MVP Profile: Jackie Robinson, 1949

Second Baseman, Brooklyn Dodgers

Age:  30

3^rd season with Dodgers

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’11” Weight: 195 

Prior to 1949:

Born in Georgia, Jack Roosevelt Robinson moved with his family to Pasadena, California in 1920. Growing up in a predominantly white neighborhood, Robinson was often harassed and got into fights with white boys and had some early encounters with the police. He and his brother Mack distinguished themselves as athletes early on, with Mack going on to participate in the 1936 Olympics. Jackie also excelled in track, football, and basketball, as well as baseball at Muir Technical High School. After graduating and moving on to Pasadena Junior College, Robinson enrolled at UCLA in 1939 where he continued to be a multi-sport star. In football, he teamed up with halfback Kenny Washington, who would go on to break the National Football League’s color line with the Rams in 1946. In track, he was the NCAA champion in the long jump. Robinson twice topped the Pacific Coast Conference in scoring in basketball. He played shortstop on the baseball team. Robinson dropped out of college during his senior year due to financial issues and played minor league football with the Los Angeles Bulldogs of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League. He also played for the Honolulu Bears in 1941. Popular in the African-American community for his sports exploits, Robinson was drafted into the Army in 1942, where he became an officer and faced court martial for refusing to move to the back of a bus when ordered to by a driver. Acquitted at trial, he was honorably discharged from the Army in 1944. Joining the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League in 1945, Robinson was scouted by the Dodgers, whose president and GM, Branch Rickey was quietly seeking players to break organized baseball’s color line. As a shortstop, there were questions as to his having the throwing ability to play the position in the major leagues. Otherwise, his background and ability were good fits from Rickey’s standpoint. Following the ’45 season and a meeting with Rickey, who insisted that the naturally combative Robinson would need to resist the urge to respond to racial abuse, it was announced that he had signed to play for Brooklyn’s top minor league team, the Montreal Royals of the International League. With Montreal in 1946, he led the league by batting .349 and scoring 113 runs. He further stole 40 bases and proved to be an able fielder at second base. Blocked at second base by Eddie Stanky, a capable veteran, with the Dodgers, Robinson was shifted to first base to make his historic debut with Brooklyn in 1947. A 42-31 first half allowed Robinson, who batted .310 with a .399 on-base percentage, to win over any recalcitrant teammates. Brooklyn won the NL pennant as Robinson finished the season at .297 with a .383 OBP, 31 doubles, 5 triples, 12 home runs, 125 runs scored, 48 RBIs, and a league-leading 29 stolen bases. He received Rookie of the Year recognition in addition to placing fifth in league MVP voting. Robinson was at second base in 1948 due to Eddie Stanky being dealt to the Braves. Overcoming a slow start at the plate he batted .296 with 38 doubles, 8 triples, 12 home runs, 85 RBIs, and 108 runs scored. Aggressive on the base paths and able to resist the barbs from opposing bench jockeys while also being the recipient of numorous inside pitches he made the “Great Experiment” of integration a success and paved the way for other black players.

1949 Season Summary

Appeared in 156 games

2B – 156

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 704 [4]

At Bats – 593 [10]

Runs – 122 [3]

Hits – 203 [2]

Doubles – 38 [3, tied with Grady Hatton]

Triples – 12 [3]

Home Runs – 16 [18, tied with Pee Wee Reese]

RBI – 124 [2]

Bases on Balls – 86 [7]

Int. BB – 12 [3, tied with Ralph Kiner & Gil Hodges]

Strikeouts – 27

Stolen Bases – 37 [1]

Caught Stealing – 16 [1]

Average - .342 [1]

OBP - .432 [2, tied with Ralph Kiner]

Slugging Pct. - .528 [3]

Total Bases – 313 [5]

GDP – 22 [2]

Hit by Pitches – 8 [2, tied with Elbie Fletcher]

Sac Hits – 17 [1, tied with Marty Marion]

Sac Flies – N/A

League-leading stolen bases were +11 ahead of runner-up Pee Wee Reese

League-leading times caught stealing were +4 ahead of runner-up Johnny Hopp

League-leading batting average was +.004 ahead of runner-up Stan Musial

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 20, 3B – 6, HR – 8, RBI - 65, SB – 20, AVG - .362, OBP - .430, SLG – .544

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Most hits, game – 3 on eighteen occasions

Longest hitting streak – 11 games

Most HR, game – 2 (in 4 AB) at Pittsburgh 5/24

HR at home – 8

HR on road – 8

Multi-HR games – 1

Most RBIs, game – 6 at St. Louis Cards 5/21

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding

Chances – 832

Put Outs – 395

Assists – 421

Errors – 16

DP - 119

Pct. – .981 

Postseason Batting: 5 G (World Series vs. NY Yankees)

