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At Fenway Park, much of 1947 was spent hoping that 1946 was not an accident. Everyone but Ted Williams and Johnny Pesky started the season where they left off the year before. Ted returned to Boston in February to sign a $65K contract, a raise of over $25K from the year before. He had an clause that would get him another $10K if the Red Sox attendance topped 1.25 million. The Red Sox returned to spring training brimming with confedence and were considered the favorite to win the pennant again. Ted wanted very much to atone for his failure in the World Series and was excited to do so. All four of the pitchers reported to camp healthy and ready to go. In January, rookie Sam Dente had been brought up from Louisville. Dente was also a professional soccer player at the time. His Red Sox contract ended his soccer career. But he didn't make the big league club and was sent back down to the minors when the season started. When spring training broke, pitchers Harry Dorish and rookie Mel Parnell had each made the team. Once underway however, the pitching became a disaster. Tex Hughson, Dave Ferriss and Mickey Harris won 62 games in 1946, in 1947 they all developed arm trouble. Harris came down with a sore arm during a spring training game against the Cincinnati Reds, and was out until June.
In early April, Tom Yawkey had dinner with Yankee owner Dan Topping at Toots Shor's in Manhattan. After quite a few drinks they discussed swapping their superstars. The Yankees taking Ted Williams for Joe DiMaggio, who didn't get along with Yankee general manager Lee MacPhail, and was still on the bench after surgery from the bone spur on his left heel. But Ted, in spite of his problematic personality, was in his prime and DiMaggio, who was four years older, was damaged goods. When the morning came and Yawkey was more sober, he realized he would be tarred and feathered in Boston if he went through with the deal. So he said he wanted the addition of Yankee prospect Yogi Berra, knowing the deal would never get done. About the same time, Brooklyn Dodger owner, Branch Rickey promoted Jackie Robinson to the major leagues. He had informed baseball's owners of his plan at a meeting in January. They all opposed him, including Yawkey. But baseball commissioner, Happy Chandler supported the move. Ted Williams also supported the idea, having played with Negro League players like Buck O'Neill in California and served with several in the Marines during the war. He then sent Jackie a personal letter of congratulations for having the guts to put up with what was coming his way.
But as far as the Red Sox were concerned, Ted Williams' quest for the Triple Crown and Johnny Pesky going for another 200-hit season would be the primary stories in Boston during the summer of 1947.
In spite of a windswept pop fly ball that fell safely between Eddie Pellagrini and Johnny Pesky, Harry Dorish won the season opener at Fenway Park, in what was not only his first big-league appearance, but the first major league baseball game the Red Sox rookie had ever seen. It was his brilliant relief pitching, as well as a single by Pellagrini, which enabled the Red Sox to open the defense of the their American League championship with a 7 to 6 victory over Washington on April 15th. Starter Tex Hughson retired the first fifteen Washington batters he faced, but gave up the lead in the eighth inning. Dom DiMaggio led the offense with three hits. Joe Dobson delivered a 4-1 win over the Nats on April 17th in the second game of the year. Three singles and a double gave Dobson a four run cushion and he took it from there. Dave Ferriss won his first game in Philly on April 18th, breezing to a 9 to 3 win. He cashed in on homers by Ted Williams and Bobby Doerr who had three hits. On April 19th, Harry Dorish pitching for the second time, in relief of Hughson, came into the game behind 2-0 to Philly. A ninth inning homer by Ted tied the game and the Sox won the game in the tenth. Sam Mele led off with a triple and walks to Hal Wagner and Johnny Pesky loaded the bases. Dom DiMaggio's hit won the game 4 to 2, giving Dorish the win. On April 24th Hughson tossed a two-hit, 1-0 shutout against the Yankees. Rudy York had to be pulled unconscious from his Boston hotel room two nights later, when he fell asleep and his cigarette started a fire. On April 30th, Mel Parnell got his first major league win by pitching a complete game, 7-1 victory on four hits, over the Tigers. Sam Mele rapped out three hits, with a triple, driving home four of the runs.
