January 12 - The New York Giants are fined $2,000, and manager Leo Durocher $500, for signing Freddie Fitzsimmons as a coach while he was still under contract to the Boston Braves. Fitzsimmons gets a $500 fine and a 30-day spring training suspension.
January 27 - Fred Saigh buys out the interest of Robert Hannegan and now controls 90 percent of the St. Louis Cardinals stock. Saigh and Hannegan had swung the deal in 1947 with only $60,300 in cash in a $four million deal. Hannegan came out with $866,000 profit in two years.
January 28 - The New York Giants sign their first black players, Negro Leaguers Monte Irvin (OF) and Ford Smith (P). They are assigned to minor league Jersey City. Irvin will star for the Giants but Smith never makes the major leagues.
February 2 - Brothers Bill DeWitt and Charlie DeWitt gain control of the St. Louis Browns by acquiring 57 percent of the stock from Dick Muckerman for $one million.
February 9 - A federal appeals court orders the $300,000 suit against Major League Baseball by Mexican League jumper Danny Gardella back to a lower court for trial.
February 20 - The first Caribbean World Series ever was inaugurated with a doubleheader at Havana, Cuba. In the first game, Puerto Rico (Mayaguez) faced Panama (Spur Cola), and the Cuban host team (Almendares) faced Venezuela (Caracas) in the night cap. Cuba won the best-of-six-days Series with a perfect 6-0 record, followed by Venezuela (3-3), Panama (2-4) and Puerto Rico (1-5).
March 2 - Joe DiMaggio leaves the New York Yankees' spring training camp to have an ailing right heel examined at Johns Hopkins Hospital. DiMaggio is told that no surgery is needed and he returns to Florida, but the heel will continue to bother him. The star is hitting just 7-for-31 in the Grapefruit League.
March 8 - Max Lanier and Fred Martin, late of the Mexican League, file a $2.5 million suit against the major leagues. A federal judge on April one will deny their right to be reinstated.
April[]
April 8 - Dissension rumors surround the NL title-holder Boston Braves after manager Billy Southworth calls a closed meeting of the club in a South Carolina hotel.
At pregame ceremonies marking the season opener in Yankee Stadium, a granite monument to Babe Ruth is unveiled in center field. Plaques honoring Lou Gehrig and Miller Huggins are also presented. Mrs. Babe Ruth, Mayor William O'Dwyer, and Governor Thomas E. Dewey are at the game.
In Brooklyn, the Dodgers pay tribute to Jack "Shorty" Laurice, the "number one" fan and leader of the Ebbets Field "Sym-phony" band. Laurice died in 1948.
April 24 - Lloyd Merriman of the Cincinnati Reds hits a home run and a triple in his first major league game.
April 28 - A New York fan charges Leo Durocher with assault after the Giants lose 15–2 to Brooklyn. Commissioner Happy Chandler suspends Durocher but he is absolved on May 3. Chandler criticizes teams for lax security that allows fans on the field.
April 30 - Rocky Nelson hits an "inside-the-glove" two-run home run in short center-left field to turn a ninth inning 3–1 Chicago Cubs lead into a 4–3 St. Louis Cardinals victory. Cubs center fielder Andy Pafko's catch is ruled a trap by umpire Al Barlick, as Pafko races in, holding the ball high as runners circle the bases.
May[]
May 1 - Elmer Valo becomes the first AL player to hit two bases-loaded triples in a game when he leads the Philadelphia Athletics to a 15–9 win in the first of two games against the Washington Senators. Valo will have a third bases-loaded triple during the season, to tie the AL mark of Shano Collins set in 1918. The A's take game 2, 7–3, called after seven innings.
May 3 - Taking advantage of the shortened fence installed by Chicago White Sox GM Frank Lane, the Washington Senators belt seven home runs – and need them all – in beating Chicago, 14–12 in 10 innings. This is the only time a team has collected seven homers in an extra-inning contest. Clyde Vollmer leads the hit parade with a pair, followed by Mark Christman, Gil Coan, Al Evans, Eddie Robinson and Bud Stewart. The Sox get homers from Joe Tipton and Gus Zernial.
