1949,The Red Sox and Yankees fought all summer for the AL pennant, with New York beating Boston twice on the final weekend to return to the World Series. Brooklyn took advantage of a poor final week by the Cardinals to surge ahead and win the National League by a single game. The Dodgers, however, were…
1949 – Ted Williams, who lost the Triple Crown when his batting average was .0002 below that of George Kell, wins the American League MVP Award vote in a landslide. Phil Rizzuto and Joe Page finish second and third in the voting.
Baseball is the only game you can watch on the radio. Join the community today and listen to hundreds of broadcasts from baseball’s golden age! Sign Up or learn more On October 2, 1949, the New York Yankees win the American League pennant by defeating the Boston Red Sox, 5-3. Jerry Coleman’s three-run triple…
Jack Kramer leaves in the 3rd inning with a sore shoulder but still is credited with his 11th straight win as the Red Sox (58-40) pound the Browns, 15 – 8. Ted Williams hits his 19th home run and Vern Stephens drives in three runs.
At Sportsman’s Park, the American League defeats the National League for the 11th time in 15 All-Star contests, 5 – 2. Vic Raschi pitches three scoreless innings to pick up the win and hits a two-run single as well. Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, George Kell and Hal Newhouser miss places in the lineup due to injuries.
For the 6th time this year, Vern Stephens and Bobby Doerr of the Red Sox hit back-to-back homers as Boston beats the 2nd-place A’s, 4 – 0. Jack Kramer scatters nine hits in the shutout to win his 7th straight. Ted Williams sits out the game with a damaged ligament, the result of being hit in the ribs while playfully sparring with Sam Mele on the train down from Boston yesterday.
Ted Williams faces three pitchers in the 7th inning, a first in American League history, as Boston snaps a 5 – 5 tie by scoring 14 runs to beat the visiting Philadelphia Athletics, 20 – 8. A’s pitcher Charlie Harris retires one batter in 14 and coughs up 12 runs, before Bill McCahan takes over. Williams, who makes the final out in the inning, and Bobby Doerr, tie records by drawing two walks apiece. Pitcher Ellis Kinder has two hits, off Harris and McCahan. The 14 runs in one inning is a record, but five years later they will do even better with 17 in one inning.
The Red Sox become the first team to hit three consecutive homers in one inning twice in one season. Stan Spence, Vern Stephens, and Ted Williams all go deep off Fred Hutchinson in the sixth inning of the team’s 12-4 rout of Detroit at Fenway Park.
The Indians sweep a pair at Fenway Park, beating the Red Sox, 4 – 1, in 10 innings, and 9 – 5. A Ted Williams homer in the opener is the only Sox score, while Ken Keltner belts a pair of homers. They both add another in the nitecap, but Larry Doby clouts a monstrous two-run shot to dead center for the Tribe.
1947 – Triple Crown winner Ted Williams (.343, 32 HR,162 RBI) is edged out by Joe DiMaggio (.315, 20, 97) for the American League MVP Award by one point. One BBWAA member fails to include Williams anywhere on his ballot.
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