1948 – Cesar Geronimo is born in El Seibo, DR. Used mostly as a defensive replacement in Houston, Geronimo would leave for Cincinnati as part of the infamous Morgan deal and hold down center field for the Reds for the next nine seasons.
The Braves acquire All-Star second baseman Eddie Stanky from the Dodgers for Bama Rowell and $60,000. The 32 year-old hard-nosed infielder, who is known as the Brat, will play a pivotal role in Boston’s National League championship this season.
Cardinals outfielder Stan Musial ends his holdout, signing a contract for $31,000, the same salary he made last season. ‘Stan the Man,’ after being assured by new owners Robert Hannegan and Fred Saigh that his salary will be increased based on his performance, gets a pay raise of $5,000 when he is hitting .403 at the All-Star break, en route to being named the National League’s MVP.
Pie Traynor and Herb Pennock win election to the Hall of Fame
1948 – The Chicago White Sox trade Ed Lopat to the New York Yankees for Aaron Robinson, Bill Wight and Fred Bradley. Lopat will star for seven seasons in pinstripes, winning 21 in 1951 and going 16-4 in 1953. Robinson’s main value to the Sox will come at the end of the season when he’s swapped for another lefty pitcher, Billy Pierce.
On February 14, 1948, Hall of Fame pitcher Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown dies at the age of 71. Brown’s nickname “three fingers” came from him losing his index finger in a childhood farm accident. According to his biography, he suffered two separate injuries to his right hand. The first and most famous trauma came when…
1948 – The Philadelphia Phillies acquire veteran shortstop Eddie Miller from the Boston Braves, sending outfielder Johnny Wyrostek in exchange.
1948 – Pitcher Herb Pennock collapses and dies from a heart attack. Pennock, who was 53, had been serving as the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies since 1944. His untimely demise will be a catalyst for his election to the Hall of Fame later this year.
1948 – Commissioner Happy Chandler fines the Yankees, Cubs and Phillies $500 each for signing high school players.
1948 – A DC6 plane carrying the Santiago Baseball Club crashes in Rio Verde de Yamasa, Monte Plata while returning from playing a doubleheader in Barahona. All 32 occupants are killed, including Dominican baseball legend Pedro Báez, the team’s manager, in what is considered the biggest tragedy in the country’s sports history.