Chicago White Sox infielder Floyd Baker, who will play 874 games in his 13-year major league career, hits his only career home run off pitcher Sid Hudson, into "Home Run Lane", named for the new fence installed by Sox GM Frank Lane, in an 8–7 loss to the Washington Senators.
A day after the two teams played to a 13-inning, 14-14 tie, the Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox 5–1 behind Virgil Trucks' three-hitter. The Tigers shell Boston pitcher Mickey Harris for 14 hits in five 2/3 innings.
At the Polo Grounds, Johnny Mize pounds a 10th-inning home run and the New York Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3–2 to sweep their three-game series. The homer off Murry Dickson is the 300th for Mize. Reliever Hank Behrman, in for Sheldon Jones, pitches out of tight jams in the 9th and 10th innings to win the game. Wally Westlake is stranded in the 10th after reaching Behrman for a leadoff triple.
Before the start of a series with the New York Yankees, the Chicago White Sox abandon their trick left-field fence. The 5-foot chicken wire fence, erected to cut the distance by 20 feet, resulted in 11 home runs in eight games, but opponents hit seven of them. The AL will subsequently rule that fences cannot be moved more than once a season. The Yankees still win today, 7–5, to go 13–3. Tommy Henrich has the only homer, while Johnny Lindell, Yankees left fielder, twice makes catches that would've cleared the wire fence. Allie Reynolds, with help from Joe Page, is the winning pitcher.
At Cleveland, Bob Feller, making his first start since pitching two innings in the season opener and coming up with a sore shoulder, beats the Boston Red Sox 7–3. Cleveland scores six runs in the second inning, including a three-run home run by Ken Keltner off Jack Kramer. On the next pitch, rookie Minnie Miñoso, making his second start, hits his first major-league homer. Ted Williams and Bobby Doerr hit 8th-inning homers for the Red Sox, while Joe Gordon adds a homer in the 5th for Cleveland.
May 6 - Philadelphia Athletics pitcher Bobby Shantz makes a sensational debut, tossing nine hitless innings in relief in a 13-inning 5–4 Athletics win over the Detroit Tigers. Shantz finally gives up two hits and a run in the 13th, but old-timer Wally Moses, now back with the A's, saves him with a two-run home run in the bottom of the 13th.
At Shibe Park, the Cincinnati Reds score five runs in the ninth inning to take a 7–3 lead, but the Philadelphia Phillies tie to go into extra innings. Cincinnati then scores seven runs in the 12th to win 14–7.
May 8 - Longtime St. Louis Cardinals owner Sam Breadon dies. Robert Hannegan, the man to whom he sold the club, will die on October 6.
At Tiger Stadium, the Detroit Tigers set back the first-place New York Yankees 4–1, behind the five-hit pitching of Ted Gray. Vic Raschi also allows just five hits, including a home run by Dick Wakefield, in taking the loss.
The first-place New York Giants win their seventh game in a row as pitcher Sheldon Jones stops the Chicago Cubs 7–2. Aided by ten walks and home runs by Sid Gordon and Willard Marshall, the Giants pin the loss on starter Ralph Hamner, who allows one hit in three innings.
May 14 - Roy Sievers hits a home run and a double to drive in four runs, leading the St. Louis Browns' 8–3 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Slick-fielding Detroit first baseman Paul Campbell ties a major league record by making two unassisted double plays. While with minor league Montreal in 1941, Campbell started 26 DPs at 1B.
Boston Braves pitcher Vern Bickford stops the Brooklyn Dodgers 4–0, allowing just four singles. One is by Gil Hodges, extending his hitting streak to 17 games. Jim Russell switch-hits a home run and double to pin the loss on Morrie Martin. The Braves start Al Lakeman at first base in place of Earl Torgeson, who separated his shoulder yesterday when he attempted to block Jackie Robinson on a double play. Torgeson will be operated on tomorrow and will be sidelined several months.
May 16 - The Chicago Cubs receive infielder Bob Ramazzotti from Brooklyn for IF Harry Schenz and $25,000.
