January 28 – The
New York Giants sign their first black players, outfielder
Monte Irvin and pitcher Ford Smith, and assign them to a minor league affiliate at Jersey City. Irvin will eventually go on to have a
Hall of Fame career for the Giants, but Smith never reaches the major leagues.
February 7 –
Joe DiMaggio signs a $100,000 contract with the
New York Yankees. It is the first six-figure contract in major league history.
March 2 – A slumping
Joe DiMaggio leaves
spring training in Florida to have his ailing right heel examined at
Johns Hopkins Hospital. DiMaggio is assured that surgery is unnecessary and returns to the Yankees. The as yet undiagnosed heel ailment will continue to plague DiMaggio throughout the season.
June 2 – The
Phillies hit five home runs in an inning, tying a major league record set by the
Giants in 1939. The Phillies defeat their opponent this day, the visiting
Reds, 12–3.
June 5 –
CommissionerHappy Chandler rescinds the ban against players who had participated in the Mexican leagues.
June 12 –
Charlie Grimm resigns as manager of the last-place
Chicago Cubs and moves to the club's front office as a vice president. Grimm is replaced by
Frankie Frisch.
June 14 – Following the
Phillies 4–1 win over the
Chicago Cubs at
Wrigley Field, first baseman
Eddie Waitkus is shot by
Ruth Ann Steinhagen, an obsessed fan, at Chicago's
Edgewater Beach Hotel. The shooting occurs just before midnight. The bullet punctures Waitkus' lung and lodges near his heart. After undergoing four operations, he recovers enough to play the following season, but he is not the same ballplayer. At the time of the shooting, Waitkus was batting .304 and leading the
all-star voting among
National League first basemen. Waitkus' shooting serves as the inspiration for the "Roy Hobbs" character in the
Bernard Malamud novel, The Natural, and its subsequent
film adaptation.
June 24 – The
Boston Red Sox pound the
St. Louis Browns for 25 hits in a 21–2 win.
Ted Williams contributes seven
RBIss to go along with two home runs, three runs scored, and a stolen base.
June 28 – After missing the first 65 games of the season due to a bone spur in his right heel,
Joe DiMaggio awakes in early June to find the pain in his heel has disappeared. DiMaggio returns to the
Yankee lineup with a home run and a single in a 5–4 win over the
Boston Red Sox at
Fenway Park. The crowd of 36,228 is the largest for a night game in Fenway history. With the win, the first-place Yankees move 4½ games ahead of the second-place
Philadelphia Athletics and 6 games ahead of the third-place Red Sox.
June 29 – The
Yankees come back from a seven-run deficit to defeat the
Red Sox, 9–7.
Joe DiMaggio belts two home runs in the win, a three-run shot in the fifth and a tie-breaking two-run blast in the eighth that provides the margin of victory.
June 30 –
Joe DiMaggio belts his fourth home run in three games, a three-run shot off the left field light tower at
Fenway Park. DiMaggio's home run powers the
Yankees to a 6–3 victory and a three-game sweep of the
Red Sox. The Red Sox drop to fifth-place, 8 games behind the front-running Yankees.
July 2 –
Monte Kennedy of the
New York Giants shuts out the
Brooklyn Dodgers, 16–0. Kennedy contributes a seventh-inning
grand slam to his cause. The 16-run margin sets a club record for biggest shutout win that would stand until 2000.
July 4 – At
Yankee Stadium, the
New York Yankees sweep a doubleheader against the
Boston Red Sox, extending Boston's losing streak to eight games. The Yankees take the first game, 3–2, and the rain-shortened second, 6–4. The sweep leaves the Red Sox 12 games behind the first-place Yankees.
July 6 –
Walker Cooper ties a modern record with six hits in seven at-bats, smashing three home runs and collecting 10
RBIss in the
Cincinnati Reds' 23–4 pummeling of the
Chicago Cubs.
July 8 –
Monte Irvin and
Hank Thompson, called up three days earlier from Jersey City, become the first blacks to play for the
New York Giants. Thompson starts at second base and Irvin pinch hits in the eighth. When Thompson steps in against
Brooklyn DodgerDon Newcombe, it is the first time in major league history that a black batter and pitcher have squared off.[17] The Dodgers win the game, 4–3.
A 16-inning affair between the
Phillies and
Braves ends at 1:01 a.m., becoming, to date, the latest-ending
National League game in history. The Braves win the game, 4–3.
July 24 –
Stan Musialbats for the cycle in the
Cardinals' 14–1 rout of the
Dodgers. With their third straight win over the Dodgers, the Cardinals erase the lead Brooklyn has held for most of the season and catapult into first place in the
National League.
July 28 –
Jackie Robinson raises his
National League-leading batting average to .364 after a 12 for 25 streak. Robinson's average will drop, but he will win the batting title with a career-high .342 average.
August 5 –
Luke Appling of the
Chicago White Sox appears in a major league-record 2,154th game, surpassing
Rabbit Maranville's previous mark. Appling will finish his career with 2,218 games played.
