1948 Major League Baseball season
| 1948 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Number of games | 154 |
| Number of teams | 16 (8 per league) |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | AL: Lou Boudreau (CLE) NL: Stan Musial (SLC) |
| AL champions | Cleveland Indians |
| AL runners-up | Boston Red Sox |
| NL champions | Boston Braves |
| NL runners-up | St. Louis Cardinals |
| World Series | |
| Champions | Cleveland Indians |
| Runners-up | Boston Braves |
The 1948 major league baseball season began on April 19, 1948. The regular season ended on October 4, with the Boston Braves and Cleveland Indians as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The Indians won the American League title via a tie-breaker game victory over the Boston Red Sox, after both teams finished their 154-game schedules with identical 96–58 records. This was the second regular season tie-breaker, and saw a change from the previous three-game format to that of a single-game, Game 163. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 45th World Series on October 6 and ended with Game 6 on October 11. The Indians defeated the Braves, four games to two, capturing their second championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1920. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the New York Yankees from the 1947 season.
The 15th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 13 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, Missouri, hosted by the St. Louis Browns. The American League won, 5–2, for their third straight win.
The 1948 season is notable as being the final season of any Negro League holding major-league status, as per MLB's 2020 designation of Negro Leagues. It would be the final season of the Negro National League, while the Negro American League would continue as a minor-league until it ceased play after the 1962 season.