1949 Cleveland Indians season
| 1949 Cleveland Indians | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ballpark | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | |
| City | Cleveland, Ohio | |
| Owners | Bill Veeck, Ellis Ryan | |
| Managers | Lou Boudreau | |
| Television | WEWS-TV Bob Neal, Tris Speaker | |
| Radio | WJW Jack Graney, Jimmy Dudley | |
| ||
The 1949 Cleveland Indians season was the 49th in franchise history. The club entered the season as the defending World Champions. On March 5, 1949, Indians minority owner Bob Hope donned a Cleveland Indians uniform and posed with manager Lou Boudreau and vice president Hank Greenberg as the World Series champions opened spring training camp in Tucson, Arizona.[1]
Offseason
- November 15, 1948: 1948 minor league draft
- Bob Chakales was drafted by the Indians from the Philadelphia Phillies.[2]
- Grant Dunlap was drafted from the Indians by the New York Yankees.[3]
- December 14, 1948: Ed Klieman, Joe Haynes, and Eddie Robinson were traded by the Indians to the Washington Senators for Mickey Vernon and Early Wynn.[4]
- Prior to 1949 season: Brooks Lawrence was signed as an amateur free agent by the Indians.[5]
Regular season
During the season, Indians fan Charlie Lupica spent 117 days on a flagpole, waiting for the Indians to regain first place. They never did, and he gave up his pursuit when the Indians were mathematically eliminated on September 25.[6]
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 97 | 57 | .630 | — | 54–23 | 43–34 |
| Boston Red Sox | 96 | 58 | .623 | 1 | 61–16 | 35–42 |
| Cleveland Indians | 89 | 65 | .578 | 8 | 49–28 | 40–37 |
| Detroit Tigers | 87 | 67 | .565 | 10 | 50–27 | 37–40 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 81 | 73 | .526 | 16 | 52–25 | 29–48 |
| Chicago White Sox | 63 | 91 | .409 | 34 | 32–45 | 31–46 |
| St. Louis Browns | 53 | 101 | .344 | 44 | 36–41 | 17–60 |
| Washington Senators | 50 | 104 | .325 | 47 | 26–51 | 24–53 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYY | PHA | SLB | WSH | |||||
| Boston | — | 17–5 | 8–14 | 15–7–1 | 9–13 | 14–8 | 15–7 | 18–4 | |||||
| Chicago | 5–17 | — | 7–15 | 8–14 | 7–15 | 6–16 | 15–7 | 15–7 | |||||
| Cleveland | 14–8 | 15–7 | — | 13–9 | 10–12 | 9–13 | 15–7 | 13–9 | |||||
| Detroit | 7–15–1 | 14–8 | 9–13 | — | 11–11 | 14–8 | 14–8 | 18–4 | |||||
| New York | 13–9 | 15–7 | 12–10 | 11–11 | — | 14–8 | 17–5–1 | 15–7 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 8–14 | 16–6 | 13–9 | 8–14 | 8–14 | — | 12–10 | 16–6 | |||||
| St. Louis | 7–15 | 7–15 | 7–15 | 8–14 | 5–17–1 | 10–12 | — | 9–13 | |||||
| Washington | 4–18 | 7–15 | 9–13 | 4–18 | 7–15 | 6–16 | 13–9 | — | |||||
Notable transactions
- April 28, 1949: Grant Dunlap was returned to the Indians by the New York Yankees.[3]
Roster
| 1949 Cleveland Indians | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters
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Manager
Coaches
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | Mickey Vernon | 153 | 584 | 170 | .291 | 18 | 83 |
| SS | Lou Boudreau | 134 | 475 | 135 | .284 | 4 | 60 |
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 |
|---|
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 |
|---|
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gene Bearden | 32 | 127 | 8 | 8 | 5.10 | 41 |
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 |
|---|
Awards and honors
- Dale Mitchell, American League leader, triples (23)[7]
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Stroudsburg[8]
Notes
- ^ http://www.cleveland.com/homegrown/index.ssf?/homegrown/more/hope/allroads.html
- ^ Bob Chakales at Baseball Reference
- ^ a b Grant Dunlap at Baseball Reference
- ^ Mickey Vernon at Baseball Reference
- ^ Brooks Lawrence at Baseball Reference
- ^ Google Books result: Veeck as in Wreck: the Autobiography of Bill Veeck by Bill Veeck, Ed Linn, p. 114
- ^ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 98, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
- ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
References
- 1949 Cleveland Indians at Baseball Reference
- 1949 Cleveland Indians at Baseball Almanac