| 1949 Philadelphia Athletics | |
|---|---|
| League | American League | 
| Ballpark | Shibe Park | 
| City | Philadelphia | 
| Owners | Connie Mack | 
| Managers | Connie Mack | 
| Television | WPTZ/WCAU/WFIL | 
| Radio | WIBG (By Saam, George Walsh, Claude Haring) | 
The 1949 Philadelphia Athletics season involved the A's finishing fifth in the American League with a record of 81 wins and 73 losses.
Offseason
- November 10, 1948: Tod Davis was drafted by the Athletics from the Chicago White Sox in the 1948 rule 5 draft.[1]
- December 16, 1948: Bob Savage was selected off waivers from the Athletics by the St. Louis Browns.[2]
- Prior to 1949 season: Skeeter Kell was signed as an amateur free agent by the Athletics.[3]
Regular season
The 1949 Philadelphia Athletics team set a major league team record of executing 217 double plays, a record which still presently stands.[4][5]
Season standings
| American League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 97 | 57 | 0.630 | — | 54–23 | 43–34 | 
| Boston Red Sox | 96 | 58 | 0.623 | 1 | 61–16 | 35–42 | 
| Cleveland Indians | 89 | 65 | 0.578 | 8 | 49–28 | 40–37 | 
| Detroit Tigers | 87 | 67 | 0.565 | 10 | 50–27 | 37–40 | 
| Philadelphia Athletics | 81 | 73 | 0.526 | 16 | 52–25 | 29–48 | 
| Chicago White Sox | 63 | 91 | 0.409 | 34 | 32–45 | 31–46 | 
| St. Louis Browns | 53 | 101 | 0.344 | 44 | 36–41 | 17–60 | 
| Washington Senators | 50 | 104 | 0.325 | 47 | 26–51 | 24–53 | 
Record vs. opponents
| Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYY | PHA | SLB | WSH | |||||
| Boston | — | 17–5 | 8–14 | 15–7–1 | 9–13 | 14–8 | 15–7 | 18–4 | |||||
| Chicago | 5–17 | — | 7–15 | 8–14 | 7–15 | 6–16 | 15–7 | 15–7 | |||||
| Cleveland | 14–8 | 15–7 | — | 13–9 | 10–12 | 9–13 | 15–7 | 13–9 | |||||
| Detroit | 7–15–1 | 14–8 | 9–13 | — | 11–11 | 14–8 | 14–8 | 18–4 | |||||
| New York | 13–9 | 15–7 | 12–10 | 11–11 | — | 14–8 | 17–5–1 | 15–7 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 8–14 | 16–6 | 13–9 | 8–14 | 8–14 | — | 12–10 | 16–6 | |||||
| St. Louis | 7–15 | 7–15 | 7–15 | 8–14 | 5–17–1 | 10–12 | — | 9–13 | |||||
| Washington | 4–18 | 7–15 | 9–13 | 4–18 | 7–15 | 6–16 | 13–9 | — | |||||
Notable transactions
- September 28, 1949: Bill McCahan and $25,000 were traded by the Athletics to the Brooklyn Dodgers for Kermit Wahl.[6]
Roster
| 1949 Philadelphia Athletics | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers 
 | Catchers 
 Infielders 
 | Outfielders 
 | Manager 
 Coaches 
 | ||||||
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 | Mike Guerra | 98 | 298 | 79 | .265 | 3 | 31 | 
| 1B | Ferris Fain | 150 | 525 | 138 | .263 | 3 | 78 | 
| 2B | Pete Suder | 118 | 445 | 119 | .267 | 10 | 75 | 
| SS | Eddie Joost | 144 | 525 | 138 | .263 | 23 | 81 | 
| 3B | Hank Majeski | 114 | 448 | 124 | .277 | 9 | 67 | 
| OF | Elmer Valo | 150 | 547 | 155 | .283 | 5 | 85 | 
| OF | Wally Moses | 110 | 308 | 85 | .276 | 1 | 25 | 
| OF | Sam Chapman | 154 | 589 | 164 | .278 | 24 | 108 | 
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 | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nellie Fox | 88 | 247 | 63 | .255 | 0 | 21 | 
| Don White | 57 | 169 | 36 | .213 | 0 | 10 | 
| Taffy Wright | 59 | 149 | 35 | .235 | 2 | 25 | 
| Joe Astroth | 55 | 148 | 36 | .243 | 0 | 12 | 
| Buddy Rosar | 32 | 95 | 19 | .200 | 0 | 6 | 
| Tod Davis | 31 | 75 | 20 | .267 | 1 | 6 | 
| Augie Galan | 12 | 26 | 8 | .308 | 0 | 0 | 
| Hank Biasatti | 21 | 24 | 2 | .083 | 0 | 2 | 
| Bobby Estalella | 8 | 20 | 5 | .250 | 0 | 3 | 
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 | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Kellner | 38 | 245.0 | 20 | 12 | 3.75 | 94 | 
| Joe Coleman | 33 | 240.1 | 13 | 14 | 3.86 | 109 | 
| Lou Brissie | 34 | 229.1 | 16 | 11 | 4.28 | 118 | 
| Dick Fowler | 31 | 213.1 | 15 | 11 | 3.75 | 43 | 
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 | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Scheib | 38 | 182.2 | 9 | 12 | 5.12 | 43 | 
| Bobby Shantz | 33 | 127.0 | 6 | 8 | 3.40 | 58 | 
| Bill McCahan | 7 | 20.2 | 1 | 1 | 2.61 | 3 | 
| Phil Marchildon | 7 | 16.0 | 0 | 3 | 11.81 | 2 | 
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 | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bubba Harris | 37 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5.44 | 18 | 
| Jim Wilson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14.40 | 2 | 
| Clem Hausmann | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 0 | 
Farm system
| Level | Team | League | Manager | 
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Savannah Indians | Sally League | Frank Skaff | 
| A | Lincoln Athletics | Western League | Jimmie DeShong | 
| B | Martinsville Athletics | Carolina League | George Staller | 
| C | Kewanee A's | Central Association | Harold Hoffman | 
| C | Youngstown Athletics | Middle Atlantic League | Eddie Morgan | 
| D | Welch Miners | Appalachian League | Bill Hoffner and Emil Kreshka | 
| D | Tarboro Athletics | Coastal Plain League | Joe Antolick | 
| D | Moultrie Athletics | Georgia–Florida League | Bill Peterman | 
| D | Lexington Indians | North Carolina State League | Archie Templeton and Walt Van Grofski | 
| D | Portsmouth A's | Ohio–Indiana League | Homer Lee Cox | 
| D | Red Springs Red Robins | Tobacco State League | Red Norris | 
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Kewanee, Red Springs
References
- ↑ Tod Davis at Baseball-Reference
- ↑ Bob Savage at Baseball-Reference
- ↑ Skeeter Kell at Baseball-Reference
- ↑ Old A's Were Masters of the Double Play, by Norman L. Macht, Baseball Digest, December 1989, Vol. 48, No. 12, ISSN 0005-609X
- ↑ "A Record with Legs: Most Double Plays Turned in a Season". philadelphiaathletics.org. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
- ↑ Kermit Wahl at Baseball-Reference
External links
- 1949 Philadelphia Athletics team at Baseball-Reference
- 1949 Philadelphia Athletics team page at baseball-almanac.com