Joe Cronin was trying to find a position for Eddie Pellagrini and on May 1st, Johnny Pesky volunteered to third base and have Pelly play shortstop. But Pellagrini wasn't hitting and by the end of the month Glenn Russell took over at third and Johnny moved back to short. Pesky was also sick with a bad cold at the beginning of the month and then came down with swollen glands at the end of May. His batting suffered and at one point he had gone 0-for-16. In coming back to Sportsman's Park, on May 4th, where the Sox were sent packing last year, Ted Williams was the target of bottles tossed in his vicinity. After that Bobby Doerr cashed in with a two-run homer to grab a 3-2 decision in the sixth inning of the first game of a doubleheader. Rookie Tommy Fine pitched a complete game five hitter against the Browns, with an 8-1 win in the second game. On May 6th, Ted hit two home runs. One tied the game in the ninth inning and the second one, won it in the 11th inning. But it proved to be Dom DiMaggio's fourth inning double, that brought in Doerr, which ultimately was the game winner. Dave Ferriss got another win with a 3-0 shutout of the White Sox, in Chicago, on May 8th. He pitched three-hit ball for eight innings before he hurt his thumb and had to leave the game. The Red Sox needed all six of their first inning runs and more to beat the Yankees at Fenway Park on May 11th. A three run homer by Bobby Doerr, the first he ever blasted into the centerfield bleachers, and brilliant defensive play by Rudy York highlighted the Red Sox 8 to 7 triumph. York led the Red Sox to a 4 to 3 triumph over the Yankees on May 12th. He blasted a long high home run into the nets in the eighth-inning that started the Red Sox on a three run rampage. Wally Moses drove home the tying run with a pinch-hit single while the winning run was scored by Eddie Pellagrini. Pelly had gotten on base, preventing an inning ending double play, that kept the teams deadlocked at 3 to 3. Bobby Doerr hit for the cycle on May 13th, the second time he had accomplished the feat. Ted Williams twice cleared the left-field wall for his sixth and seventh home runs of the season. It was the first time he had hit an opposite field home run at Fenway Park. Johnny Pesky had a pair of doubles, and Pellagrini had three hits that drove in four runs. Joe Dobson kept the White Sox in check at Fenway on May 14th, with a 5 to 1 win. The Sox bunched together eight hits that produced five runs in the first three innings. Then on May 16th, the Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 12-7 at Fenway. Ted hit a grandslam home run, which gave him one every year of his career. Pellagrini had singled in between walks to Leon Culberson and Pesky. Then followed another one of Ted's most prodigious blasts. It was a 400 foot smash over the Red Sox bullpen and and rose high into the right-field bleachers. The ball was nearly as high as it was long. On May 19th, With the count three balls and no strikes in the ninth-inning of the second game of a doubleheader, manager Joe Cronin gave Ted the "hit" sign. As a result, Ted smashed a towering home run into the right-field stands with Wally Moses on base, to give the Red Sox a 5 to 4 walkoff victory over the Detroit Tigers. It was the second game of a doubleheader in which the Tigers won the opener in 12 innings. Joe Dobson picked up hit fourth win on May 20th, beating the Tigers 8 to 3 at Fenway. Wally Moses had three hits and Ted clouted his 10th homer. The Red Sox tried to patch holes through trades. After the game, they dumped 12 year veteran catcher, Hal Wagner (.231 BA) to the Tigers for Birdie Tebbetts, who was only batting .094 ... With the change of scenery, Tebbetts batted .299 for the rest of the season.
