# 1948 Major League Baseball season

The 1948 major league baseball season began on April 19, 1948. The regular season ended on October 4, with the Boston Braves and Cleveland Indians as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The Indians won the American League title via a tie-breaker game victory over the Boston Red Sox, after both teams finished their 154-game schedules with identical 96–58 records. This was the second regular season tie-breaker, and saw a change from the previous three-game format to that of a single-game, Game 163. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 45th World Series on October 6 and ended with Game 6 on October 11. The Indians defeated the Braves, four games to two, capturing their second championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1920. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the New York Yankees from the 1947 season.
The 15th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 13 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, Missouri, hosted by the St. Louis Browns. The American League won, 5–2, for their third straight win.

## Schedule

The 1948 schedule consisted of 154 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 22 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place since the 1904 season (except for 1919) and would be used until 1961 in the American League and 1962 in the National League.
Opening Day took place on April 19, featuring six teams. The final day of the scheduled regular season was on October 3, which saw all sixteen teams play, continuing the trend from 1946. Due to the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians finishing with the same record of 96–58, a tie-breaker game was scheduled, to be considered an extension of the regular season. The Indians won the Game 163 tie-breaker on October 4. The World Series took place between October 6 and October 11.

## Teams

| League | Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Manager |
| American League | Boston Red Sox | Boston, Massachusetts | Fenway Park | 35,500 | Joe McCarthy |
| American League | Chicago White Sox | Chicago, Illinois | Comiskey Park | 47,400 | Ted Lyons |
| American League | Cleveland Indians | Cleveland, Ohio | Cleveland Stadium | 78,811 | Lou Boudreau |
| American League | Detroit Tigers | Detroit, Michigan | Briggs Stadium | 58,000 | Steve O'Neill |
| American League | New York Yankees | New York, New York | Yankee Stadium | 67,000 | Bucky Harris |
| American League | Philadelphia Athletics | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Shibe Park | 33,166 | Connie Mack |
| American League | St. Louis Browns | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 34,000 | Zack Taylor |
| American League | Washington Senators | Washington, D.C. | Griffith Stadium | 28,085 | Joe Kuhel |
| National League | Boston Braves | Boston, Massachusetts | Braves Field | 37,106 | Billy Southworth |
| National League | Brooklyn Dodgers | New York, New York | Ebbets Field | 34,219 | Leo Durocher |
| National League | Brooklyn Dodgers | New York, New York | Ebbets Field | 34,219 | Ray Blades |
| National League | Brooklyn Dodgers | New York, New York | Ebbets Field | 34,219 | Burt Shotton |
| National League | Chicago Cubs | Chicago, Illinois | Wrigley Field | 38,396 | Charlie Grimm |
| National League | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Crosley Field | 30,101 | Johnny Neun |
| National League | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Crosley Field | 30,101 | Bucky Walters |
| National League | New York Giants | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 54,500 | Mel Ott |
| National League | New York Giants | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 54,500 | Leo Durocher |
| National League | Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Shibe Park | 33,166 | Ben Chapman |
| National League | Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Shibe Park | 33,166 | Dusty Cooke |
| National League | Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Shibe Park | 33,166 | Eddie Sawyer |
| National League | Pittsburgh Pirates | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Forbes Field | 33,730 | Billy Meyer |
| National League | St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 34,000 | Eddie Dyer |

## Standings
### American League

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Cleveland Indians | 97 | 58 | .626 | — | 48‍–‍30 | 49‍–‍28 |
| Boston Red Sox | 96 | 59 | .619 | 1 | 55‍–‍23 | 41‍–‍36 |
| New York Yankees | 94 | 60 | .610 | 2½ | 50‍–‍27 | 44‍–‍33 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 84 | 70 | .545 | 12½ | 36‍–‍41 | 48‍–‍29 |
| Detroit Tigers | 78 | 76 | .506 | 18½ | 39‍–‍38 | 39‍–‍38 |
| St. Louis Browns | 59 | 94 | .386 | 37 | 34‍–‍42 | 25‍–‍52 |
| Washington Senators | 56 | 97 | .366 | 40 | 29‍–‍48 | 27‍–‍49 |
| Chicago White Sox | 51 | 101 | .336 | 44½ | 27‍–‍48 | 24‍–‍53 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Boston Braves | 91 | 62 | .595 | — | 45‍–‍31 | 46‍–‍31 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 85 | 69 | .552 | 6½ | 44‍–‍33 | 41‍–‍36 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 84 | 70 | .545 | 7½ | 36‍–‍41 | 48‍–‍29 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 83 | 71 | .539 | 8½ | 47‍–‍31 | 36‍–‍40 |
| New York Giants | 78 | 76 | .506 | 13½ | 37‍–‍40 | 41‍–‍36 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 66 | 88 | .429 | 25½ | 32‍–‍44 | 34‍–‍44 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 64 | 89 | .418 | 27 | 32‍–‍45 | 32‍–‍44 |
| Chicago Cubs | 64 | 90 | .416 | 27½ | 35‍–‍42 | 29‍–‍48 |
* The Cleveland Indians defeated the Boston Red Sox in a one-game regular season extension to earn the American League pennant.

