1948 Chicago Cubs season
The 1948 Chicago Cubs season was the 77th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 73rd in the National League and the 33rd at Wrigley Field, as well as the first of many seasons to be broadcast on television on WGN-TV while keeping its separate WBKB telecasts. The Cubs finished eighth and last in the National League with a record of 64–90.
| 1948 Chicago Cubs | |
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| Major League affiliations | |
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| Location | |
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| Other information | |
| Owners | Philip K. Wrigley |
| General managers | James T. Gallagher |
| Managers | Charlie Grimm |
| Local television | WGN-TV (Jack Brickhouse, Marty Hogan) WBKB (Joe Wilson) |
| Local radio | WIND (Bert Wilson) |
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Offseason
- October 9, 1947: Randy Jackson was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cubs.[1]
- December 6, 1947: Don Elston was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cubs.[2]
- Prior to 1948 season (exact date unknown):
- Jim Pearce was released by the Cubs.[3]
- Carl Sawatski was acquired by the Cubs from the Boston Braves.[4]
Regular season
Season standings
| National League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Braves | 91 | 62 | 0.595 | — | 45–31 | 46–31 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 85 | 69 | 0.552 | 6½ | 44–33 | 41–36 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 84 | 70 | 0.545 | 7½ | 36–41 | 48–29 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 83 | 71 | 0.539 | 8½ | 47–31 | 36–40 |
| New York Giants | 78 | 76 | 0.506 | 13½ | 37–40 | 41–36 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 66 | 88 | 0.429 | 25½ | 32–44 | 34–44 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 64 | 89 | 0.418 | 27 | 32–45 | 32–44 |
| Chicago Cubs | 64 | 90 | 0.416 | 27½ | 35–42 | 29–48 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | BR | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
| Boston | — | 14–8 | 16–6–1 | 13–8 | 11–11 | 14–8 | 12–10 | 11–11 | |||||
| Brooklyn | 8–14 | — | 11–11 | 18–4 | 11–11–1 | 15–7 | 9–13 | 12–10 | |||||
| Chicago | 6–16–1 | 11–11 | — | 10–12 | 11–11 | 7–15 | 8–14 | 11–11 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 8–13 | 4–18 | 12–10 | — | 10–12 | 11–11 | 9–13 | 10–12 | |||||
| New York | 11–11 | 11–11–1 | 11–11 | 12–10 | — | 14–8 | 12–10 | 7–15 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 8–14 | 7–15 | 15–7 | 11–11 | 8–14 | — | 12–10–1 | 5–17 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 10–12 | 13–9 | 14–8 | 13–9 | 10–12 | 10–12–1 | — | 13–9–1 | |||||
| St. Louis | 11–11 | 10–12 | 11–11 | 12–10 | 15–7 | 17–5 | 9–13–1 | — | |||||
Notable transactions
- September 1948: Warren Hacker was acquired by the Cubs from the Shreveport Sports.[5]
Roster
| 1948 Chicago Cubs | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Bob Scheffing | 102 | 293 | 88 | .300 | 5 | 45 |
| 1B | Eddie Waitkus | 139 | 562 | 166 | .295 | 7 | 44 |
| 2B | Hank Schenz | 96 | 337 | 88 | .261 | 1 | 14 |
| SS | Roy Smalley Jr. | 124 | 361 | 78 | .216 | 4 | 36 |
| 3B | Andy Pafko | 142 | 548 | 171 | .312 | 26 | 101 |
| OF | Peanuts Lowrey | 129 | 435 | 128 | .294 | 2 | 54 |
| OF | Hal Jeffcoat | 134 | 473 | 132 | .279 | 4 | 42 |
| OF | Bill Nicholson | 143 | 494 | 129 | .261 | 19 | 67 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phil Cavarretta | 111 | 334 | 93 | .278 | 3 | 40 |
| Emil Verban | 56 | 248 | 73 | .294 | 1 | 16 |
| Clarence Maddern | 80 | 214 | 54 | .252 | 4 | 27 |
| Clyde McCullough | 69 | 172 | 36 | .209 | 1 | 7 |
| Rube Walker | 79 | 171 | 47 | .275 | 5 | 26 |
| Gene Mauch | 53 | 138 | 28 | .203 | 1 | 7 |
| Dick Culler | 48 | 89 | 15 | .169 | 0 | 5 |
| Cliff Aberson | 12 | 32 | 6 | .188 | 1 | 6 |
| Jeff Cross | 16 | 20 | 2 | .100 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Johnson | 6 | 12 | 3 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny Lynch | 7 | 7 | 2 | .286 | 1 | 1 |
| Carmen Mauro | 3 | 5 | 1 | .200 | 1 | 1 |
| Carl Sawatski | 2 | 2 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Schmitz | 34 | 242.0 | 18 | 13 | 2.64 | 100 |
| Russ Meyer | 29 | 164.2 | 10 | 10 | 3.66 | 89 |
| Dutch McCall | 30 | 151.1 | 4 | 13 | 4.82 | 89 |
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 Rush | 36 | 133.1 | 5 | 11 | 3.92 | 72 |
| Hank Borowy | 39 | 127.0 | 5 | 10 | 4.89 | 50 |
| Ralph Hamner | 27 | 111.1 | 5 | 9 | 4.69 | 53 |
| Cliff Chambers | 29 | 103.2 | 2 | 9 | 4.43 | 51 |
| Doyle Lade | 19 | 87.1 | 5 | 6 | 4.02 | 29 |
| Warren Hacker | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 1 | 21.00 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Chipman | 34 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3.58 | 16 |
| Emil Kush | 34 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4.38 | 31 |
| Jess Dobernic | 54 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3.15 | 48 |
| Paul Erickson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.35 | 4 |
| Ben Wade | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7.20 | 1 |
| Tony Jacobs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 2 |
| Don Carlsen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36.00 | 1 |
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Fayetteville, Clinton
Hutchinson club moved to Springfield (Missouri), July 21, 1948