Dave Ferriss single-handedly brought the Sox a 6-2 victory in the first game of a June 2nd doubleheader in Chicago. He not only pitched a fine game but led the Sox attack with two hits that drove in three runs. Dom DiMaggio pulled a ligament in his shoulder at the beginning of June. He would be out for over two weeks and Sam Mele was pressed into service. A home run by Ted Williams, that landed on the roof of the right field grandstand and another homer by Mele, escorted the Red Sox to a 5 to 2 triumph over the Browns in St. Louis on June 4th. On June 9th, the Sox began an eight game winning streak that lifted the them to within a half game of first place. Mele connected for another homer with Ted aboard in the seventh inning, to give the Sox and Tex Hughson a 7-5 win in Cleveland. In the next game, Bobby Doerr singled in the eighth inning and scored Johnny Pesky with the deciding run, 3 to 2. Mickey Harris' first start of the year came on June 11th. He shut out the Indians 3-0, to complete a sweep of the series.
Night baseball came to Fenway Park, as the workers installed seven light towers. On June 13th, Dave Ferriss beat the Chicago White Sox, 5 to 3 in Fenway's first night game. The advertisements were then taken off the left-field wall, because Ted claimed that they caused glare under the lights. Thus the birth of the "Green Monster". The Sox traded Rudy York (.212 BA) to Chicago on June 14th for slugging firstbaseman Jake Jones (.240 BA), with a swing tailor-made for Fenway Park. On Jones' first day on June 15th, the Sox swept a doubleheader from the White Sox. The Sox won the first game 7 to 3 and Jones homered. In the second game Jones delivered a ninth inning walk-off grandslam to win the game 8 to 4. In his first 11 games, Jones batted .302 with three doubles, three home runs and a triple. Sam Mele connected for a three-run homer on June 17th. It carried the Sox to a 6 to 5 win over the Browns at Fenway. Ted Williams tied the game with a double that tied the game at three each. The Sox played the longest night game in history, with a back-and-forth 15 inning duel against the Browns on June 18th. Johnny Pesky won it with a walk-off hit, his fifth one of the night. In three games, Johnny had 12 hits and brought up his average 31 points to .282. It was the last game of the Sox eight game winning streak. With the pitching staff all having sore arms, pitcher Denny Galehouse was bought from the St. Louis Browns on June 20th and Tommy Fine was optioned to Toronto to make room. Joe Dobson pitched the Sox to a 9 to 1 win over Bob Feller at Fenway on June 21st, allowing just four hits. Feller was conked for a three run homer by Sam Mele and a grandslam of the bat of Bobby Doerr. The Sox and Indians split a doubleheader the next day. After losing the opener the Sox bounced back with a 6 to 3 win in the next game. Aided by web-gems by Dom DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Doerr. In the first inning after Johnny Pesky tripled, Ted doubled off the wall. A pass to Doerr and a base hit by DiMaggio put the Sox out front quickly with three runs. The Tigers were slapped 8 to 2 by the Sox on June 23rd. Denny Galehouse, in his first start for the BoSox, was in full command. After the second inning only one Tiger baserunner reached second base.
Dave Ferriss batted and pitched the Sox to a doubleheader split, winning the second game 4 to 3. He held the Tigers to six hits and drove in two runs himself on June 25th. Galehouse continud to pitch brilliantly on June 28th, by shutting out Washington with an 8 to 0 four-hitter, at Griffith Stadium. He was supported by Roy Partee who cracked out three hits. A triple by Pesky and a hit by Ted gave the Sox a run, then Ted later tripled to the left field corner and scored on Sam Mele's sac fly. On June 29th, Johnny Pesky, after an 11 game hitting streak, pulled his batting average up to .300 for the first time, getting three hits in a doubleheader at Philly. After getting close to the Yankees in the standings, the Sox lost eight of thirteen games, however, and fell back to 5 1/2 games behind at the end of the month.
