1948 Season

28 teams competing in 2 leagues

The 1948 Major League Baseball season was played by 28 teams. The Cleveland Indians won the World Series, defeating the Boston Braves. Ralph Kiner and Johnny Mize led with 40 home runs, Joe DiMaggio led with 155 RBI, and Stan Musial led with 230 hits. This page carries the 1948 standings, league leaders, postseason results, and a link to every team's season.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
L (Losses):
Games charged to the pitcher of record when the opposing team took a lead it never surrendered.
Win% (Winning Percentage):
Wins divided by games decided.
GB (Games Back):
How far a team trailed the division or league leader.

Data updated

🏆 Postseason

1948 Bracket
World Series CLE def. BSN (4-2)
ALC BBB def. KCM (4-3)
NLC HG def. BEG (2-1)
NWS HG def. BBB (4-1)

📂 Quick Links

📊 Full Leaders 📋 Standings ⚾ Batting 🎯 Pitching

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1938 1943 1947 1948 1949 1953 1958

⚾ Batting Leaders

1948 Home Run Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

Batting average and OPS list qualified hitters only: 3.1 plate appearances per team game — 477 plate appearances at 154 team games. Home runs, RBI, hits, runs and stolen bases are counting totals and list every player.

Batting Average qualified

1 Stan Musial .376 2 Ted Williams .369 3 Lou Boudreau .355 4 Dale Mitchell .336 5 Richie Ashburn .333

OPS qualified

1 Stan Musial 1.152 2 Ted Williams 1.112 3 Joe DiMaggio .994 4 Lou Boudreau .987 5 Johnny Mize .959

Home Runs all players

1 Ralph Kiner 40 2 Johnny Mize 40 3 Joe DiMaggio 39 4 Stan Musial 39 5 Hank Sauer 35

RBI all players

1 Joe DiMaggio 155 2 Vern Stephens 137 3 Stan Musial 131 4 Ted Williams 127 5 Johnny Mize 125

Hits all players

1 Stan Musial 230 2 Bob Dillinger 207 3 Dale Mitchell 204 4 Lou Boudreau 199 5 Joe DiMaggio 190

Runs all players

1 Tommy Henrich 138 2 Stan Musial 135 3 Dom DiMaggio 127 4 Johnny Pesky 124 5 Ted Williams 124

Stolen Bases all players

1 Richie Ashburn 32 2 Bob Dillinger 28 3 Pee Wee Reese 25 4 Stan Rojek 24 5 Gil Coan 23
View Complete Batting Stats →

🎯 Pitching Leaders

1948 Strikeout Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

ERA and WHIP list qualified pitchers only: 1 inning pitched per team game — 154 innings at 154 team games. Wins, strikeouts and saves are counting totals and list every pitcher.

ERA qualified

1 Harry Brecheen 2.24 2 Gene Bearden 2.43 3 Dutch Leonard 2.51 4 Johnny Sain 2.60 5 Preacher Roe 2.63

WHIP qualified

1 Harry Brecheen 1.04 2 Preacher Roe 1.06 3 Johnny Schmitz 1.17 4 Johnny Sain 1.21 5 Larry Jansen 1.22

Wins all pitchers

1 Johnny Sain 24 2 Hal Newhouser 21 3 Gene Bearden 20 4 Harry Brecheen 20 5 Bob Lemon 20

Strikeouts all pitchers

1 Bob Feller 164 2 Harry Brecheen 149 3 Bob Lemon 147 4 Hal Newhouser 143 5 Rex Barney 138

Saves all pitchers

1 Russ Christopher 17 2 Harry Gumbert 17 3 Joe Page 16 4 Ted Wilks 13 5 Tom Ferrick 10
View Complete Pitching Stats →

📋 Standings

NAL

Birmingham Black Barons ★ 56-22 Kansas City Monarchs 49-28 Cleveland Buckeyes 42-43 Memphis Red Sox 39-49 Indianapolis Clowns 27-45 Chicago American Giants 26-52

NN2

Homestead Grays ★ 39-21 Baltimore Elite Giants 46-25 Newark Eagles 29-27 Philadelphia Stars 27-30 New York Cubans 17-27 New York Black Yankees 9-37

American League

Cleveland Indians ★ 97-58 Boston Red Sox 96-59 New York Yankees 94-60 Philadelphia Athletics 84-70 Detroit Tigers 78-76 St. Louis Browns 59-94 Washington Senators 56-97 Chicago White Sox 51-101

National League

Boston Braves ★ 91-62 St. Louis Cardinals 85-69 Brooklyn Dodgers 84-70 Pittsburgh Pirates 83-71 New York Giants 78-76 Philadelphia Phillies 66-88 Cincinnati Reds 64-89 Chicago Cubs 64-90

The 1948 season in brief

The best record in the 1948 standings belonged to the Birmingham Black Barons, who finished 56-22. The weakest record belonged to the New York Black Yankees, 9-37. In the 1948 standings, the Negro National League ended with the Homestead Grays and the Baltimore Elite Giants level at 39-21, the Homestead Grays ranked first, the Cleveland Indians (97-58) edged the Boston Red Sox (96-59) in the American League, the Birmingham Black Barons ran away with the Negro American League at 56-22, and the Boston Braves ran away with the National League at 91-62. Alongside the American and National Leagues, the 1948 page carries standings for the Negro American League and Negro National League, whose seasons MLB now treats as major league. The Cleveland Indians won the World Series over the Boston Braves, 4 games to 2. Earlier rounds sent through the Birmingham Black Barons over the Kansas City Monarchs in the series the bracket labels ALC (4-3), the Homestead Grays over the Baltimore Elite Giants in the series the bracket labels NLC (2-1), and the Homestead Grays over the Birmingham Black Barons in the series the bracket labels NWS (4-1). Ralph Kiner and Johnny Mize shared the home run lead at 40. The qualified batting-average board starts with Stan Musial at .376, with Ted Williams next at .369. Full batting and pitching tables are on the 1948 leaders page.

1948 MLB Season: Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the World Series in 1948?
The Cleveland Indians won the 1948 World Series, beating the Boston Braves.
How many teams played in 1948?
28 teams played in the 1948 major league season.
Who led MLB in home runs in 1948?
Ralph Kiner and Johnny Mize tied for the lead with 40 home runs in 1948.
Who led MLB in RBI in 1948?
Joe DiMaggio led with 155 RBI in 1948.
Who led MLB in hits in 1948?
Stan Musial led with 230 hits in 1948.
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