1946 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1946 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1946 in baseball.

1946 MLB season
League	American League (AL) National League (NL)
Sport	Baseball
Duration	Regular season: April 16 – September 29, 1946 (AL) April 16 – October 3, 1946 (NL) World Series: October 6–15, 1946
Number of games	154
Number of teams	16 (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
← 1945 1947 →

Red Sox

White Sox   

Indians

Tigers

Athletics

Browns

Yankees

Senators

Locations of teams for the 1942–1953 American League seasons
American League

Braves

Dodgers

Cubs

Reds

Giants

Phillies

Pirates

Cardinals

Locations of teams for the 1943–1952 National League seasons
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, after both teams finished their 154-game schedules with identical 96–58 records. 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, capturing their sixth championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1944.

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

See also: Major League Baseball 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

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
					Ted Lyons
	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
					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

• v
• t
• e

American League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Boston Red Sox	104	50	.675	—	61‍–‍16	43‍–‍34
Detroit Tigers	92	62	.597	12	48‍–‍30	44‍–‍32
New York Yankees	87	67	.565	17	47‍–‍30	40‍–‍37
Washington Senators	76	78	.494	28	38‍–‍38	38‍–‍40
Chicago White Sox	74	80	.481	30	40‍–‍38	34‍–‍42
Cleveland Indians	68	86	.442	36	36‍–‍41	32‍–‍45
St. Louis Browns	66	88	.429	38	35‍–‍41	31‍–‍47
Philadelphia Athletics	49	105	.318	55	31‍–‍46	18‍–‍59

National League

• v
• t
• e

National League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
St. Louis Cardinals	98	58	.628	—	49‍–‍29	49‍–‍29
Brooklyn Dodgers	96	60	.615	2	56‍–‍22	40‍–‍38
Chicago Cubs	82	71	.536	14½	44‍–‍33	38‍–‍38
Boston Braves	81	72	.529	15½	45‍–‍31	36‍–‍41
Philadelphia Phillies	69	85	.448	28	41‍–‍36	28‍–‍49
Cincinnati Reds	67	87	.435	30	35‍–‍42	32‍–‍45
Pittsburgh Pirates	63	91	.409	34	37‍–‍40	26‍–‍51
New York Giants	61	93	.396	36	38‍–‍39	23‍–‍54

• The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers in best-of-three playoff series to earn the National League pennant.

Postseason

Bracket

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

Managerial changes

Off-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Boston Braves	Del Bissonette	Billy Southworth
St. Louis Cardinals	Billy Southworth	Eddie Dyer

In-season

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

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Mickey Vernon (WSH)	.353
OPS	Ted Williams (BRS)	1.164
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

Stat	Player	Total
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
WHIP	Hal Newhouser (DET)	1.069

National League

Hitting leaders

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Stan Musial (SLC)	.365
OPS	Stan Musial (SLC)	1.021
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

Stat	Player	Total
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
WHIP	Mort Cooper (BSB)	1.106

Awards and honors

Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award	National League	American League
Most Valuable Player	Stan Musial (SLC)	Ted Williams (BRS)

Other awards

The Sporting News Awards
Award	National League	American League
Player of the Year [1]	Stan Musial (SLC)	—
Rookie of the Year [2]	Del Ennis (PHP)	—
Manager of the Year [3]	Eddie Dyer (SLC)	—
Executive of the Year [4]	—	Tom Yawkey (BRS)

Baseball Hall of Fame

Main article: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

• Jesse Burkett
• Frank Chance
• Jack Chesbro
• Johnny Evers
• Tommy McCarthy
• Joe McGinnity
• Eddie Plank
• Joe Tinker
• Rube Waddell
• Ed Walsh
• Clark Griffith (executive/pioneer contributor)

Further information: 1946 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting

Home field attendance

Team name	Wins	%±	Home attendance	%±	Per game
New York Yankees [5]	87	7.4%	2,265,512	156.9%	29,422
Brooklyn Dodgers [6]	96	10.3%	1,796,824	69.6%	22,745
Detroit Tigers [7]	92	4.5%	1,722,590	34.5%	21,805
Boston Red Sox [8]	104	46.5%	1,416,944	134.7%	18,166
Chicago Cubs [9]	82	−16.3%	1,342,970	29.6%	17,441
New York Giants [10]	61	−21.8%	1,219,873	20.0%	15,843
St. Louis Cardinals [11]	98	3.2%	1,061,807	78.6%	13,613
Cleveland Indians [12]	68	−6.8%	1,057,289	89.4%	13,731
Philadelphia Phillies [13]	69	50.0%	1,045,247	266.7%	13,401
Washington Senators [14]	76	−12.6%	1,027,216	57.4%	13,516
Chicago White Sox [15]	74	4.2%	983,403	49.5%	12,448
Boston Braves [16]	81	20.9%	969,673	159.1%	12,593
Pittsburgh Pirates [17]	63	−23.2%	749,962	24.0%	9,615
Cincinnati Reds [18]	67	9.8%	715,751	146.8%	9,295
Philadelphia Athletics [19]	49	−5.8%	621,793	34.4%	7,972
St. Louis Browns [20]	66	−18.5%	526,435	9.0%	6,837

Events

• May 18 – The Chicago Cubs become the first team in Major League history to score six runs in the first and ninth innings of a game, when defeating the New York Giants 19–3. ^[21]
• June 9 – Mel Ott of the New York Giants is the first manager to be ejected from both games of a doubleheader, when the Giants lose both games to the Pittsburgh Pirates. ^[22]

See also

• 1946 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season
• 1946 Japanese Baseball League season

References

1. "Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
2. "Rookie of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
3. "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
4. "MLB Executive of the Year Award | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
5. "New York Yankees 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. "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
8. "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
9. "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
10. "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
11. "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
12. "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
13. "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
14. "Minnesota Twins 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. "Atlanta Braves 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. "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
19. "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
20. "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
21. "Elias Says..." ESPN.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
22. Pellowski, Michael J (2007). The Little Giant Book of Baseball Facts . United States: Sterling Publishing Co. pp.  352. ISBN   9781402742736.

Further reading

• Weintraub, Robert (2013) The Victory Season: The End of World War II and the Birth of Baseball's Golden Age . New York: Little, Brown & Company. ISBN   978-0-316-20591-7.

External links

• 1946 Major League Baseball season schedule at Baseball Reference