1948 in baseball

Major League Baseball

• World Series: Cleveland Indians over Boston Braves (4-2)
• All-Star Game, July 13 at Sportsman's Park: American League, 5-2

Other champions

• All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: Rockford Peaches
• College World Series: USC
• Little League World Series: Lock Haven, Pennsylvania
• Negro League World Series: Homestead Grays over Birmingham Black Barons (4–1)
• Negro League Baseball All-Star Game: West, 3–0

Winter Leagues

• Cuban League: Leones del Habana
• Mexican Pacific League: Ostioneros de Guaymas
• Puerto Rican League: Leones de Ponce
• Venezuelan League: Cervecería Caracas

American League final standings

National League final standings

Negro American League final standings

• Birmingham won the first half, Kansas City won the second half.
• Birmingham beat Kansas City 3 games to 1 games in a play-off.

Negro National League final standings

• No standings were published.
• Baltimore won the first half, Washington won the second half.

January

• January 1 – Randy Bobb
• January 5 – Charlie Hough
• January 5 – Bill Laxton
• January 10 – Larry Hardy
• January 11 – Rick Henninger
• January 11 – Glenn Redmon
• January 13 – Les Cain
• January 19 – Ken Frailing
• January 22 – Fred Cambria
• January 25 – Ed Goodson
• January 27 – Tom Trebelhorn
• January 30 – Dave Moates

February

• February 6 – Doug Howard
• February 10 – Jim Barr
• February 10 – John Gamble
• February 12 – Francisco Estrada
• February 15 – Ron Cey
• February 21 – Bill Slayback
• February 22 – Bruce Christensen
• February 22 – Tom Griffin
• February 22 – Mike Rogodzinski
• February 28 – Mark Wiley

March

• March 4 – Tom Grieve
• March 4 – Leron Lee
• March 8 – Joe Staton
• March 9 – Darrel Chaney
• March 9 – John Curtis
• March 9 – Dan Neumeier
• March 10 – Wayne Twitchell
• March 11 – César Gerónimo
• March 12 – Bob Watkins
• March 13 – Steve Barber
• March 19 – Paul Powell
• March 20 – Chuck Seelbach
• March 22 – Jake Brown
• March 22 – Carlos Velázquez
• March 25 – Mike Nagy

April

• April 1 – Willie Montañez
• April 4 – Leon Hooten
• April 7 – Rick Sawyer
• April 10 – Lee Lacy
• April 18 – Ron Schueler
• April 19 – Rick Miller
• April 24 – Bob Beall
• April 28 – Pablo Torrealba
• April 30 – Mike Barlow

May

• May 1 – Von Joshua
• May 2 – Larry Gowell
• May 6 – Frankie Librán
• May 7 – Ken Hottman
• May 8 – Steve Braun
• May 8 – Miguel Puente
• May 14 – Dave LaRoche
• May 15 – Billy North
• May 17 – Carlos May
• May 19 – Al Santorini
• May 23 – Reggie Cleveland
• May 26 – Bob Hansen
• May 27 – Gary Nolan

June

• June 2 – Joe Pactwa
• June 5 – Mark Schaeffer
• June 10 – Bob Randall
• June 11 – Dave Cash
• June 16 – Ron LeFlore
• June 17 – Dave Concepción
• June 17 – Gary Ryerson
• June 25 – Clay Kirby

July

• July 3 – Phil Meeler
• July 4 – Ed Armbrister
• July 4 – Wayne Nordhagen
• July 5 – Dave Lemonds
• July 7 – Bob Gallagher
• July 7 – Tommy Moore
• July 8 – Lerrin LaGrow
• July 10 – Rich Hand
• July 13 – Rob Belloir
• July 14 – Pepe Frías
• July 14 – Earl Williams
• July 21 – John Hart
• July 22 – Jesse Hudson
• July 24 – Mike Adams
• July 26 – John Knox