After losing the first game of a July 4th doubleheader, Tex Hughson pitched the Sox to a split with the A's with a 4-0 shutout. He also drove in two of the runs. Then on July 5th, following Ted Williams' triple, Jake Jones delivered a 7-6 victory over Washington. On that day the Cleveland Indians brought in Larry Doby, the first African-American player in the American League. The Sox walloped the Nats twice, 7 to 3 and 10 to 1 on July 6th. Mickey Harris won the opener but left the game with a lame shoulder. In the second game Denny Galehouse limited Washington to six hits, winning his third game since joining the Sox. Pesky had three hits in the first game and DiMaggio pocketed three in the second game. Pesky pulled of the hidden ball trick in the first inning of the first game. He had done twice in 1942. The Nats loaded the bases and Johnny got the ball from the outfield. Buddy Lewis was on second base and didn't notice. Johnny had to alert the umpire which he discreetly did. Lewis took his lead, Johnny bluffed him and tagged him out before he could reach the bag. The highlight of the year for Joe Cronin was managing in the All Star game and directed the American League All Stars to a 2-1 victory on July 8th, at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Ted Williams was the only Red Sox player voted on the team. He singled and doubled in the game. Cronin later added Bobby Doerr to the roster and he was glad he did. Bobby manufactured the winning run in the seventh inning with a base hit, stealing second, advancing to third when Johnny Sain's pick-off attempt was thrown into the outfield, and scored on Stan Spence's base hit. American League managers who were scared of Ted Williams' ability as a hitter, had pitched around him this season and as a result, he drew a larger number of walks than he did the year before. But at a meeting during the All Star game break, some of the owners realized that the fans came to see Ted hit and became afaid that it would hurt their attendance when the Red Sox came to town and he didn't get the chance to swing the bat. It was then decided that pitchers should pitch to him more, when the season resumed. Strick Shofner hadn't worked out as the Sox thirdbaseman and the Sox had tried five other players there. Thirdbaseman Sam Dente, who was batting .311 in Louisville, was brought up on July 9th. To make room for Dente, Mel Parnell was optioned to Louisville. On July 12th, Earl Johnson made his first start. He shut out Detroit 2-0, on six hits, while going 3-for-3 at the plate. Johnny Pesky was 5-for-9 in a doubleheader in Cleveland, on July 13th, but the Sox lost both games. The next day, Bobby Doerr's ninth inning homer was all that Dave Ferriss needed in support, as he shutout the Tribe, 1-0. It was in this game however, that Ferriss hurt his shoulder after throwing a curveball. He didn't realize it at the time, but he would never be able to pitch the way he had ever again. Ted Williams belted his 16th homer to go along with a couple of singles to beat the White Sox in Chicago on July 16th, 7 to 2. Joe Dobson joined the 10 game winner's circle as the Red Sox swept a doubleheader from the White Sox the next day on July 17th. Dobson had an easy time in handing the White Sox a 4 to 1 loss. Earl Johnson came into the second game in the ninth-inning, with the score tied at 3 to 3 and handled the Chicago batters easily, bringing his own bat into the picture for an 11 inning, 6 to 3 victory.
