1950_Brooklyn_Dodgers_season
1950 Brooklyn Dodgers season
Major League Baseball team season
The 1950 Brooklyn Dodgers struggled for much of the season, but still wound up pushing the Philadelphia Phillies to the last day of the season before falling two games short. Following the season, Branch Rickey was replaced as majority owner/team president by Walter O'Malley, who promptly fired manager Burt Shotton and replaced him with Chuck Dressen. Buzzie Bavasi was also hired as the team's first independent General Manager.
| 1950 Brooklyn Dodgers | |
|---|---|
| League | National League |
| Ballpark | Ebbets Field |
| City | Brooklyn, New York |
| Owners | James & Dearie Mulvey, Walter O'Malley, Branch Rickey, John L. Smith |
| President | Branch Rickey |
| General managers | Branch Rickey |
| Managers | Burt Shotton |
| Television | WOR-TV |
| Radio | WMGM Red Barber, Connie Desmond, Vin Scully |
Vin Scully joined the Dodgers' radio and television crew as a play-by-play announcer in 1950; in 2016, Scully entered his 67th consecutive season with the club, the longest such tenure in the history of sports broadcasting; that season was the first wherein his voice, as well as of Red Barber's, was broadcast on television station WOR-TV, making the Dodgers the last New York City MLB team to introduce regular television broadcasts, 11 years following the first broadcasts of 1939.
- October 1, 1949: Danny O'Connell was traded by the Dodgers to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later and cash. The Pirates completed the deal by sending Jack Cassini to the Dodgers on October 11.[1]
- October 4, 1949: Sam Jethroe and Bob Addis were traded by the Dodgers to the Boston Braves for Don Thompson, Dee Phillips and Al Epperly.[2]
- October 14, 1949: Marv Rackley was purchased from the Dodgers by the Cincinnati Reds.[3]
- October 14, 1949: Paul Minner and Preston Ward were purchased from the Dodgers by the Chicago Cubs.[4]
- November 4, 1949: Hank Schenz was purchased from the Dodgers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.[5]
- November 14, 1949: Dick Whitman was purchased from the Dodgers by the Philadelphia Phillies.[6]
- December 24, 1949: Luis Olmo was traded by the Dodgers to the Boston Braves for Jim Russell, Ed Sauer and cash.[7]
- April 10, 1950: Nero Wolfe trains with the Dodgers as shortstop, but fails to make the roster.[8]
- Prior to 1950 season (exact date unknown)
- John Glenn was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers.[9]
- Glenn Cox was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers.[10]
During the season, Duke Snider had a hitting streak of 22 games[11] Another highlight was on August 31, when Gil Hodges hit four home runs in one game, becoming the first player in the 20th century to do so in his home park.[12]
Season standings
| National League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Phillies | 91 | 63 | 0.591 | — | 48–29 | 43–34 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 89 | 65 | 0.578 | 2 | 48–30 | 41–35 |
| New York Giants | 86 | 68 | 0.558 | 5 | 44–32 | 42–36 |
| Boston Braves | 83 | 71 | 0.539 | 8 | 46–31 | 37–40 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 78 | 75 | 0.510 | 12½ | 48–28 | 30–47 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 66 | 87 | 0.431 | 24½ | 38–38 | 28–49 |
| Chicago Cubs | 64 | 89 | 0.418 | 26½ | 35–42 | 29–47 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 57 | 96 | 0.373 | 33½ | 33–44 | 24–52 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | BR | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
| Boston | — | 9–13 | 9–13 | 17–5 | 13–9 | 9–13–1 | 15–7–1 | 11–11 | |||||
| Brooklyn | 13–9 | — | 10–12 | 12–10 | 12–10 | 11–11–1 | 19–3 | 12–10 | |||||
| Chicago | 13–9 | 12–10 | — | 4–17 | 5–17 | 9–13–1 | 11–11 | 10–12 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 5–17 | 10–12 | 17–4 | — | 11–11 | 4–18 | 12–10 | 7–15 | |||||
| New York | 9–13 | 10–12 | 17–5 | 11–11 | — | 12–10 | 16–6 | 11–11 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 13–9–1 | 11–11–1 | 13–9–1 | 18–4 | 10–12 | — | 14–8 | 12–10 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 7–15–1 | 3–19 | 11–11 | 10–12 | 6–16 | 8–14 | — | 12–9 | |||||
| St. Louis | 11–11 | 10–12 | 12–10 | 15–7 | 11–11 | 10–12 | 9–12 | — | |||||
