# 1945 Major League Baseball season

The 1945 major league baseball season began on April 17, 1945. The regular season ended on September 30, with the Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 42nd World Series on October 3 and ended with Game 7 on October 10. In the fourth iteration of this World Series matchup, the Tigers defeated the Cubs, four games to three, capturing their second championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1935. It would prove to be the Cubs' last appearance in a World Series until the 2016 World Series. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the St. Louis Cardinals from the 1944 season.
The scheduled 13th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, to be held at Fenway Park and hosted by the Boston Red Sox, was cancelled due to wartime travel restrictions in World War II. The Red Sox would host the following year.

## Schedule

The 1945 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 17, featuring all sixteen teams, the first since the 1942 season. The final day of the regular season was on September 30, which saw fourteen teams play. In a scheduling oddity, the Washington Senators of the AL saw their season finish a week earlier on September 23, partly due to World War II travel restrictions, but also the need to convert Griffith Stadium's playing field to host its autumn football tenants, the NFL Washington Redskins and Georgetown University. The World Series took place between October 3 and October 10.

## 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 | Boston Braves | Boston, Massachusetts | Braves Field | 37,746 | Del Bissonette |
| National League | Brooklyn Dodgers | New York, New York | Ebbets Field | 35,000 | 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 | 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 | Philadelphia Phillies | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Shibe Park | 33,000 | Ben Chapman |
| 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 |
| Detroit Tigers | 88 | 65 | .575 | — | 50‍–‍26 | 38‍–‍39 |
| Washington Senators | 87 | 67 | .565 | 1½ | 46‍–‍31 | 41‍–‍36 |
| St. Louis Browns | 81 | 70 | .536 | 6 | 47‍–‍27 | 34‍–‍43 |
| New York Yankees | 81 | 71 | .533 | 6½ | 48‍–‍28 | 33‍–‍43 |
| Cleveland Indians | 73 | 72 | .503 | 11 | 44‍–‍33 | 29‍–‍39 |
| Chicago White Sox | 71 | 78 | .477 | 15 | 44‍–‍29 | 27‍–‍49 |
| Boston Red Sox | 71 | 83 | .461 | 17½ | 42‍–‍35 | 29‍–‍48 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 52 | 98 | .347 | 34½ | 39‍–‍35 | 13‍–‍63 |

### National League

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Chicago Cubs | 98 | 56 | .636 | — | 49‍–‍26 | 49‍–‍30 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 95 | 59 | .617 | 3 | 48‍–‍29 | 47‍–‍30 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 87 | 67 | .565 | 11 | 48‍–‍30 | 39‍–‍37 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 82 | 72 | .532 | 16 | 45‍–‍34 | 37‍–‍38 |
| New York Giants | 78 | 74 | .513 | 19 | 47‍–‍30 | 31‍–‍44 |
| Boston Braves | 67 | 85 | .441 | 30 | 36‍–‍38 | 31‍–‍47 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 61 | 93 | .396 | 37 | 36‍–‍41 | 25‍–‍52 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 46 | 108 | .299 | 52 | 22‍–‍55 | 24‍–‍53 |

## Postseason
### Bracket

| World Series | World Series | World Series |
| AL | Detroit Tigers | 4 |
| NL | Chicago Cubs | 3 |

## Managerial changes
### In-season

| Team | Former Manager | New Manager |
| Boston Braves | Bob Coleman | Del Bissonette |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Freddie Fitzsimmons | Ben Chapman |

## League leaders

Any team shown in small text indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.

### American League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Snuffy Stirnweiss (NYY) | .309 |
| OPS | Snuffy Stirnweiss (NYY) | .862 |
| HR | Vern Stephens (SLB) | 24 |
| RBI | Nick Etten (NYY) | 111 |
| R | Snuffy Stirnweiss (NYY) | 107 |
| H | Snuffy Stirnweiss (NYY) | 195 |
| SB | Snuffy Stirnweiss (NYY) | 33 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Hal Newhouser$^1$ (DET) | 25 |
| L | Bobo Newsom (PHA) | 20 |
| ERA | Hal Newhouser$^1$ (DET) | 1.81 |
| K | Hal Newhouser$^1$ (DET) | 212 |
| IP | Hal Newhouser (DET) | 313.1 |
| SV | Jim Turner (NYY) | 10 |
| WHIP | Roger Wolff (WSH) | 1.012 |
$^1$ American League Triple Crown pitching winner

### National League

Hitting leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Phil Cavarretta (CHC) | .355 |
| OPS | Tommy Holmes (BSB) | .997 |
| HR | Tommy Holmes (BSB) | 28 |
| RBI | Dixie Walker (BKN) | 124 |
| R | Eddie Stanky (BKN) | 124 |
| H | Tommy Holmes (BSB) | 224 |
| SB | Red Schoendienst (SLC) | 26 |
Pitching leaders :
| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Red Barrett (SLC/BSB) | 23 |
| L | Dick Barrett (PHP) | 20 |
| ERA | Ray Prim (CHC) | 2.40 |
| K | Preacher Roe (PIT) | 148 |
| IP | Red Barrett (SLC/BSB) | 284.2 |
| SV | Ace Adams (NYG) Andy Karl (PHP) | 15 |
| WHIP | Ray Prim (CHC) | 0.998 |

## 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."
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.

### Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards :
| BBWAA Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player | Phil Cavarretta (CHC) | Hal Newhouser (DET) |

### Other awards

The Sporting News Awards :
| Award | National League | American League |
| Most Valuable Player | Tommy Holmes (BSB) | Eddie Mayo (DET) |
| Player of the Year | — | Hal Newhouser (DET) |
| Pitcher of the Year | Hank Borowy (CHC) | Hal Newhouser (DET) |
| Manager of the Year | — | Ossie Bluege (WSH) |
| Executive of the Year | Philip K. Wrigley (CHC) | — |

### Baseball Hall of Fame

* Roger Bresnahan
* Dan Brouthers
* Fred Clarke
* Jimmy Collins
* Ed Delahanty
* Hugh Duffy
* Hughie Jennings
* King Kelly
* Jim O'Rourke
* Wilbert Robinson (manager)

## 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.