# 1945 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1945 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 64th season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; the 59th in the National League. The Pirates finished fourth in the league standings with a record of 82–72.

## Offseason

* Prior to 1945 season: Tod Davis was acquired by the Pirates from the Hollywood Stars as part of a minor league working agreement.

## Regular season
### Season standings

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 |

### Record vs. opponents

1945 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BOS | BR | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL |
| Boston | — | 9–13–1 | 7–15 | 10–12 | 10–10–2 | 14–8 | 7–15 | 10–12 |
| Brooklyn | 13–9–1 | — | 8–14–1 | 11–11 | 15–7 | 19–3 | 12–10 | 9–13 |
| Chicago | 15–7 | 14–8–1 | — | 21–1 | 11–11 | 17–5 | 14–8 | 6–16 |
| Cincinnati | 12–10 | 11–11 | 1–21 | — | 6–16 | 12–10 | 10–12 | 9–13 |
| New York | 10–10–2 | 7–15 | 11–11 | 16–6 | — | 17–5 | 11–11 | 6–16 |
| Philadelphia | 8–14 | 3–19 | 5–17 | 10–12 | 5–17 | — | 6–16 | 9–13 |
| Pittsburgh | 15–7 | 10–12 | 8–14 | 12–10 | 11–11 | 16–6 | — | 10–12–1 |
| St. Louis | 12–10 | 13–9 | 16–6 | 13–9 | 16–6 | 13–9 | 12–10–1 | — |

