1949 Cleveland Indians season

Offseason

• November 15, 1948: 1948 minor league draft
  • Bob Chakales was drafted by the Indians from the Philadelphia Phillies.
  • Grant Dunlap was drafted from the Indians by the New York Yankees.
• December 14, 1948: Ed Klieman, Joe Haynes, and Eddie Robinson were traded by the Indians to the Washington Senators for Mickey Vernon and Early Wynn.
• Prior to 1949 season: Brooks Lawrence was signed as an amateur free agent by the Indians.

Regular season

Following their 1948 World Series championship, the 1949 Indians season proved to be a disappointment. Despite having the best overall pitching and fielding statistics in either the American or National Leagues, the Indians finished a distant third place behind the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. A team roster that boasted eight future members of the Baseball Hall of Fame (Lou Boudreau, Larry Doby, Bob Feller, Joe Gordon, Bob Lemon, Satchel Paige, Minnie Miñoso, and Early Wynn) could not deliver a second consecutive championship to Cleveland. During the season, Indians fan Charlie Lupica spent 117 days on a flagpole, waiting for the Indians to regain first place. They never did, and he gave up his pursuit when the Indians were mathematically eliminated on September 25.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

• April 28, 1949: Grant Dunlap was returned to the Indians by the New York Yankees.

Opening Day Lineup

Roster

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

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Awards and honors

• Dale Mitchell, American League leader, triples (23)
• Team ERA of 3.36 lowest in MLB for 1949
• Team fielding percentage of .983 highest in MLB for 1949 All Star Game

Larry Doby, Outfielder, reserve

Joe Gordon, Second baseman, reserve

Jim Hegan, Catcher, reserve

Bob Lemon, Pitcher, reserve

Dale Mitchell, Outfielder, reserve

Farm system

Johnny Beazley and Dick Porter

Notes

References

• 1949 Cleveland Indians at Baseball Reference
• 1949 Cleveland Indians at Baseball Almanac

References

1. "For our favorite son Bob Hope, all roads lead back home to Ohio".
2. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/c/chakabo01.shtml Bob Chakales] at ''Baseball Reference''
3. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/d/dunlagr01.shtml Grant Dunlap] at ''Baseball Reference''
4. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/v/vernomi01.shtml Mickey Vernon] at ''Baseball Reference''
5. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/l/lawrebr01.shtml Brooks Lawrence] at ''Baseball Reference''
6. (April 7, 2001). "Veeck--As In Wreck: The Autobiography of Bill Veeck". University of Chicago Press.
7. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLA/SLA194904190.shtml 1949 Opening Day Lineup] at ''Baseball-Reference''
8. ''Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures'', 2008 Edition, p. 98, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, {{ISBN. 978-0-451-22363-0
9. "1949 Major League Baseball Standard Pitching {{!}} Baseball-Reference.com".
10. "1949 American League Standard Fielding {{!}} Baseball-Reference.com".
11. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition''. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007