August

• August 1 – Tommy Smith
• August 4 – Johnny Grubb
• August 9 – Bill Campbell
• August 9 – Gary Timberlake
• August 13 – Erskine Thomason
• August 16 – Mike Jorgensen
• August 17 – Bill Parsons
• August 19 – John Boles
• August 21 – John Ellis
• August 21 – Craig Robinson
• August 23 – Ron Blomberg
• August 27 – Lew Beasley
• August 30 – Steve Simpson

September

• September 1 – Dick Lange
• September 11 – Jeff Newman
• September 18 – Ken Brett
• September 18 – Lee Richard
• September 21 – Gary Lance
• September 21 – Aurelio López
• September 24 – Eric Soderholm
• September 25 – Ray Busse
• September 27 – Carlos López
• September 30 – Craig Kusick
• September 30 – Rusty Torres

October

• October 1 – Bill Bonham
• October 4 – Dave Johnson
• October 8 – Rick Stelmaszek
• October 8 – Bernie Williams
• October 13 – Randy Moffitt
• October 14 – Ed Figueroa
• October 14 – Brent Strom
• October 19 – Rimp Lanier
• October 21 – Bill Russell
• October 26 – Toby Harrah
• October 31 – Mickey Rivers

November

• November 3 – Rick Kreuger
• November 3 – Ed Montague
• November 7 – Buck Martinez
• November 7 – Tom Walker
• November 16 – Don Hahn
• November 24 – Steve Yeager

December

• December 1 – George Foster
• December 2 – Wayne Simpson
• December 5 – Buddy Harris
• December 9 – Doc Medich
• December 11 – Gene Hiser
• December 14 – Ralph Garcia
• December 15 – Doug Rau
• December 20 – Jim Norris
• December 21 – Dave Kingman
• December 22 – Steve Garvey
• December 23 – Alec Distaso
• December 26 – Chris Chambliss
• December 26 – Dave Rader

January

• January   4 – Biff Schlitzer, 63, who pitched from 1908 through 1914 for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox and Buffalo Blues.
• January   8 – Howdy Caton, 53, shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates over parts of four seasons from 1917–1920.
• January   9 – Art Jahn, 52, part-time outfielder who played for the Chicago Cubs, New York Giants and Philadelphia Phillies during two seasons spanning 1925 to 1928.
• January 14 – Art Benedict, 85, second baseman who appeared in three games with the Philadelphia Quakers in 1883.
• January 23 – Frank Doljack, 40, outfielder who played for the Detroit Tigers from 1930 through 1934 and the Cleveland Indians in 1943.
• January 30 – Herb Pennock, 53, Hall of Fame pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees in a span of 22 seasons from 1912–1924, who during his career posted a lifetime record of 240–161 with a 3.60 ERA in 617 games, while collecting collecting a perfect 5–0 with a 1.95 ERA in five World Series trips with the Yankees, including their first World Series championship.
• January 31 – Clarence Lehr, 61, who played some outfield and infield utility positions with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1911.

February

• February   1 – Jim McCormick, 79, infielder who played three games for the National League St. Louis Browns in 1892.
• February 10 – Bill Clancy, 68, first baseman for the 1905 Pittsburgh Pirates.
• February 14 – Mordecai Brown, 71, Hall of Fame pitcher whose loss of two fingers in a childhood accident gave him remarkable movement on pitches, winning 20 games six straight years for the Chicago Cubs, while posting a career record of 239–130 with a 2.06 earned run average; the third best ERA in Major League Baseball history amongst pitchers inducted into the Hall of Fame, as well as the best in MLB history for any pitcher with more than 200 wins.^[2]
• February 16 – Percy Coleman, 71, pitcher who played from 1897 to 1898 for the St. Louis Browns and Cincinnati Reds.
• February 19 – Bob Groom, 63, pitcher for the Washington Senators, St. Louis Terriers, St. Louis Browns and Cleveland Indians during 10 seasons from 1909 to 1918, who also hurled a no-hitter in 1917 against the eventual World Champion Chicago White Sox.^[3]
• February 21 – Irv Ray, 84, shortstop who played with the Boston Beaneaters of the National League in 1888 and 1889, and the Baltimore Orioles of the American Association from 1889 to 1891.

