Series Wrapup

Story

The 1947 season will always be remembered as the year Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the major leagues.  Robinson made his debut with the National League’s Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15th, thereby becoming the first player of African-American descent to don a major league uniform since the Walker brothers, Fleet and Welday, played in the American Association in the 1880s.  

Yet, while Robinson’s arrival in Brooklyn gained a significant amount of notoriety during the early stages of the season, the 1947 campaign began with another controversy – the year-long suspension of Dodger manager Leo Durocher.  Punished by commissioner Happy Chandler for “an accumulation of unpleasant incidents” that centered around his association with known gamblers, Durocher found himself replaced as Dodger manager by Burt Shotton.    

The Durocher affair momentarily distracted baseball fans from Brooklyn’s purchase of Robinson from Montreal.  Robinson opened the season as Brooklyn’s starting first baseman after spending the previous year integrating the International League.  

Many fans and opposing players around the league greeted Robinson’s arrival at Ebbets Field with a considerable amount of animosity and resentment.  Making the former Negro League star’s adjustment to his new surroundings even more difficult was the malevolence several of his own teammates showed him at first.  After a number of Dodger players signed a petition during spring training to express their displeasure over having to play alongside Robinson, Durocher and Brooklyn GM Branch Rickey quelled the revolt by offering to trade anyone who wished to leave.  Most of Robinson’s teammates treated him with a cool indifference in the ensuing weeks, with virtually all of them choosing not to sit anywhere near him in the dugout, and others refusing to even speak to him.  However, Robinson’s outstanding play eventually won them over, as his aggressive brand of baseball helped the Dodgers move into first place.

Brooklyn ended up winning the National League pennant, finishing five games ahead of the second-place St. Louis Cardinals, with a record of 94-60.  The Boston Braves finished third, eight games off the pace.  The Dodgers placed third in the senior circuit in both runs scored (774) and fewest runs allowed (667).  Ralph Branca served as the ace of Brooklyn’s pitching staff, compiling a record of 21-12, with a 2.67 ERA, 280 innings pitched, and 15 complete games.  Meanwhile, Robinson captured Rookie of the Year honors and finished fifth in the league MVP voting by batting .297, scoring 125 runs, and topping the circuit with 29 stolen bases.

The Dodgers subsequently faced the Yankees in the first televised World Series.  Although the Yankees won the exciting seven-game affair, the Dodgers provided their fans with several thrilling moments, one of which occurred in Game Four.  With New York clinging to a 2-1 lead with two men out and two men on base in the bottom of the ninth inning, Dodger pinch-hitter Cookie Lavagetto stepped to the plate to face Yankee starter Bill Bevens, who had yet to surrender a hit to Brooklyn.  Lavagetto delivered a two-run double off the right field wall that evened the Series at two games apiece.  Backup outfielder Al Gionfriddo thrilled Dodger fans once more in Game Six when he made a circus catch against the Yankee bullpen in deep left-center field on a drive hit by Joe DiMaggio.  Brooklyn reliever Hugh Casey saw action in six of the seven games between the two clubs, compiling in the process an exceptional 0.87 ERA.  However, the Yankees fared much better against the rest of the Dodger pitching staff, which posted an ERA of 6.52.  

Although the Dodgers represented the National League in the Fall Classic, most of the senior circuit’s top performers played for other teams.  Cincinnati’s Ewell Blackwell and Boston’s Warren Spahn were the league’s two best pitchers.  Blackwell compiled an outstanding 2.47 ERA and led all N.L. hurlers with 22 wins, 193 strikeouts, and 23 complete games.  Spahn finished 21-10, threw 22 complete games, and topped the circuit with a 2.33 ERA, 289 innings pitched, and seven shutouts.

Both Ralph Kiner and Johnny Mize made a run at Hack Wilson’s National League home run record of 56 long balls before settling for a first-place tie for league leadership honors with 51.  Meanwhile, three of Mize’s Giants teammates – Willard Marshall (36), Walker Cooper (35), and rookie Bobby Thomson (29) helped New York establish a new National League single-season home run record by hitting a total of 221 round-trippers.

Boston’s Bob Elliott captured N.L. MVP honors for leading his team to a very respectable third-place finish by hitting 22 home runs, driving in 113 runs, scoring 93 others, batting .317, and compiling a .410 on-base percentage.

Other outstanding performers, notable events, and points of interest from around the league follow:

• June 18 - Ewell Blackwell pitched a no-hitter, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-0 win over the Boston Braves.  Blackwell also pitched eight hitless innings in his next start.

• August 26 – Brooklyn Dodger Dan Bankhead became the first black pitcher in the major leagues.  He homered in his first major league plate appearance, but didn't fare well on the mound.  In 3 1/3 innings of relief, Bankhead gave up 10 hits and six earned runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates, who won the game, 16–3.

• After being dealt to Philadelphia by St. Louis, Harry Walker became the first player traded during the season to win a National League batting title by topping the circuit with a mark of .363.

• Ralph Kiner hit a record eight home runs in a four-game stretch.

• Johnny Mize scored at least one run in a National League record 16 straight games.

• In addition to tying Kiner for the league lead with 51 home runs, Mize topped the circuit with 138 runs batted in and 137 runs scored.

• Giants' rookie Larry Jansen went 21-5, topping the National League in win pct. (.808).

• Cincinnati’s Ewell Blackwell established a club record by winning 16 straight games.

• Mel Ott and Hank Greenberg both announced their retirements.  Ott ended his career first among all National League players with 511 home runs, 1,860 runs batted in, 1,859 runs scored, and 1,708 walks.