# 1946 Major League Baseball season

The 1946 major league baseball season began on April 16, 1946. The regular season ended on October 3, with the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The Cardinals defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers in a regular season best-of-three tiebreaker, for the National League title, after both teams finished their 154-game schedules with identical 96–58 records. It was Major League Baseball's first-ever regular season tie-breaker. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 43rd World Series on October 6 and ended with Game 7 on October 15. The Cardinals defeated the Red Sox, four games to three, capturing their sixth championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1944. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Detroit Tigers from the 1945 season.
The 13th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 9 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, hosted by the Boston Red Sox. The American League won, 12–0.
Many notable ballplayers returned from their military service this season, following the end of World War II, such as Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, and Ted Williams.
This was the last MLB season to be played under the color barrier, as Jackie Robinson would make his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers to start the following baseball season.

## Schedule

The 1946 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 16, featuring all sixteen teams, continuing the trend from the previous season. The final day of the scheduled regular season was on September 29, which saw all sixteen teams play, the first time since 1944. Due to the Brooklyn Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals finishing with the same record of 96–58, a best-of-three tie-breaker was scheduled, to be considered an extension of the regular season. The Cardinals swept the series in two games, on October 1 & 3. The World Series took place between October 6 and October 15.

## 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 | Chicago White Sox | Chicago, Illinois | Comiskey Park | 50,000 | Ted Lyons |
| 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 | New York Yankees | New York, New York | Yankee Stadium | 70,000 | Bill Dickey |
| American League | New York Yankees | New York, New York | Yankee Stadium | 70,000 | Johnny Neun |
| 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 | St. Louis Browns | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 34,023 | Zack Taylor |
| American League | Washington Senators | Washington, D.C. | Griffith Stadium | 32,000 | Ossie Bluege |
| National League | Boston Braves | Boston, Massachusetts | Braves Field | 37,746 | Billy Southworth |
| National League | Brooklyn Dodgers | New York, New York | Ebbets Field | 34,219 | Leo Durocher |
| 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 | Cincinnati Reds | Cincinnati, Ohio | Crosley Field | 29,401 | Hank Gowdy |
| 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 | Ben Chapman |
| National League | Pittsburgh Pirates | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Forbes Field | 33,467 | Frankie Frisch |
| National League | Pittsburgh Pirates | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Forbes Field | 33,467 | Spud Davis |
| National League | St. Louis Cardinals | St. Louis, Missouri | Sportsman's Park | 34,023 | Eddie Dyer |

## Standings
### American League

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Boston Red Sox | 104 | 50 | .675 | — | 61‍–‍16 | 43‍–‍34 |
| Detroit Tigers | 92 | 62 | .597 | 12 | 48‍–‍30 | 44‍–‍32 |
| New York Yankees | 87 | 67 | .565 | 17 | 47‍–‍30 | 40‍–‍37 |
| Washington Senators | 76 | 78 | .494 | 28 | 38‍–‍38 | 38‍–‍40 |
| Chicago White Sox | 74 | 80 | .481 | 30 | 40‍–‍38 | 34‍–‍42 |
| Cleveland Indians | 68 | 86 | .442 | 36 | 36‍–‍41 | 32‍–‍45 |
| St. Louis Browns | 66 | 88 | .429 | 38 | 35‍–‍41 | 31‍–‍47 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 49 | 105 | .318 | 55 | 31‍–‍46 | 18‍–‍59 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 98 | 58 | .628 | — | 49‍–‍29 | 49‍–‍29 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 96 | 60 | .615 | 2 | 56‍–‍22 | 40‍–‍38 |
| Chicago Cubs | 82 | 71 | .536 | 14½ | 44‍–‍33 | 38‍–‍38 |
| Boston Braves | 81 | 72 | .529 | 15½ | 45‍–‍31 | 36‍–‍41 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 69 | 85 | .448 | 28 | 41‍–‍36 | 28‍–‍49 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 67 | 87 | .435 | 30 | 35‍–‍42 | 32‍–‍45 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 63 | 91 | .409 | 34 | 37‍–‍40 | 26‍–‍51 |
| New York Giants | 61 | 93 | .396 | 36 | 38‍–‍39 | 23‍–‍54 |
* The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers in best-of-three playoff series to earn the National League pennant.

