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

The 12th 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.

The season is notable for greatly relaxing restrictions on night games.

This was Kenesaw Mountain Landis' last season of his 24-year tenure as commissioner, following his death in November. He would be succeeded by Happy Chandler.

Challenging the color line During the final days of the 1943 Winter Meetings prior to the season's start, commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis (who, according to a number of baseball authors, has had racism ascribed to him for actively perpetuating the baseball color line) invited singer Paul Robeson, and three black journalists, Ira F. Lewis of the Pittsburgh Courier, John H. Sengstacke of The Chicago Defender, and Howard Murphy of the Baltimore Afro-American, to plead their case in favor of integration in baseball, marking the first time a black person had spoken directly with the leaders of Organized Baseball about this topic. In response, Landis read a joint American League-National League statement stating that "There is no rule, formal or informal, or any understanding — unwritten, subterranean or sub-anything — against the hiring of Negro players by the teams of organized baseball."

However, it would not be until after Landis' death in November 1944 that baseball would begin to move towards breaking the color line. With the support from incoming commissioner Happy Chandler, Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey signed Jackie Robinson in late-October to their top minor-league affiliate, the Montreal Royals, eventually breaking the major-league color barrier following his promotion to the majors in .

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 season (except for ) and would be used until in the American League and 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.

Tri-Cornered Baseball Game

A unique three-way exhibition game, formatted as a round-robin, was held at the Polo Grounds, which saw the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, and New York Yankees play a game on June 26 to sell war bonds to aid in the U.S. war effort in World War II, in which they would raise $6 million (equivalent to $ million in ). The Dodgers defeating the Yankees and Giants, winning the game 5–1–0, respectively. Including a $50 million donation from New York City, a total of $56 million (equivalent to $ billion in ) was raised or the war effort.

Rule change The 1944 season saw the following rule change: During the July All-Star break, all teams were given permission to have unlimited weekday night games. Previously, all teams were allowed only 14 (except the Washington Senators, which were allowed 21).

Teams An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at LeagueTeamCityBallparkCapacityManagerBoston Red SoxBoston, MassachusettsFenway Park33,817Chicago White SoxChicago, IllinoisComiskey Park50,000Cleveland IndiansCleveland, OhioCleveland Stadium78,811League Park*22,500*Detroit TigersDetroit, MichiganBriggs Stadium58,000New York YankeesNew York, New YorkYankee Stadium70,000Philadelphia AthleticsPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaShibe Park33,000St. Louis BrownsSt. Louis, MissouriSportsman's Park34,023Washington SenatorsWashington, D.C.Griffith Stadium32,000Boston BravesBoston, MassachusettsBraves Field37,746Brooklyn DodgersNew York, New YorkEbbets Field35,000Chicago CubsChicago, IllinoisWrigley Field38,396Cincinnati RedsCincinnati, OhioCrosley Field29,401New York GiantsNew York, New YorkPolo Grounds56,000Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaShibe Park33,000Pittsburgh PiratesPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaForbes Field33,467St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis, MissouriSportsman's Park34,023

Standings

American League

National League

Tie games 11 tie games (3 in AL, 8 in NL), which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again) occurred throughout the season.

American League Boston Red Sox, 2 Cleveland Indians, 1 Detroit Tigers, 2 Philadelphia Athletics, 1

National League Boston Braves, 1 Brooklyn Dodgers, 1 Chicago Cubs, 3 Cincinnati Reds, 1 New York Giants, 1 Philadelphia Phillies, 1 Pittsburgh Pirates, 5 St. Louis Cardinals, 3

Postseason The postseason began on October 4 and ended on October 9 with the St. Louis Cardinals defeating the St. Louis Browns in the 1944 World Series in six games.

Bracket

Managerial changes In-season Team Former Manager New ManagerChicago CubsJimmie WilsonRoy JohnsonRoy JohnsonCharlie Grimm

League leaders American League

+ Hitting leadersStat PlayerTotal AVG Lou Boudreau (CLE) .327 OPS Bob Johnson (BOS) .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 leadersStat PlayerTotal 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 (BOS) 1.048

National League

+ Hitting leadersStat PlayerTotal AVG Dixie Walker (BRO) .357 OPS Stan Musial (STL) .990 HR Bill Nicholson (CHC) 33 RBI Bill Nicholson (CHC) 122 R Bill Nicholson (CHC) 116 H Phil Cavarretta (CHC)Stan Musial (STL) 197 SB Johnny Barrett (PIT) 28

+ Pitching leadersStat PlayerTotal W Bucky Walters (CIN) 23 L Ken Raffensberger (PHI) 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 (STL) 1.069

Milestones Batters Cycles

Bobby Doerr (BOS): Doerr hit for his first cycle and ninth in franchise history, in game two of a doubleheader on May 17 against the St. Louis Browns. Bob Johnson (BOS): Johnson hit for his first cycle and 10th in franchise history, on July 6 against the Detroit Tigers. Dixie Walker (BRO): Walker hit for his first cycle and fifth in franchise history, on September 2 against the New York Giants.

Other batting accomplishments Phil Weintraub (NYG): Became the fourth player to hit at least 10 runs batted in (RBI) in a single game, hitting 11 against the Brooklyn Dodgers in game one of a doubleheader on April 30.

Pitchers No-hitters

Jim Tobin (BSN): Tobin threw his first career no-hitter and the sixth no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers 2–0 on April 27. Tobin walked two and struck out four. Clyde Shoun (CIN): Shoun threw his first career no-hitter and the eighth no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Boston Braves 1–0 on May 15. Shoun walked one and struck out one.

Other pitching accomplishments Mel Harder (CLE): Becomes the 50th pitcher in major league history to win 200 games, defeating the Boston Red Sox, 5–4.

Awards and honors Regular season Baseball Writers' Association of America AwardsBBWAA AwardNational LeagueAmerican LeagueMost Valuable Player Marty Marion (STL) Hal Newhouser (DET)

Other awards The Sporting News Awards Award National League American League Most Valuable Player Marty Marion (STL) Bobby Doerr (BOS) Player of the Year Marty Marion (STL) — 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 nameWinsHome attendanceDetroit Tigers8812.8%923,17652.3%11,836New York Yankees83 −15.3%789,99527.8%10,128New York Giants6721.8%674,48344.7%8,993Chicago Cubs751.4%640,11025.9%8,207Brooklyn Dodgers63 −22.2%605,905 −8.4%7,869Pittsburgh Pirates9012.5%604,27821.2%7,460Chicago White Sox71 −13.4%563,53910.7%7,319Washington Senators64 −23.8%525,235 −8.6%6,821St. Louis Browns8923.6%508,644137.2%6,606Boston Red Sox7713.2%506,97541.5%6,500Philadelphia Athletics7246.9%505,32234.1%6,649Cleveland Indians72 −12.2%475,2728.3%6,093St. Louis Cardinals1050.0%461,968 −10.7%6,000Cincinnati Reds892.3%409,5678.0%5,251Philadelphia Phillies61 −4.7%369,586 −20.9%4,678Boston Braves65 −4.4%208,691 −23.1%2,676

Venues Over 78 home games, the Cleveland Indians played 43 games at Cleveland Stadium and 35 games at League Park. All Sunday home games took place at Cleveland Stadium. All Saturday home games took place at League Park. This would be the 10th of 12 seasons since that saw the Indians play at both venues.

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

See also 1944 in baseball (Events, Births, Deaths) 1944 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season

References

External links 1944 Major League Schedule at Baseball Reference