Leo Durocher returned as manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers to start the 1948 season but was fired in mid-season. He was replaced first by team coach Ray Blades and then by Burt Shotton, who had managed the team to the 1947 pennant. The Dodgers finished third in the National League after this tumultuous season.
1948 Brooklyn Dodgers | |
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League | National League |
Ballpark | Ebbets Field |
City | Brooklyn, New York |
Owners | James & Dearie Mulvey, Walter O'Malley, Branch Rickey, John L. Smith |
President | Branch Rickey |
Managers | Leo Durocher, Ray Blades, Burt Shotton |
Radio | WMGM Red Barber, Connie Desmond, Ernie Harwell |
The 1948 Dodgers were very much a work in progress, beginning to coalesce into the classic "Boys of Summer" teams of the 1950s. Gil Hodges was in the opening day lineup, but as a catcher. He would only be shifted to first base after the emergence of Roy Campanella. Jackie Robinson started the season at second base—Eddie Stanky had been traded just before the start of the season to make room for Robinson at his natural position; he had played first base during his 1947 rookie season. Pee Wee Reese was the only "Boys of summer" regular to already be ensconced at his position, shortstop. Billy Cox had been acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates during the offseason, but as one of nine players who would see time at third for the team that year, he only played 70 games at the position. Carl Furillo was already a regular, but in center field. Duke Snider was brought up to the team in mid-season, and it was not until 1949 that Furillo moved to right field and Snider became the regular center fielder.
Preacher Roe and Ralph Branca were in the starting rotation, but Carl Erskine only appeared in a handful of games, and Don Newcombe would not join the staff until the following year.
Future Hall of Famer Roy Campanella made his major league debut on April 20.[6] In July, Campanella replaced Bruce Edwards as the club's starting catcher. This marked the first time that a major league team had two black players in its everyday lineup.[7]
On September 9, Rex Barney pitched a no-hitter against the New York Giants. He walked two batters and struck out four in a 2–0 victory.
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 |
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 | — |
1948 Brooklyn Dodgers | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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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 | Roy Campanella | 83 | 279 | 72 | .258 | 9 | 45 |
1B | Gil Hodges | 134 | 481 | 120 | .249 | 11 | 70 |
2B | Jackie Robinson | 147 | 574 | 170 | .296 | 12 | 85 |
3B | Billy Cox | 88 | 237 | 59 | .249 | 3 | 15 |
SS | Pee Wee Reese | 151 | 566 | 155 | .274 | 9 | 75 |
OF | Gene Hermanski | 133 | 400 | 116 | .290 | 15 | 60 |
OF | Carl Furillo | 108 | 364 | 108 | .297 | 4 | 44 |
OF | Marv Rackley | 88 | 281 | 92 | .327 | 0 | 15 |
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bruce Edwards | 96 | 286 | 79 | .276 | 8 | 54 |
Eddie Miksis | 86 | 221 | 47 | .213 | 2 | 16 |
Dick Whitman | 60 | 165 | 48 | .291 | 0 | 20 |
George Shuba | 63 | 161 | 43 | .267 | 4 | 32 |
Duke Snider | 53 | 160 | 39 | .244 | 5 | 21 |
Preston Ward | 42 | 146 | 38 | .260 | 1 | 21 |
Tommy Brown | 54 | 145 | 35 | .241 | 2 | 20 |
Pete Reiser | 64 | 127 | 30 | .236 | 1 | 19 |
Arky Vaughan | 65 | 123 | 30 | .244 | 3 | 22 |
Spider Jorgensen | 31 | 90 | 27 | .300 | 1 | 13 |
Don Lund | 27 | 69 | 13 | .188 | 1 | 5 |
Gene Mauch | 12 | 13 | 2 | .154 | 0 | 0 |
Bobby Bragan | 9 | 12 | 2 | .167 | 0 | 0 |
Bob Ramazzotti | 4 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rex Barney | 44 | 246.2 | 15 | 13 | 3.10 | 138 |
Ralph Branca | 36 | 215.2 | 14 | 9 | 3.51 | 122 |
Harry Taylor | 17 | 80.2 | 2 | 7 | 5.36 | 32 |
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 Hatten | 42 | 208.2 | 13 | 10 | 3.58 | 73 |
Preacher Roe | 34 | 177.2 | 12 | 8 | 2.63 | 86 |
Erv Palica | 41 | 125.1 | 6 | 6 | 4.45 | 74 |
Carl Erskine | 17 | 64.0 | 6 | 3 | 3.23 | 29 |
Lefty Sloat | 4 | 7.1 | 0 | 1 | 6.14 | 1 |
Jack Banta | 2 | 3.1 | 0 | 1 | 8.10 | 1 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hank Behrman | 34 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 4.05 | 42 |
Paul Minner | 28 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2.44 | 23 |
Willie Ramsdell | 27 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5.19 | 34 |
Hugh Casey | 22 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 8.00 | 7 |
Clyde King | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8.03 | 5 |
Johnny Van Cuyk | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.60 | 1 |
John Hall | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.23 | 2 |
Elmer Sexauer | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 0 |
Phil Haugstad | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Montreal, St. Paul, Ft. Worth, Greenville, Nashua, Newport News, Santa Barbara, Pulaski, Sheboygan, Zanesville