## Postseason
### Bracket

| World Series | World Series | World Series |
| AL | Boston Red Sox | 3 |
| NL | St. Louis Cardinals | 4 |

## Managerial changes
### Off-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Boston Braves | Del Bissonette | Billy Southworth |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Billy Southworth | Eddie Dyer |

### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Chicago White Sox | Jimmy Dykes | Ted Lyons |
| Cincinnati Reds | Bill McKechnie | Hank Gowdy |
| New York Yankees | Joe McCarthy | Bill Dickey |
| New York Yankees | Bill Dickey | Johnny Neun |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Frankie Frisch | Spud Davis |
| St. Louis Browns | Luke Sewell | Zack Taylor |

## League leaders
### American League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Mickey Vernon (WSH) | .353 |
| OPS | Ted Williams (BRS) | 1.164 |
| HR | Hank Greenberg (DET) | 44 |
| RBI | Hank Greenberg (DET) | 127 |
| R | Ted Williams (BRS) | 142 |
| H | Johnny Pesky (BRS) | 208 |
| SB | George Case (CLE) | 28 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Bob Feller (CLE) Hal Newhouser (DET) | 26 |
| L | Dick Fowler (PHA) Lou Knerr (PHA) Phil Marchildon (PHA) | 16 |
| ERA | Hal Newhouser (DET) | 1.94 |
| K | Bob Feller (CLE) | 348 |
| IP | Bob Feller (CLE) | 371.1 |
| SV | Bob Klinger (BRS) | 9 |
| WHIP | Hal Newhouser (DET) | 1.069 |

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Stan Musial (SLC) | .365 |
| OPS | Stan Musial (SLC) | 1.021 |
| HR | Ralph Kiner (PIT) | 23 |
| RBI | Enos Slaughter (SLC) | 130 |
| R | Stan Musial (SLC) | 124 |
| H | Stan Musial (SLC) | 228 |
| SB | Pete Reiser (BKN) | 34 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Howie Pollet (SLC) | 21 |
| L | Dave Koslo (NYG) | 19 |
| ERA | Howie Pollet (SLC) | 2.10 |
| K | Johnny Schmitz (CHC) | 135 |
| IP | Howie Pollet (SLC) | 266.0 |
| SV | Ken Raffensberger (PHP) | 6 |
| WHIP | Mort Cooper (BSB) | 1.106 |

## Awards and honors
### Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards :
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player | Stan Musial (SLC) | Ted Williams (BRS) |

### Other awards

The Sporting News Awards :
| Award | National League | American League |
| Player of the Year | Stan Musial (SLC) | — |
| Rookie of the Year | Del Ennis (PHP) | — |
| Manager of the Year | Eddie Dyer (SLC) | — |
| Executive of the Year | — | Tom Yawkey (BRS) |

### Baseball Hall of Fame

* Jesse Burkett
* Frank Chance
* Jack Chesbro
* Johnny Evers
* Tommy McCarthy
* Joe McGinnity
* Eddie Plank
* Joe Tinker
* Rube Waddell
* Ed Walsh
* Clark Griffith (executive/pioneer contributor)

## Home field attendance

| Team name | Wins | %± | Home attendance | %± | Per game |
| New York Yankees | 87 | 7.4% | 2,265,512 | 156.9% | 29,422 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 96 | 10.3% | 1,796,824 | 69.6% | 22,745 |
| Detroit Tigers | 92 | 4.5% | 1,722,590 | 34.5% | 21,805 |
| Boston Red Sox | 104 | 46.5% | 1,416,944 | 134.7% | 18,166 |
| Chicago Cubs | 82 | −16.3% | 1,342,970 | 29.6% | 17,441 |
| New York Giants | 61 | −21.8% | 1,219,873 | 20.0% | 15,843 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 98 | 3.2% | 1,061,807 | 78.6% | 13,613 |
| Cleveland Indians | 68 | −6.8% | 1,057,289 | 89.4% | 13,731 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 69 | 50.0% | 1,045,247 | 266.7% | 13,401 |
| Washington Senators | 76 | −12.6% | 1,027,216 | 57.4% | 13,516 |
| Chicago White Sox | 74 | 4.2% | 983,403 | 49.5% | 12,448 |
| Boston Braves | 81 | 20.9% | 969,673 | 159.1% | 12,593 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 63 | −23.2% | 749,962 | 24.0% | 9,615 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 67 | 9.8% | 715,751 | 146.8% | 9,295 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 49 | −5.8% | 621,793 | 34.4% | 7,972 |
| St. Louis Browns | 66 | −18.5% | 526,435 | 9.0% | 6,837 |

## Events

* May 18 – The Chicago Cubs become the first team in Major League history to score six runs in the first and ninth innings of a game, when defeating the New York Giants 19–3.
* June 9 – Mel Ott of the New York Giants is the first manager to be ejected from both games of a doubleheader, when the Giants lose both games to the Pittsburgh Pirates.