| 1947 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Games | 154 |
| Teams | 16 (8 per league) |
| Regular season | |
| SeasonMVP | AL:Joe DiMaggio (NYY) NL:Bob Elliott (BSN) |
| AL champions | New York Yankees |
| AL runners-up | Detroit Tigers |
| NL champions | Brooklyn Dodgers |
| NL runners-up | St. Louis Cardinals |
| World Series | |
| Champions | New York Yankees |
| Runners-up | Brooklyn Dodgers |
| MLB seasons | |
The1947 major league baseball season began on April 15, 1947. The regular season ended on September 28, with theBrooklyn Dodgers andNew York Yankees as the regular season champions of theNational League andAmerican League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the44th World Series on September 30 and ended with Game 7 on October 6. In the second iteration of thisSubway Series World Series matchup, the Yankees defeated the Dodgers, four games to three, capturing their 11th championship in franchise history, since their previous in1943. Going into the season, the defendingWorld Series champions were theSt. Louis Cardinals from the1946 season.
The14th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 8 atWrigley Field inChicago,Illinois, home of theChicago Cubs. TheAmerican League won, 2–1.
The 1947 season is most notable as the year that thebaseball color line broke, thanks to theBrooklyn Dodgers startingJackie Robinson onOpening Day.[1]
On April 15,Opening Day for the National League'sBrooklyn Dodgers,Jackie Robinson was in the Dodgers' lineup, playing first base against theBoston Braves atEbbets Field.[1] His appearance in a major league game broke thebaseball color line, the practice of excluding players ofblack African descent. Though he endured epithets and death threats, as well as a slow start, his skill would earn him the first everRookie of the Year award, named in Robinson's honor 40 years later.[2]
Halfway through the season on July 5, the American League'sCleveland Indians debutedLarry Doby, becoming the first black player in the American League and breaking the AL color line. Doby was a more low-key figure, suffered many of the same indignities that Robinson did, albeit with less press coverage.[3]
Kansas City Monarchs starWillard Brown and teammateHank Thompson briefly played for theSt. Louis Browns, becoming the third and fourth Black players in either the NL or AL, and made the St. Louis Browns the first of either the NL or AL to field two Black players on one roster. Brown was the first black player to hit a home run in the American League.
The 1947 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 15, featuring all sixteen teams, continuing the trend from1945. The final day of the regular season was on September 28, which also saw all sixteen teams play, continuing the trend from theprevious season. This was the first time since1940 that all sixteen teams played their first and last games on the same days. TheWorld Series took place between September 30 and October 6.
The 1947 season saw the following rule changes:
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 97 | 57 | .630 | — | 55–22 | 42–35 |
| Detroit Tigers | 85 | 69 | .552 | 12 | 46–31 | 39–38 |
| Boston Red Sox | 83 | 71 | .539 | 14 | 49–30 | 34–41 |
| Cleveland Indians | 80 | 74 | .519 | 17 | 38–39 | 42–35 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 78 | 76 | .506 | 19 | 39–38 | 39–38 |
| Chicago White Sox | 70 | 84 | .455 | 27 | 32–43 | 38–41 |
| Washington Senators | 64 | 90 | .416 | 33 | 36–41 | 28–49 |
| St. Louis Browns | 59 | 95 | .383 | 38 | 29–48 | 30–47 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 94 | 60 | .610 | — | 52–25 | 42–35 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 89 | 65 | .578 | 5 | 46–31 | 43–34 |
| Boston Braves | 86 | 68 | .558 | 8 | 50–27 | 36–41 |
| New York Giants | 81 | 73 | .526 | 13 | 45–31 | 36–42 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 73 | 81 | .474 | 21 | 42–35 | 31–46 |
| Chicago Cubs | 69 | 85 | .448 | 25 | 36–43 | 33–42 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 62 | 92 | .403 | 32 | 38–38 | 24–54 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 62 | 92 | .403 | 32 | 32–45 | 30–47 |
11 tie games (7 in AL, 4 in NL), which are not factored intowinning percentage orgames behind (and were often replayed again) occurred throughout the season.
