The 1949 American League Batting Race
In 1949 American League Batting Race Ted Williams was poised to become the first man to win three Triple Crowns. He had won the Triple Crown for leading the league in batting, homers, and RBI in 1942 and 1947. The latter year was his first season back in baseball after World War II. In 1949 Williams seemed set to duplicate that fantastic feat and, in the process, join Ty Cobb as the only man to win five batting titles. On September 18, Williams clubbed two homers and batted in six runs, taking the AL lead in the three categories. He had a comfortable ten-point lead in the batting race. There were ten games left in his season. There seemed to be few challenges to Williams’s claim of his third Triple Crown.
Detroit’s George Kell languished ten points behind on September 23, when he returned to the Tiger lineup after jamming his thumb ten days prior. Kell stroked two hits in three at-bats and raised his average a single point to .342, still far from the Red Sox leader. That same weekend, Williams blasted two home runs against the Yankees in Fenway Park. The Red Sox and Yanks were in a tight battle for the pennant. After winning their third straight game against New York, the Red Sox were in first place. While Detroit had four off days leading up to the season’s final weekend, the Red Sox played a pair in Washington and two more in New York. Williams went 2-for-12 in those four games, including a slew of walks. As always, Williams refused to chase questionable pitches. His selection would ultimately cost him.
On Friday, Williams went hitless against Bob Feller and the Indians, dropping his average to .346. In Detroit, Kell went 1-for-2 on Saturday as Williams was collared against the Yanks. Going into the final day, Kell trailed .344 to .341. The Yanks and Red Sox were deadlocked for the AL lead.
Kell came to the park on that final day with a chance to win the batting title – something he never would have thought possible just a week before. Williams walked in his first at-bat against the Yanks. He popped out twice before batting for the final time in the ninth inning. Williams walked with the Yanks leading 5-0 and three outs from the pennant. The Red Sox rallied to score three runs before Birdie Tebbetts fouled out to end the season and give New York the AL flag. Williams had gone 0-for-2 with two walks. His walks had helped his team stay in the game but had not helped his triple-crown chances.
In Detroit, Kell singled in his first at-bat against Bob Lemon. In his second chance, he doubled off Lemon. In the sixth, Kell was walked by Feller (why Feller was relieving, we do not know!), and in the seventh, he flew out. In the ninth, Kell was scheduled to bat fourth. Neither he or his teammates knew if he was ahead or behind in the batting race. But his manager did. Red Rolfe had assigned a Detroit Free Press sportswriter to stay on the phone with reporters in New York and report down to the Tiger dugout on the status of Williams. With Kell in the on-deck circle in the ninth, Rolfe received word that Williams and Kell were tied for the batting title but that Kell would win by less than two thousand of a point. But if Kell batted and made an out – he would lose. Rolfe prepared to use a pinch-hitter, but Eddie Lake bounced into a game-ending and season-ending double play and rendered the move moot.
Kell had won with a mark of .3429 to Williams’ .34275. Kell had not backed into the 1949 American League batting race at all. In his final three games, he went 3-for-8. In four games he played with a sore thumb, he was 5-for-11. It wasn’t until the off-season that he learned Rolfe was not going to let him bat in the ninth. Williams was denied his third Triple Crown. He would win three more batting titles but never again lead his league in homers or RBI.
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