# 1944 Major League Baseball season

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 1942. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the New York Yankees from the 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

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 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

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 |
| American League | Chicago White Sox | Chicago, Illinois | Comiskey Park | 50,000 | Jimmy Dykes |
| American League | Cleveland Indians | Cleveland, Ohio | Cleveland Stadium | 78,811 | Lou Boudreau |
| American League | Cleveland Indians | Cleveland, Ohio | League Park* | 22,500* | Lou Boudreau |
| American League | Detroit Tigers | Detroit, Michigan | Briggs Stadium | 58,000 | Steve O'Neill |
| American League | New York Yankees | New York, New York | Yankee Stadium | 70,000 | Joe McCarthy |
| American League | Philadelphia Athletics | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Shibe Park | 33,000 | Connie Mack |
| American League | St. Louis Browns | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 34,023 | Luke Sewell |
| American League | Washington Senators | Washington, D.C. | Griffith Stadium | 32,000 | Ossie Bluege |
| National League | Boston Braves | Boston, Massachusetts | Braves Field | 37,746 | Bob Coleman |
| National League | Brooklyn Dodgers | New York, New York | Ebbets Field | 35,000 | Leo Durocher |
| National League | Chicago Cubs | Chicago, Illinois | Wrigley Field | 38,396 | Jimmie Wilson |
| National League | Chicago Cubs | Chicago, Illinois | Wrigley Field | 38,396 | Roy Johnson |
| National League | Chicago Cubs | Chicago, Illinois | Wrigley Field | 38,396 | Charlie Grimm |
| National League | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Crosley Field | 29,401 | Bill McKechnie |
| National League | New York Giants | New York, New York | Polo Grounds | 56,000 | Mel Ott |
| National League | Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Shibe Park | 33,000 | Freddie Fitzsimmons |
| National League | Pittsburgh Pirates | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Forbes Field | 33,467 | Frankie Frisch |
| National League | St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 34,023 | Billy Southworth |

## Standings
### American League

vteAmerican League :
| 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

vteNational League :
| 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
### Bracket

| World Series | World Series | World Series |
| AL | St. Louis Browns | 2 |
| NL | St. Louis Cardinals | 4 |

## Managerial changes
### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Chicago Cubs | Jimmie Wilson | Roy Johnson |
| Chicago Cubs | Roy Johnson | Charlie Grimm |

## League leaders
### American League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | 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 |
Pitching leaders :
| 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 |
| WHIP | Tex Hughson (BRS) | 1.048 |

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | 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) Stan Musial (SLC) | 197 |
| SB | Johnny Barrett (PIT) | 28 |
Pitching leaders :
| 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 |
| WHIP | Ted Wilks (SLC) | 1.069 |

## Awards and honors
### Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards :
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player | Marty Marion (SLC) | Hal Newhouser (DET) |

### Other awards

The Sporting News Awards :
| Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player | Marty Marion (SLC) | Bobby Doerr (BRS) |
| Player of the Year | Marty Marion (SLC) | — |
| Pitcher of the Year | Bill Voiselle (NYG) | Hal Newhouser (DET) |
| Manager of the Year | — | Luke Sewell (SLB) |
| Executive of the Year | — | Bill DeWitt (SLB) |

### Baseball Hall of Fame

* Kenesaw Mountain Landis (executive)

## Home field attendance

| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
| Detroit Tigers | 88 | 12.8% | 923,176 | 52.3% | 11,836 |
| New York Yankees | 83 | −15.3% | 789,995 | 27.8% | 10,128 |
| New York Giants | 67 | 21.8% | 674,483 | 44.7% | 8,993 |
| Chicago Cubs | 75 | 1.4% | 640,110 | 25.9% | 8,207 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 63 | −22.2% | 605,905 | −8.4% | 7,869 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 90 | 12.5% | 604,278 | 21.2% | 7,460 |
| Chicago White Sox | 71 | −13.4% | 563,539 | 10.7% | 7,319 |
| Washington Senators | 64 | −23.8% | 525,235 | −8.6% | 6,821 |
| St. Louis Browns | 89 | 23.6% | 508,644 | 137.2% | 6,606 |
| Boston Red Sox | 77 | 13.2% | 506,975 | 41.5% | 6,500 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 72 | 46.9% | 505,322 | 34.1% | 6,649 |
| Cleveland Indians | 72 | −12.2% | 475,272 | 8.3% | 6,093 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 105 | 0.0% | 461,968 | −10.7% | 6,000 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 89 | 2.3% | 409,567 | 8.0% | 5,251 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 61 | −4.7% | 369,586 | −20.9% | 4,678 |
| Boston Braves | 65 | −4.4% | 208,691 | −23.1% | 2,676 |

## Retired numbers

* Carl Hubbell had his No. 11 retired by the New York Giants. This was the first number retired by the team.