March

• March   1 – Rebel Oakes, 64, center fielder who played from 1909 through 1913 with the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals, and later served as a player-manager for the Pittsburgh Rebels of the outlaw Federal League in the 1914 and 1915 seasons.
• March 10 – Stub Brown, 77, pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles from 1893 to 1894 and the Cincinnati Reds in 1897.
• March 17 – Ike Butler, 74, pitcher for the 1902 Baltimore Orioles.
• March 18 – Fritz Von Kolnitz, 54, third baseman who played for the Cincinnati Reds from 1914 to 1915 and the Chicago White Sox in 1916.
• March 23 – Dutch Meier, 68, outfielder and shortstop who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1906.
• March 24 – Jimmy Bannon, 76, outfielder for the St. Louis Browns in 1893 and the Boston Beaneaters from 1894 to 1896.
• March 30 – Charlie Krause, 76, second baseman for the 1901 Cincinnati Reds.

April

• April   1 – Heinie Jantzen, 57, outfielder for the 1912 St. Louis Browns.
• April   3 – Candy Jim Taylor, 64, Negro League Baseball third baseman and manager.
• April 16 – Dick Kauffman, 59, first baseman who played for the St. Louis Browns in the 1914 and 1915 seasons.
• April 17 – Pat Deisel, catcher for the 1902 Brooklyn Superbas and the 1903 Cincinnati Reds.
• April 25 – Bertrum Hunter, 42, Negro league baseball player.
• April 27 – Ad Yale, 78, who appeared in four games with the Brooklyn Superbas in the 1905 season.

May

• May   2 – Dick Cogan, 76
• May   4 – John Dolan, 80
• May   7 – Hi Ladd, 78
• May 18 – Frank Schneiberg, 68
• May 19 – Frank Browning, 65
• May 26 – Bill Sweeney, 62

June

• June   5 – Jack McCarthy, 78
• June 10 – Hosea Siner, 63
• June 12 – Rasty Wright, 52
• June 26 – Jimmy Esmond, 58

July

• July   1 – Pete Knisely, 60, outfielder who played for the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs over parts of four seasons from 1912 to 1915.
• July   3 – Charles Witherow, 96, pitcher who appeared in just one game for the Washington Nationals in 1875.
• July   5 – Ed Smith, 84, Canadian pitcher who played in 1884 for the Baltimore Monumentals of the Union Association.
• July 11 – Bert Hall, 58, for the 1911 Philadelphia Phillies.
• July 18 – Chick Hartley, 67, outfielder who played for the New York Giants in the 1902 season.
• July 19 – Charlie See, 51, outfielder who played from 1919 through 1921 for the Cincinnati Reds.
• July 26 – Homer Davidson, 63, catcher and right fielder who appeared in four games for the Cleveland Naps in 1914.
• July 27 – Joe Tinker, 68, Hall of Fame shortstop who along second baseman Johnny Evers and first baseman Frank Chance anchored a famed infield double play combination, which is memorialized in the legendary poem Baseball's Sad Lexicon, as the trio led the Chicago Cubs during the glory years of 1906–1910 to four National League pennants and two World Series titles.
• July 29 – Arnie Stone, 55, pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1923 and 1924 seasons.