PA – 21, AB – 16, R – 2, H – 3, 2B – 1,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 2, BB – 4, IBB – 0, SO – 2, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .188, OBP - .350, SLG - .250, TB – 4, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 1, SF – N/A

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: BBWAA

All-Star (Started for NL at 2B)

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Jackie Robinson, Brook.: 264 points – 12 of 24 first place votes, 79% share

Stan Musial, StLC: 226 points – 5 first place votes, 67% share

Enos Slaughter, StLC: 181 points – 2 first place votes, 54% share

Ralph Kiner, Pitt.: 133 points – 40% share

Pee Wee Reese, Brook.: 118 points – 2 first place votes, 35% share

(2 first place votes cast for Carl Furillo, Brook., who ranked sixth & 1 first place vote cast for Ken Heintzelman, PhilaP., who ranked ninth)

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The Dodgers went 97-57 to win the NL pennant by 1 game over the St. Louis Cardinals while leading the league in runs scored (879), home runs (152), RBIs (816), stolen bases (117), OBP (.354), slugging (.419), and total bases (2263). In a tight race with the Cardinals down the stretch, the Dodgers were a game-and-a-half behind St. Louis on Sept. 25. Winning their last four games on the road including a 10-inning 9-7 victory over the Phillies in the season finale allowed them to win the pennant by just a single game. Lost the World Series to the New York Yankees, 4 games to 1. 

Aftermath of 1949:

The Dodgers were close second-place finishers in 1950 as Robinson batted .328 with 39 doubles, 4 triples, 14 home runs, 81 RBIs, and 99 runs scored along with 12 stolen bases (in 17 attempts), a .423 OBP, and a .500 slugging percentage. He placed fifteenth in league MVP voting. Esteemed for his competitive fire as well as his batting and fielding skills, Robinson was impressive again in 1951 as he hit .338 with 33 doubles, 7 triples, 19 home runs, and 88 RBIs as well as 106 runs scored, a .429 on-base percentage, and a .527 slugging percentage. The Dodgers led comfortably for most of the season until the arch-rival New York Giants came from behind to overtake them. Robinson’s late-season heroics helped Brooklyn to tie the Giants atop the NL standings and force a season-extending best-of-three playoff that the Giants won with a walk-off home run by Bobby Thomson. Robinson placed sixth in league MVP balloting. Brooklyn won the NL pennant in 1952 and Robinson contributed a .308 batting average and league-best .440 OBP, helped along by drawing 106 walks. He also hit 19 home runs and drove in 75 RBIs while stealing 24 bases and scoring 104 runs. He finished seventh in MVP voting. Having developed into a fine defensive second baseman, in 1953 Robinson agreed to a position switch to accommodate the arrival of rookie second sacker Jim Gilliam. Playing primarily in left field and third base, Robinson batted .329 with 34 doubles, 7 triples, 12 home runs, 95 RBIs, 17 stolen bases, a .424 OBP, and a .502 slugging percentage. He had one last All-Star season in 1954, hitting .311 with 15 home runs, 59 RBIs, a .413 OBP, and a .505 slugging percentage, as age and injuries cost him 30 games. Defensively, he still split most of his time between left field and third base. In 1955, as the Dodgers won their first World Series title, Robinson had a mediocre season as his average dropped to .256 with 8 home runs and 36 RBIs. Robinson played one more year for the Dodgers in 1956, batting .275 with 10 home runs and 43 RBIs. In the offseason, the Dodgers engineered a trade with the Giants, but Robinson announced his retirement instead in an article in Look magazine. For his major league career, including his Negro League season, he batted .313 with 1563 hits that included 286 doubles, 55 triples, and 141 home runs. He scored 972 runs and compiled 761 RBIs, 200 stolen bases, a .410 OBP, and a .477 slugging percentage. With the Dodgers his totals were .311, with 1518 hits, 273 doubles, 54 triples, 137 home runs, 947 runs scored, 734 RBIs, 197 stolen bases, a .409 OBP, and a .474 slugging percentage. Appearing in 38 World Series games with the Dodgers, he hit .234 with 2 home runs, 12 RBIs, and 6 RBIs, while drawing 21 walks (including 5 in his last World Series in 1956). As part of his 6 World Series stolen bases, he stole home once in the 1955 Series. He stole home 19 times during regular season play. A six-time National League All-Star, Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. Prior to the end of his playing career, Robinson had already hosted a radio program, authored a weekly newspaper column, and portrayed himself in the first movie version of his life, “The Jackie Robinson Story”. Afterward he remained active and outspoken in the civil rights movement until his death from the effects of diabetes in 1972 at age 53. The Dodgers had already retired his #42, and major league baseball retired his number for all teams in 1997. A courageous, determined, proud, and dynamic pioneer, he paved the way for players of color who have followed.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.