The 1947 Boston Braves season was the 77th season of the franchise. They finished in third place with an 86-68 win-loss record, 8 games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers.
| 1947 Boston Braves | |
|---|---|
| League | National League |
| Ballpark | Braves Field |
| City | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Record | 86–68 (.558) |
| League place | 3rd |
| Owners | Louis R. Perini |
| General managers | John J. Quinn |
| Managers | Billy Southworth |
| Radio | WHDH (Jim Britt, Tom Hussey) |
Offseason
- Prior to 1947 season (exact date unknown)
- Jack Daniels was acquired by the Braves from the Bloomingdale Troopers.[1]
- Carl Sawatski was acquired by the Braves from the Philadelphia Phillies.[2]
Regular season
On April 15, the Braves played against the Brooklyn Dodgers in Jackie Robinson's first game. Johnny Sain threw the first pitch against Robinson.[3] Behind 3–2, Robinson scored the game-winning run against the Braves.[4] The final score was 5–3 for Brooklyn.
Bob Elliott became the first third baseman in the history of the National League to win the MVP Award.[5]
Season standings
| National League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 94 | 60 | 0.610 | — | 52–25 | 42–35 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 89 | 65 | 0.578 | 5 | 46–31 | 43–34 |
| Boston Braves | 86 | 68 | 0.558 | 8 | 50–27 | 36–41 |
| New York Giants | 81 | 73 | 0.526 | 13 | 45–31 | 36–42 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 73 | 81 | 0.474 | 21 | 42–35 | 31–46 |
| Chicago Cubs | 69 | 85 | 0.448 | 25 | 36–43 | 33–42 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 62 | 92 | 0.403 | 32 | 38–38 | 24–54 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 62 | 92 | 0.403 | 32 | 32–45 | 30–47 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BSN | BRO | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
| Boston | — | 12–10 | 13–9 | 13–9 | 13–9 | 14–8 | 12–10 | 9–13 | |||||
| Brooklyn | 10–12 | — | 15–7 | 15–7 | 14–8 | 14–8 | 15–7 | 11–11–1 | |||||
| Chicago | 9–13 | 7–15 | — | 12–10 | 7–15 | 16–6–1 | 8–14 | 10–12 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 9–13 | 7–15 | 10–12 | — | 13–9 | 13–9 | 13–9 | 8–14 | |||||
| New York | 9–13 | 8–14 | 15–7 | 9–13 | — | 12–10 | 15–7–1 | 13–9 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 8–14 | 8–14 | 6–16–1 | 9–13 | 10–12 | — | 13–9 | 8–14 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 10–12 | 7–15 | 14–8 | 9–13 | 7–15–1 | 9–13 | — | 6–16–1 | |||||
| St. Louis | 13–9 | 11–11–1 | 12–10 | 14–8 | 9–13 | 14–8 | 16–6–1 | — | |||||
Roster
| 1947 Boston Braves | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
| Catchers
Infielders | Outfielders Other batters
| 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 | Phil Masi | 126 | 411 | 125 | .304 | 9 | 50 |
| 1B | Earl Torgeson | 128 | 399 | 112 | .281 | 16 | 78 |
| 2B | Connie Ryan | 150 | 544 | 144 | .265 | 5 | 69 |
| 3B | Bob Elliott | 150 | 555 | 176 | .317 | 22 | 113 |
| SS | Dick Culler | 77 | 214 | 53 | .248 | 0 | 19 |
| OF | Bama Rowell | 113 | 384 | 106 | .276 | 5 | 40 |
| OF | Tommy Holmes | 150 | 618 | 191 | .309 | 9 | 53 |
| OF | Johnny Hopp | 134 | 430 | 124 | .288 | 2 | 32 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike McCormick | 92 | 284 | 81 | .285 | 3 | 36 |
| Danny Litwhiler | 91 | 226 | 59 | .261 | 7 | 31 |
| Frank McCormick | 81 | 212 | 75 | .354 | 2 | 43 |
| Nanny Fernandez | 83 | 209 | 43 | .288 | 2 | 32 |
| Sibby Sisti | 56 | 153 | 43 | .281 | 2 | 15 |
| Hank Camelli | 52 | 150 | 29 | .193 | 1 | 11 |
| Tommy Neill | 7 | 10 | 2 | .200 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny Murtaugh | 3 | 8 | 1 | .125 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Brady | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warren Spahn | 40 | 289.2 | 21 | 10 | 2.33 | 123 |
| Johnny Sain | 38 | 266.0 | 21 | 12 | 3.52 | 132 |
| Red Barrett | 36 | 210.2 | 11 | 12 | 3.55 | 53 |
| Bill Voiselle | 22 | 131.1 | 8 | 7 | 4.32 | 59 |
| Ray Martin | 1 | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 1.00 | 2 |
| Ernie White | 1 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Si Johnson | 36 | 112.2 | 6 | 8 | 4.23 | 27 |
| Ed Wright | 23 | 64.2 | 3 | 3 | 6.40 | 14 |
| Mort Cooper | 10 | 46.2 | 2 | 5 | 4.05 | 15 |
| Johnny Beazley | 9 | 28.2 | 2 | 0 | 4.40 | 12 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andy Karl | 27 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3.86 | 5 |
| Walt Lanfranconi | 36 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2.95 | 18 |
| Clyde Shoun | 26 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4.40 | 23 |
| Glenn Elliott | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4.74 | 8 |
| Johnny Lanning | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.82 | 0 |
| Dick Mulligan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 1 |
| Max Macon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |
Awards and honors
- Bob Elliott, National League MVP
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Milwaukee
Notes
References
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
- 1947 Boston Braves season at Baseball Reference