# 1944 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1944 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 63rd season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; the 58th in the National League. The Pirates finished second in the league standings with a record of 90–63.

## Regular season
### Season standings

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 |

### Record vs. opponents

1944 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BSN | BRO | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL |
| Boston | — | 9–13 | 11–11 | 8–14 | 9–13 | 11–11–1 | 9–13 | 8–14 |
| Brooklyn | 13–9 | — | 8–14–1 | 8–14 | 10–12 | 16–6 | 4–18 | 4–18 |
| Chicago | 11–11 | 14–8–1 | — | 9–13–1 | 10–12 | 13–9 | 12–10–1 | 6–16 |
| Cincinnati | 14–8 | 14–8 | 13–9–1 | — | 15–7 | 13–19 | 12–10 | 8–14 |
| New York | 13–9 | 12–10 | 12–10 | 7–15 | — | 10–12 | 7–15–1 | 6–16 |
| Philadelphia | 11–11–1 | 6–16 | 9–13 | 9–13 | 12–10 | — | 9–12 | 5–17 |
| Pittsburgh | 13–9 | 18–4 | 10–12–1 | 10–12 | 15–7–1 | 12–9 | — | 12–10–3 |
| St. Louis | 14–8 | 18–4 | 16–6 | 14–8 | 16–6 | 17–5 | 10–12–3 | — |

