96 | 78 |
| Team Totals | 63 | 91 | 4.30 | 154 | 154 | 17 | 1363.1 | 1362 | 737 | 651 | 108 | 693 | 502 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AA | Memphis Chicks | Southern Association | Al Todd |
| A | Muskegon Reds | Central League | Red Ruffing |
| A | Charleston Rebels | Sally League | Herb Crompton and Albert Fisher |
| B | Fall River Indians | New England League | Dick Porter |
| B | Waterloo White Hawks | Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League | Bennie Huffman and Fred Shaffer |
| C | Stockton Ports | California League | Nino Bongiovanni |
| C | Hot Springs Bathers | Cotton States League | Pete Fox and Glen Stewart |
| C | Oil City Refiners | Middle Atlantic League | Otto Denning |
| C | Superior Blues | Northern League | Chips Sobek |
| D | Madisonville Miners | KITTY League | Joe DiMasi |
| D | Seminole Oilers | Sooner State League | Hugh Willingham and Paul Schoendienst |
| D | Wisconsin Rapids White Sox | Wisconsin State League | Glen Stewart and George Mitro |