On July 19th, Johnson made his second start. He surrendered three singles in the first inning to load the bases with nobody out. He got out of it and didn't allow another hit, pitching nine no-hit innings, winning 1-0 over the Browns. Birdie Tebbetts slapped a 10th inning double into the left-field corner Fenway Park to beat the White Sox 3 to 2 on July 22nd. Dom DiMaggio, who had driven into Red Sox runs in the first inning, poked a single into left and scored the winning run on Tebbetts' poke, as leftfielder Dave Philley slipped on the wet turf, allowing DiMaggio to walk in. It was the first win of a seven game winning streak. On July 23rd, Red Sox rooters went home happy from Fenway Park just after midnight. Bobby Doerr had singled off thirdbaseman Floyd Baker's glove started off the 14th inning with the score tied at 7-7. With Dom at the plate, Doerr stole second and went to third when Dom grounded out. That forced both Jake Jones and Birdie Tebbetts to receive intentional passes, loading up the bases and putting the force at any base. Don Gutteridge squeezed home Doerr with the winning run to beat the White Sox 8 to 7. The next day Denny Galehouse coasted to his sixth win as the Sox batters, led by Ted's 19th homer, supported him, 8 to 2 and swept the series from the White Sox. Relief pitcher Harry Dorish was the man of the hour in the Red Sox fourth consecutive victory, a hard fought 7 to 6 verdict over the Browns on July 25th. Dorish won his own game when he squeezed home Dom in the fifth inning with the Sox seventh run. Jake Jones had singled to score Ted with the tying maker and the sacks were clogged when Harry Dorish came to bat with one out. He neatly deposited a sacrifice bunt to the right of the mound where no play could be made, as Dom scampered home standing up. It was on July 26th that Ted hit two home runs in a row for his sixth consecutive base hit, four of which were homers. Joe Dobson beat the hard-hitting Browns, allowing only six hits, walking none and striking out four. On July 27th the Sox finished their win streak by sweeping a doubleheader from the Browns. In the first game a terrific running catch by Sam Mele saved a 4-3 Sox win after Ted dropped an easy fly ball. In the sixth inning, Jake Jones topped a ball that dribbled down the third base line that went foul. Just as Browns' thirdbaseman Bob Dillinger was about to pick it up, his pitcher Fred Sanford threw his glove at the ball. The umpire, Cal Hubbard awarded Jake a triple on a 60 foot foul ball. He based his decision on a rule that prohibited throwing a glove at a batted ball. The rule was later ammended to read that the ball must a fair ball. Sam Dente and Dave Ferriss each had three hits in the nitecap, which the Sox also won 11 to 2 on 16 hits.
Even with the winning streak, by the first of August, the Red Sox (52-43) were 12 games behind in second place. On August 2nd, Bobby Doerr was honored at Fenway, where he received over $22K of gifts, including a new Cadillac and an outboard motor for his boat, from Ted Williams. Ted went on to smack a two-run homer that gave the Sox a 2-1 win over the Tigers. On August 6th, Earl Johnson lost a two-hitter to the Nationals on August 6th, 1 to 0, on an unearned run. The next day, Denny Galehouse easily handled the Nats in Washington while his mates knocked out 15 hits that produced a 12 to 2 rout. Pesky beat out two singles in the fourth inning. Ted (.320 BA) hit his 25th homer while. Pesky, Sam Mele and Sam Dente all had three hits in the game. On August 8th, the Red Sox outlasted, out-gamed and outslugged the New York Yankees, by a score of 9 to 6. The surging Red Sox came from behind in a precipitous eighth inning. Down 6 to 5, Jake Jones sent his 10th home run on a line drive into left field screen to tie the game at 6 to 6. Birdie Tebbetts then singled to right and reached third when Yogi Berra threw Sam Dente's sacrifice bunt into center field. Joe Cronin allowed Mickey Harris to bat for himself and surprised all, when he hit the first pitch between third and short for a single, scoring Birdie with the go-ahead run. Harris walked home ahead of Sam Mele, who belted a fastball over the left field screen onto Lansdowne Street. Outhit 14 to 10, the Sox matched the Yanks, who are playing without Joe DiMaggio, with a 22 total base hit output. The next day, on August 9th, Doerr lined two home runs into the left field screen, to pace the Red Sox with their second straight lacing of the Yankees, 6 to 4. He clipped starter Allie Reynolds, for his 12th round tripper in the sixth inning with Ted Williams on base, then in the eighth inning, with the score tied at 4 to 4, he tagged Spec Shea for his 13th, again with Ted on base. Earl Johnson turned the tables on Washington at Fenway on August 11th. He beat them 1-0, allowing just three hits, while Sam Mele's third inning homer held up as the only run scored in the game.
