Decisions, Decisions: The 1948 AL Playoff

In 1948, the Boston Red Sox staged one of the most remarkable comebacks in baseball history. And then they did something that made everyone forget about it.

They woke up on the morning of June 1 with a record of 14-23, and stood in seventh place in the eight-team American League. They were 11.5 games behind the surprising Philadelphia A’s and 10.5 behind the Cleveland Indians. They really weren’t doing anything well, standing fifth in runs scored and sixth in runs allowed.

They had played in some bad luck, as their record should have been three games better at 17-20 given their run differential, and there were a couple of other reasons for the team to be hopeful. One was lefty Mel Parnell. He’d struggled in his first big-league season the year before and was shipped back to the minors mid-year before breaking a finger and missing the rest of the season, but he was off to a strong start in 1948. His record didn’t show it, as he was just 1-2 in the first couple of months, but he had a 2.95 ERA and even better 2.58 FIP. Veteran Joe Dobson was also pitching well and had a 2.85 ERA and 5-4 record, so at least the Sox had a good one-two combination they could rely upon.

Mel Parnell was 15-8 with a 3.14 ERA for the Red Sox in 1948. (AP Photo)