at second base, and that knocked me out of the lineup for a couple of weeks," Sisti said. "Dark went in, and he didn't do too well. Then I went in and I didn't do too well, so they put Dark back in. This time he clicked, and he stayed there the rest of the year." In just his second game of the year, the second half of a doubleheader against the New York Giants, Dark had a season-high three RBI despite not entering the game until the third inning. By June, Dark and second baseman Eddie Stanky were showing their skill at turning double plays together. From June 20 through July 11, Dark had a 23-game hitting streak, three short of Guy Curtright's record for rookies. During that streak, he hit his first major league home run, against Elmer Singleton in a 12–3 win over the Pirates. In his first full major league season, Dark ranked among the NL leaders in batting average (.322, fourth), hits (175, fifth), and doubles (39, third behind Stan Musial's 46 and Del Ennis's 40). He scored 85 runs, hit three home runs, and had 48 RBI. Dark was named the MLB Rookie of the Year in 1948, the second winner of the award (after Jackie Robinson) and the last winner before the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) started giving separate awards for the best rookie in the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). Dark also finished third in MLB MVP voting in 1948 after playing a vital part of the Braves' run to the pennant, their first since 1914. He struggled in the World Series, though, hitting only .167 as the Braves dropped the World Series to the Cleveland Indians, four games to two. In Game 3, he committed an error that allowed Gene Bearden to score the first run of the game in a 2–0 loss to the Indians. Dark remained the Braves' starting shortstop in 1949. He had four hits on May 13 in a 10-inning, 6–5 win over the Brooklyn Dodgers. On May 18 and May 21, he had three-RBI games, in a 13–9 loss to the Cincinnati Reds and an 8–2 victory over the Pirates. On July 9, he had to be carried off the field after being hit in the head by a throw from Granny Hamner, but he was not seriously injured. He had