May 22 - Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Don Newcombe makes his first major league start a dandy, shutting out the Cincinnati Reds 3–0 in the first game of a doubleheader at Crosley Field. It's the first shutout in an NL debut in eleven years and extends Brooklyn's win streak at Cincinnati to 19 games going back to June 1947. Newcombe gives up hits to the first two batters, then allows just three more hits while walking none. He drives in two runs as well. In the second game, Ken Raffensberger then matches Newcombe by firing a one-hitter to beat Brooklyn 2–0, tossing only 83 pitches. The only hit is a leadoff single by Gil Hodges in the eighth inning. Raffensberger pitched two one-hitters against the Dodgers in the 1948 season.
May 24 - Striking out the last six St. Paul batters, Maurice McDermott of minor league Louisville fans a total of 20 for a new league record. McDermott wins 3–1, striking out the side in the 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8th, and 9th innings.
May 27 - The Cleveland Indians start the season so badly, 12–17, that owner Bill Veeck arranges a "Second Opening Day." Behind pitcher Al Benton, Cleveland make it a success, beating the Chicago White Sox 4–0. The Indians do rise to second place, within two 1/2 games of the top, but they will finish third, eight games back.
May 28 - Chicago White Sox rookie left fielder Gus Zernial breaks his collarbone making a diving catch against the Cleveland Indians. He will be out of action for two months. Cleveland push across a run in the ninth inning against Howie Judson to take a 3–2 victory. Early Wynn is the winning pitcher.
June[]
June 2 - At Shibe Park, the Philadelphia Phillies hit five home runs during the same inning (the 8th) in a 12–3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, tying the major league mark set by the 1939New York Giants. Andy Seminick belts two, while Del Ennis, Willie Jones and Schoolboy Rowe have one each. Jones adds a triple as Granny Hamner's double jumps the extra bases total to 18, still a record. Seminick collects three HR overall.
June 5 - Commissioner Happy Chandler lifts the ban on all players who jumped to the Mexican League, starting in 1946. Only Sal Maglie will make a significant mark after the exile. Lou Klein will be the first jumper to make a major-league box score, successfully pinch-hitting on June 16.
Eddie Waitkus of the Philadelphia Phillies is shot by 19-year-old Ruth Steinhagen at Chicago's Edgewater Beach Hotel. She will later be placed in a mental hospital. Waitkus battles for his life and will come back to play the following season.
San Francisco Seals rookie outfielder Dino Restelli joins the Pittsburgh Pirates and hits seven home runs in his first 39 at bats. He will finish with 12, hitting .250 in 72 games, and is out of the NL the next year.
June 28 - After missing the first 69 games of the season because of an ailing heel, Joe DiMaggio returns to the New York Yankees lineup with a single and a home run to beat the Boston Red Sox 6–4 in a night game at Fenway Park. DiMaggio will hit four homers in a three-game sweep.
July 6 - Cincinnati Reds catcher Walker Cooper, acquired recently from the Giants, collects six hits in seven at bats, including three home runs, and scores five times in a 23–4 Cincinnati victory over the Chicago Cubs.
July 8 - Hank Thompson and Monte Irvin are the first black players in Giants franchise history. Thompson starts at second base, and Irvin pinch-hits in the eighth inning. Thompson was also the first black to play for the St. Louis Browns in 1947, 12 days after Larry Doby's AL debut with the Cleveland Indians.
The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 14–1. This win gives St. Louis three straight victories at Ebbets Field, as they take over the lead Brooklyn has held through most of the season.
Four members of the Duluth club in the Northern League are killed, and 14 are injured, seven critically, in a bus-truck crash near St. Paul, Minnesota. All told, five are dead including manager George Treadwell, three players, and the driver of the truck. The injured include Mel McGaha, future major league manager in the 1960s, and Elmer Schoendienst, brother of Cardinals infielder Red Schoendienst. The tragedy recalls the bus crash three years ago in Spokane which took the lives of nine players.
July 31 - At Crosley Field, Sid Gordon of the New York Giants blasts two home runs in the second inning of game two, as the Giants sweep the Cincinnati Reds, 10–0 and 9–0, behind pitchers Larry Jansen and Adrián Zabala.
August[]
August 6 - Luke Appling appears in his 2,154th game as a shortstop, surpassing the major league mark set by Rabbit Maranville. Appling will finish his career with 2,218 games at SS.
August 8 - Carl Furillo returns to the Brooklyn Dodgers lineup after an injury and hits .431 in the final eight weeks of the season. He will finish at .322, fourth best in the NL.
