1945 Major League Baseball season

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. Newhouser ended the season with an ERA of 1.81, a record of 25 wins and 9 losses, and 212 strikeouts. 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. He ended the season with an impressive batting average of .355 and an on-base-percentage of .455. 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.

Hal Newhouser won the pitching Triple Crown in addition to the official AL MVP Award. 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.

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

Statistical leaders

  American League National League
Type Name Stat Name Stat
AVG S. Stirnweiss NYY .309 P. Cavarretta CHC .355
HR V. Stephens SLB 24 T. Holmes BSB 28
RBI N. Etten NYY 111 D. Walker BKN 124
Wins H. Newhouser DET 25 R. Barrett BSB/SLC 23
ERA H. Newhouser DET 1.81 R. Prim CHC 2.40
Ks H. Newhouser DET 212 P. Roe PIT 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 Won World Series
New York Yankees Joe McCarthy
Philadelphia Athletics Connie Mack
St. Louis Browns Luke Sewell Finished 3rd
Washington Senators Ossie Bluege Finished 2nd

National League

Team Manager Comments
Boston Braves Bob Coleman and Del Bissonette
Brooklyn Dodgers Leo Durocher Finished 3rd
Chicago Cubs Charlie Grimm Won Pennant
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 Finished 2nd

Home field attendance

Team name Wins Home attendance Per game
Detroit Tigers 88 0.0% 1,280,341 38.7% 16,847
Brooklyn Dodgers 87 38.1% 1,059,220 74.8% 13,580
Chicago Cubs 98 30.7% 1,036,386 61.9% 13,637
New York Giants 78 16.4% 1,016,468 50.7% 13,032
New York Yankees 81 -2.4% 881,845 11.6% 11,603
Chicago White Sox 71 0.0% 657,981 16.8% 8,892
Washington Senators 87 35.9% 652,660 24.3% 8,367
Pittsburgh Pirates 82 -8.9% 604,694 0.1% 7,654
Boston Red Sox 71 -7.8% 603,794 19.1% 7,741
St. Louis Cardinals 95 -9.5% 594,630 28.7% 7,623
Cleveland Indians 73 1.4% 558,182 17.4% 7,249
St. Louis Browns 81 -9.0% 482,986 -5.0% 6,355
Philadelphia Athletics 52 -27.8% 462,631 -8.4% 6,008
Boston Braves 67 3.1% 374,178 79.3% 4,989
Cincinnati Reds 61 -31.5% 290,070 -29.2% 3,767
Philadelphia Phillies 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 season would be the last World Series appearance for the Chicago Cubs until 2016.

See also


This page was last updated at 2024-02-02 06:17 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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