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1945 Major League Baseball season

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This article is about the 1945 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1945 in baseball.
1945 MLB season
LeagueAmerican League (AL)
National League (NL)
SportBaseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 17 – September 30, 1945
World Series:
  • October 3–10, 1945
Number of games154
Number of teams16 (8 per league)
Regular season
Season MVPAL: Hal Newhouser (DET)
NL: Phil Cavarretta (CHC)
AL championsDetroit Tigers
  AL runners-upWashington Senators
NL championsChicago Cubs
  NL runners-upSt. Louis Cardinals
World Series
ChampionsDetroit Tigers
  Runners-upChicago Cubs
MLB seasons
Locations of teams for the 1942–1953 American League seasons
American League
Locations of teams for the 1943–1952 National League seasons
National League

The 1945 major league baseball season began on April 17, 1945. The regular season ended on September 30, with the Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 42nd World Series on October 3 and ended with Game 7 on October 10. The Tigers defeated the Cubs, four games to three. It would prove to be the Cubs' last appearance in a World Series until the 2016 World Series.

The scheduled 13th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was cancelled due to wartime travel restrictions in World War II.

Schedule

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See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1945 schedule consisted of 154 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 22 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place since the 1904 season (except for 1919) and would be used until 1961 in the American League and 1962 in the National League.

Opening Day took place on April 17, featuring all sixteen teams, the first since the 1942 season. The final day of the regular season was on September 30, which saw fourteen teams play. In a scheduling oddity, the Washington Senators of the AL saw their season finish a week earlier on September 23, partly due to World War II travel restrictions, but also the need to convert Griffith Stadium's playing field to host its autumn football tenants, the NFL Washington Redskins and Georgetown University. The World Series took place between October 3 and October 10.

Teams

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An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at

League Team City Stadium Capacity Manager
American League Boston Red Sox Boston, Massachusetts Fenway Park 35,000 Joe Cronin
Chicago White Sox Chicago, Illinois Comiskey Park 50,000 Jimmy Dykes
Cleveland Indians Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland Stadium
League Park* 		78,811
22,500* 		Lou Boudreau
Detroit Tigers Detroit, Michigan Briggs Stadium 58,000 Steve O'Neill
New York Yankees New York, New York Yankee Stadium 70,000 Joe McCarthy
Philadelphia Athletics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 33,000 Connie Mack
St. Louis Browns St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 34,023 Luke Sewell
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. Griffith Stadium 32,000 Ossie Bluege
National League Boston Braves Boston, Massachusetts Braves Field 37,746 Bob Coleman, Del Bissonette
Brooklyn Dodgers New York, New York Ebbets Field 35,000 Leo Durocher
Chicago Cubs Chicago, Illinois Wrigley Field 38,396 Charlie Grimm
Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati, Ohio Crosley Field 29,401 Bill McKechnie
New York Giants New York, New York Polo Grounds 56,000 Mel Ott
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 33,000 Freddie Fitzsimmons, Ben Chapman
Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Forbes Field 33,467 Frankie Frisch
St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 34,023 Billy Southworth

Standings

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American League

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American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Detroit Tigers 88 65 .575 — 50‍–‍26 38‍–‍39
Washington Senators 87 67 .565 1½ 46‍–‍31 41‍–‍36
St. Louis Browns 81 70 .536 6 47‍–‍27 34‍–‍43
New York Yankees 81 71 .533 6½ 48‍–‍28 33‍–‍43
Cleveland Indians 73 72 .503 11 44‍–‍33 29‍–‍39
Chicago White Sox 71 78 .477 15 44‍–‍29 27‍–‍49
Boston Red Sox 71 83 .461 17½ 42‍–‍35 29‍–‍48
Philadelphia Athletics 52 98 .347 34½ 39‍–‍35 13‍–‍63

National League

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National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Chicago Cubs 98 56 .636 — 49‍–‍26 49‍–‍30
St. Louis Cardinals 95 59 .617 3 48‍–‍29 47‍–‍30
Brooklyn Dodgers 87 67 .565 11 48‍–‍30 39‍–‍37
Pittsburgh Pirates 82 72 .532 16 45‍–‍34 37‍–‍38
New York Giants 78 74 .513 19 47‍–‍30 31‍–‍44
Boston Braves 67 85 .441 30 36‍–‍38 31‍–‍47
Cincinnati Reds 61 93 .396 37 36‍–‍41 25‍–‍52
Philadelphia Phillies 46 108 .299 52 22‍–‍55 24‍–‍53