After the Red Sox and come from behind in the ninth-inning to tie the score on Bobby Doerr's single with two out, Jake Jones smashed an Early Wynn pitch to remote right-center field, giving the Red Sox a 2 to 1 victory over Washington on August 12th. But in the fifth inning, with one out and runners on second and third, Joe Grace hit a sharp grounder the Jones who was playing first base. Jones stepped on first, and the runner on third, Rick Ferrell, held his base. But the runner on second, Early Wynn, was not paying attention and broke for third base. Jones, seeing both runners on third base, raced over and tagged them both out. Jones was credited with an unassisted double play at first and third. The Red Sox trampled the Washington Nationals, behind Tex Hughson, 10-3 at Fenway Park on August 13th. The Sox hit three homers in the first inning. Mele opened the game with a line drive into the left field screen. Pesky then singled, stole second and went to third on a throwing error and scored on a balk. Ted followed with the first of his four hits, with a single to right. Doerr and Jake Jones then hit successive pitches into the screen. On August 16th, the Yankees beat Earl Johnson 1-0, on a walk-off base hit in the bottom of the ninth inning. The next day, Denny Galehouse turned the table when he shutout the Yankees, 3-0 in 11 innings. Dom DiMaggio saved the game in the tenth inning when the game was scoreless, by throwing out his brother Joe, at the plate. Sam Mele knocked in two of the three runs the Sox put up in the eleventh. Dom saved the Sox again on August 19th in St. Louis. His grandslam homer accounted for four runs. Bobby Doerr and Johnny Pesky also had extra base hits the figured in the 9 to 5 scoring of the Sox over the Browns. Ted Williams (.339 BA) smacked six hits in seven trips to the plate during a doubleheader in Chicago on August 22nd. He helped the Sox split the day with the White Sox. Johnny Pesky went 4-for-5, with 3 RBIs and two doubles, against Indians in the first game of a doubleheader in Cleveland on August 24th that the Sox won 11-2. Sam Mele also knocked out four hits in six times up. Dave Ferriss only allowed five hits in winning his 11th game. In the second game Johnny added two more hits bringing his average up to .312. The Sox and Detroit split a doubleheader on August 26th and another one on August 27th. The Sox then started on a seven game winning streak. Against Nal Newhouser, Pesky collected four hits in five times up knocking in five runs of a 13-3 victory in Detroit on August 28th. Ted Williams (.341 BA) had three hits as did Dom. The Sox returned home and Johnny had banged out 26 hits in the 15 game road trip, while Ted had hit safely 18 times. Eddie Pellagrini stroked a game-winning double in the seventh inning that nipped the A's in Philadelphia on August 29th, 2 to 1. Tex Hughson allowed just four scattered hits to the A's the next day and shut them out 2-0. On August 31st at Fenway, Johnny almost had an inside-the-park homer. The ball was hit down the right field line and caromed all the way around the wall toward centerfield. He was cut down at the plate on a perfect relay by the A's secondbaseman Pete Suder. Ted banged out his 27th homer and the Sox won 5-1.
At the end of August, the Sox had gone 17-13 for the month and were still 12 games behind the Yankees. Jake Jones drove in all four of the runs on September 1st, giving the Red Sox a 4-1 win over the Yankees in the second game of a doubleheader. Galehouse turned back the Yanks, 6 to 3 in the opener. A double by Pellagrini gave the Sox three runs that won the opening game. On September 3rd, Hughson was removed from the first game of a doubleheader with numbness and circulatory problems on his arm and was sent to a specialist who determined that surgery was necessary. An over-developed muscle had cut of circulation in his pitching arm. His season was over and he had his surgery in the off-season. Earl Johnson racked up his 10th win at Shibe Park on September 6th. Doerr drove home Wally Moses with the winning run in the sixth inning for a 4-3 victory. Moses had tripled with Ted on base, to tie the game. Jake Jones' three-run homer on September 9th was a deciding part of a 5-3 win over the Tigers on September 9th, that gave Joe Dobson his 16th win. Earl Johnson and World War II vet, Sy Rosenthal, were honored at Fenway Park before the game on September 13th. Johnson beat the Indians and Bob Feller by a 3-2 score on four hits. After losing the first game to the White Sox in a September 15th doubleheader, the Red Sox took the nitecap 7 to 5. Ted had for hits in the two games, brining his average up to .338 ... Galehouse shutout the White Sox the next day, winning 5-0. On September 17th, Jake Jones accounted for the first two runs of Joe Dobson's one hitter masterpiece over the Browns, 4 to 0. Dobson had a no-hitter going into the seventh inning. The next day, down by six runs, the Red Sox stormed from behind to claim an 11 to 6 upset. Bobby Doerr tied the game up with a three run homer and doubles by Sam Mele and Jones put them ahaead. Johnny Pesky and Ted Williams continued their spectacular batting climbs on September 20th. Ted .500 with three straight hits in the second game, after being shutout in the opener. Johnny had five hits in a doubleheader, to give him a 26 game hitting streak in which he batted .402 with 43 hits. His streak ended the next day.