### Game log

1945 Game Log: 82–72 (Home: 45–34; Away: 37–38) :
April: 4–7 (Home: 1–3; Away: 3–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 17@ Reds6–7 (11)LisenbeeSewell (0–1)—30,1260–1
2April 18@ Reds0–6HeusserStrincevich (0–1)—1,4670–2
3April 19@ Reds5–1Butcher (1–0)Beck—1,1061–2
4April 20Cubs5–4Sewell (1–1)Wyse—9,4492–2
5April 21Cubs3–4DerringerRoe (0–1)—3,8912–3
6April 22Cubs0–3ChipmanOstermueller (0–1)——2–4
7April 22Cubs2–5PrimGerheauser (0–1)—27,6902–5
8April 27@ Cubs3–7DerringerSewell (1–2)—4,6552–6
9April 28@ Cubs0–6WyseButcher (1–1)—5,7082–7
10April 29@ Cubs6–2Roe (1–1)Chipman——3–7
11April 29@ Cubs5–4Strincevich (1–1)ComellasRescigno (1)36,6374–7 :
May: 15–9 (Home: 10–4; Away: 5–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
12May 2Cardinals2–4BrecheenSewell (1–3)—6,0004–8
13May 2Cardinals11–1Butcher (2–1)Donnelly—6,1595–8
14May 6Reds1–3HeusserButcher (2–2)——5–9
15May 6Reds5–1Sewell (2–3)Walters—10,1576–9
16May 9@ Braves9–5Roe (2–1)TobinRescigno (2)2,5747–9
17May 12@ Phillies5–3Strincevich (2–1)BarrettRescigno (3)2,6938–9
18May 13@ Phillies9–6Sewell (3–3)Schanz——9–9
19May 13@ Phillies5–6LeeStarr (0–1)Sproull10,4029–10
20May 14@ Dodgers1–4PfundRoe (2–2)—7,3439–11
21May 15@ Dodgers3–6LombardiCuccurullo (0–1)—25,8289–12
22May 16@ Dodgers1–3GreggGerheauser (0–2)—7,3529–13
23May 17@ Dodgers12–3Strincevich (3–1)Seats—6,57510–13
24May 20@ Giants1–5VoiselleSewell (3–4)——10–14
25May 20@ Giants4–0Roe (3–2)Feldman——11–14
26May 21Giants5–2Butcher (3–2)Hansen—21,68212–14
27May 23Braves9–8 (13)Sewell (4–4)Hutchings—10,10613–14
28May 24Braves10–9 (11)Gables (1–0)Logan——14–14
29May 25Braves5–3Roe (4–2)Tobin—2,76815–14
30May 27Giants16–4Sewell (5–4)Voiselle——16–14
31May 27Giants11–5Rescigno (1–0)Fischer—29,12117–14
32May 29Giants4–3Gables (2–0)Adams——18–14
33May 30Dodgers13–5Sewell (6–4)Seats——19–14
34May 30Dodgers10–14PfundRescigno (1–1)Gregg27,02919–15
35May 31Dodgers4–6 (13)KingStrincevich (3–2)—13,12619–16 :
June: 14–15 (Home: 8–7; Away: 6–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
36June 1Phillies6–5Butcher (4–2)Karl—1,51320–16
37June 2Phillies7–6Gerheauser (1–2)CoffmanRescigno (4)2,69521–16
38June 3Phillies7–6 (10)Cuccurullo (1–1)Judd——22–16
39June 3Phillies9–11KarlCuccurullo (1–2)—9,08622–17
40June 5Reds0–4HeusserStrincevich (3–3)——22–18
41June 5Reds9–1Butcher (5–2)Beck—2,63423–18
42June 6Reds0–3WaltersRoe (4–3)—13,27723–19
43June 7Reds3–7BowmanSewell (6–5)—2,95423–20
44June 8@ Cardinals3–4 (13)BurkhartGerheauser (1–3)—3,69523–21
45June 9@ Cardinals5–1Strincevich (4–3)Barrett—5,19524–21
46June 10@ Cardinals8–6 (10)Sewell (7–5)Brecheen——25–21
47June 10@ Cardinals4–1 (10)Roe (5–3)Burkhart—13,79426–21
48June 12Cubs9–3Gerheauser (2–3)Wyse—15,12627–21
49June 14Cubs5–2Butcher (6–2)Chipman——28–21
50June 14Cubs6–5Sewell (8–5)DerringerRescigno (5)12,88029–21
51June 15Cardinals5–2Strincevich (5–3)Barrett—24,31530–21
52June 16Cardinals10–13ByerlyStarr (0–2)Donnelly6,01930–22
53June 17Cardinals0–7BurkhartSewell (8–6)——30–23
54June 17Cardinals2–6WilksGerheauser (2–4)——30–24
55June 20@ Cubs3–5PasseauButcher (6–3)——30–25
56June 21@ Cubs4–5WyseRoe (5–4)—10,12330–26
57June 22@ Reds3–1Strincevich (6–3)Heusser—5,81431–26
58June 24@ Reds7–5Sewell (9–6)RiddleStrincevich (1)—32–26
59June 24@ Reds3–4BowmanButcher (6–4)—11,73232–27
60June 27@ Giants4–10MungoGerheauser (2–5)——32–28
61June 27@ Giants2–3BrewerRoe (5–5)—17,73532–29
62June 28@ Giants3–1Strincevich (7–3)Feldman—22,32133–29
63June 29@ Giants2–3AdamsButcher (6–5)—3,77933–30
64June 30@ Dodgers5–8HerringSewell (9–7)King23,73633–31 :
July: 16–15 (Home: 11–5; Away: 5–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
65July 1@ Dodgers4–3Roe (6–5)GreggCuccurullo (1)—34–31
66July 1@ Dodgers2–4DavisGerheauser (2–6)—23,37034–32
67July 3@ Phillies10–3Strincevich (8–3)Barrett——35–32
68July 4@ Phillies6–7KrausRescigno (1–2)Schanz—35–33
69July 4@ Phillies13–0Butcher (7–5)Judd—14,33436–33
70July 6@ Braves5–13AndrewsRescigno (1–3)Cooper—36–34
71July 6@ Braves8–14HendricksonRoe (6–6)—8,02536–35
72July 7@ Braves6–7CooperGerheauser (2–7)—5,15936–36
73July 8@ Braves10–8Gables (3–0)AndrewsSewell (1)—37–36
74July 8@ Braves1–13TobinButcher (7–6)—25,31737–37
75July 12Phillies4–0Strincevich (9–3)Kraus—15,04438–37
76July 13Phillies3–2 (10)Butcher (8–6)Barrett—3,66039–37
77July 15Dodgers9–1Sewell (10–7)Lombardi——40–37
78July 15Dodgers15–3Gables (4–0)Gregg—24,12941–37
79July 16Dodgers4–8SeatsRescigno (1–4)—3,16241–38
80July 17Dodgers2–5GreggStrincevich (9–4)Herring20,14841–39
