1947 Cleveland Indians season
The 1947 Cleveland Indians season was the 47th in franchise history. On July 5, Larry Doby broke the American League color barrier. Doby was signed by the Indians by owner and team president Bill Veeck in July, 11 weeks after Jackie Robinson appeared with the Brooklyn Dodgers in the National League. In his rookie season, Doby went 5-for-32 (.156) in 29 games.
| 1947 Cleveland Indians | |
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| Major League affiliations | |
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| Location | |
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| Other information | |
| Owners | Bill Veeck |
| General managers | Bill Veeck |
| Managers | Lou Boudreau |
| Local radio | WGAR (AM) (Jack Graney, Van Patrick) |
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Offseason
- November 1, 1946: Gus Zernial was drafted by the Indians from the Atlanta Crackers in the 1946 rule 5 draft.[1]
Regular season
- July 5: In a game against the Chicago White Sox, Larry Doby became the first black player to appear in an American League game.[2] Doby pinch-hit for pitcher Bryan Stephens in the seventh inning and struck out against Earl Harrist.
Season standings
| American League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 97 | 57 | 0.630 | — | 55–22 | 42–35 |
| Detroit Tigers | 85 | 69 | 0.552 | 12 | 46–31 | 39–38 |
| Boston Red Sox | 83 | 71 | 0.539 | 14 | 49–30 | 34–41 |
| Cleveland Indians | 80 | 74 | 0.519 | 17 | 38–39 | 42–35 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 78 | 76 | 0.506 | 19 | 39–38 | 39–38 |
| Chicago White Sox | 70 | 84 | 0.455 | 27 | 32–43 | 38–41 |
| Washington Senators | 64 | 90 | 0.416 | 33 | 36–41 | 28–49 |
| St. Louis Browns | 59 | 95 | 0.383 | 38 | 29–48 | 30–47 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYY | PHA | SLB | WSH | |||||
| Boston | — | 16–6–1 | 9–13 | 12–10–1 | 9–13 | 10–12–1 | 15–7 | 12–10 | |||||
| Chicago | 6–16–1 | — | 11–11 | 7–15 | 10–12 | 11–11 | 11–11 | 14–8 | |||||
| Cleveland | 13–9 | 11–11 | — | 8–14–2 | 7–15 | 11–11–1 | 17–5 | 13–9 | |||||
| Detroit | 10–12–1 | 15–7 | 14–8–2 | — | 8–14–1 | 11–11 | 15–7 | 12–10 | |||||
| New York | 13–9 | 12–10 | 15–7 | 14–8–1 | — | 13–9 | 15–7 | 15–7 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 12–10–1 | 11–11 | 11–11–1 | 11–11 | 9–13 | — | 13–9 | 11–11 | |||||
| St. Louis | 7–15 | 11–11 | 5–17 | 7–15 | 7–15 | 9–13 | — | 13–9 | |||||
| Washington | 10–12 | 8–14 | 9–13 | 10–12 | 7–15 | 11–11 | 9–13 | — | |||||
Notable transactions
- April 2, 1947: Catfish Metkovich was purchased by the Indians from the Boston Red Sox.[3]
- April 23, 1947: Gus Zernial was purchased from the Indians by the Chicago White Sox.[1]
Roster
| 1947 Cleveland Indians | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
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 | Jim Hegan | 135 | 378 | 94 | .249 | 4 | 42 |
| 1B | Eddie Robinson | 95 | 318 | 78 | .245 | 14 | 52 |
| 2B | Joe Gordon | 155 | 562 | 153 | .272 | 29 | 93 |
| SS | Lou Boudreau | 150 | 538 | 165 | .307 | 4 | 67 |
| 3B | Ken Keltner | 151 | 541 | 139 | .257 | 11 | 76 |
| OF | Hank Edwards | 108 | 393 | 102 | .260 | 15 | 59 |
| OF | George Metkovich | 126 | 473 | 120 | .254 | 5 | 40 |
| OF | Dale Mitchell | 123 | 493 | 156 | .316 | 1 | 34 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hal Peck | 114 | 392 | 115 | .293 | 8 | 44 |
| Les Fleming | 103 | 281 | 68 | .242 | 4 | 43 |
| Pat Seerey | 82 | 216 | 37 | .171 | 11 | 29 |