Postseason

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Bracket

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World Series
   
AL Detroit Tigers 4
NL Chicago Cubs 3

Managerial changes

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In-season

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Team Former Manager New Manager
Boston Braves Bob Coleman Del Bissonette
Philadelphia Phillies Freddie Fitzsimmons Ben Chapman

League leaders

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American League

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Hitting leaders
Stat Player Total
AVG Snuffy Stirnweiss (NYY) .309
HR Vern Stephens (SLB) 24
RBI Nick Etten (NYY) 111
R Snuffy Stirnweiss (NYY) 107
H Snuffy Stirnweiss (NYY) 195
SB Snuffy Stirnweiss (NYY) 33
Pitching leaders
Stat Player Total
W Hal Newhouser1 (DET) 25
L Bobo Newsom (PHA) 20
ERA Hal Newhouser1 (DET) 1.81
K Hal Newhouser1 (DET) 212
IP Hal Newhouser (DET) 313.1
SV Jim Turner (NYY) 10

1 American League Triple Crown pitching winner

National League

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Hitting leaders
Stat Player Total
AVG Phil Cavarretta (CHC) .355
HR Tommy Holmes (BSB) 28
RBI Dixie Walker (BKN) 124
R Eddie Stanky (BKN) 124
H Tommy Holmes (BSB) 224
SB Red Schoendienst (SLC) 26
Pitching leaders
Stat Player Total
W Red Barrett (SLC/BSB) 23
L Dick Barrett (PHP) 20
ERA Ray Prim (CHC) 2.40
K Preacher Roe (PIT) 148
IP Red Barrett (SLC/BSB) 284.2
SV Ace Adams (NYG)
Andy Karl (PHP)		 15

Awards and honors

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The Sporting News Most Valuable Player Award went to Detroit Tigers third baseman Eddie Mayo; however, following a post-season vote, the official AL MVP Award was given to fellow Detroit Tiger Hal Newhouser, a pitcher.[1] Newhouser ended the season with an ERA of 1.81, a record of 25 wins and 9 losses, and 212 strikeouts.[1] Both of them helped lead the Detroit Tigers to a World Series win, and Newhouser remarked that Eddie Mayo was the driving force behind the 1945 pennant chase and that Mayo was a "take-charge kind of guy in our field."[citation needed]

The NL Most Valuable Player Award went to Chicago Cubs first baseman and outfielder Phil Cavarretta.[2] He ended the season with an impressive batting average of .355 and an on-base-percentage of .455.[3] The second-place finisher was Boston Braves player Tommy Holmes who finished the season with a batting average of .352 and an impressive slugging percentage of .577.[2]

Home field attendance

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Team name Wins %± Home attendance %± Per game
Detroit Tigers[5] 88 0.0% 1,280,341 38.7% 16,847
Brooklyn Dodgers[6] 87 38.1% 1,059,220 74.8% 13,580
Chicago Cubs[7] 98 30.7% 1,036,386 61.9% 13,637
New York Giants[8] 78 16.4% 1,016,468 50.7% 13,032
New York Yankees[9] 81 −2.4% 881,845 11.6% 11,603
Chicago White Sox[10] 71 0.0% 657,981 16.8% 8,892
Washington Senators[11] 87 35.9% 652,660 24.3% 8,367
Pittsburgh Pirates[12] 82 −8.9% 604,694 0.1% 7,654
Boston Red Sox[13] 71 −7.8% 603,794 19.1% 7,741
St. Louis Cardinals[14] 95 −9.5% 594,630 28.7% 7,623
Cleveland Indians[15] 73 1.4% 558,182 17.4% 7,249
St. Louis Browns[16] 81 −9.0% 482,986 −5.0% 6,355
Philadelphia Athletics[17] 52 −27.8% 462,631 −8.4% 6,008
Boston Braves[18] 67 3.1% 374,178 79.3% 4,989
Cincinnati Reds[19] 61 −31.5% 290,070 −29.2% 3,767
Philadelphia Phillies[20] 46 −24.6% 285,057 −22.9% 3,702

Events

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  • On April 17, Pete Gray became the first (and so far, only) one-armed man to ever play in the Major Leagues. He batted .218 in 77 games with the St. Louis Browns.
  • This season would be the last World Series appearance for the Chicago Cubs until 2016.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "1945 Awards Voting | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Tommy Holmes Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  3. ^ "Phil Cavarretta Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  4. ^ "MLB Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  5. ^ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  6. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  7. ^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  8. ^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  9. ^ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  10. ^ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  11. ^ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  12. ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  13. ^ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  14. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  15. ^ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  16. ^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  17. ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  18. ^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  19. ^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  20. ^ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
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