Notable transactions
- May 10, 1950: Willie Ramsdell was purchased from the Dodgers by the Cincinnati Reds.[13]
- May 17, 1950: Spider Jorgensen was purchased from the Dodgers by the New York Giants.[14]
- July 30, 1950: Glen Moulder was traded by the Dodgers to the St. Louis Cardinals for Johnny Lindell.[15]
- September 10, 1950: Harry Taylor was purchased from the Dodgers by the Boston Red Sox.[16]
Opening Day lineup
| Opening Day Lineup | ||
|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Position |
| 1 | Pee Wee Reese | SS |
| 8 | George Shuba | LF |
| 4 | Duke Snider | CF |
| 42 | Jackie Robinson | 2B |
| 6 | Carl Furillo | RF |
| 14 | Gil Hodges | 1B |
| 2 | Bobby Morgan | 3B |
| 39 | Roy Campanella | C |
| 36 | Don Newcombe | P |
Roster
| 1950 Brooklyn Dodgers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
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 | Roy Campanella | 126 | 437 | 123 | .281 | 31 | 89 |
| 1B | Gil Hodges | 153 | 561 | 159 | .283 | 32 | 113 |
| 2B | Jackie Robinson | 144 | 518 | 170 | .328 | 14 | 81 |
| SS | Pee Wee Reese | 141 | 531 | 138 | .260 | 11 | 52 |
| 3B | Billy Cox | 119 | 451 | 116 | .257 | 8 | 44 |
| OF | Duke Snider | 152 | 620 | 199 | .321 | 31 | 107 |
| OF | Gene Hermanski | 94 | 289 | 86 | .298 | 7 | 34 |
| OF | Carl Furillo | 153 | 620 | 189 | .305 | 18 | 106 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Russell | 77 | 214 | 49 | .229 | 10 | 32 |
| Bobby Morgan | 67 | 199 | 45 | .226 | 7 | 21 |
| Bruce Edwards | 50 | 142 | 26 | .183 | 8 | 16 |
| George Shuba | 34 | 111 | 23 | .207 | 3 | 12 |
| Tommy Brown | 48 | 86 | 25 | .291 | 8 | 20 |
| Eddie Miksis | 51 | 76 | 19 | .250 | 2 | 10 |
| Cal Abrams | 38 | 44 | 9 | .205 | 0 | 4 |
| Wayne Belardi | 10 | 6 | 1 | .167 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Lembo | 5 | 6 | 1 | .167 | 0 | 0 |
| Spider Jorgensen | 2 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Newcombe | 40 | 267.1 | 19 | 11 | 3.70 | 130 |
| Preacher Roe | 36 | 250.2 | 19 | 11 | 3.30 | 125 |
| Carl Erskine | 22 | 103.0 | 7 | 6 | 4.72 | 50 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erv Palica | 43 | 201.1 | 13 | 8 | 3.58 | 131 |
| Ralph Branca | 43 | 142.0 | 7 | 9 | 4.69 | 100 |
| Dan Bankhead | 41 | 129.1 | 9 | 4 | 5.50 | 96 |
| Bud Podbielan | 20 | 72.2 | 5 | 4 | 5.33 | 28 |
| Joe Hatten | 23 | 68.2 | 2 | 2 | 4.59 | 29 |
| Jack Banta | 16 | 41.1 | 4 | 4 | 4.35 | 15 |
| Chris Van Cuyk | 12 | 33.1 | 1 | 3 | 4.86 | 21 |
| Jim Romano | 3 | 6.1 | 0 | 0 | 5.68 | 8 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rex Barney | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6.42 | 23 |
| Billy Loes | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.82 | 2 |
| Joe Landrum | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8.10 | 5 |
| Al Epperly | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.00 | 3 |
| Willie Ramsdell | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2.84 | 2 |
| Mal Mallette | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 |
| Clem Labine | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 0 |
| Pat McGlothin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 2 |
- 1950 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
- Roy Campanella starter
- Jackie Robinson starter
- Gil Hodges reserve
- Don Newcombe reserve
- Pee Wee Reese reserve
- Preacher Roe reserve
- Duke Snider reserve
- TSN Major League All-Star Team
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Billings
- Danny O'Connell at Baseball-Reference
- Sam Jethroe at Baseball-Reference
- Marv Rackley at Baseball-Reference
- Paul Minner at Baseball-Reference
- Hank Schenz at Baseball-Reference
- Dick Whitman at Baseball-Reference
- Marvin Kaye (2005). The Archie Goodwin Files. Wildside Press. ISBN 9781557424846. page 123.
- John Glenn at Baseball-Reference
- "This Day in Baseball - Recapping events that took place in the baseball world on this day". Archived from the original on March 4, 2006.
- Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.258, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
- Willie Ramsdell at Baseball-Reference
- Spider Jorgensen at Baseball-Reference
- Glen Moulder at Baseball-Reference
- Harry Taylor at Baseball-Reference