81July 18Giants3–6BrewerRoe (6–7)Adams—41–40
82July 18Giants3–4FischerButcher (8–7)Adams6,25341–41
83July 19Giants4–0Sewell (11–7)Feldman—14,16842–41
84July 20Giants13–5Beck (1–0)VoiselleRoe (1)3,21043–41
85July 21Braves1–5LeeGerheauser (2–8)——43–42
86July 21Braves3–1Strincevich (10–4)Logan—8,17344–42
87July 22Braves2–1Gables (5–0)Tobin——45–42
88July 22Braves3–1Roe (7–7)Andrews—19,18446–42
89July 23Braves8–5Beck (2–0)HutchingsStrincevich (2)3,16347–42
90July 24Braves6–5 (11)Gables (6–0)Hendrickson—20,16848–42
91July 26@ Cardinals2–10BurkhartStrincevich (10–5)—9,21348–43
92July 27@ Cardinals0–2DonnellyRoe (7–8)—4,94848–44
93July 28@ Cardinals0–2BarrettGables (6–1)—9,24248–45
94July 29@ Cardinals9–6 (10)Gerheauser (3–8)Barrett——49–45
95July 29@ Cardinals4–6DockinsStrincevich (10–6)—15,97149–46 :
August: 18–16 (Home: 5–7; Away: 13–9)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
96August 1@ Cubs1–0Butcher (9–7)Passeau—17,78050–46
97August 2@ Cubs0–1DerringerRoe (7–9)—18,53550–47
98August 3Cardinals1–5DockinsGables (6–2)—22,21850–48
99August 4Cardinals5–6BrecheenGerheauser (3–9)—5,28050–49
100August 5Cardinals3–10BarrettButcher (9–8)——50–50
101August 5Cardinals12–5Ostermueller (1–1)BurkhartGables (1)22,10551–50
102August 8@ Phillies4–0Roe (8–9)Kraus——52–50
103August 8@ Phillies0–5MauneyCuccurullo (1–3)—6,63052–51
104August 9@ Phillies3–1Gables (7–2)Barrett—5,01753–51
105August 10@ Phillies10–2Ostermueller (2–1)Schanz——54–51
106August 10@ Phillies1–6JuddStrincevich (10–7)—5,72854–52
107August 12@ Braves6–7HendricksonGerheauser (3–10)——54–53
108August 12@ Braves3–0Roe (9–9)Wright—14,96155–53
109August 13@ Braves4–6AndrewsGables (7–3)Hendrickson2,09555–54
110August 14@ Braves7–5 (10)Ostermueller (3–1)Hendrickson——56–54
111August 14@ Braves6–2Beck (3–0)Javery—4,54257–54
112August 15@ Giants11–9Gables (8–3)FeldmanGerheauser (1)—58–54
113August 15@ Giants3–2Strincevich (11–7)Zabala—18,82259–54
114August 16@ Giants1–2MungoRoe (9–10)Adams22,80759–55
115August 17@ Giants2–3BrewerGables (8–4)—3,83459–56
116August 18@ Giants0–6MaglieRescigno (1–5)—10,12659–57
117August 19@ Dodgers2–6WebberOstermueller (3–2)——59–58
118August 19@ Dodgers4–2Strincevich (12–7)Branca—19,42260–58
119August 20@ Dodgers11–1Roe (10–10)Seats—6,32261–58
120August 21@ Dodgers12–1Gables (9–4)Gregg—5,48462–58
121August 23Reds6–2Beck (4–0)Harrist—1,56763–58
122August 24Reds1–2HeusserStrincevich (12–8)—12,92363–59
123August 25Reds0–1KennedyRoe (10–11)—3,40263–60
124August 26Reds10–7Rescigno (2–5)Fox—52764–60
125August 26Reds2–1Gables (10–4)Bowman—14,19365–60
126August 28Cubs3–6BorowyOstermueller (3–3)—23,33565–61
127August 29Cubs0–2PrimStrincevich (12–9)Vandenberg4,88165–62
128August 30Cubs6–4Roe (11–11)EricksonRescigno (6)—66–62
129August 31@ Reds6–5Gables (11–4)BowmanRescigno (7)4,49967–62 :
September: 15–10 (Home: 10–8; Away: 5–2)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
130September 2@ Reds4–2Beck (5–0)Bowman——68–62
131September 2@ Reds7–3Strincevich (13–9)Walters—9,81069–62
132September 3@ Cardinals6–5Ostermueller (4–3)WilksRescigno (8)—70–62
133September 3@ Cardinals6–2Roe (12–11)Donnelly—19,49271–62
134September 4@ Cardinals8–8 (12)—1,75571–62
135September 5Dodgers3–5 (10)LombardiGables (11–5)—19,50471–63
136September 6Dodgers17–5Strincevich (14–9)Gregg—1,88572–63
137September 7Dodgers2–3SeatsRoe (12–12)Herring1,87472–64
138September 8Dodgers6–5 (12)Gerheauser (4–10)King—3,55073–64
139September 9Phillies4–3Beck (6–0)Kraus——74–64
140September 9Phillies3–14MauneySewell (11–8)Karl5,52574–65
141September 10Phillies9–5 (7)Strincevich (15–9)Leon—6,00075–65
142September 11Phillies5–4 (10)Rescigno (3–5)Schanz——76–65
143September 11Phillies5–1Butcher (10–8)SproullRescigno (9)2,04777–65
144September 13Braves4–3Gerheauser (5–10)Singleton——78–65
145September 13Braves2–0Ostermueller (5–3)Whitcher—3,83679–65
146September 15Giants5–9ZabalaStrincevich (15–10)—41179–66
147September 16Giants3–2Roe (13–12)Maglie——80–66
148September 16Giants2–9BrewerGables (11–6)—15,17580–67
149September 23@ Cubs3–7WyseRoe (13–13)—43,75580–68
150September 26@ Reds2–5HetkiBeck (6–1)——80–69
151September 26@ Reds2–1Strincevich (16–10)Harrist—71581–69
152September 27Cardinals5–2Roe (14–13)Dockins—9,60382–69
153September 29Cubs3–4BorowyOstermueller (5–4)Erickson—82–70
154September 29Cubs0–5 (7)VandenbergSewell (11–9)Warneke4,01682–71
155September 30Cubs3–5ChipmanGables (11–7)Erickson3,75182–72 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie Bold = Pirates team member :