## Postseason
### Bracket

| World Series | World Series | World Series |
| AL | Cleveland Indians | 4 |
| NL | Boston Braves | 2 |

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | Burt Shotton | Leo Durocher |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Bill Burwell | Billy Meyer |
| St. Louis Browns | Muddy Ruel | Zack Taylor |
| Washington Senators | Ossie Bluege | Joe Kuhel |

### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | Leo Durocher | Ray Blades |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | Ray Blades | Burt Shotton |
| Cincinnati Reds | Johnny Neun | Bucky Walters |
| New York Giants | Mel Ott | Leo Durocher |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Ben Chapman | Dusty Cooke |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Dusty Cooke | Eddie Sawyer |

## League leaders
### American League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Ted Williams (BRS) | .369 |
| OPS | Ted Williams (BRS) | 1.112 |
| HR | Joe DiMaggio (NYY) | 39 |
| RBI | Joe DiMaggio (NYY) | 155 |
| R | Tommy Henrich (NYY) | 138 |
| H | Bob Dillinger (SLB) | 207 |
| SB | Bob Dillinger (SLB) | 28 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Hal Newhouser (DET) | 21 |
| L | Fred Sanford (SLB) | 21 |
| ERA | Gene Bearden (CLE) | 2.43 |
| K | Bob Feller (CLE) | 164 |
| IP | Bob Lemon (CLE) | 293.2 |
| SV | Russ Christopher (CLE) | 17 |
| WHIP | Bob Lemon (CLE) | 1.226 |

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Stan Musial (SLC) | .376 |
| OPS | Stan Musial (SLC) | 1.152 |
| HR | Ralph Kiner (PIT) Johnny Mize (NYG) | 40 |
| RBI | Stan Musial (SLC) | 131 |
| R | Stan Musial (SLC) | 135 |
| H | Stan Musial (SLC) | 230 |
| SB | Richie Ashburn (PHP) | 32 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Johnny Sain (BSB) | 24 |
| L | Dutch Leonard (PHP) | 17 |
| ERA | Harry Brecheen (SLC) | 2.24 |
| K | Harry Brecheen (SLC) | 149 |
| IP | Johnny Sain (BSB) | 314.2 |
| SV | Harry Gumbert (CIN) | 17 |
| WHIP | Harry Brecheen (SLC) | 1.037 |

## Awards and honors
### Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards :
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Rookie of the Year | Alvin Dark (BSB) | — |
| Most Valuable Player | Stan Musial (SLC) | Lou Boudreau (CLE) |

### Other awards

The Sporting News Awards :
| Award | National League | American League |
| Player of the Year | — | Lou Boudreau (CLE) |
| Pitcher of the Year | Johnny Sain (BSB) | Bob Lemon (CLE) |
| Rookie of the Year | Richie Ashburn (PHP) | — |
| Manager of the Year | Billy Meyer (PIT) | — |
| Executive of the Year | — | Bill Veeck (CLE) |

### Baseball Hall of Fame

* Herb Pennock
* Pie Traynor

## Home field attendance

| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
| Cleveland Indians | 97 | 21.3% | 2,620,627 | 72.2% | 33,172 |
| New York Yankees | 94 | −3.1% | 2,373,901 | 8.9% | 30,830 |
| Detroit Tigers | 78 | −8.2% | 1,743,035 | 24.7% | 22,637 |
| Boston Red Sox | 96 | 15.7% | 1,558,798 | 9.2% | 19,985 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 83 | 33.9% | 1,517,021 | 18.2% | 18,963 |
| New York Giants | 78 | −3.7% | 1,459,269 | −8.8% | 18,952 |
| Boston Braves | 91 | 5.8% | 1,455,439 | 13.9% | 19,151 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 84 | −10.6% | 1,398,967 | −22.6% | 17,935 |
| Chicago Cubs | 64 | −7.2% | 1,237,792 | −9.3% | 15,869 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 85 | −4.5% | 1,111,440 | −10.9% | 14,434 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 84 | 7.7% | 945,076 | 3.7% | 12,274 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 64 | −12.3% | 823,386 | −8.5% | 10,693 |
| Washington Senators | 56 | −12.5% | 795,254 | −6.5% | 10,196 |
| Chicago White Sox | 51 | −27.1% | 777,844 | −11.3% | 10,235 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 66 | 6.5% | 767,429 | −15.4% | 10,098 |
| St. Louis Browns | 59 | 0.0% | 335,564 | 4.7% | 4,415 |

## Retired numbers

* Babe Ruth had his No. 3 retired by the New York Yankees on June 13. This was the second number retired by the team.
* Mel Ott had his No. 4 retired by the New York Giants on July 17. This was the second number retired by the team.