1946 Major League Baseball season

Last updated

1946 MLB season
League American League (AL)
National League (NL)
Sport Baseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 16 – October 3, 1946
World Series:
  • October 6 – October 15, 1946
Number of games154
Number of teams16 (8 per league)
Regular season
Season MVP AL: Ted Williams (BSR)
NL: Stan Musial (SLC)
AL champions Boston Red Sox
  AL runners-up Detroit Tigers
NL champions St. Louis Cardinals
  NL runners-up Brooklyn Dodgers
World Series
Champions St. Louis Cardinals
  Runners-up Boston Red Sox
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 1946 major league baseball season began on April 16, 1946. The regular season ended on October 3, with the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The Cardinals defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers in a regular season best-of-three tiebreaker, for the National League title. It was Major League Baseball's first-ever regular season tie-breaker. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 43rd World Series on October 6 and ended with Game 7 on October 15. The Cardinals defeated the Red Sox, four games to three.

Contents

The 13th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played on July 9, hosted by the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, with the American League winning, 12–0.

Many notable ballplayers returned from their military service this season, following the end of World War II, such as Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, and Ted Williams.

This was the last MLB season to be played under the color barrier, as Jackie Robinson would make his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers to start the following baseball season.

Schedule

The 1946 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 16, featuring all sixteen teams, continuing the trend from the previous season. The final day of the scheduled regular season was on September 29, which saw all sixteen teams play, the first time since 1944. Due to the Brooklyn Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals finishing with the same record of 96–58, a best-of-three tie-breaker was scheduled, to be considered an extension of the regular season. The Cardinals swept the series in two games, on October 1 & 3. The World Series took place between October 6 and October 15.

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, Ted Lyons
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, Bill Dickey, Johnny Neun
Philadelphia Athletics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 33,000 Connie Mack
St. Louis Browns St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 34,023 Luke Sewell, Zack Taylor
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. Griffith Stadium 32,000 Ossie Bluege
National League Boston Braves Boston, Massachusetts Braves Field 37,746 Billy Southworth
Brooklyn Dodgers New York, New York Ebbets Field 34,219 Leo Durocher
Chicago Cubs Chicago, Illinois Wrigley Field 38,396 Charlie Grimm
Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati, Ohio Crosley Field 29,401 Bill McKechnie, Hank Gowdy
New York Giants New York, New York Polo Grounds 56,000 Mel Ott
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 33,000 Ben Chapman
Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Forbes Field 33,467 Frankie Frisch, Spud Davis
St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 34,023 Eddie Dyer

Standings

American League

American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Boston Red Sox 10450.675—61‍–‍1643‍–‍34
Detroit Tigers 9262.5971248‍–‍3044‍–‍32
New York Yankees 8767.5651747‍–‍3040‍–‍37
Washington Senators 7678.4942838‍–‍3838‍–‍40
Chicago White Sox 7480.4813040‍–‍3834‍–‍42
Cleveland Indians 6886.4423636‍–‍4132‍–‍45
St. Louis Browns 6688.4293835‍–‍4131‍–‍47
Philadelphia Athletics 49105.3185531‍–‍4618‍–‍59

National League

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
St. Louis Cardinals 9858.628—49‍–‍2949‍–‍29
Brooklyn Dodgers 9660.615256‍–‍2240‍–‍38
Chicago Cubs 8271.53614½44‍–‍3338‍–‍38
Boston Braves 8172.52915½45‍–‍3136‍–‍41
Philadelphia Phillies 6985.4482841‍–‍3628‍–‍49
Cincinnati Reds 6787.4353035‍–‍4232‍–‍45
Pittsburgh Pirates 6391.4093437‍–‍4026‍–‍51
New York Giants 6193.3963638‍–‍3923‍–‍54

Postseason

Bracket

World Series
   
AL Boston Red Sox 3
NL St. Louis Cardinals 4

Managerial changes

Off-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
Boston Braves Del Bissonette Billy Southworth
St. Louis Cardinals Billy Southworth Eddie Dyer

In-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
Chicago White Sox Jimmy Dykes Ted Lyons
Cincinnati Reds Bill McKechnie Hank Gowdy
New York Yankees Joe McCarthy Bill Dickey
New York Yankees Bill Dickey Johnny Neun
Pittsburgh Pirates Frankie Frisch Spud Davis
St. Louis Browns Luke Sewell Zack Taylor

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Mickey Vernon (WSH).353
HR Hank Greenberg (DET)44
RBI Hank Greenberg (DET)127
R Ted Williams (BRS)142
H Johnny Pesky (BRS)208
SB George Case (CLE)28
Pitching leaders
StatPlayerTotal
W Bob Feller (CLE)
Hal Newhouser (DET)		26
L Dick Fowler (PHA)
Lou Knerr (PHA)
Phil Marchildon (PHA)		16
ERA Hal Newhouser (DET)1.94
K Bob Feller (CLE)348
IP Bob Feller (CLE)371.1
SV Bob Klinger (BRS)9

National League

Hitting leaders
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Stan Musial (SLC).365
HR Ralph Kiner (PIT)23
RBI Enos Slaughter (SLC)130
R Stan Musial (SLC)124
H Stan Musial (SLC)228
SB Pete Reiser (BKN)34
Pitching leaders
StatPlayerTotal
W Howie Pollet (SLC)21
L Dave Koslo (NYG)19
ERA Howie Pollet (SLC)2.10
K Johnny Schmitz (CHC)135
IP Howie Pollet (SLC)266.0
SV Ken Raffensberger (PHP)6

Awards and honors

Home field attendance

Team nameWins%±Home attendance%±Per game
New York Yankees [1] 877.4%2,265,512156.9%29,422
Brooklyn Dodgers [2] 9610.3%1,796,82469.6%22,745
Detroit Tigers [3] 924.5%1,722,59034.5%21,805
Boston Red Sox [4] 10446.5%1,416,944134.7%18,166
Chicago Cubs [5] 82-16.3%1,342,97029.6%17,441
New York Giants [6] 61-21.8%1,219,87320.0%15,843
St. Louis Cardinals [7] 983.2%1,061,80778.6%13,613
Cleveland Indians [8] 68-6.8%1,057,28989.4%13,731
Philadelphia Phillies [9] 6950.0%1,045,247266.7%13,401
Washington Senators [10] 76-12.6%1,027,21657.4%13,516
Chicago White Sox [11] 744.2%983,40349.5%12,448
Boston Braves [12] 8120.9%969,673159.1%12,593
Pittsburgh Pirates [13] 63-23.2%749,96224.0%9,615
Cincinnati Reds [14] 679.8%715,751146.8%9,295
Philadelphia Athletics [15] 49-5.8%621,79334.4%7,972
St. Louis Browns [16] 66-18.5%526,4359.0%6,837

Events

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  6. ↑ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  7. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Oakland Athletics 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. ↑ "Elias Says..." ESPN.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
  18. ↑ Pellowski, Michael J (2007). The Little Giant Book of Baseball Facts . United States: Sterling Publishing Co. pp.  352. ISBN   9781402742736.

Further reading

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