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.
| 1944 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | American League (AL) National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | Regular season:
|
| Number of games | 154 |
| Number of teams | 16 (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 |
The 12th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played on July 11, hosted by the Pittsburgh Pirates at the Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with the National League winning, 7–1.
Schedule
editThe 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
editAn asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at
Standings
editAmerican League
edit| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Browns | 89 | 65 | .578 | — | 54–23 | 35–42 |
| Detroit Tigers | 88 | 66 | .571 | 1 | 43–34 | 45–32 |
| New York Yankees | 83 | 71 | .539 | 6 | 47–31 | 36–40 |
| Boston Red Sox | 77 | 77 | .500 | 12 | 47–30 | 30–47 |
| Cleveland Indians | 72 | 82 | .468 | 17 | 39–38 | 33–44 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 72 | 82 | .468 | 17 | 39–37 | 33–45 |
| Chicago White Sox | 71 | 83 | .461 | 18 | 41–36 | 30–47 |
| Washington Senators | 64 | 90 | .416 | 25 | 40–37 | 24–53 |
National League
edit| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals | 105 | 49 | .682 | — | 54–22 | 51–27 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 90 | 63 | .588 | 14½ | 49–28 | 41–35 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 89 | 65 | .578 | 16 | 45–33 | 44–32 |
| Chicago Cubs | 75 | 79 | .487 | 30 | 35–42 | 40–37 |
| New York Giants | 67 | 87 | .435 | 38 | 39–36 | 28–51 |
| Boston Braves | 65 | 89 | .422 | 40 | 38–40 | 27–49 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 63 | 91 | .409 | 42 | 37–39 | 26–52 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 61 | 92 | .399 | 43½ | 29–49 | 32–43 |
Postseason
editBracket
edit| World Series | ||||
| AL | St. Louis Browns | 2 | ||
| NL | St. Louis Cardinals | 4 | ||
Managerial changes
editIn-season
edit| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Cubs | Jimmie Wilson | Roy Johnson |
| Chicago Cubs | Roy Johnson | Charlie Grimm |
League leaders
editAmerican League
edit| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Lou Boudreau (CLE) | .327 |
| HR | Nick Etten (NYY) | 22 |
| RBI | Vern Stephens (SLB) | 109 |
| R | Snuffy Stirnweiss (NYY) | 125 |
| H | Snuffy Stirnweiss (NYY) | 205 |
| SB | Snuffy Stirnweiss (NYY) | 55 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| W | Hal Newhouser (DET) | 29 |
| L | Bill Dietrich (CWS) Early Wynn (WSH |
17 |
| ERA | Dizzy Trout (DET) | 2.12 |
| K | Hal Newhouser (DET) | 187 |
| IP | Dizzy Trout (DET) | 352.1 |
| SV | Joe Berry (PHA) George Caster (SLB) Gordon Maltzberger (CWS) |
12 |
National League
edit| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | Dixie Walker (BKN) | .357 |
| 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 |
| Stat | Player | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Awards and honors
edit- Baseball Hall of Fame
- Most Valuable Player
- Hal Newhouser (AL) – Pitcher, Detroit Tigers
- Marty Marion (NL) – Shortstop, St. Louis Cardinals
- The Sporting News Player of the Year Award
- Marty Marion (NL) – St. Louis Cardinals
- The Sporting News Most Valuable Player Award
- Bobby Doerr (AL) – Second base, Boston Red Sox
- Marty Marion (NL) – Shortstop, St. Louis Cardinals
- The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Award
- Hal Newhouser (AL) – Detroit Tigers
- Bill Voiselle (NL) – New York Giants
- The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award
- Luke Sewell (AL) – St. Louis Browns
Home field attendance
edit| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Tigers[1] | 88 | 12.8% | 923,176 | 52.3% | 11,836 |
| New York Yankees[2] | 83 | −15.3% | 789,995 | 27.8% | 10,128 |
| New York Giants[3] | 67 | 21.8% | 674,483 | 44.7% | 8,993 |
| Chicago Cubs[4] | 75 | 1.4% | 640,110 | 25.9% | 8,207 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers[5] | 63 | −22.2% | 605,905 | −8.4% | 7,869 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates[6] | 90 | 12.5% | 604,278 | 21.2% | 7,460 |
| Chicago White Sox[7] | 71 | −13.4% | 563,539 | 10.7% | 7,319 |
| Washington Senators[8] | 64 | −23.8% | 525,235 | −8.6% | 6,821 |
| St. Louis Browns[9] | 89 | 23.6% | 508,644 | 137.2% | 6,606 |
| Boston Red Sox[10] | 77 | 13.2% | 506,975 | 41.5% | 6,500 |
| Philadelphia Athletics[11] | 72 | 46.9% | 505,322 | 34.1% | 6,649 |
| Cleveland Indians[12] | 72 | −12.2% | 475,272 | 8.3% | 6,093 |
| St. Louis Cardinals[13] | 105 | 0.0% | 461,968 | −10.7% | 6,000 |
| Cincinnati Reds[14] | 89 | 2.3% | 409,567 | 8.0% | 5,251 |
| Philadelphia Phillies[15] | 61 | −4.7% | 369,586 | −20.9% | 4,678 |
| Boston Braves[16] | 65 | −4.4% | 208,691 | −23.1% | 2,676 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.