The 1949 major league baseball season began on April 18, 1949. The regular season ended on October 2, with the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 46th World Series on October 5 and ended with Game 5 on October 9. In the third iteration of this Subway Series World Series matchup, the Yankees defeated the Dodgers, four games to one, capturing their 12th championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1947, and their first in a five-run World Series. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Cleveland Indians from the 1948 season.

The 16th All-Star Game was held on July 12 at Ebbets Field in New York, New York, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The American League won, 11–7, for their fourth straight win.

With the Negro National League folding and the Negro American League losing their major-league status prior to the 1949 season, as per MLB's 2020 designation of Negro Leagues, the National and American Leagues remain as the sole major-leagues of baseball, a fact which continues to the present day.

On July 8, the New York Giants become the fourth team in professional baseball to break the color line when they fielded Hank Thompson (who previously integrated the St. Louis Browns, becoming the only player to integrate two teams) and Monte Irvin.[1]

Schedule

The 1949 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 18, featuring four teams. The final day of the regular season was on October 2, which saw all sixteen teams play, continuing the trend from 1946. The World Series took place between October 5 and October 9.

Rule changes

The 1949 season saw the following rule changes:

  • Regarding the bonus rule, the amount of the bonus must now be made public before a contract was signed, including "such payments as are made to college men to help them with their education."[2]
  • Rules regarding night games were amended:[2]
    • In addition to Sundays and holidays, night games were banned a day before a scheduled doubleheader, as well as on the night of a visiting team's departure for another city.
    • In the American League, the number of night games which did not require consent from the visiting team was increased from two to four.
    • In the National League, the number of night games which did not require consent from the visiting team was increased to five.

Teams

League Team City Ballpark Capacity Manager[3]
American League Boston Red Sox Boston, Massachusetts Fenway Park 35,200 Joe McCarthy
Chicago White Sox Chicago, Illinois Comiskey Park 47,400 Jack Onslow
Cleveland Indians Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland Stadium 78,811 Lou Boudreau
Detroit Tigers Detroit, Michigan Briggs Stadium 58,000 Red Rolfe
New York Yankees New York, New York Yankee Stadium 67,000 Casey Stengel
Philadelphia Athletics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 33,166 Connie Mack
St. Louis Browns St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 34,000 Zack Taylor
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. Griffith Stadium 29,731 Joe Kuhel
National League Boston Braves Boston, Massachusetts Braves Field 37,106 Billy Southworth
Johnny Cooney
Brooklyn Dodgers New York, New York Ebbets Field 32,111 Burt Shotton
Chicago Cubs Chicago, Illinois Wrigley Field 38,690 Charlie Grimm
Frankie Frisch
Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati, Ohio Crosley Field 30,101 Bucky Walters
Luke Sewell
New York Giants New York, New York Polo Grounds 54,500 Leo Durocher
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 33,166 Eddie Sawyer
Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Forbes Field 33,730 Billy Meyer
St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 34,000 Eddie Dyer

Standings

American League

American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 9757 .630 — 54‍–‍23 43‍–‍34
Boston Red Sox 9658 .623 1 61‍–‍16 35‍–‍42
Cleveland Indians 8965 .578 8 49‍–‍28 40‍–‍37
Detroit Tigers 8767 .565 10 50‍–‍27 37‍–‍40
Philadelphia Athletics 8173 .526 16 52‍–‍25 29‍–‍48
Chicago White Sox 6391 .409 34 32‍–‍45 31‍–‍46
St. Louis Browns 53101 .344 44 36‍–‍41 17‍–‍60
Washington Senators 50104 .325 47 26‍–‍51 24‍–‍53

National League

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Brooklyn Dodgers 9757 .630 — 48‍–‍29 49‍–‍28
St. Louis Cardinals 9658 .623 1 51‍–‍26 45‍–‍32
Philadelphia Phillies 8173 .526 16 40‍–‍37 41‍–‍36
Boston Braves 7579 .487 22 43‍–‍34 32‍–‍45
New York Giants 7381 .474 24 43‍–‍34 30‍–‍47
Pittsburgh Pirates 7183 .461 26 36‍–‍41 35‍–‍42
Cincinnati Reds 6292 .403 35 35‍–‍42 27‍–‍50
Chicago Cubs 6193 .396 36 33‍–‍44 28‍–‍49

Tie games

8 tie games (2 in AL, 6 in NL), which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again) occurred throughout the season.

American League

  • Boston Red Sox, 1
  • Detroit Tigers, 1
  • New York Yankees, 1
  • St. Louis Browns, 1

National League

  • Boston Braves, 3
  • Brooklyn Dodgers, 2
  • Cincinnati Reds, 2
  • New York Giants, 2
  • St. Louis Cardinals, 3

Postseason

The postseason began on October 5 and ended on October 9 with the New York Yankees defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1949 World Series in five games.

