The 1948 Philadelphia Athletics season, the 48th in the history of the American League franchise, resulted in Connie Mack's club finishing in the AL's first division for the first time in 15 years"(Oakland) Athletics (1901–2024) franchise history", Retrosheet with a record of 84 wins and 70 losses (.545), good enough for fourth place. The 1948 Athletics drew 945,076 fans to Shibe Park, which will be the largest "gate" in their 54-year history in Philadelphia. Their home attendance ranked fifth-best in the AL and eleventh-best among the 16 Major League Baseball teams (and 177,647 higher than their National League tenants, the Phillies)."1948 Major League Attendance by team", Baseball Reference
On the field, the 1948 season represented a dramatic turnaround from the club's dismal 1946 campaign, when it finished last at 49–105, a full 55 games out of first place. In both on- and off-field terms, it will prove to be the high-water mark for the Athletics' final 22 seasons in Philadelphia.
Posting stellar records in May (21–7) and July (18–13) of 1948, the Athletics ranked among the American League's contenders for most of the season, spending May 26 to June 5 in, or virtually tied for, first place. They returned to the AL's top spot on August 1, and held first for the month's first eight days. However, a five-game losing streak from August 20–25, then an eight-game skid between August 29 and September 6,"1948 Philadelphia Athletics game log", Retrosheet effectively doomed their chances of gaining a tenth pennant for "Mister Mack", the club's 85-year-old manager, co-founder, and principal owner.
Led by pitchers Carl Scheib, Dick Fowler, Lou Brissie and Joe Coleman, and position players Hank Majeski, Eddie Joost, Ferris Fain, Elmer Valo and Barney McCosky, the Athletics finished fourth in the circuit in runs per game (4.73), and fifth in both total runs allowed (735) and staff earned run average (4.43)."1948 American League team statistics", Baseball Reference
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions April 3, 1948: The Athletics sell the contract of relief pitcher Russ Christopher to the Cleveland Indians."Transactions for 1948 Philadelphia Athletics." Retrosheet May 15, 1948: The Athletics purchase the contract of relief pitcher Nels Potter from the St. Louis Browns for $17,500. June 4, 1948: The Athletics trade outfielder George Binks and $20,000 to the St. Louis Browns for outfielder Ray Coleman.Ray Coleman at Baseball-Reference June 14, 1948: The Athletics release pitchers Bill Dietrich and Nels Potter.
Roster 1948 Philadelphia Athletics Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
Coaches
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 Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C 90 302 77 .255 4 41 1B 145 520 146 .281 7 88 2B 148 519 125 .241 7 60 SS 135 509 127 .250 16 55 3B 148 590 183 .310 12 120 OF 113 383 117 .305 3 46 OF 135 515 168 .326 0 46 OF 123 445 115 .258 13 70
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 86 253 62 .245 1 28 68 210 51 .243 0 21 53 142 30 .211 1 23 40 98 22 .224 1 14 23 54 8 .148 0 3 31 51 8 .157 0 6 17 41 4 .098 0 2 18 29 5 .172 0 1 3 13 2 .154 0 0 4 10 2 .200 0 0 2 6 1 .167 0 0
Pitching
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 33 226.1 9 15 4.53 66 33 215.2 14 13 4.09 86 29 204.2 15 8 3.78 50 32 198.2 14 8 3.94 44 17 86.2 4 7 5.71 20
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 39 194.0 14 10 4.13 127 5 17.1 1 2 5.71 3 4 15.1 1 2 5.87 5
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 45 5 2 5 4.13 32 33 5 1 5 6.21 26 13 0 0 0 7.83 14 8 2 2 1 4.00 13
Farm system
References
External links 1948 Philadelphia Athletics team at Baseball-Reference 1948 Philadelphia Athletics team page at baseball-almanac.com