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Locations of teams for the 1942–1953American League seasons
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Locations of teams for the 1943–1952National League seasons
National League

The1949 major league baseball season began on April 18, 1949. The regular season ended on October 2, with theBrooklyn Dodgers andNew York Yankees as the regular season champions of theNational League andAmerican League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the46th World Series on October 5 and ended with Game 5 on October 9. In the third iteration of thisSubway Series World Series matchup, the Yankees defeated the Dodgers, four games to one, capturing their 12th championship in franchise history, since their previous in1947, and their first in a five-run World Series. Going into the season, the defendingWorld Series champions were theCleveland Indians from the1948 season.

The16th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 12 atEbbets Field inNew York,New York, home of theBrooklyn Dodgers. TheAmerican League won, 11–7, for their fourth straight win.

With theNegro National League folding and theNegro American League losing their major-league status prior to the 1949 season, as per MLB's 2020 designation ofNegro Leagues, the National and American Leagues remain as the sole major-leagues of baseball, a fact which continues to the present day.

On July 8, theNew York Giants become the fourth team in professional baseball tobreak the color line when they fieldedHank Thompson (who previously integrated theSt. Louis Browns, becoming the only player to integrate two teams) andMonte Irvin.^[1]

The 1949 schedule consisted of 154 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 22 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place since the1904 season (except for1919) and would be used until1961 in the American League and1962 in the National League.

Opening Day took place on April 18, featuring four teams. The final day of the regular season was on October 2, which saw all sixteen teams play, continuing the trend from1946. TheWorld Series took place between October 5 and October 9.

The 1949 season saw the following rule changes:

• Regarding thebonus rule, the amount of the bonus must now be made public before a contract was signed, including "such payments as are made to college men to help them with their education."^[2]
• Rules regardingnight games were amended:^[2]
  • In addition to Sundays and holidays, night games were banned a day before a scheduleddoubleheader, as well as on the night of a visiting team's departure for another city.
  • In theAmerican League, the number of night games which did not require consent from the visiting team was increased from two to four.
  • In theNational League, the number of night games which did not require consent from the visiting team was increased to five.

8 tie games (2 in AL, 6 in NL), which are not factored intowinning percentage orgames behind (and were often replayed again) occurred throughout the season.

The postseason began on October 5 and ended on October 9 with theNew York Yankees defeating theBrooklyn Dodgers in the1949 World Series in five games.

• Willie Jones (PHI):
  • On April 20, Jones tiesDick Bartell (1933) andErnie Lombardi (1935) for most consecutive doubles in the National League at four.
• Elmer Valo (PHA):
  • On May 1, Valo becomes the first American League player to hit two bases-loaded triples in a game, against theWashington Senators.
• Wally Westlake (PIT):
  • On June 14, Westlake hits for the cycle at home against theBoston Braves.
• Gil Hodges (BRO):
  • On June 25, Hodgeshits for the cycle against thePittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh.
• Walker Cooper (CIN):
  • On July 6, Cooper ties a modern record with six hits in seven at-bats, including three home runs with 10 RBI, against theChicago Cubs.
• Stan Musial (STL):
  • On July 24, Musial hits for the cycle against theBrooklyn Dodgers in Brooklyn.
• Wally Moses (PHA):
  • Recorded his 2,000th career hit on July 26 against theSt. Louis Browns.
• Ralph Kiner (PIT):
  • On September 13, Kiner tied a Major League record held by six players with his 4thgrand slam of the season, against thePhiladelphia Phillies.

• Philadelphia Phillies:
  • Tie a Major League record for a team hitting the most home runs in a single inning, with five home runs in the eighth inning on June 2 against theCincinnati Reds.
• Washington Senators:
  • Set a Major League record for giving up mostbases on balls in an inning, surrendering 11 in the third inning on September 11 against theNew York Yankees.

• Mordecai Brown
• Charlie Gehringer
• Kid Nichols

• 1949 in baseball (Events,Movies,Births,Deaths)
• 1949 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season
• 1949 Nippon Professional Baseball season

Wikimedia Commons has media related to1949 in Major League Baseball.

• 1949 Major League Schedule atBaseball Reference

• 1949 Major League Baseball season
• Major League Baseball seasons
• 1949 in baseball

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