1944 Major League Baseball season

Last updated

1944 MLB season
League American League (AL)
National League (NL)
Sport Baseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 18 – October 1, 1944
World Series:
  • October 4–9, 1944
Number of games154
Number of teams16 (8 per league)
Regular season
Season MVP AL: Hal Newhouser (DET)
NL: Marty Marion (SLC)
AL champions St. Louis Browns
  AL runners-up Detroit Tigers
NL champions St. Louis Cardinals
  NL runners-up Pittsburgh Pirates
World Series
Champions St. Louis Cardinals
  Runners-up St. Louis Browns
MLB seasons
Locations of teams for the 1942–1953 American League seasons
ButtonRed.svg American League
Locations of teams for the 1943–1952 National League seasons
ButtonBlue.svg National League

The 1944 major league baseball season began on April 18, 1944. The regular season ended on October 1, with the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. In an all-St. Louis postseason, the postseason began with Game 1 of the 41st World Series on October 4 and ended with Game 6 on October 9. The Cardinals defeated the Browns, four games to two, capturing their fifth championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1942. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the New York Yankees from the 1943 season.

Contents

The 12th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 11 at the Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The National League won, 7–1.

Schedule

The 1944 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 18, featuring fourteen teams. The final day of the regular season was on October 1, which saw all sixteen teams play, continuing the trend since the previous season. The World Series took place between October 4 and October 9.

Teams

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

LeagueTeamCityStadiumCapacityManager [1]
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 78,811 Lou Boudreau
League Park*22,500*
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
Brooklyn Dodgers New York, New York Ebbets Field 35,000 Leo Durocher
Chicago Cubs Chicago, Illinois Wrigley Field 38,396 Jimmie Wilson
Roy Johnson
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
Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Forbes Field 33,467 Frankie Frisch
St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 34,023 Billy Southworth

Standings

American League

American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
St. Louis Browns 8965.578—54‍–‍2335‍–‍42
Detroit Tigers 8866.571143‍–‍3445‍–‍32
New York Yankees 8371.539647‍–‍3136‍–‍40
Boston Red Sox 7777.5001247‍–‍3030‍–‍47
Cleveland Indians 7282.4681739‍–‍3833‍–‍44
Philadelphia Athletics 7282.4681739‍–‍3733‍–‍45
Chicago White Sox 7183.4611841‍–‍3630‍–‍47
Washington Senators 6490.4162540‍–‍3724‍–‍53

National League

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
St. Louis Cardinals 10549.682—54‍–‍2251‍–‍27
Pittsburgh Pirates 9063.58814½49‍–‍2841‍–‍35
Cincinnati Reds 8965.5781645‍–‍3344‍–‍32
Chicago Cubs 7579.4873035‍–‍4240‍–‍37
New York Giants 6787.4353839‍–‍3628‍–‍51
Boston Braves 6589.4224038‍–‍4027‍–‍49
Brooklyn Dodgers 6391.4094237‍–‍3926‍–‍52
Philadelphia Phillies 6192.39943½29‍–‍4932‍–‍43

Postseason

The postseason began on October 4 and ended on October 9 with the St. Louis Cardinals defeating the St. Louis Browns in the 1944 World Series in six games.

Bracket

World Series
   
AL St. Louis Browns 2
NL St. Louis Cardinals 4

Managerial changes

In-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
Chicago Cubs Jimmie Wilson Roy Johnson
Roy Johnson Charlie Grimm

League leaders

American League

National League

Hitting leaders [4]
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Dixie Walker (BKN).357
OPS Stan Musial (SLC).990
HR Bill Nicholson (CHC)33
RBI Bill Nicholson (CHC)122
R Bill Nicholson (CHC)116
H Phil Cavarretta (CHC)
Stan Musial (SLC)		197
SB Johnny Barrett (PIT)28
Pitching leaders [5]
StatPlayerTotal
W Bucky Walters (CIN)23
L Ken Raffensberger (PHP)20
ERA Ed Heusser (CIN)2.38
K Bill Voiselle (NYG)161
IP Bill Voiselle (NYG)312.2
SV Ace Adams (NYG)13
WHIP Ted Wilks (SLC)1.069

Awards and honors

Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA AwardNational LeagueAmerican League
Most Valuable Player Marty Marion (SLC) Hal Newhouser (DET)

Other awards

The Sporting News Awards
AwardNational LeagueAmerican League
Most Valuable Player [6] Marty Marion (SLC) Bobby Doerr (BRS)
Player of the Year [7] Marty Marion (SLC)—
Pitcher of the Year [8] Bill Voiselle (NYG) Hal Newhouser (DET)
Manager of the Year [9] — Luke Sewell (SLB)
Executive of the Year [10] — Bill DeWitt (SLB)

Baseball Hall of Fame

Home field attendance

Team nameWins%±Home attendance%±Per game
Detroit Tigers [11] 8812.8%923,17652.3%11,836
New York Yankees [12] 83−15.3%789,99527.8%10,128
New York Giants [13] 6721.8%674,48344.7%8,993
Chicago Cubs [14] 751.4%640,11025.9%8,207
Brooklyn Dodgers [15] 63−22.2%605,905−8.4%7,869
Pittsburgh Pirates [16] 9012.5%604,27821.2%7,460
Chicago White Sox [17] 71−13.4%563,53910.7%7,319
Washington Senators [18] 64−23.8%525,235−8.6%6,821
St. Louis Browns [19] 8923.6%508,644137.2%6,606
Boston Red Sox [20] 7713.2%506,97541.5%6,500
Philadelphia Athletics [21] 7246.9%505,32234.1%6,649
Cleveland Indians [22] 72−12.2%475,2728.3%6,093
St. Louis Cardinals [23] 1050.0%461,968−10.7%6,000
Cincinnati Reds [24] 892.3%409,5678.0%5,251
Philadelphia Phillies [25] 61−4.7%369,586−20.9%4,678
Boston Braves [26] 65−4.4%208,691−23.1%2,676

Retired numbers

See also

References

  1. ↑ "1944 Major League Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  2. ↑ "1944 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  3. ↑ "1944 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  4. ↑ "1944 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  5. ↑ "1944 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Most Valuable Player Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Pitcher of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  10. ↑ "MLB Executive of the Year Award | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  12. ↑ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  13. ↑ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  23. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  24. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
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