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1948 Brooklyn Dodgers season

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1948 Brooklyn Dodgers
LeagueNational League
BallparkEbbets Field
CityBrooklyn, New York
OwnersJames & Dearie Mulvey, Walter O'Malley, Branch Rickey, John L. Smith
PresidentBranch Rickey
ManagersLeo Durocher, Ray Blades, Burt Shotton
RadioWMGM
Red Barber, Connie Desmond, Ernie Harwell
← 1947
1949 →

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.

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.

Offseason

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Regular season

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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.

Season standings

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National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Boston Braves 91 62 .595 45‍–‍31 46‍–‍31
St. Louis Cardinals 85 69 .552 44‍–‍33 41‍–‍36
Brooklyn Dodgers 84 70 .545 36‍–‍41 48‍–‍29
Pittsburgh Pirates 83 71 .539 47‍–‍31 36‍–‍40
New York Giants 78 76 .506 13½ 37‍–‍40 41‍–‍36
Philadelphia Phillies 66 88 .429 25½ 32‍–‍44 34‍–‍44
Cincinnati Reds 64 89 .418 27 32‍–‍45 32‍–‍44
Chicago Cubs 64 90 .416 27½ 35‍–‍42 29‍–‍48

Record vs. opponents

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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


Opening Day lineup

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Opening Day lineup
Name Position
Jackie Robinson Second baseman
Arky Vaughan Left fielder
Preston Ward First baseman
Carl Furillo Center fielder
Pee Wee Reese Shortstop
Dick Whitman Right fielder
Billy Cox Third baseman
Gil Hodges Catcher
Rex Barney Starting pitcher

Notable transactions

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Roster

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1948 Brooklyn Dodgers
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats

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Batting

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Starters by position

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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

Other batters

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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

Pitching

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Starting pitchers

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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

Other pitchers

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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

Relief pitchers

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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

Awards and honors

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League top five finishers

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Rex Barney

  • #2 in NL in strikeouts (138)
  • #4 in NL in shutouts (4)

Ralph Branca

  • #5 in NL in strikeouts (122)

Pee Wee Reese

  • #2 in NL in stolen bases (25)

Jackie Robinson

  • #4 in NL in runs scored (108)
  • #4 in NL in stolen bases (22)
  • #4 in NL in doubles (38)

Preacher Roe

  • #4 in NL in ERA (2.63)

Farm system

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Level Team League Manager
AAA Montreal Royals International League Clay Hopper
AAA St. Paul Saints American Association Walter Alston
AA Fort Worth Cats Texas League Les Burge
George Dockins
Bobby Bragan
AA Mobile Bears Southern Association Alfred Todd
A Greenville Spinners South Atlantic League Greg Mulleavy
A Pueblo Dodgers Western League John Fitzpatrick
B Asheville Tourists Tri-State League Clay Bryant
B Danville Dodgers Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League Paul Chervinko
B Lancaster Red Roses Interstate League Dibrell Williams
Jack Knight
B Nashua Dodgers New England League Al Campanis
B Newport News Dodgers Piedmont League Roy Schalk
C Abilene Blue Sox West Texas–New Mexico League Art Bowland
Otis Davis
C Greenwood Dodgers Cotton States League Jim Bivin
C Idaho Falls Russets Pioneer League Jay Kirke, Jr.
Lewis Garland
C Johnstown Johnnies Middle Atlantic League Roy Nichols
C Santa Barbara Dodgers California League Chester Kehn
D Trois-Rivières Royals Canadian–American League Ed Head
D Cairo Dodgers Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League Hugh Holliday
Norbert Hall
D Cambridge Dodgers Eastern Shore League Bob Vickery
Stew Hofferth
D Medford Nuggets Far West League Larry Shepard
D Olean Oilers Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League Greg Mulleavy
D Ponca City Dodgers Kansas–Oklahoma–Missouri League Boyd Bartley
D Pulaski Counts Appalachian League George Pfister
D Sheboygan Indians Wisconsin State League Joe Hauser
D Valdosta Dodgers Georgia–Florida League Lou Rochelli
D Zanesville Dodgers Ohio–Indiana League Ray Hathaway

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Montreal, St. Paul, Ft. Worth, Greenville, Nashua, Newport News, Santa Barbara, Pulaski, Sheboygan, Zanesville

Notes

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  1. ^ Stan Rojek page at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ Ed Stevens page at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ a b Jimmy Bloodworth page at Baseball Reference
  4. ^ Dixie Walker page at Baseball Reference
  5. ^ Eddie Stanky page at Baseball Reference
  6. ^ Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season, p. 267, Jonathan Eig, Simon & Schuster, 2007, New York, ISBN 978-0-7432-9461-4
  7. ^ Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season, p. 267
  8. ^ Ray Sanders page at Baseball Reference

References

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