Ted (.342 BA) hit his 31st homer, driving home three runs (110 RBIs), on September 23rd, to gain a split of a twin bill with the Athletics at Fenway. He hit his 32nd homer on September 27th to help Dobson win his 18th game. Nothing worked for the Red Sox. They finished in third place, 14 games behind the Yankees, winners of 21 fewer games than in 1946. Ted Williams won his second "Triple Crown", finishing the year with a .343 batting average, 32 home runs and 114 RBI. Ted still managed to lose the closest Most Valuable Player race in history, coming short by a single point to the eventual winner Joe DiMaggio. Joltin' Joe had a solid 1947 campaign, but it didn't come close to approaching the Splendid Splinter's year. Ted not only won the "Triple Crown" again led the league in runs scored, walks and slugging average. Ted's poor showings in the MVP voting as often been attributed to his poor relationship with the media, who happened to vote for the award.
For the Red Sox, Johnny Pesky batted .324 with a league-leading 207 hits, coming in third for the batting title. He struck out only 22 times in 638 at bats, setting the table for Ted's RBI title. He had amassed at least 200 hits for the third time., becoming the third player in baseball history to reach the 200 hit mark in his first three seasons. The others were Wee Willie Keeler and Chuck Klein. Ty Cobb holds the major league record of having nine 200 hit seasons. For the first time in his career, Dom DiMaggio's durability became suspect. Dom (.283 BA) hurt his shoulder and it handicapped him for the whole year. He was smarter and faster defensively than anybody in the league, but collected only 145 hits with 10 stolen bases. Jake Jones finished the year batting .280 with 12 doubles, 14 homers and 57 RBIs in just 250 at bats. In his 325 at bats on the road, Jones only batted .203 with five home runs. After his trade to the Sox, his home run total led the team from that day forward. Sam Mele played in 123 games, mostly in right field. He hit .302 with 12 homers and 73 RBIs. Bobby Doerr had a down year with a .258 BA. Overall the offense scored 72 fewer runs than the year before. Tex Hughson and Dave Ferriss each finished with a 21-11 record and Mickey Harris could only manage five wins in 51 2/3 innings of work. None would every win more than seven games again. For years the question of whether they were overused the year before, be the reason they were all hurt in 1947. Joe Dobson, the Sox only healthy pitcher of their big four starters, was their ace. He was the only one who had a good year with an 18-8 record and a 2.95 ERA. Denny Galehouse had a terrific season after coming to the Red Sox. Over three months in 21 games, he was 11-7 with a 3.32 ERA. Earl Johnson finished the year with a 12-11 record and a 2.97 ERA in 45 games, including 17 starts. Harry Dorish appeared in 41 games and finished with 7-8 record, starting nine games. The day after the season ended, Joe Cronin moved upstairs to replace Eddie Collins as the General Manager. He hired Joe McCarthy was hired to manage the Sox in 1948.
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