| Al López | 61 | 126 | 33 | .262 | 0 | 14 |
| Eddie Bockman | 46 | 66 | 17 | .258 | 1 | 14 |
| Jack Conway | 34 | 50 | 9 | .180 | 0 | 5 |
| Larry Doby | 29 | 32 | 5 | .156 | 0 | 2 |
| Hank Ruszkowski | 23 | 27 | 7 | .259 | 3 | 4 |
| Joe Frazier | 9 | 14 | 1 | .071 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Rosen | 7 | 9 | 1 | .111 | 0 | 0 |
| Ted Sepkowski | 10 | 8 | 1 | .125 | 0 | 0 |
| Felix Mackiewicz | 2 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Heinz Becker | 2 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Jimmy Wasdell | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Feller | 42 | 299.0 | 20 | 11 | 2.68 | 196 |
| Don Black | 30 | 190.2 | 10 | 12 | 3.92 | 72 |
| Red Embree | 27 | 162.2 | 8 | 10 | 3.15 | 56 |
| Al Gettel | 31 | 149.0 | 11 | 10 | 3.20 | 64 |
| Mel Harder | 15 | 80.0 | 6 | 4 | 4.50 | 17 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Kuzava | 4 | 21.2 | 1 | 1 | 4.15 | 9 |
| Roger Wolff | 7 | 16.0 | 0 | 0 | 3.94 | 5 |
| Ernest Groth | 2 | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |
| Cal Dorsett | 2 | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 27.00 | 1 |
| Lyman Linde | 1 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 27.00 | 0 |
| Gene Bearden | 1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 81.00 | 0 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ed Klieman | 58 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 3.03 | 21 |
| Bob Lemon | 37 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3.44 | 65 |
| Bryan Stephens | 31 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 4.01 | 34 |
| Steve Gromek | 29 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3.74 | 39 |
| Les Willis | 22 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3.48 | 10 |
Awards and honors
Lou Boudreau, Shortstop, starter
Bob Feller, Pitcher (replaced due to injury)
Joe Gordon, Second baseman, starter
Jim Hegan, Catcher, reserve
Farm system
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | Baltimore Orioles | International League | Alphonse "Tommy" Thomas |
| AA | Oklahoma City Indians | Texas League | Roy Schalk and Pat Ankenman |
| A | Wilkes-Barre Barons | Eastern League | Bill Norman |
| B | Harrisburg Senators | Interstate League | Les Bell |
| B | Meridian Peps | Southeastern League | Roxie Lawson |
| B | Spartanburg Peaches | Tri-State League | Kerby Farrell |
| C | Tucson Cowboys | Arizona–Texas League | Joe Vosmik |
| C | Bakersfield Indians | California League | Tony Governor |
| C | Pittsfield Electrics | Canadian–American League | Tony Rensa |
| C | Burlington Indians | Central Association | Paul O'Dea |
| C | Jacksonville Jax | Lone Star League | Linville Watkins |
| D | Cordele Indians | Georgia–Florida League | Mercer Harris |
| D | Union City Greyhounds | KITTY League | Stephen Bysco |
| D | Dayton Indians | Ohio State League | Ival Goodman |
| D | Batavia Clippers | PONY League | Jack Tighe |
| D | Ardmore Indians | Sooner State League | Dutch Prather |
| D | Green Bay Blue Jays | Wisconsin State League | Harry Griswold |
Notes
- Gus Zernial at Baseball-Reference
- Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season, p. 184, Jonathan Eig, Simon & Schuster, 2007, New York, ISBN 978-0-7432-9461-4
- Catfish Metkovich at Baseball-Reference
- Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
References
- 1947 Cleveland Indians at Baseball Reference
- 1947 Cleveland Indians at Baseball Almanac
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