Bracket

World Series
   
AL New York Yankees 4
NL Brooklyn Dodgers 1

Managerial changes

Off-season

Team Former Manager New Manager
Chicago White Sox Ted Lyons Jack Onslow
Detroit Tigers Steve O'Neill Red Rolfe
New York Yankees Bucky Harris Casey Stengel

In-season

Team Former Manager New Manager
Boston Braves Billy Southworth Johnny Cooney
Chicago Cubs Charlie Grimm Frankie Frisch
Cincinnati Reds Bucky Walters Luke Sewell

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders[4]
Stat Player Total
AVG George Kell (DET) .343
OPS Ted Williams (BOS) 1.141
HR Ted Williams (BOS) 43
RBI Vern Stephens (BOS)
Ted Williams (BOS)		 159
R Ted Williams (BOS) 150
H Dale Mitchell (CLE) 203
SB Bob Dillinger (SLB) 20
Pitching leaders[5]
Stat Player Total
W Mel Parnell (BOS) 25
L Paul Calvert (WSH)
Ned Garver (SLB)
Sid Hudson (WSH)		 17
ERA Mike Garcia (CLE) 2.36
K Virgil Trucks (DET) 153
IP Mel Parnell (BOS) 295.1
SV Joe Page (NYY) 27
WHIP Fred Hutchinson (DET) 1.161

National League

Hitting leaders[6]
Stat Player Total
AVG Jackie Robinson (BRO) .342
OPS Ralph Kiner (PIT) 1.089
HR Ralph Kiner (PIT) 54
RBI Ralph Kiner (PIT) 127
R Jackie Robinson (BRO) 132
H Stan Musial (STL) 207
SB Jackie Robinson (BRO) 37
Pitching leaders[7]
Stat Player Total
W Warren Spahn (BSN) 21
L Howie Fox (CIN) 19
ERA Dave Koslo (NYG) 2.50
K Warren Spahn (BSN) 151
IP Warren Spahn (BSN) 302.1
SV Ted Wilks (STL) 9
WHIP Dave Koslo (NYG) 1.113

Milestones

Batters

Cycles

Other batting accomplishments

Miscellaneous

Awards and honors

Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award National League American League
Rookie of the Year Don Newcombe (BRO) Roy Sievers (SLB)
Most Valuable Player Jackie Robinson (BRO) Ted Williams (BOS)
Babe Ruth Award
(World Series MVP)		 — Joe Page (NYY)[17][18]

Other awards

The Sporting News Awards
Award National League American League
Player of the Year[19] — Ted Williams (BOS)
Pitcher of the Year[20] Howie Pollet (STL) Ellis Kinder (BOS)
Rookie of the Year[21] Don Newcombe (BRO) Roy Sievers (SLB)
Manager of the Year[22] — Casey Stengel (NYY)
Executive of the Year[23] Bob Carpenter (PHI) —

Baseball Hall of Fame

Home field attendance

Team name Wins %± Home attendance %± Per game
New York Yankees[24] 97 3.2% 2,283,676 −3.8% 29,278
Cleveland Indians[25] 89 −8.2% 2,233,771 −14.8% 29,010
Detroit Tigers[26] 87 11.5% 1,821,204 4.5% 23,349
Brooklyn Dodgers[27] 97 15.5% 1,633,747 16.8% 20,945
Boston Red Sox[28] 96 0.0% 1,596,650 2.4% 20,736
Pittsburgh Pirates[29] 71 −14.5% 1,449,435 −4.5% 18,824
St. Louis Cardinals[30] 96 12.9% 1,430,676 28.7% 18,110
New York Giants[31] 73 −6.4% 1,218,446 −16.5% 15,423
Chicago Cubs[32] 61 −4.7% 1,143,139 −7.6% 14,846
Boston Braves[33] 75 −17.6% 1,081,795 −25.7% 14,049
Chicago White Sox[34] 63 23.5% 937,151 20.5% 12,171
Philadelphia Phillies[35] 81 22.7% 819,698 6.8% 10,645
Philadelphia Athletics[36] 81 −3.6% 816,514 −13.6% 10,604
Washington Senators[37] 50 −10.7% 770,745 −3.1% 10,010
Cincinnati Reds[38] 62 −3.1% 707,782 −14.0% 9,074
St. Louis Browns[39] 53 −10.2% 270,936 −19.3% 3,519

See also

References

  1. ↑ "These players integrated each MLB team". MLB.com. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Levy, Gary. "1948 Winter Meetings: Concerns and Conflicts Regarding Televised Baseball Grow Stronger". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  3. ↑ "1949 Major League Managers". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  4. ↑ "1949 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  5. ↑ "1949 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  6. ↑ "1949 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  7. ↑ "1949 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Pittsburgh Pirates 4, Boston Braves 3". Retrosheet.org. June 14, 1949. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Brooklyn Dodgers 17, Pittsburgh Pirates 10". Retrosheet.org. June 25, 1949. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  10. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals 14, Brooklyn Dodgers 1". Retrosheet.org. July 24, 1949. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Most home runs hit by a team in one inning of a Major League Baseball (MLB) game". Guinness World Records. Retrieved May 7, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds vs Philadelphia Phillies Box Score: June 2, 1949". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 7, 2026.
  13. ↑ "July 6, 1949 Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati Reds Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. July 6, 1949. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Walker Cooper Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on October 28, 2023. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  15. ↑ Rogers III, C. Paul. "June 2, 1949: Phillies smash 5 homers in one inning to tie major-league record". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
  16. ↑ Harris, Bruce. "September 11, 1949: Four Senators pitchers set major-league record with 11 walks in one inning". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Babe Ruth Award Goes To Joe Page". The New London Day. January 20, 1950. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
  18. ↑ "1949 World Series". Baseball Reference. Archived from the original on June 23, 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  19. ↑ "Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Pitcher of the Year Award by The Sporting News". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Rookie of the Year Award by The Sporting News". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  23. ↑ "MLB Executive of the Year Award". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  24. ↑ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  27. ↑ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  28. ↑ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  29. ↑ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  30. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  31. ↑ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  32. ↑ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  33. ↑ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  34. ↑ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  35. ↑ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  36. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  37. ↑ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  38. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  39. ↑ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1949_Major_League_Baseball_season