August 7 – In the first game of a doubleheader against the
Browns,
Yankees catcher
Yogi Berra suffers a fractured thumb when he is hit by a pitch after hitting a three-run home run in his previous at bat. The injury will keep Berra out of the Yankee lineup until September. The Yankees win the game, 20–2.
August 8 –
Carl Furillo returns to the Dodgers' lineup after an injury and collects two hits and a run scored in
Brooklyn's 2–1 win over the rival
Giants. The win keeps the Dodgers tied with the
Cardinals for first place. Furillo will hit .431 over the final eight weeks of the season and finish at .322, fourth best in the league.
August 9 –
Dom DiMaggio's 34-game hitting streak comes to an end in the
Boston Red Sox' 6–3 win over the
Yankees at
Yankee Stadium. Hitless in his first four at-bats, Dom hits a sinking line drive in the eighth that his brother
Joe catches at the shoestrings. The resurgent Red Sox move within 5½ games of the Yankees with the win.
August 15 – With the defending
National League-champion
Boston Braves struggling at 55–54 and dogged by rumors of clubhouse dissension, manager
Billy Southworth takes a leave of absence and is replaced for the rest of the season by
Johnny Cooney.
August 21 – The
New York Giants receive a forfeit victory over the
Philadelphia Phillies when fans at
Shibe Park bombard the field with bottles after umpire George Barr rules that Phillie
Richie Ashburn trapped a line drive. The forfeiture is the first in the majors since 1942. The Giants were leading 4–2 with one out in the ninth inning when the forfeit was declared.
August 22 – The
New York Yankees acquire
Johnny Mize from the
New York Giants in exchange for $40,000. At the time, the Yankees' lead over the now second-place Boston Red Sox is down to 2½ games.
The
Boston Braves score two runs in the ninth inning to defeat the
Brooklyn Dodgers, 7–6. One of the runs comes on
Eddie Stanky's first home run of the season. The loss is Brooklyn's sixth in seven games and drops the Dodgers two games behind the Cardinals.
August 26 – With a doubleheader sweep of the
White Sox, the
Red Sox close to within 1½ games of the
Yankees. The Red Sox win the first game, 11–4, behind
Mel Parnell, who becomes the majors' first 20-game winner of the season, and
Ted Williams, who slams his 31st and 32nd home runs of the season. The Red Sox take the second game, 10–7.
August 28 – In the first game of a doubleheader in Chicago,
Tommy Henrich crashes into the wall while chasing a
Chuck Kress fly ball and fractures two vertebrae. The injury will sideline Henrich for three weeks. In the second game, the newly acquired
Johnny Mize dislocates his shoulder. With the exception of seven pinch-hit appearances, he will miss the rest of the regular season. The Yankees are also playing without
Yogi Berra, who fractured his thumb earlier in the month. Despite the injuries, the Yankees sweep the doubleheader by scores of 8–7 and 7–5.
September
September 4 – The
Cardinals sweep a doubleheader against the
Reds, 6–4 and 11–2, to push their lead over the
Dodgers to 2½ games.
September 5 – The
Yankees sweep a
Labor Day doubleheader at
Shibe Park against the
Athletics.
Joe DiMaggio hits a
grand slam and drives in five runs in the Yankees' 13–4 win in the opener. The Yankees take the second game, which was shortened by darkness, 5–2. The Yankees lead over the
Red Sox now stands at 1½ games.
September 8 – In an 8–0 win over the
Chicago Cubs,
Red Schoendienst steals the
St. Louis Cardinals' 17th and final base of the season, setting a major league record for fewest steals in a season.
Stan Musial blasts three home runs as the Cardinals sweep a doubleheader from the
Cincinnati Reds, 7–5 and 7–4, to extend their lead over the
Dodgers to 1½ games.
September 13 –
Ralph Kiner ties a major league record held by six players with his 4th
grand slam of the season. In the
Pirates' 11–6 win over the
Philadelphia Phillies, Kiner hits 2 home runs and drives in 6 runs. The 2 home runs come in his first 2 at-bats of the game. Kiner had homered in his final 2 at-bats in yesterday's game, making it 4 home runs in 4 consecutive at-bats over 2 games. It is the 2nd time in his career that Kiner has accomplished the feat.
September 14 –
Ellis Kinder wins his 20th game of the season, shutting out the
Detroit Tigers, 1–0, at
Fenway Park. It is also Kinder's 10th consecutive win. Kinder joins teammate
Mel Parnell as a 20-game winner. It is the last time this century that the
Red Sox will feature a pair of 20-game winners.
September 18 – The injury-plagued
Yankees receive another blow when
Joe DiMaggio is stricken with
pneumonia. Without DiMaggio, the Yankee still top the
Indians, 7–3, at
Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The
Red Sox, however, keep pace with an 11–5 rout of the visiting
White Sox to remain 2½ games behind the Yanks.
Ted Williams hits his 39th and 40th home runs of the season and drives in 6 runs, giving him 153
RBIss for the season. Teammate
Vern Stephens also hits his 40th home run and drives in his 150th run.
