1948 Boston Red Sox season

The Boston Red Sox season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Red Sox finishing 2nd in the American League with a record of 96 wins and 59 losses.

Regular season

In December 1947, the Red Sox made a deal with the St. Louis Browns. The Sox acquired Vern Stephens, Billy Hitchcock, and pitchers Jack Kramer and Ellis Kinder. The deal cost $375,000 and 11 Red Sox players.

In 1948, Kramer would lead the American League in winning percentage. The manager of the team was former New York Yankees manager Joe McCarthy. He would replace the outgoing Joe Cronin, who went 83-71 in 1947. Cronin led the Sox to a third place finish.

Throughout the , the Sox, New York Yankees, and the Cleveland Indians 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.

The Indians and Red Sox would compete in the first playoff game in American League history. McCarthy picked former St. Louis Browns’ pitcher Denny Galehouse. He had an 8-7 pitching record and was beaten by the Indians by a score of 8-3. Later, McCarthy said he had no rested arms and that there was no else who could pitch. Mel Parnell and Ellis Kinder claimed that they were both ready to pitch.

Season standings

Opening Day Line Up

7	Dom DiMaggio	CF
6	Johnny Pesky	3B
9	Ted Williams	LF
2	Stan Spence	1B
5	Vern Stephens	SS
1	Bobby Doerr	2B
4	Sam Mele	RF
8	Birdie Tebbetts	C
15	Joe Dobson	P

Roster

Roster
Pitchers		Catchers Infielders		Outfielders Pinch-hitters		Manager Coaches

American League Playoff

At the end of the season, the Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians were tied for first place. This led to the first-ever one-game playoff in the American League. Played at Fenway Park, the Indians defeated the Red Sox 8-3 in the playoff game. Indians third baseman Ken Keltner contributed to the victory with his single, double, and 3-run homer over the Green Monster in Fenway Park in the 4th inning. The Indians moved on to the 1948 World Series versus the Red Sox crosstown rival, the Boston Braves.

Player stats

Batting

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
Bobby Doerr	140	527	150	.285	27	111
Vern Stephens	155	635	171	.285	29	137
Ted Williams	137	509	188	.369	25	127

Other batters

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI

Starting pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Other pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA

Relief pitchers

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO

Farm system

• Class AAA: Louisville Colonels (American Association; Nemo Leibold and Owen Scheetz, managers)
• Class AA: Birmingham Barons (Southern Association; Fred Walters, manager) — LEAGUE CHAMPION
• Class A: Scranton Red Sox (Eastern League; Mike Ryba, manager) — LEAGUE CHAMPION
• Class B: Lynn Red Sox (New England League; Eddie Popowski, manager)
• Class B: Roanoke Red Sox (Piedmont League; Pinky Higgins, manager)
• Class C: Auburn Cayugas (Border League; Barney Hearn, manager)
• Class C: San Jose Red Sox (California League; Marv Owen, manager)
• Class C: Oneonta Red Sox (Canadian-American League; Red Marion, manager) — LEAGUE CHAMPION
• Class D: Milford Red Sox (Eastern Shore League; Clayton Sheedy, manager) — LEAGUE CHAMPION
• Class D: Oroville Red Sox (Far West League; Nino Bongiovanni, manager)
• Class D: Valley Rebels (Georgia-Alabama League; Jesse Dana, manager)
• Class D: Wellsville Red Sox (PONY League; Tom Carey, manager)

References

• 1948 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference
• 1948 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com