### Game log

1944 Game Log: 90–63 (Home: 49–28; Away: 41–35) :
April: 3–5 (Home: 1–1; Away: 2–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 18@ Cardinals0–2LanierRoe (0–1)—4,0300–1
2April 20@ Cardinals3–5MungerRescigno (0–1)—2,2720–2
3April 21Reds2–4BeggsSewell (0–1)—10,8770–3
4April 26Cubs6–1Roe (1–1)Fleming—3,4631–3
5April 28@ Reds0–2HeusserButcher (0–1)—1,0801–4
6April 29@ Reds7–3Sewell (1–1)Ferguson—2,6952–4
7April 30@ Reds7–1Strincevich (1–0)Riddle——3–4
8April 30@ Reds1–4WaltersRescigno (0–2)—16,0603–5 :
May: 16–11 (Home: 10–6; Away: 6–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
9May 2Cardinals3–1Roe (2–1)JurisichCuccurullo (1)4,8954–5
10May 3Cardinals1–5GumbertSewell (1–2)—5,0074–6
11May 4Cardinals6–3Butcher (1–1)Cooper—3,8775–6
12May 7@ Cubs6–5 (14)Sewell (2–2)Derringer——6–6
13May 7@ Cubs3–2 (11)Rescigno (1–2)WyseButcher (1)19,0677–6
14May 10Braves4–2Strincevich (2–0)BarrettCuccurullo (2)23,0118–6
15May 11Braves2–7TobinButcher (1–2)—2,5098–7
16May 12Braves3–10AndrewsRoe (2–2)—2,3028–8
17May 13Braves2–16BarrettRescigno (1–3)—4,0378–9
18May 14Giants1–0 (10)Sewell (3–2)Voiselle——9–9
19May 14Giants8–2Strincevich (3–0)Pyle—23,77110–9
20May 15Giants7–8AdamsCuccurullo (0–1)Polli1,69910–10
21May 17Dodgers8–5 (6)Roe (3–2)McLish—18,74811–10
22May 18Dodgers4–3Butcher (2–2)Melton—3,36112–10
23May 19Dodgers5–2Sewell (4–2)Webber—2,52013–10
24May 20Phillies4–3Strincevich (4–0)Gerheauser—4,09614–10
25May 21Phillies4–3Butcher (3–2)Schanz——15–10
26May 21Phillies4–9BarrettRescigno (1–4)—23,00915–11
27May 24@ Braves8–1Sewell (5–2)Tobin—1,70616–11
28May 25@ Braves0–1JaveryStrincevich (4–1)—1,31816–12
29May 26@ Braves7–5Rescigno (2–4)HutchinsonSewell (1)1,51817–12
30May 28@ Phillies4–0Sewell (6–2)Schanz——18–12
31May 28@ Phillies2–8BarrettStrincevich (4–2)——18–13
32May 29@ Phillies3–2 (11)Rescigno (3–4)Raffensberger——19–13
33May 30@ Dodgers3–9FlowersButcher (3–3)Ostermueller—19–14
34May 30@ Dodgers3–4GreggRescigno (3–5)Davis25,84519–15
35May 31@ Dodgers4–8McLishStrincevich (4–3)—16,99319–16 :
June: 14–11 (Home: 7–7; Away: 7–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
36June 1@ Dodgers2–1Sewell (7–2)Davis——20–16
37June 2@ Giants4–6FischerRoe (3–3)Polli2,53220–17
38June 3@ Giants7–6 (10)Rescigno (4–5)Adams—9,17121–17
39June 4@ Giants9–4Ostermueller (1–0)VoiselleRescigno (1)—22–17
40June 4@ Giants7–4Roe (4–3)PyleRescigno (2)30,65923–17
41June 7Reds4–2Sewell (8–2)de la CruzRescigno (3)17,16124–17
42June 8Cubs6–10VandenbergRoe (4–4)—2,61624–18
43June 9Cubs3–3 (11)—13,11924–18
44June 10Cubs9–4Roe (5–4)Fleming—1,71025–18
45June 11Cubs0–5EricksonButcher (3–4)——25–19
46June 11Cubs0–1ChipmanStrincevich (4–4)—23,01625–20
47June 13@ Reds3–2 (5)Starr (1–0)Heusser—2,46026–20
48June 14@ Reds2–3 (11)WaltersRescigno (4–6)—6,45526–21
49June 15@ Reds1–0Butcher (4–4)de la Cruz—1,10127–21
50June 17@ Cardinals1–2MungerRoe (5–5)—18,64527–22
51June 18@ Cardinals2–12CooperSewell (8–3)——27–23
52June 18@ Cardinals3–1Ostermueller (2–0)Lanier—16,29228–23
53June 20Reds0–3WaltersButcher (4–5)—7,36928–24
54June 21Reds2–1Starr (2–0)Heusser—2,41429–24
55June 22Reds9–4Sewell (9–3)de la Cruz——30–24
56June 22Reds7–4Strincevich (5–4)Gumbert—5,39431–24
57June 23Cardinals5–5 (14)—12,08631–24
58June 24Cardinals0–16CooperOstermueller (2–1)—4,89931–25
59June 25Cardinals1–2MungerSewell (9–4)——31–26
60June 25Cardinals5–5—33,11131–26
61June 28Giants9–2Butcher (5–5)Fischer—18,47932–26
62June 29Giants1–1 (5)—2,05732–26
63June 30Giants5–7AdamsSewell (9–5)——32–27
64June 30Giants9–8Cuccurullo (1–1)Adams—5,37833–27 :
July: 19–13 (Home: 8–3; Away: 11–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
65July 1Braves5–1Starr (3–0)Tobin—2,94034–27
66July 2Braves1–4AndrewsRoe (5–6)——34–28
67July 2Braves7–6 (12)Sewell (10–5)Barrett—16,07635–28
68July 4Phillies2–3GerheauserSewell (10–6)Schanz—35–29
69July 4Phillies4–0Butcher (6–5)Lee—16,28536–29
70July 5Phillies2–12BarrettStarr (3–1)—2,05536–30
71July 6Phillies6–5Strincevich (6–4)RaffensbergerRescigno (4)9,13637–30
72July 7Dodgers13–2Ostermueller (3–1)Melton—2,35638–30
73July 8Dodgers8–5Sewell (11–6)McLish—3,73239–30
74July 9Dodgers10–1Roe (6–6)Head——40–30
75July 9Dodgers9–7Rescigno (5–6)DavisOstermueller (2)18,70641–30
76July 13@ Cubs3–2Ostermueller (4–1)Wyse—7,16042–30
77July 14@ Cubs5–11VandenbergStarr (3–2)—5,63042–31
78July 15@ Cubs3–4FlemingRoe (6–7)Derringer6,97242–32
79July 16@ Cubs0–1WyseSewell (11–7)——42–33
80July 16@ Cubs1–0Butcher (7–5)Passeau—40,92043–33
81July 18@ Giants2–5VoiselleOstermueller (4–2)—26,16443–34
82July 19@ Phillies2–4RaffensbergerStrincevich (6–5)—7,78443–35
83July 20@ Phillies4–1Starr (4–2)Lee——44–35
84July 20@ Phillies2–3 (11)SchanzRescigno (5–7)——44–36