August

• August   7 – Charlie Wacker, 64, pitcher who played with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1909 season.
• August   9 – Chick Bowen, 51, backup outfielder for the 1919 New York Giants.
• August   9 – Harry Lord, 66, third baseman who played from 1907 through 1910 for the Boston Americans and Red Sox, before joining the Chicago White Sox from 1910 to 1914 and the Buffalo Blues in 1915.
• August 13 – Nig Perrine, 63, backup infielder for the 1907 Washington Senators.
• August 14 – Phil Collins, 46, pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals between 1923 and 1935.
• August 16 – Babe Ruth, 53, Hall of Fame right fielder and pitcher, who is considered the greatest star in baseball history, while holding records for most home runs in a season (60) and lifetime (714), as well as most career RBI (2,213); lifetime .342 hitter also posted a 94-46 record and 2.28 ERA as a pitcher while playing for seven champions; won 1923 MVP award, at a time when AL rules prohibited winning it more than once.
• August 19 – Fred Odwell, 75, outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds during four seasons from 1904 to 1907, who led the National league in home runs in 1905.
• August 20 – Walter Blair, 64, catcher for the New York Highlanders from 1907 through 1911, who later played and managed for the Buffalo Buffeds/Blues of the Federal League during their only two seasons in 1914 and 1915.
• August 26 – Rip Cannell, 68, outfielder who played from 1904 to 1905 for the Boston Beaneaters of the National League.
• August 29 – Charlie Graham, 70, catcher for the 1906 Boston Red Sox, before becoming manager and owner of the PCL San Francisco Seals.

September

• September   3 – Bert Husting, 60, two-star athlete in the 1890s University of Wisconsin teams, who later pitched in the majors for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Americans and Philadelphia Athletics from 1900 to 1902.
• September   8 – Bill Byers, 70, backup catcher for the 1904 St. Louis Cardinals.
• September 18 – Art Devlin, 68, third baseman who played from 1904 through 1911 with the New York Giants and the Boston Braves from 1912 to 1913, also a member of the 1905 World Series champion team.
• September 23 – Rich Durning, 55, pitcher for the Brooklyn Robins from 1917 to 1918.
• September 26 – Elmer Leifer, 55, who made 10 appearances as a pinch hitter with the Chicago White Sox in 1921.

October

• October   8 – Al Orth, 76, pitcher who won 204 games with Phillies, Senators and Yankees while often batting .300.
• October 24 – Jack Thoney, 68, well-traveled outfielder/infielder who played from 1902 through 1911 for the Cleveland Bronchos, Baltimore Orioles, Washington Senators, New York Highlanders and Boston Red Sox.
• October 31 – Dick Redding, 58, star pitcher of the Negro Leagues who set numerous strikeout records and pitched several no-hitters.

November

• November   1 – Fred Mollenkamp, 58, first baseman who played for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1914 season.
• November   4 – Jake Powell, 40, outfielder for the Washington Senators, New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies in a span of 11 seasons from 1930 to 1945, who helped the Yankees win the World Series every year from 1936 to 1939, and hit a .455 average in the 1936 series.
• November   7 – Jake Smith, 61, pitcher who appeared in two games for the Philadelphia Phillies during the 1911 season.
• November 15 – Joe Wagner, 59, second baseman for the Cincinnati Reds in the 1915 season.
• November 18 – Joe Regan, 76, outfielder for the 1898 New York Giants.
• November 22 – Bob Emmerich, 57, center fielder for the Boston Braves in the 1923 season.
• November 23 – Hack Wilson, 48, Hall of Fame center fielder for four different clubs during 12 seasons from !923–1934, most prominently with the Chicago Cubs between 1926 and 1931, who finished his career with a lifetime .307 batting average, 244 home runs, 1,063 RBI and four home run titles, hitting 56 long balls in 1930, to set a National League record that stood for 68 years, while driving in 191 runs in the same season, which still the all-time major league record.
• November 30 – Frank Bowerman, 79, catcher and battery-mate for Christy Mathewson on the New York Giants, who also played for the Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates, and later managed the 1909 Boston Doves.

December

• December   3 – Gus Bono, 54
• December   3 – Fred Buckingham, 72
• December   8 – Bill Dammann, 76
• December 26 – Pelham Ballenger, 54
• December 27 – Marv Peasley, 60
• December 29 – Larry Hoffman, 70