### 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 López | 91 | 243 | 53 | .218 | 0 | 18 |
| 1B | Babe Dahlgren | 144 | 531 | 133 | .250 | 5 | 75 |
| 2B | Pete Coscarart | 123 | 392 | 95 | .242 | 8 | 38 |
| SS | Frankie Gustine | 128 | 478 | 134 | .280 | 2 | 66 |
| 3B | Bob Elliott | 144 | 541 | 157 | .290 | 8 | 108 |
| OF | Johnny Barrett | 142 | 507 | 130 | .256 | 15 | 67 |
| OF | Al Gionfriddo | 122 | 409 | 116 | .284 | 2 | 42 |
| OF | Jim Russell | 146 | 510 | 145 | .284 | 12 | 77 |

#### 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 |
| Lee Handley | 98 | 312 | 93 | .298 | 1 | 32 |
| Bill Salkeld | 95 | 267 | 83 | .311 | 15 | 52 |
| Vic Barnhart | 71 | 201 | 54 | .269 | 0 | 19 |
| Tommy O'Brien | 58 | 161 | 54 | .335 | 0 | 18 |
| Frank Colman | 77 | 153 | 32 | .209 | 4 | 30 |
| Jack Saltzgaver | 52 | 117 | 38 | .325 | 0 | 10 |
| Spud Davis | 23 | 33 | 8 | .242 | 0 | 6 |
| Frankie Zak | 15 | 28 | 4 | .143 | 0 | 3 |
| Lloyd Waner | 23 | 19 | 5 | .263 | 0 | 1 |
| Hank Camelli | 1 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Rodgers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Vitelli | 1 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 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 |
| Preacher Roe | 33 | 235.0 | 14 | 13 | 2.87 | 148 |
| Nick Strincevich | 36 | 228.1 | 16 | 10 | 3.31 | 74 |
| Rip Sewell | 33 | 188.0 | 11 | 9 | 4.07 | 60 |
| Max Butcher | 28 | 169.1 | 10 | 8 | 3.03 | 37 |
| Fritz Ostermueller | 14 | 80.2 | 5 | 4 | 4.57 | 29 |

#### 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 |
| Al Gerheauser | 32 | 140.1 | 5 | 10 | 3.91 | 55 |
| Ken Gables | 29 | 138.2 | 11 | 7 | 4.15 | 49 |
| Boom-Boom Beck | 14 | 63.0 | 6 | 1 | 2.14 | 20 |

#### 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 | 44 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 5.72 | 29 |
| Cookie Cuccurullo | 29 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5.24 | 17 |
| Ray Starr | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9.45 | 0 |
| Johnny Lanning | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36.00 | 0 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AA | Hollywood Stars | Pacific Coast League | Buck Fausett |
| A | Albany Senators | Eastern League | Ripper Collins |
| B | York White Roses | Interstate League | Bunny Griffiths |
| D | Salisbury Pirates | North Carolina State League | Tuck McWilliams |
| D | Hornell Pirates | PONY League | John Morrow and Fred Hering |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Albany