85July 21@ Phillies5–3Butcher (8–5)Gerheauser—8,52745–36
86July 22@ Dodgers11–0Ostermueller (5–2)Warren—8,47946–36
87July 23@ Dodgers7–5Rescigno (6–7)Gregg——47–36
88July 23@ Dodgers9–4 (11)Strincevich (7–5)WebberRescigno (5)16,57148–36
89July 24@ Dodgers7–12FuchsSewell (11–8)Davis9,07248–37
90July 25@ Giants15–0Butcher (9–5)Barthelson—4,52449–37
91July 26@ Giants6–5Ostermueller (6–2)FeldmanStrincevich (1)12,90950–37
92July 28@ Giants0–4VoiselleRoe (6–8)—12,87150–38
93July 29@ Braves3–0Sewell (12–8)Tobin—2,06551–38
94July 30@ Braves4–6KloppStarr (4–3)Tobin—51–39
95July 30@ Braves0–2JaveryStrincevich (7–6)—7,14351–40
96July 31@ Braves9–2Ostermueller (7–2)Andrews—1,34652–40 :
August: 20–10 (Home: 17–6; Away: 3–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
97August 1@ Braves13–8Starr (5–3)TobinSewell (2)1,78753–40
98August 2Cardinals4–8LanierSewell (12–9)—27,48153–41
99August 3Cardinals2–15WilksRoe (6–9)—3,00153–42
100August 4Cubs3–4DerringerButcher (9–6)—10,02253–43
101August 5Cubs2–7FlemingOstermueller (7–3)Passeau2,86153–44
102August 6Cubs13–5Roe (7–9)DerringerStarr (1)—54–44
103August 6Cubs5–4Strincevich (8–6)ChipmanRoe (1)13,36255–44
104August 8Giants4–8VoiselleButcher (9–7)—2,27755–45
105August 9Giants4–3Ostermueller (8–3)Fischer—12,68356–45
106August 10Giants10–4Roe (8–9)Brewer—4,32457–45
107August 11Giants12–8Cuccurullo (2–1)Pyle—13,02458–45
108August 12Giants8–0Butcher (10–7)Voiselle—3,33559–45
109August 13Braves8–1Sewell (13–9)Tobin——60–45
110August 13Braves3–1Ostermueller (9–3)Hutchings—15,07961–45
111August 14Braves5–0Roe (9–9)Barrett—2,40962–45
112August 15Braves7–5Rescigno (7–7)HutchinsonStrincevich (2)12,39763–45
113August 17Phillies7–6Rescigno (8–7)Karl——64–45
114August 17Phillies6–5 (10)Strincevich (9–6)Barrett—3,26265–45
115August 18Phillies2–3RaffensbergerSewell (13–10)—14,56665–46
116August 19Phillies5–3Roe (10–9)Gerheauser—3,32766–46
117August 20Dodgers10–7Butcher (11–7)ChapmanCuccurullo (3)—67–46
118August 20Dodgers7–1Strincevich (10–6)Wyatt—20,95368–46
119August 21Dodgers7–6 (10)Starr (6–3)Webber—3,03969–46
120August 22Dodgers7–5Sewell (14–10)Sunkel—19,44470–46
121August 25@ Cardinals0–4SchmidtRoe (10–10)—11,00070–47
122August 27@ Cardinals14–6Sewell (15–10)Lanier——71–47
123August 27@ Cardinals1–1 (10)—10,67671–47
124August 29@ Cubs4–15DerringerButcher (11–8)——71–48
125August 29@ Cubs5–4Roe (11–10)Passeau—11,64972–48
126August 30@ Cubs5–12WyseSewell (15–11)Lynn—72–49
127August 30@ Cubs3–6PasseauStarr (6–4)Wyse17,43872–50 :
September: 17–12 (Home: 6–5; Away: 11–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
128September 1Cardinals3–2Ostermueller (10–3)Lanier—17,03073–50
129September 2Cardinals5–4Butcher (12–8)Wilks—5,86474–50
130September 3Cardinals6–5Sewell (16–11)Cooper——75–50
131September 3Cardinals8–2Strincevich (11–6)Brecheen—34,39576–50
132September 4Cubs3–6EricksonButcher (12–9)——76–51
133September 4Cubs4–3 (6)Rescigno (9–7)Derringer—18,17577–51
134September 7@ Reds1–2HeusserOstermueller (10–4)—4,70277–52
135September 9@ Reds2–3ShounSewell (16–12)—1,81877–53
136September 10@ Reds7–5Strincevich (12–6)Walters——78–53
137September 10@ Reds0–2CarterButcher (12–10)—17,34378–54
138September 12@ Cardinals5–3Ostermueller (11–4)Schmidt——79–54
139September 12@ Cardinals6–5Roe (12–10)ByerlyStarr (2)6,44580–54
140September 13@ Cardinals7–3Sewell (17–12)Brecheen——81–54
141September 13@ Cardinals10–5Rescigno (10–7)LanierStarr (3)6,49582–54
142September 15Reds3–5 (10)WaltersRescigno (10–8)—12,19882–55
143September 16Reds1–2de la CruzButcher (12–11)——82–56
144September 16Reds1–3CarterStarr (6–5)—3,67082–57
145September 17Reds7–1Sewell (18–12)Shoun——83–57
146September 17Reds1–2 (10)GumbertOstermueller (11–5)—19,82383–58
147September 20@ Dodgers2–1Strincevich (13–6)Wells—1,33884–58
148September 21@ Dodgers10–4Sewell (19–12)Gregg——85–58
149September 21@ Dodgers14–6Roe (13–10)Zachary—2,57986–58
150September 23@ Giants6–4 (13)Sewell (20–12)AdamsCuccurullo (4)3,74987–58
151September 24@ Giants4–5VoiselleOstermueller (11–6)——87–59
152September 24@ Giants3–2 (10)Strincevich (14–6)Melton—17,77888–59
153September 25@ Braves4–5 (13)BarrettRoe (13–11)—46388–60
154September 26@ Braves6–2Butcher (13–11)Andrews—1,64489–60
155September 27@ Braves3–4JaveryStrincevich (14–7)Hutchings65589–61
156September 29@ Phillies0–3RaffensbergerOstermueller (11–7)—1,00089–62 :
October: 1–1 (Home: 0–0; Away: 1–1)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
157October 1@ Phillies9–1Sewell (21–12)Schanz——90–62
158October 1@ Phillies1–7BarrettGilmore (0–1)——90–63 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie Bold = Pirates team member :

