YEAR IN REVIEW : 1945 American League

Off the field...

After several days of street-to-street combat in Berlin and the suicide of Nazi leader Adolph Hitler, Germany finally agreed to an unconditional surrender marking the end of the European campaign of World War II. The conflict lasted five years, eight months, and six days, and cost millions of lives, including six million Jews and twenty million soldiers and civilians killed in the U.S.S.R. alone.

In an effort to hasten the Pacific campaign, the United States Air Force dropped the world's first Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima, destroying the entire city and killing over seventy-thousand people. Three days later a second bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki with similar results. Realizing that further resistance was futile, the Japanese government finally agreed to terms of surrender aboard the Battleship U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Harbor marking the absolute end of WWII.

In the American League...

Pete Gray of the St. Louis Browns became the first "physically challenged" Major League ballplayer. Despite the loss of his right arm in a childhood accident, Gray had learned to field, throw and bat solely with his left. He quickly built a reputation for hitting clutch, line drives around the field and also exhibited fearless speed and daring on the base paths. As a testament to overcoming adversity, his fielding technique was a study in both agility and dexterity. After catching a fly ball, the outfielder would tuck his thinly padded glove under his stump; roll the ball across his chest, and throw it to the cut-off man in one fluid motion.

Red Sox rookie Boo Ferriss set an American League record after pitching twenty-two consecutive shut out innings for the most scoreless innings at the start of a Major League career. His streak finally ended on May 13th after he allowed one earned run against the Detroit Tigers en route to a 6-2 victory.

In the National League...

On April 17th, New York Giants player-manager Mel Ott set several records during his team's 11-6 win over the Boston Braves. In nine-innings, Ott collected a double, two walks and three runs to achieve several career marks (for a single player with one team) including one-thousand twenty-six extra-base hits, two-thousand seventy-six total bases, one-thousand seven-hundred seventy-eight RBIs, one-thousand seven-hundred eighty-seven runs and one-thousand six-hundred thirty-one walks.

The Boston Braves swept a July 6th double header against the Pittsburgh Pirates 13-5 and 14-8 as Tommy Holmes hit in his thirty-fourth consecutive game to pass the previous streak of thirty-three set by Rogers Hornsby in 1922.

"Joe D's" older and less-famous brother Vince DiMaggio tied a Major League record after hitting his fourth grand slam of the season during an 8-3 Philadelphia Phillies victory over the Boston Braves on September 1st. Unfortunately, DiMaggio would not get an opportunity to break the record as an injury would keep him out for the rest of the season.

Around the League...

Major League owners decided to cancel the 1945 All-Star Game due to wartime travel restrictions. Eight simultaneous games were scheduled in place of the Midsummer Classic pitting the National and American Leagues against one another in interleague play.

Billy Southworth Jr., the first player in organized baseball to enlist for military service in WWII, died on February 15th after his B29 crashed off the coast of Flushing, New York. The twenty-seven year-old combat veteran had flown twenty-five successful missions in Europe and was the son of St. Louis Cardinals manager Billy Southworth.

Despite the depletion of quality rosters around the league due to wartime commitments, attendance in ballparks across the majors rose to a staggering 10.28 million, breaking the 1940 record. The Detroit Tigers topped the list with 1.28 million and the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, and Chicago Cubs came in a close second with one million fans each.

On October 23rd, Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey announced the signing of Jackie Robinson as the first African-American to play in the Major Leagues. Over the course of a distinguished ten year career, Robinson went go on to lead the Dodgers to six National League titles and one World Series championship. A man of many "firsts", Robinson also became the first black player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"Hal Newhouser is the only pitcher in major league history to win back-to-back Most Valuable Player Awards (1944 and 1945). His blazing fastball made him a strikeout king." - National Baseball Hall of Fame

1945 American League Player Review

Hitting Statistics League Leaderboard

Base on Balls Roy Cullenbine Cleveland 113 Top 25
Detroit
Batting Average Snuffy Stirnweiss New York .309 Top 25
Doubles Wally Moses Chicago 35 Top 25
Hits Snuffy Stirnweiss New York 195 Top 25
Home Runs Vern Stephens St. Louis 24 Top 25
On Base Percentage Eddie Lake Boston .412 Top 25
RBI Nick Etten New York 111 Top 25
Runs Snuffy Stirnweiss New York 107 Top 25
Slugging Average Snuffy Stirnweiss New York .476 Top 25
Stolen Bases Snuffy Stirnweiss New York 33 Top 25
Total Bases Snuffy Stirnweiss New York 301 Top 25
Triples Snuffy Stirnweiss New York 22 Top 25

1945 American League Pitcher Review

Pitching Statistics League Leaderboard

Complete Games Hal Newhouser Detroit 29 Top 25
ERA Hal Newhouser Detroit 1.81 Top 25
Games Joe Berry Philadelphia 52 Top 25
Saves Jim Turner New York 10 Top 25
Shutouts Hal Newhouser Detroit 8 Top 25
Strikeouts Hal Newhouser Detroit 212 Top 25
Winning Percentage Hal Newhouser Detroit .735 Top 25
Wins Hal Newhouser Detroit 25 Top 25

1945 American League

Team Standings

Detroit Tigers 88 65 .575 0
Washington Senators 87 67 .565
St. Louis Browns 81 70 .536 6
New York Yankees 81 71 .533
Cleveland Indians 73 72 .503 11
Chicago White Sox 71 78 .477 15
Boston Red Sox 71 83 .461 17½
Philadelphia Athletics 52 98 .347 34½

1945 American League Team Review

Hitting Statistics League Leaderboard

Base on Balls New York 618
Batting Average Chicago .262
Doubles Detroit 227
Hits Boston 1,393
Home Runs New York 93
On Base Percentage New York .343
Runs New York 676
Slugging Average New York .373
Stolen Bases Washington 110
Triples Washington 63

1945 American League Team Review

Pitching Statistics League Leaderboard

Complete Games St. Louis 91
ERA Washington 2.93
Fewest Hits Allowed Cleveland 1,269
Fewest Home Runs Allowed Cleveland 39
Fewest Walks Allowed Washington 440
Saves Detroit 16
Shutouts Detroit 19
Washington
Strikeouts Detroit 588
Seasonal Events: All-Star Game | World Series
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baseball almanac fast facts

Pete Gray, who had only one arm and was Baseball Almanac's first ever Autograph of the Week recipient, made his Major League debut on April 18, 1945.

Interleague play in 1945? Yes, it actually took place. The All-Star Game was cancelled in 1945 due to flight restrictions and on July 10th and 11th each team faced off in what would be the first non-post season interleague contests.

On July 1, 1945, Hank Greenberg became the first Major League player to return from the war and play in a game. The legendary Tiger has been away from Major League ballparks for more than four years, but still hit a home run during his first game back.