1948 Boston Red Sox season

The 1948 Boston Red Sox season was the 48th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. After 154 regular-season games, the Red Sox and Cleveland Indians finished atop the American League with identical records of 96 wins and 58 losses. The teams then played a 1948 [American League tie-breaker game|tie-breaker game], which was won by Cleveland, 8–3. Thus, the Red Sox finished their season with a record of 96 wins and 59 losses, one game behind Cleveland.
This was the first Red Sox season to be broadcast on television, with broadcasts alternated between WBZ-TV and WNAC-TV, with the same broadcast team regardless of broadcasting station. The first Red Sox game to be broadcast on television was on July 2, 1948, a 4–2 loss to the Philadelphia Athletics.

Offseason

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.

Notable transactions

Prior to 1948 season
*Milt Bolling was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox.
*Bob Smith was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox.

Regular season

In 1948, Kramer led the American League in winning percentage. The manager of the team was former New York Yankees manager Joe McCarthy, who replaced the outgoing Joe Cronin. Cronin had led the Red Sox to an 83–71 record in 1947, finishing in third place.
Throughout 1948, 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.

American League Playoff

At the end of the season, the Red Sox and the Indians were tied for first place. This led to the American League's first-ever one-game playoff. The game was played at Fenway Park on Monday, October 4, 1948. The start time was 1:15 pm EST.
McCarthy picked former St. Louis Browns pitcher Denny Galehouse, who had an 8–7 pitching record, to be his starter. According to Mel Parnell, McCarthy chose Galehouse on the basis that he pitched well in relief against the Indians in Cleveland, whilst Billy Hitchcock reasoned that McCarthy chose Galehouse on the grounds that Galehouse's slider would keep Cleveland's right-handed hitters away from Fenway's left-field wall.
The Indians won the game by the score of 8–3. Indians third baseman Ken Keltner contributed to the victory with his single, double, and 3-run homer over the Green Monster in the 4th inning. 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.

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		128	446	125	.280	5	68
1B		127	445	138	.310	1	66
2B		140	527	150	.285	27	111
SS		155	635	171	.285	29	137
3B		143	565	159	.281	3	55
OF		137	509	188	.369	25	127
OF		114	391	92	.235	12	61
OF		155	648	185	.285	9	87

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
	78	189	49	.259	2	29
	66	180	42	.233	2	25
	49	124	37	.298	1	2
	46	118	37	.314	1	24
	36	105	21	.200	1	8
	4	11	1	.091	1	1
	4	4	2	.500	0	0
	3	2	1	.500	0	0
	2	1	0	.000	0	0
	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
	38	245.1	16	10	3.56	116
	35	212.0	15	8	3.14	77
	29	205.0	18	5	4.35	72
	28	178.0	10	7	3.74	53
	20	113.2	7	10	5.30	42
	1	1.1	0	1	20.25	0

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
	27	137.1	8	8	4.00	38
	31	115.1	7	3	5.23	30

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
	35	10	4	5	4.53	45
	15	3	1	0	5.12	6
	9	0	1	0	5.65	5
	8	1	1	0	13.00	5
	7	0	0	0	6.17	17
	6	0	0	0	6.43	4
	4	1	0	0	0.00	2
	3	0	0	0	6.00	1

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Birmingham, Scranton, Oneonta, Milford
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