September 19 – The
Yankees stretch their lead of the idle
Red Sox to 3 games with a 6–0 blanking of the
Indians.
Ralph Kiner smacks his 50th home run of the season, but the
Pirates fall to the
Giants, 6–4, in extra-innings.
The
Cardinals and
Dodgers split a doubleheader at
Sportsman's Park, leaving the Cards in front by 1½ games. The Cards take the first game, 1–0, while the Dodgers answered back with a 5–0 win in the second.
September 22 – The
Dodgers amass 19 hits and 13 walks in a 19–6 rout of the host
Cardinals, bringing the Bums to within a 1/2 game of first-place.
Carl Furillo has 7
RBIss for Brooklyn. In a losing effort,
Stan Musial hits his 32nd home run of the season—his 21st against lefties, a major league record for a left-handed batter that will later be matched by
Ken Griffey Jr. in 1996 and 1998.
September 24 – At
Fenway Park, the
Red Sox defeat the
Yankees, 2–0, to draw within a game of first-place New York.
Ted Williams belts his 42nd home run and
Ellis Kinder wins his 13th straight game, moving to 4–0 on the season against the Yankees.
The
Yankees, in first-place all season despite 71 injuries that kept players out of games, fall into a first place tie with the
Red Sox after losing to Boston, 4–1, at
Fenway Park.
Ted Williams hits his 43rd home run of the season, and
Mel Parnell allows four hits in winning his 25th game of the season.
Joe DiMaggio, still out of the lineup with
pneumonia, listens to the game from his hospital bed.
September 26 – Before 67,634 at
Yankee Stadium, the
Red Sox come away with a 7–6 win and move into sole possession of first place when
Johnny Pesky scores on a disputed
squeeze play. The Sox rally from a 6–3 deficit by scoring four runs in the eighth. The winning run scores when
Bobby Doerr drops a surprise squeeze bunt in front of
Tommy Henrich, playing first base, and Pesky slides under the catcher's tag at home plate. Umpire Bill Grieve calls Pesky safe, and
Casey Stengel is fined for a post-game confrontation with the ump. Now ahead by one game, the Sox depart for a three-game set in Washington before going back to New York for a final two-game showdown against the Yankees.
September 27 –
Vic Raschi wins his 20th game of the season as the
Yankees top the
A's, 3–1. The Yankees remain one game back, however, by virtue of the
Red Sox' 6–4 win over the
Senators.
September 29 – The
Cardinals fall to the
Pirates and former Cardinal
Murry Dickson, 7–2. It is Dickson's 5th win of the season against his former team. Meanwhile, the
Dodgers sweep a doubleheader against the
Braves, 9–2 and 8–0, moving them ahead of the Cardinals by a 1/2 game in the
National League.
September 30 – The
Red Sox move ahead of the
Yankees by a game when they defeat the
Senators, 11–9, and the Yankees are defeated by
Dick Fowler and the
A's, 4–1. Aided by 14 walks, the Sox win the game despite being outhit by the Senators, 18–5.
Ralph Kiner hits his 54th home run of the season and 16th in the month of September as the
Pirates defeat the
Reds, 3–2.
October
October 1 –
Joe DiMaggio returns to the lineup after his weeks-long bout with
pneumonia. The
Boston Red Sox, needing to win just 1 of their final 2 games at
Yankee Stadium to clinch the
pennant, squander a 4–0 lead and fall to the
New York Yankees, 5–4. DiMaggio scores the first run of the game and
Johnny Lindell's home run provides the winning margin. The Yankees and Red Sox find themselves deadlocked atop the
American League with a winner-take-all showdown set for the final day of the season.
October 2 – A crowd of 70,000 packs
Yankee Stadium to see the
Yankees and
Red Sox square off on the final day of the season with the
American League pennant hanging in the balance.
Phil Rizzuto scores the game's first run after tripling in the 1st.
Vic Raschi nurses the 1–0 lead and duels
Ellis Kinder into the 8th inning when the Yankees bust out and plate 4 runs off relievers
Mel Parnell and
Tex Hughson. The Red Sox rally for 3 in the 9th, but it's not enough, as the Yankees win the game, 5–3, and the pennant.
Ted Williams is hitless in 2 official at-bats and goes 1 for 12 over the final four games of the season, enabling
George Kell of the
Tigers to edge Williams for the batting title, .3429 to .3427.
October 13 – With both the Series and game deadlocked at 1–1, the Yankees score 3 runs in the top of the 9th inning at
Ebbets Field. The Dodgers answer with 2 runs in the bottom of the frame, but the Yankees hold on to win, 4–3, and take a 2–1 lead in the Series.
October 15 – The Yankees down the Dodgers 10–6 at
Ebbets Field to win the
World Series in 5 games. It is the franchise's 12th World Series title. Pinch hitter
Bobby Brown drives in 5 runs for the Yankees.
Joe Page wins the
Babe Ruth Award for the Series.