1947 Boston Red Sox season explained

The 1947 Boston Red Sox season was the 47th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished third in the American League (AL) with a record of 83 wins and 71 losses, 14 games behind the New York Yankees, who went on to win the 1947 World Series.

Red Sox left fielder Ted Williams won the Triple Crown, leading the AL in home runs (32), runs batted in (114), and batting average (.343).^[1]

Offseason

• November 1, 1946: Virgil Stallcup drafted from the Red Sox by the Cincinnati Reds in the 1946 rule 5 draft.^[2]
• November 17, 1946: Tom Poholsky was drafted from the Red Sox by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1946 minor league draft.^[3]
• March 1947: Frankie Hayes was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox.^[4]

Regular season

After a memorable 1946 season, the Red Sox added lights to Fenway Park for the first time. 1947 looked like another big year for Boston, but Boo Ferriss, Mickey Harris, and Tex Hughson all had arm trouble, and from 62 wins in 1946 they dropped to 29 in 1947. Boston finished 3rd, 21 wins less than their American League Championship season a year earlier, 14 games behind the eventual world champion New York Yankees. Joe Dobson was the top winner with 18 wins, and Ted Williams hit .343, with 32 homers and 114 RBIs, to secure his second Triple Crown.

On July 20, Hank Thompson and Willard Brown of the St. Louis Browns played against the Boston Red Sox. It was the first time that two black players appear in a major league game together since 1884.^[5]

Opening Day lineup

39	Eddie Pellagrini	3B
6		SS
7		CF
9		LF
1		2B
3		1B
14		RF
8		C
21		P

Notable transactions

• May 20, 1947: Hal Wagner was traded to the Detroit Tigers for Birdie Tebbetts.^{[6] [7]}
• May 21, 1947: Frankie Hayes was released.^[4]

Roster

1947 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers		CatchersInfielders		Outfielders		ManagerCoaches (Third base) (Hitting) (First base)

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
C		90	291	87	.299	1	28
1B		109	404	95	.235	16	76
2B		146	561	145	.258	17	95
3B		46	168	39	.232	0	11
SS		155	638	207	.324	0	39
OF		156	528	181	.343	32	114
OF		123	453	137	.302	12	73
OF		136	513	145	.283	8	71

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
	90	255	70	.275	2	27
	74	231	47	.203	4	19
	48	184	39	.212	6	27
	60	169	39	.231	0	16
	54	131	22	.168	2	5
	47	84	20	.238	0	11
	17	68	15	.221	1	6
	21	65	15	.231	0	6
	26	52	8	.154	1	3
	7	16	8	.500	1	5
	9	14	0	.000	0	2
	5	13	2	.154	0	0
	5	13	2	.154	0	1
	12	11	2	.182	0	1
	2	5	1	.200	0	0
	3	4	1	.250	0	0

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
	33	228.2	18	8	2.95	110
	33	218.1	12	11	4.04	64
	29	189.1	12	11	3.33	119
	21	149.0	11	7	3.32	38
	9	36.0	1	2	5.50	10

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
	45	142.1	12	11	2.97	65
	41	136.0	7	8	4.70	50
	15	51.2	5	4	2.44	35
	8	17.0	1	3	7.41	15
	5	12.2	0	1	9.24	6
	4	9.0	0	1	6.00	5

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
	28	1	1	5	3.86	12
	32	0	0	3	2.80	9
	20	1	0	0	5.33	23
	2	0	0	0	13.50	1
	1	0	0	0	4.50	1

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball.

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Roanoke^[8]

External links

• 1947 Boston Red Sox team page at Baseball Reference
• 1947 Boston Red Sox season at baseball-almanac.com

Notes and References

1. Web site: 1947 American League Batting Leaders. Baseball-Reference.com. June 11, 2010.
2. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/stallvi01.shtml Virgil Stallcup page at Baseball Reference
3. https://www.baseball-reference.com/p/poholto01.shtml Tom Poholsky page at Baseball Reference
4. https://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hayesfr01.shtml Frankie Hayes page at Baseball Reference
5. Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season, p. 188, Jonathan Eig, Simon & Schuster, 2007, New York,
6. https://www.baseball-reference.com/w/wagneha01.shtml Hal Wagner page at Baseball Reference
7. https://www.baseball-reference.com/t/tebbebi01.shtml Birdie Tebbetts page at Baseball Reference
8. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007