1945 Major League Baseball season

Last updated

1945 MLB season
League American League (AL)
National League (NL)
Sport Baseball
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 MVP AL: Hal Newhouser (DET)
NL: Phil Cavarretta (CHC)
AL champions Detroit Tigers
  AL runners-up Washington Senators
NL champions Chicago Cubs
  NL runners-up St. Louis Cardinals
World Series
Champions Detroit Tigers
  Runners-up Chicago Cubs
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 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. In the fourth iteration of this World Series matchup, the Tigers defeated the Cubs, four games to three, capturing their second championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1935. It would prove to be the Cubs' last appearance in a World Series until the 2016 World Series.

Contents

The scheduled 13th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, to be hosted by the Boston Red Sox, was cancelled due to wartime travel restrictions in World War II. The Red Sox would host the following year.

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

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

LeagueTeamCityStadiumCapacityManager
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

American League

American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Detroit Tigers 8865.575—50‍–‍2638‍–‍39
Washington Senators 8767.5651½46‍–‍3141‍–‍36
St. Louis Browns 8170.536647‍–‍2734‍–‍43
New York Yankees 8171.5336½48‍–‍2833‍–‍43
Cleveland Indians 7372.5031144‍–‍3329‍–‍39
Chicago White Sox 7178.4771544‍–‍2927‍–‍49
Boston Red Sox 7183.46117½42‍–‍3529‍–‍48
Philadelphia Athletics 5298.34734½39‍–‍3513‍–‍63

National League

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Chicago Cubs 9856.636—49‍–‍2649‍–‍30
St. Louis Cardinals 9559.617348‍–‍2947‍–‍30
Brooklyn Dodgers 8767.5651148‍–‍3039‍–‍37
Pittsburgh Pirates 8272.5321645‍–‍3437‍–‍38
New York Giants 7874.5131947‍–‍3031‍–‍44
Boston Braves 6785.4413036‍–‍3831‍–‍47
Cincinnati Reds 6193.3963736‍–‍4125‍–‍52
Philadelphia Phillies 46108.2995222‍–‍5524‍–‍53

Postseason

Bracket

World Series
   
AL Detroit Tigers 4
NL Chicago Cubs 3

Managerial changes

In-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
Boston Braves Bob Coleman Del Bissonette
Philadelphia Phillies Freddie Fitzsimmons Ben Chapman

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Snuffy Stirnweiss (NYY).309
OPS Snuffy Stirnweiss (NYY).862
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
StatPlayerTotal
W Hal Newhouser 1 (DET)25
L Bobo Newsom (PHA)20
ERA Hal Newhouser 1 (DET)1.81
K Hal Newhouser 1 (DET)212
IP Hal Newhouser (DET)313.1
SV Jim Turner (NYY)10
WHIP Roger Wolff (WSH)1.012

1 American League Triple Crown pitching winner

National League

Hitting leaders
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Phil Cavarretta (CHC).355
OPS Tommy Holmes (BSB).997
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
StatPlayerTotal
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
WHIP Ray Prim (CHC)0.998

Awards and honors

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]

Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA AwardNational LeagueAmerican League
Most Valuable Player Phil Cavarretta (CHC) Hal Newhouser (DET)

Other awards

The Sporting News Awards
AwardNational LeagueAmerican League
Most Valuable Player [4] Tommy Holmes (BSB) Eddie Mayo (DET)
Player of the Year [5] — Hal Newhouser (DET)
Pitcher of the Year [6] Hank Borowy (CHC) Hal Newhouser (DET)
Manager of the Year [7] — Ossie Bluege (WSH)
Executive of the Year [8] Philip K. Wrigley (CHC)—

Baseball Hall of Fame

[9]

Home field attendance

Team nameWins%±Home attendance%±Per game
Detroit Tigers [10] 880.0%1,280,34138.7%16,847
Brooklyn Dodgers [11] 8738.1%1,059,22074.8%13,580
Chicago Cubs [12] 9830.7%1,036,38661.9%13,637
New York Giants [13] 7816.4%1,016,46850.7%13,032
New York Yankees [14] 81−2.4%881,84511.6%11,603
Chicago White Sox [15] 710.0%657,98116.8%8,892
Washington Senators [16] 8735.9%652,66024.3%8,367
Pittsburgh Pirates [17] 82−8.9%604,6940.1%7,654
Boston Red Sox [18] 71−7.8%603,79419.1%7,741
St. Louis Cardinals [19] 95−9.5%594,63028.7%7,623
Cleveland Indians [20] 731.4%558,18217.4%7,249
St. Louis Browns [21] 81−9.0%482,986−5.0%6,355
Philadelphia Athletics [22] 52−27.8%462,631−8.4%6,008
Boston Braves [23] 673.1%374,17879.3%4,989
Cincinnati Reds [24] 61−31.5%290,070−29.2%3,767
Philadelphia Phillies [25] 46−24.6%285,057−22.9%3,702

Events

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "1945 Awards Voting | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "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. ↑ "Most Valuable Player Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Pitcher of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  8. ↑ "MLB Executive of the Year Award | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  9. ↑ "MLB Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Chicago Cubs 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. ↑ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  19. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Atlanta Braves 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.
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