The Boston Braves won the pennant, but lost to Cleveland in the World Series. Still, it was a good year for the Braves; it was their first pennant since 1914. It was also the last they would ever win; in 1953, the franchise shifted to Milwaukee, a year before Hank Aaron joined the team.
        The Braves had some pretty good hitters this year, but they were most famous for a pair of pitchers. Warren Spahn was a lefty, one of the best ever. Johnny Sain was a righty, and a pretty good pitcher in his own right. They started as many of the Braves' games as they could; the team motto was "Spahn and Sain and then pray for rain". This year, Spahn had an off-year; but Sain was outstanding.

         Sain had the best year of his career. He led all pitchers in the MVP vote, finishing in second place behind Stan Musial. This was his third straight year with at least 20 wins; he also pitched brilliantly in the World Series, giving up only 2 runs in 17 innings. Sain was 31 years old by year's end; he had an off year in 1949, then recovered to win 20 games in 1950. After his starting days were over, Sain found success as a reliever with the Yankees; he led the AL with 22 saves in 1954. Sain finished his career with 139 wins, and later was an outstanding pitching coach for over 25 years.
        Harry Brecheen also had his best year. Brecheen was a wonderful pitcher who never had a bad season; he pitched for 12 years, and every one was a good one. "Harry The Cat" didn't emerge as a regular until 1944, when he was 29 years old; he was also a brilliant playoff pitcher, and is famous for winning 3 games in the 1946 World Series. Despite the late start to his career, Brecheen won 133 games.
        The next best pitchers in the league were two relatively unknown hurlers, Johnny Schmitz and Rex Barney. Schmitz was a good pitcher who was nicknamed "Bear Tracks". Schmitz was often plagued by bad luck; he had the misfortune to pitch for the Cubs during one of their lousier periods. Barney didn't reach the majors until he was 28 years old, and won only 35 games his entire career. He was always tough to hit, but his control was usually awful. This was his best season.