1949 New York Yankees season

Offseason

• November 15, 1948: Grant Dunlap was drafted by the Yankees from the Cleveland Indians in the 1948 minor league draft.
• Prior to 1949 season: Lou Skizas was signed as an amateur free agent by the Yankees.

Regular season

The 1949 Yankees team was seen as "underdogs" who came from behind to catch and surprise the powerful Red Sox on the last two days of the season, a face off that fueled the beginning of the modern Yankees–Red Sox rivalry.

The Red Sox needed just one win in two games and were to pitch Mel Parnell in the first game. After trailing 4–0, the Yankees came back to beat Parnell 5–4, as Johnny Lindell hit an eighth-inning, game-winning, home run and Joe Page had a great relief appearance for New York. And so it came down to the last game of the season. It was Ellis Kinder facing Vic Raschi.

The Yankees led 1–0 after seven innings, having scored in the first. In the eighth inning, manager Joe McCarthy lifted Kinder for pinch hitter Tom Wright who walked but was erased in a double play, ending the inning. Then he brought in Mel Parnell in relief, and Parnell yielded a homer to Tommy Henrich and a single to Yogi Berra. Parnell was replaced by Tex Hughson, who had been on the disabled list and said his arm still hurt. But he came on and, with the bases loaded, Jerry Coleman hit a soft liner that Al Zarilla in right field tried to make a shoestring catch, but he missed and it went for a triple and three runs scored. In the ninth inning the Red Sox rallied for three runs but still fell short. The post-season proved to be a bit easier, as the Yankees defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers four games to one.

In 1949, Boston Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey and Yankees GM Larry MacPhail verbally agreed to trade DiMaggio for Ted Williams, but MacPhail refused to include Yogi Berra. Phil Rizzuto moved from eighth to first in the batting lineup and finished the season second in voting for the American League MVP Award.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

• April 28, 1949: Grant Dunlap was returned by the Yankees to the Indians.

Roster

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

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

1949 World Series

Main article: 1949 World Series

AL New York Yankees (4) vs. NL Brooklyn Dodgers (1)

Awards and honors

• Joe Page, Babe Ruth Award All-Star Game

Farm system

References

References

1. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/d/dunlagr01.shtml Grant Dunlap page at Baseball Reference]
2. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/skizalo01.shtml Lou Skizas page at Baseball Reference]
3. (September 29, 1949). "Yanks, Sox Settle Title In New York". The Victoria Advocate.
4. "October 1, 1949 Red Sox-Yankees box score". retrosheet.org.
5. "October 2, 1949 Red Sox-Yankees box score". retrosheet.org.
6. [https://www.espn.com/page2/s/list/baseballrumors.html ESPN.com – Page2 – The List: Baseball's biggest rumors]
7. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball'', 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007