1944 Boston Braves season
Major League Baseball team season
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The 1944 Boston Braves season was the 74th season of the franchise, 69th as a charter member of the National League. The Braves finished in sixth place with a 65–89 (.422) record, 40 games from the pennant-winning St. Louis Cardinals. They attracted 208,691 fans to Braves Field during this wartime season, eighth and last in the NL and 16th of the 16 teams then classified as major league.[1]
| 1944 Boston Braves | |
|---|---|
| League | National League |
| Ballpark | Braves Field |
| City | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Record | 65–89 (.422) |
| League place | 6th |
| Owners | Louis R. Perini |
| General managers | J.A. Robert Quinn |
| Managers | Bob Coleman |
| Radio | WNAC (Tom Hussey) |
On January 21, 1944, the Braves were acquired by "The Three Little Steam Shovels" — all Boston-area heavy construction magnates; Louis R. Perini, 40, became the principal owner, with C. Joseph Maney, 59, and Guido Rugo, 45, as minority investors. The three were investors in the previous ownership group, headed by club president J.A. Robert Quinn, 73, who remained with the team as chief executive, general manager, and a member of its board of directors.[2]
On August 10, 1944, pitcher Red Barrett pitched a complete-game 2-hit shutout against the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field, winning 2–0, requiring only 58 pitches and lasting only 1 hour 15 minutes. It was the fewest number of pitches thrown in a 9-inning complete game and was the quickest night game in MLB history.[3]
Regular season
Season standings
| 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
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 | — | |||||
Roster
| 1944 Boston Braves | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
Other batters
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Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats
| = Indicates team leader |
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 | Clyde Kluttz | 81 | 229 | 64 | .279 | 2 | 19 |
| 1B | Buck Etchison | 109 | 308 | 66 | .214 | 8 | 33 |
| 2B | Connie Ryan | 88 | 332 | 98 | .295 | 4 | 25 |
| SS | Whitey Wietelmann | 125 | 417 | 100 | .240 | 2 | 32 |
| 3B | Dee Phillips | 140 | 489 | 126 | .258 | 1 | 53 |
| OF | Chuck Workman | 140 | 418 | 87 | .208 | 11 | 53 |
| OF | Tommy Holmes | 155 | 631 | 195 | .309 | 13 | 73 |
| OF | Butch Nieman | 134 | 468 | 124 | .265 | 16 | 65 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Macon | 106 | 366 | 100 | .273 | 3 | 36 |
| Phil Masi | 89 | 251 | 69 | .275 | 3 | 23 |
| Ab Wright | 71 | 195 | 50 | .256 | 7 | 35 |
| Stew Hofferth | 66 | 180 | 36 | .200 | 1 | 26 |
| Chet Ross | 54 | 154 | 35 | .227 | 5 | 26 |
| Frank Drews | 46 | 141 | 29 | .206 | 0 | 10 |
| Roland Gladu | 21 | 66 | 16 | .242 | 1 | 7 |
| Warren Huston | 33 | 55 | 11 | .200 | 0 | 1 |
| Steve Shemo | 18 | 31 | 9 | .290 | 0 | 1 |
| Mike Sandlock | 30 | 30 | 3 | .100 | 0 | 2 |
| Dick Culler | 8 | 28 | 2 | .071 | 0 | 0 |
| Hugh Poland | 8 | 23 | 3 | .130 | 0 | 2 |
| Chet Clemens | 19 | 17 | 3 | .176 | 0 | 2 |
| Ben Geraghty | 11 | 16 | 4 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Capri | 7 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Gene Patton | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Tobin | 43 | 299.1 | 18 | 19 | 3.01 | 83 |
| Nate Andrews | 37 | 257.1 | 16 | 15 | 3.22 | 76 |
| Al Javery | 40 | 254.0 | 10 | 19 | 3.54 | 137 |
| Red Barrett | 42 | 230.1 | 9 | 16 | 4.06 | 54 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ira Hutchinson | 40 | 119.2 | 9 | 7 | 4.21 | 22 |
| Ben Cardoni | 22 | 75.2 | 0 | 6 | 3.93 | 24 |
| Johnny Hutchings | 14 | 56.2 | 9 | 7 | 4.21 | 22 |
| Woody Rich | 7 | 25.0 | 1 | 1 | 5.76 | 6 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stan Klopp | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4.27 | 17 |
| Jim Hickey | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.82 | 3 |
| Carl Lindquist | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.12 | 4 |
| George Woodend | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 0 |
| Max Macon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21.00 | 1 |
| Harry MacPherson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |
Farm system
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Hartford Laurels | Eastern League | Del Bissonette |