1947 Cleveland Indians season
The Cleveland Indians season was the 47th in franchise history. On July 5, Larry Doby broke the American League color barrier. Doby was signed by the Indians by owner and team president Bill Veeck in July, 11 weeks after Jackie Robinson appeared with the Brooklyn Dodgers in the National League. In his rookie season, Doby went 5-for-32 in 29 games.
Offseason
- November 1, 1946: Gus Zernial was drafted by the Indians from the Atlanta Crackers in the 1946 rule 5 draft.
Regular season
- July 5: In a game against the Chicago White Sox, Larry Doby became the first black player to appear in an American League game. Doby pinch-hit for pitcher Bryan Stephens in the seventh inning and struck out against Earl Harrist.
Notable transactions
- April 2, 1947: Catfish Metkovich was purchased by the Indians from the Boston Red Sox.
- April 23, 1947: Gus Zernial was purchased from the Indians by the Chicago White Sox.
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 |
| C | Jim Hegan | 135 | 378 | 94 | .249 | 4 | 42 |
| 1B | Eddie Robinson | 95 | 318 | 78 | .245 | 14 | 52 |
| 2B | Joe Gordon | 155 | 562 | 153 | .272 | 29 | 93 |
| SS | 150 | 538 | 165 | .307 | 4 | 67 | |
| 3B | Ken Keltner | 151 | 541 | 139 | .257 | 11 | 76 |
| OF | Hank Edwards | 108 | 393 | 102 | .260 | 15 | 59 |
| OF | George Metkovich | 126 | 473 | 120 | .254 | 5 | 40 |
| OF | Dale Mitchell | 123 | 493 | 156 | .316 | 1 | 34 |
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 |
| Hal Peck | 114 | 392 | 115 | .293 | 8 | 44 |
| Les Fleming | 103 | 281 | 68 | .242 | 4 | 43 |
| Pat Seerey | 82 | 216 | 37 | .171 | 11 | 29 |
| Al López | 61 | 126 | 33 | .262 | 0 | 14 |
| Eddie Bockman | 46 | 66 | 17 | .258 | 1 | 14 |
| Jack Conway | 34 | 50 | 9 | .180 | 0 | 5 |
| 29 | 32 | 5 | .156 | 0 | 2 | |
| Hank Ruszkowski | 23 | 27 | 7 | .259 | 3 | 4 |
| Joe Frazier | 9 | 14 | 1 | .071 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Rosen | 7 | 9 | 1 | .111 | 0 | 0 |
| Ted Sepkowski | 10 | 8 | 1 | .125 | 0 | 0 |
| Felix Mackiewicz | 2 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Heinz Becker | 2 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Jimmy Wasdell | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
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 |
| Bob Feller | 42 | 299.0 | 20 | 11 | 2.68 | 196 |
| 30 | 190.2 | 10 | 12 | 3.92 | 72 | |
| Red Embree | 27 | 162.2 | 8 | 10 | 3.15 | 56 |
| Al Gettel | 31 | 149.0 | 11 | 10 | 3.20 | 64 |
| Mel Harder | 15 | 80.0 | 6 | 4 | 4.50 | 17 |
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 |
| Bob Kuzava | 4 | 21.2 | 1 | 1 | 4.15 | 9 |
| Roger Wolff | 7 | 16.0 | 0 | 0 | 3.94 | 5 |
| Ernest Groth | 2 | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |
| Cal Dorsett | 2 | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 27.00 | 1 |
| Lyman Linde | 1 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 27.00 | 0 |
| Gene Bearden | 1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 81.00 | 0 |
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 |
| Ed Klieman | 58 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 3.03 | 21 |
| Bob Lemon | 37 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3.44 | 65 |
| 31 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 4.01 | 34 | |
| Steve Gromek | 29 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3.74 | 39 |
| Les Willis | 22 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3.48 | 10 |
Awards and honors
All-Star GameLou Boudreau, Shortstop, starter
Bob Feller, Pitcher
Joe Gordon, Second baseman, starter
Jim Hegan, Catcher, reserve