The postseason began on September 30 and ended on October 6 with theNew York Yankees defeating theBrooklyn Dodgers in the1947 World Series in seven games.
| World Series | ||||
| AL | New York Yankees | 4 | ||
| NL | Brooklyn Dodgers | 3 | ||
| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Dodgers | Clyde Sukeforth | Burt Shotton |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Billy Herman | Bill Burwell |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Ted Williams1 (BOS) | .343 |
| OPS | Ted Williams (BOS) | 1.133 |
| HR | Ted Williams1 (BOS) | 32 |
| RBI | Ted Williams1 (BOS) | 114 |
| R | Ted Williams (BOS) | 125 |
| H | Johnny Pesky (BOS) | 207 |
| SB | Bob Dillinger (SLB) | 34 |
1 American LeagueTriple Crown batting winner
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Bob Feller (CLE) | 20 |
| L | Hal Newhouser (DET) | 17 |
| ERA | Joe Haynes (CWS) | 2.42 |
| K | Bob Feller (CLE) | 196 |
| IP | Bob Feller (CLE) | 299.0 |
| SV | Ed Klieman (CLE) Joe Page (NYY) | 17 |
| WHIP | Bob Feller (CLE) | 1.194 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Harry Walker (PHI/STL) | .363 |
| OPS | Ralph Kiner (PIT) | 1.055 |
| HR | Ralph Kiner (PIT) Johnny Mize (NYG) | 51 |
| RBI | Johnny Mize (NYG) | 138 |
| R | Johnny Mize (NYG) | 137 |
| H | Tommy Holmes (BSN) | 191 |
| SB | Jackie Robinson (BRO) | 29 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Ewell Blackwell (CIN) | 22 |
| L | Johnny Schmitz (CHC) | 18 |
| ERA | Warren Spahn (BSN) | 2.33 |
| K | Ewell Blackwell (CIN) | 193 |
| IP | Warren Spahn (BSN) | 289.2 |
| SV | Hugh Casey (BRO) | 18 |
| WHIP | Warren Spahn (BSN) | 1.136 |
| Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Rookie of the Year | Jackie Robinson (BRO) | — |
| Most Valuable Player | Bob Elliott (BSN) | Joe DiMaggio (NYY) |
| The Sporting NewsAwards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Award | National League | American League |
| Player of the Year[10] | — | Ted Williams (BOS) |
| Rookie of the Year[11] | Jackie Robinson (BRO) | — |
| Manager of the Year[12] | — | Bucky Harris (NYY) |
| Executive of the Year[13] | Branch Rickey (BRO) | — |
| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees[14] | 97 | 11.5% | 2,178,937 | −3.8% | 28,298 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers[15] | 94 | −2.1% | 1,807,526 | 0.6% | 23,173 |
| New York Giants[16] | 81 | 32.8% | 1,600,793 | 31.2% | 21,063 |
| Cleveland Indians[17] | 80 | 17.6% | 1,521,978 | 44.0% | 19,513 |
| Boston Red Sox[18] | 83 | −20.2% | 1,427,315 | 0.7% | 17,621 |
| Detroit Tigers[19] | 85 | −7.6% | 1,398,093 | −18.8% | 17,476 |
| Chicago Cubs[20] | 69 | −15.9% | 1,364,039 | 1.6% | 17,266 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[21] | 62 | −1.6% | 1,283,531 | 71.1% | 16,247 |
| Boston Braves[22] | 86 | 6.2% | 1,277,361 | 31.7% | 16,589 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[23] | 89 | −9.2% | 1,247,913 | 17.5% | 16,207 |
| Philadelphia Athletics[24] | 78 | 59.2% | 911,566 | 46.6% | 11,687 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[25] | 62 | −10.1% | 907,332 | −13.2% | 11,784 |
| Cincinnati Reds[26] | 73 | 9.0% | 899,975 | 25.7% | 11,688 |
| Chicago White Sox[27] | 70 | −5.4% | 876,948 | −10.8% | 11,693 |
| Washington Senators[28] | 64 | −15.8% | 850,758 | −17.2% | 11,049 |
| St. Louis Browns[29] | 59 | −10.6% | 320,474 | −39.1% | 4,162 |
After playing at bothLeague Park (where they played 45 seasons in part or in full) andCleveland Stadium (where they played 13 season in part or in full) since1932 (sans1933 through1935), theCleveland Indians permanently move into Cleveland Stadium leaving their inaugural park, having played at League Park for 45 seasons (every season since1901 excluding 1933). Previously, the Indians would typically play home games at League Park on weekdays and Cleveland Stadium on weekends. They would go on to play at Cleveland Stadium for a total of 60 seasons through1993.