August 9 - Dom DiMaggio's 34-game hitting streak is on the line against Vic Raschi and the New York Yankees. Hitless in his first four at bats, Dom hits a sinking line drive in the eighth inning that his brother Joe catches at his shoetops. The Boston Red Sox win 6–3 to move 5 1/2 games behind the Yankees. Dom had started his streak after going hitless against Raschi.
August 15 - Reports of clubhouse troubles trail the Boston Braves all season. Owner Lou Perini prevails on manager Billy Southworth to take a leave of absence. The team spurts briefly under Johnny Cooney but finishes under .500, in fourth place. Braves players vote Southworth only a half-share of last year's World Series earnings but commissioner Happy Chandler restores the full share.
August 21 - A barrage of bottles from the Shibe Park stands as protest of a decision by umpire George Barr over a trapped fly ball results in the first forfeiture in the major leagues in seven years. The New York Giants, who receive this 4–0 forfeit over the Philadelphia Phillies, gave one away in 1942 when hordes of youngsters invaded the Polo Grounds field.
August 27 - Former Mexican League jumpers Max Lanier and Fred Martin drop their $2.5 million suit against Major League Baseball.
September[]
September 9 - Despite terrorizing the NL with his bat and baserunning during the season, Jackie Robinson is picked off base by Dave Koslo, the fourth time this year New York Giants pitchers have nabbed him.
September 13 - For the second time in his career, Ralph Kiner hits home runs in four consecutive at bats, over two games. Kiner performed the same feat in 1947. The two home runs today are numbers 33 and 34. Kiner's 1949 total will include 25 on the road, 29 at Forbes Field, 14 of them in the bullpen enclosure still known as Greenberg Gardens.
September 15 - Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Tiny Bonham dies following an appendectomy and stomach surgery, just 18 days after his last pitching performance, an 8–2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Mrs. Bonham will receive the first benefits under the players pension plan, $90 a month for 10 years.
September 20 - Jackie Robinson steals home in a 5–0 Brooklyn Dodgers victory against the Chicago Cubs. It is his fifth steal of home this year and the 13th in his three years in the NL. That is the most in the majors since Ben Chapman stole his 15th and last in 1940, his 11th season.
Boston Braves third baseman Bob Elliott hits three successive home runs as the Braves down the Giants 6–4.
At Fenway Park, Ellis Kinder pitches a six-hit shutout and Ted Williams lines his 42nd home run to beat the New York Yankees 2–0 and pull the Red Sox one game behind New York. Kinder is 15-1 at Fenway this season.
The St. Louis Cardinals, in first place for two months, win their final home game, and the Dodgers lose to the Phillies, maintaining the Cards' 1 1/2 game lead.
Despite 71 injuries that kept players out of games, Casey Stengel and his New York Yankees have been in first place all season. But today the Boston Red Sox move into a tie for first place with a 4–1 victory over Allie Reynolds. Ted Williams hits his 43rd home run, and Mel Parnell wins his 25th game of the season. Parnell is 16-3 at Fenway Park this year. Joe DiMaggio listens to the game from a hospital, bedridden with pneumonia. The Yankees return to New York and are greeted at Grand Central Station by a huge crowd of fans, including Mrs. Babe Ruth, who predicts, "Whoever wins tomorrow should go all the way."
Facing Ray Scarborough, the Senators' top pitcher, the Boston Red Sox take a 1–0 lead into the ninth inning only to have the Senators tie it up. Mel Parnell, in relief for Boston, bounces a curve ball past catcher Birdie Tebbetts, and the winning run scores from third base.
Called up from Triple-A Toronto in mid-September, Eddie Sanicki of the Phillies gets his third hit of the season. All three are home runs. On September 14, Sanicki had homered with two men on his first big-league at bat, against Rip Sewell of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Coming into the last weekend of the season, the Red Sox are 1 game ahead of the Yankees, with the only games left for those teams being 2 against each other, thus there can be no playoff for the AL pennant. The Red Sox need to win only 1 of those games, but the Yankees win both to take the pennant. The Yankees will go on to win 14 pennants in the 16-year stretch from 1949 through 1964.
