1944 Major League Baseball season
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{MLBseason|year=1944}}
{{Infobox sports season
| title = 1944 MLB season
| league = American League (AL)
National League (NL)
| sport = Baseball
| duration = Regular season:{{Bulleted list
| {{nowrap|April 18 – October 1, 1944}}}}World Series:{{Bulleted list
| {{nowrap|October 4–9, 1944}}}}
| no_of_games = 154
| no_of_teams = 16 (8 per league)
| season = Regular season
| season_champs =
| MVP = AL: Hal Newhouser (DET)
NL: Marty Marion (SLC)
| MVP_link = Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award
| conf1 = AL
| conf1_link =
| conf1_champ = St. Louis Browns
| conf1_runner-up = Detroit Tigers
| conf2 = NL
| conf2_link =
| conf2_champ = St. Louis Cardinals
| conf2_runner-up = Pittsburgh Pirates
| finals = World Series
| finals_link = 1944 World Series
| finals_champ = St. Louis Cardinals
| finals_runner-up = St. Louis Browns
| seasonslist = List of MLB seasons
| seasonslistnames = MLB
| prevseason_link = 1943 Major League Baseball season
| prevseason_year = 1943
| nextseason_link = 1945 Major League Baseball season
| nextseason_year = 1945
}}
{{MLB Team Maps (1943–1952)}}
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, capturing their fifth championship in franchise history, since their previous in {{mlby|1942}}. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the New York Yankees from the {{mlby|1943}} season.
The 12th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 11 at the Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The National League won, 7–1.
Schedule
{{See also|Major League Baseball schedule}}
The 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 {{mlby|1904}} season (except for {{mlby|1919}}) and would be used until {{mlby|1961}} in the American League and {{mlby|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
An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
! scope="col" |League ! scope="col" |Team ! scope="col" |City ! scope="col" |Stadium ! scope="col" |Capacity ! scope="col" |Manager{{Cite web |title=1944 Major League Managers |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/1944-managers.shtml |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}} |
| rowspan="9" style="{{Baseball primary style|American League}};" |{{Baseball secondary link|American League|American League}}
! scope="row" |Boston Red Sox |35,000 |{{sortname|Joe|Cronin}} |
|---|
| scope="row" |Chicago White Sox
|50,000 |{{sortname|Jimmy|Dykes}} |
| rowspan="2" scope="row" |Cleveland Indians
| rowspan="2" |Cleveland, Ohio |78,811 | rowspan="2" |{{sortname|Lou|Boudreau}} |
| League Park*
|22,500* |
| scope="row" |Detroit Tigers
|58,000 |{{sortname|Steve|O'Neill}} |
| scope="row" |New York Yankees
|70,000 |{{sortname|Joe|McCarthy|dab=manager}} |
| scope="row" |Philadelphia Athletics
|33,000 |{{sortname|Connie|Mack}} |
| scope="row" |St. Louis Browns
|34,023 |{{sortname|Luke|Sewell}} |
| scope="row" |Washington Senators
|32,000 |{{sortname|Ossie|Bluege}} |
| rowspan="10" style="{{Baseball primary style|National League}};" |{{Baseball secondary link|National League|National League (baseball)|National League}}
! scope="row" |Boston Braves |37,746 |{{sortname|Bob|Coleman}} |
| scope="row" |Brooklyn Dodgers
|35,000 |{{sortname|Leo|Durocher}} |
| rowspan="3" scope="row" |Chicago Cubs
| rowspan="3" |Chicago, Illinois | rowspan="3" |Wrigley Field | rowspan="3" |38,396 |{{sortname|Jimmie|Wilson|dab=baseball}} |
| {{sortname|Roy|Johnson|dab=1930s outfielder}} |
| {{sortname|Charlie|Grimm}} |
| scope="row" |Cincinnati Reds
|29,401 |{{sortname|Bill|McKechnie}} |
| scope="row" |New York Giants
|56,000 |{{sortname|Mel|Ott}} |
| scope="row" |Philadelphia Phillies
|33,000 |{{sortname|Freddie|Fitzsimmons}} |
| scope="row" |Pittsburgh Pirates
|33,467 |{{sortname|Frankie|Frisch}} |
| scope="row" |St. Louis Cardinals
|34,023 |{{sortname|Billy|Southworth}} |
Standings
{{Flexbox wrap|start}}
=American League=
{{1944 American League standings|highlight=St. Louis Browns}}
{{Flexbox wrap|break}}
=National League=
{{1944 National League standings|highlight=St. Louis Cardinals}}
{{Flexbox wrap|end}}
Postseason
The postseason began on October 4 and ended on October 9 with the St. Louis Cardinals defeating the St. Louis Browns in the 1944 World Series in six games.
=Bracket=
{{2TeamBracket
| RD1=World Series
| RD1-seed1=AL
| RD1-team1=St. Louis Browns
| RD1-score1=2
| RD1-seed2=NL
| RD1-team2=St. Louis Cardinals
| RD1-score2=4
}}
Managerial changes
=In-season=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| Team
! Former Manager ! New Manager |
|---|
| rowspan="2" scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |Chicago Cubs |
| Roy Johnson |
League leaders
=American League=
{{Flexbox wrap|start}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! style="width:15%;" |Stat ! Player ! style="width:15%;" |Total |
| AVG
| Lou Boudreau (CLE) | .327 |
| OPS
| Bob Johnson (BRS) | .959 |
| 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 |
{{Flexbox wrap|break}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! style="width:15%;" |Stat ! Player ! style="width:15%;" |Total |
| W
| Hal Newhouser (DET) | 29 |
| L
| Bill Dietrich (CWS) | 17 |
| ERA
| Dizzy Trout (DET) | 2.12 |
| K
| Hal Newhouser (DET) | 187 |
| IP
| Dizzy Trout (DET) | 352.1 |
| SV
| Joe Berry (PHA) | 12 |
| WHIP
| Tex Hughson (BRS) | 1.048 |
{{Flexbox wrap|end}}
=National League=
{{Flexbox wrap|start}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! style="width:15%;" |Stat ! Player ! style="width:15%;" |Total |
| AVG
| Dixie Walker (BKN) | .357 |
| OPS
| Stan Musial (SLC) | .990 |
| HR
| Bill Nicholson (CHC) | 33 |
| RBI
| Bill Nicholson (CHC) | 122 |
| R
| Bill Nicholson (CHC) | 116 |
| H
| Phil Cavarretta (CHC) | 197 |
| SB
| Johnny Barrett (PIT) | 28 |
{{Flexbox wrap|break}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! style="width:15%;" |Stat ! Player ! style="width:15%;" |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
| 13 |
| WHIP
| 1.069 |
{{Flexbox wrap|end}}
Awards and honors
=Regular season=
| class="wikitable" |
| colspan="3"|Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards |
|---|
| BBWAA Award
!National League !American League |
| Most Valuable Player
| Marty Marion (SLC) | Hal Newhouser (DET) |
=Other awards=
=Baseball Hall of Fame=
{{main|National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum}}
- Kenesaw Mountain Landis (executive)
{{further|1944 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting}}
Home field attendance
Retired numbers
- Carl Hubbell had his No. 11 retired by the New York Giants. This was the first number retired by the team.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/1944-schedule.shtml 1944 Major League Baseball season schedule at Baseball Reference]
{{1944 MLB season by team}}
{{MLB seasons}}