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
LeagueMajor League Baseball
SportBaseball
DurationApril 17 – October 10, 1945
Number of games154
Number of teams16
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

The 1945 Major League Baseball season featured 16 teams, eight in both the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The AL's Detroit Tigers defeated the NL's Chicago Cubs in the World Series, four games to three. It would prove to be the Cubs’ last appearance in a World Series until the 2016 World Series.

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]

Hal Newhouser won the pitching Triple Crown in addition to the official AL MVP Award.[4] To win this award you have to lead the league in wins, strikeouts, and ERA.

There was no hitter that was awarded the Triple Crown, which entails leading the league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in.[4]

There were nine players and one manager inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame during the year 1945.[5] The players were: Jim O'Rourke, King Kelly, Hughie Jennings, Hugh Duffy, Ed Delahanty, Jimmy Collins, Fred Clarke, Dan Brouthers, and Roger Bresnahan.[5] Wilbert Robinson was the manager that was inducted in the Hall of Fame.[5]

Statistical leaders[]

  American League National League
Type Name Stat Name Stat
AVG S. Stirnweiss .309 P. Cavarretta .355
HR V. Stephens 24 T. Holmes 28
RBI N. Etten 111 D. Walker 124
Wins H. Newhouser 25 R. Barrett 23
ERA H. Newhouser 1.81 R. Prim 2.40
Ks H. Newhouser 212 P. Roe 148

Standings[]

Postseason[]

Bracket[]

  World Series
       
  AL Detroit Tigers 4
  NL Chicago Cubs 3

Managers[]

American League[]

Team Manager Comments
Boston Red Sox Joe Cronin
Chicago White Sox Jimmy Dykes
Cleveland Indians Lou Boudreau
Detroit Tigers Del Baker
New York Yankees Joe McCarthy
Philadelphia Athletics Connie Mack
St. Louis Browns Luke Sewell
Washington Senators Ossie Bluege

National League[]

Team Manager Comments
Boston Braves Bob Coleman and Del Bissonette
Brooklyn Dodgers Leo Durocher
Chicago Cubs Charlie Grimm
Cincinnati Reds Bill McKechnie
New York Giants Mel Ott
Philadelphia Phillies Freddie Fitzsimmons and Ben Chapman
Pittsburgh Pirates Frankie Frisch
St. Louis Cardinals Billy Southworth

Home Field Attendance[]

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

Events[]

  • 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 would prove the last World Series appearance for the Chicago Cubs until 2016.

Deaths[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "1945 Awards Voting | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  2. ^ Jump up to: 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. ^ Jump up to: a b "MLB Triple Crown Winners | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c "MLB Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  6. ^ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  7. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  8. ^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  9. ^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  10. ^ "New York Yankees 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. ^ "Minnesota Twins 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. ^ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  15. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  16. ^ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  17. ^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  19. ^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  20. ^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.

External links[]

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