### All-Star Game

The Pirates hosted the 1944 Major League Baseball All-Star Game on July 11, 1944, at Forbes Field. Pitcher Rip Sewell, infielder Bob Elliott, and outfielder Vince DiMaggio were selected for the National League squad. Pirates pitchers Max Butcher and Cookie Cuccurullo were named the NL's batting practice pitchers and Pirates catcher Spud Davis was the NL's batting practice catcher. Honus Wagner was named an honorary coach, the first time this honor was bestowed in Major League Baseball's All-Star Game.

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Al Lopez | 115 | 331 | 76 | .230 | 1 | 34 |
| 1B | Babe Dahlgren | 158 | 599 | 173 | .289 | 12 | 101 |
| 2B | Pete Coscarart | 139 | 554 | 146 | .264 | 4 | 42 |
| SS | Frankie Gustine | 127 | 405 | 93 | .230 | 2 | 42 |
| 3B | Bob Elliott | 143 | 538 | 160 | .297 | 10 | 108 |
| OF | Johnny Barrett | 149 | 568 | 153 | .269 | 7 | 83 |
| OF | Vince DiMaggio | 109 | 342 | 82 | .240 | 9 | 50 |
| OF | Jim Russell | 152 | 580 | 181 | .312 | 8 | 66 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Frank Colman | 99 | 226 | 61 | .270 | 6 | 53 |
| Al Rubeling | 92 | 184 | 45 | .245 | 4 | 30 |
| Frankie Zak | 87 | 160 | 48 | .300 | 0 | 11 |
| Tommy O'Brien | 85 | 156 | 39 | .250 | 3 | 20 |
| Hank Camelli | 63 | 125 | 37 | .296 | 1 | 10 |
| Spud Davis | 54 | 93 | 28 | .301 | 2 | 14 |
| Lee Handley | 40 | 86 | 19 | .221 | 0 | 5 |
| Lloyd Waner | 19 | 14 | 5 | .357 | 0 | 2 |
| Al Gionfriddo | 4 | 6 | 1 | .167 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Rodgers | 2 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Vic Barnhart | 1 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 0 |
| Hank Sweeney | 1 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Rip Sewell | 38 | 286.0 | 21 | 12 | 3.18 | 87 |
| Fritz Ostermueller | 28 | 204.2 | 11 | 7 | 2.73 | 80 |
| Max Butcher | 35 | 199.0 | 13 | 11 | 3.12 | 43 |
| Len Gilmore | 1 | 8.0 | 0 | 1 | 7.88 | 0 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Nick Strincevich | 40 | 190.0 | 14 | 7 | 3.08 | 47 |
| Preacher Roe | 39 | 185.1 | 13 | 11 | 3.11 | 88 |
| Ray Starr | 27 | 89.2 | 6 | 5 | 5.02 | 25 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Xavier Rescigno | 48 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 4.35 | 45 |
| Cookie Cuccurullo | 32 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4.06 | 31 |
| Johnny Gee | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.15 | 3 |
| Joe Vitelli | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.57 | 2 |
| Roy Wise | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 1 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AA | Toronto Maple Leafs | International League | Burleigh Grimes |
| A | Albany Senators | Eastern League | Ripper Collins |
| B | York White Roses | Interstate League | Bunny Griffiths |
| D | Hornell Maples | PONY League | Dutch Schleser, Fred Hering, Frank Pareman and John Morrow |