1948 Boston Braves season

1948 Boston Braves
1948 National League Champions
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record 91–62 (.595)
League place 1st
Other information
Owner(s) Louis R. Perini
General manager(s) John J. Quinn
Manager(s) Billy Southworth
Local television WBZ-TV/WNAC-TV
Local radio WHDH
(Jim Britt, Tom Hussey)
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The 1948 Boston Braves season represented the 73rd consecutive year for the Major League Baseball franchise in the National League (where the Boston club was a charter member) and produced its second NL pennant of the 20th century, its first since 1914, and its tenth overall league title dating to 1876.

Led by starting pitchers Johnny Sain and Warren Spahn (who combined for 39 victories), and the hitting of Bob Elliott, Jeff Heath, Tommy Holmes and rookie Alvin Dark, the 1948 club captured 91 games to finish 6 1⁄2 paces ahead of the second-place St. Louis Cardinals. It also attracted 1,455,439 fans[1] to Braves Field, a high-water mark for the team's stay in Boston. The 1948 pennant was the fourth National League championship in seven years for Braves' manager Billy Southworth, who had won three NL titles (1942–44, inclusive) and two World Series championships (1942 and 1944) with the Cardinals. Southworth would be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as a manager in 2008.

However, the Braves fell in six games to the Cleveland Indians in the 1948 World Series, and would experience a swift decline in both on-field success and popularity over the next four seasons. Attendance woes (the Braves would draw only 281,278 home fans[1] in 1952) forced the team's relocation to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in March 1953. (It has played in Atlanta since the 1966 season.)

After playing .500 baseball in April and May 1948, the Braves vaulted into first place on the strength of a 39–21 record during June and July. The club slumped slightly in August, going only 14–17 and falling out of the lead August 29, but then righted itself to win 21 of its final 28 games, regain the top spot September 2, and clinch the NL flag on the 26th. Meanwhile, the city's American League team, the Red Sox, ended their season in a tie with the Indians and lost a playoff game to Cleveland at Fenway Park on October 4, ruining the prospect of what would have been the only all-Boston World Series in MLB history.

Offseason

Regular season

Postcard showing the team.

Season standings

National League W L Pct. GB Home Road
Boston Braves 91 62 0.595 — 45–31 46–31
St. Louis Cardinals 85 69 0.552 6½ 44–33 41–36
Brooklyn Dodgers 84 70 0.545 7½ 36–41 48–29
Pittsburgh Pirates 83 71 0.539 8½ 47–31 36–40
New York Giants 78 76 0.506 13½ 37–40 41–36
Philadelphia Phillies 66 88 0.429 25½ 32–44 34–44
Cincinnati Reds 64 89 0.418 27 32–45 32–44
Chicago Cubs 64 90 0.416 27½ 35–42 29–48

Record vs. opponents

1948 National League Records

Sources:

Team BOS BR CHC CIN NYG PHI PIT STL
Boston — 14–8 16–6–1 13–8 11–11 14–8 12–10 11–11
Brooklyn 8–14 — 11–11 18–4 11–11–1 15–7 9–13 12–10
Chicago 6–16–1 11–11 — 10–12 11–11 7–15 8–14 11–11
Cincinnati 8–13 4–18 12–10 — 10–12 11–11 9–13 10–12
New York 11–11 11–11–1 11–11 12–10 — 14–8 12–10 7–15
Philadelphia 8–14 7–15 15–7 11–11 8–14 — 12–10–1 5–17
Pittsburgh 10–12 13–9 14–8 13–9 10–12 10–12–1 — 13–9–1
St. Louis 11–11 10–12 11–11 12–10 15–7 17–5 9–13–1 —

Roster

1948 Boston Braves
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

 Manager

Coaches

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
2B Stanky, EddieEddie Stanky 67 247 79 .320 2 29

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

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
Sain, JohnnyJohnny Sain 42 314.2 24 15 2.60 137
Spahn, WarrenWarren Spahn 36 257 15 12 3.71 114

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
Barrett, RedRed Barrett 32 128.1 7 8 3.65 40
Prendergast, JimJim Prendergast 10 16.2 1 1 10.26 3

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
Antonelli, JohnnyJohnny Antonelli 4 0 0 0 2.25 0

1948 World Series

Main article: 1948 World Series

Game 1

October 6, 1948, at Braves Field in Boston, Massachusetts

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cleveland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Boston 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 X 1 2 2
WP: Johnny Sain (1–0)   LP: Bob Feller (0–1)

Game 2

October 7, 1948, at Braves Field in Boston, Massachusetts

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cleveland 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 4 8 1
Boston 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 3
WP: Bob Lemon (1–0)   LP: Warren Spahn (0–1)

Game 3

October 8 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Boston 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
Cleveland 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 X 2 5 0
WP: Gene Bearden (1–0)   LP: Vern Bickford (0–1)

Game 4

October 9, 1948, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Boston 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 7 0
Cleveland 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 X 2 5 0
WP: Steve Gromek (1–0)   LP: Johnny Sain (1–1)
Home runs:
BOS: Marv Rickert (1)
CLE: Larry Doby (1)

Game 5

October 10, 1948, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Boston 3 0 1 0 0 1 6 0 0 11 12 0
Cleveland 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 5 6 2
WP: Warren Spahn (1–1)   LP: Bob Feller (0–2)
Home runs:
BOS: Bob Elliott 2 (2), Bill Salkeld (1)
CLE: Dale Mitchell (1), Jim Hegan (1)

Game 6

October 11, 1948, at Braves Field in Boston, Massachusetts

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cleveland 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 4 10 0
Boston 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 3 9 0
WP: Bob Lemon (2–0)   LP: Bill Voiselle (0–1)
Home runs:
CLE: Joe Gordon (1)
BOS: None

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Milwaukee Brewers American Association Nick Cullop
A Hartford Chiefs Eastern League Earl Browne
B Evansville Braves Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League Bob Coleman
B Pawtucket Slaters New England League Hughie Wise
B Jackson Senators Southeastern League Willis Hudlin
C Kingston Ponies Border League Ben Lady
C Eau Claire Bears Northern League Andy Cohen
C Leavenworth Braves Western Association Dutch Dorman
D Bluefield Blue-Grays Appalachian League George Lacy
D Marysville Braves Far West League Ed Wheeler, James Keller
and Spencer Harris
D Mount Vernon Braves Illinois State League Creepy Crespi
D Owensboro Oilers KITTY League Rex Carr
D High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms North Carolina State League Jim Gruzdis
D Richmond Braves Ohio–Indiana League Ollie Byers

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Evansville

Notes

  1. 1 2 Baseball-Almanac.com
  2. 1 2 Hoyt Wilhelm at Baseball-Reference
  3. ↑ Eddie Stanky at Baseball-Reference
  4. ↑ Carl Sawatski at Baseball-Reference

References

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