1944 Detroit Tigers season
Major League Baseball season
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In 1944, the Detroit Tigers finished second in the American League with a record of 88–66, just one game behind the first place St. Louis Browns.
| 1944 Detroit Tigers | |
|---|---|
| League | American League |
| Ballpark | Briggs Stadium |
| City | Detroit |
| Record | 88–66 (.571) |
| League place | 2nd |
| Owners | Walter Briggs, Sr. |
| General managers | Jack Zeller |
| Managers | Steve O'Neill |
| Radio | WXYZ (Harry Heilmann) |
Offseason
- October 11, 1943: Rip Radcliff was traded by the Tigers to the Philadelphia Athletics for Don Heffner and Bob Swift.[1]
- Prior to 1944 season: Joe Ginsberg was signed as an amateur free agent by the Tigers.[2]
Regular season
On April 19, first baseman Rudy York recorded his 1,000th career hit.
On September 17, the Tigers found themselves in first place for the first time all season. The Yankees lost two games to the Athletics, while the Browns split two games with the White Sox. With the Tigers sweeping Cleveland, the Tigers jumped over the Yankees and Browns for first place.[3] The Browns were a half game back, while the Yankees were two games back.[4] At the end of twelve games from that day, the Tigers were in or tied for first place, which included being tied on the penultimate day on September 30 with St. Louis. On October 1, Detroit lost to Washington 4-1 while St. Louis defeated New York 5–2 to clinch the pennant.[5]
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Browns | 89 | 65 | .578 | — | 54–23 | 35–42 |
| Detroit Tigers | 88 | 66 | .571 | 1 | 43–34 | 45–32 |
| New York Yankees | 83 | 71 | .539 | 6 | 47–31 | 36–40 |
| Boston Red Sox | 77 | 77 | .500 | 12 | 47–30 | 30–47 |
| Cleveland Indians | 72 | 82 | .468 | 17 | 39–38 | 33–44 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 72 | 82 | .468 | 17 | 39–37 | 33–45 |
| Chicago White Sox | 71 | 83 | .461 | 18 | 41–36 | 30–47 |
| Washington Senators | 64 | 90 | .416 | 25 | 40–37 | 24–53 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYY | PHA | SLB | WSH | |||||
| Boston | — | 17–5 | 8–14 | 10–12–2 | 11–11 | 11–11 | 10–12 | 10–12 | |||||
| Chicago | 5–17 | — | 14–8 | 9–13 | 10–12 | 9–13 | 8–14 | 16–6 | |||||
| Cleveland | 14–8 | 8–14 | — | 10–12 | 8–14 | 12–10–1 | 10–12 | 10–12 | |||||
| Detroit | 12–10–2 | 13–9 | 12–10 | — | 14–8 | 11–11 | 9–13 | 17–5 | |||||
| New York | 11–11 | 12–10 | 14–8 | 8–14 | — | 13–9 | 10–12 | 15–7 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 11–11 | 13–9 | 10–12–1 | 11–11 | 9–13 | — | 9–13 | 9–13 | |||||
| St. Louis | 12–10 | 14–8 | 12–10 | 13–9 | 12–10 | 13–9 | — | 13–9 | |||||
| Washington | 12–10 | 6–16 | 12–10 | 5–17 | 7–15 | 13–9 | 9–13 | — | |||||
Roster
| 1944 Detroit Tigers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters
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Manager
Coaches
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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 | Paul Richards | 95 | 300 | 71 | .237 | 3 | 37 |
| 1B | Rudy York | 151 | 583 | 161 | .276 | 18 | 98 |
| 2B | Eddie Mayo | 154 | 607 | 151 | .249 | 5 | 63 |
| SS | Joe Hoover | 120 | 441 | 104 | .236 | 0 | 29 |
| 3B | Pinky Higgins | 148 | 543 | 161 | .297 | 7 | 76 |
| OF | Doc Cramer | 143 | 578 | 169 | .292 | 2 | 42 |
| OF | Jimmy Outlaw | 139 | 535 | 146 | .273 | 3 | 57 |
| OF | Dick Wakefield | 78 | 276 | 98 | .355 | 12 | 53 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chuck Hostetler | 90 | 265 | 79 | .298 | 0 | 20 |
| Bob Swift | 80 | 247 | 63 | .255 | 1 | 19 |
| Don Ross | 66 | 167 | 35 | .210 | 2 | 15 |
| Joe Orengo | 46 | 154 | 31 | .201 | 0 | 10 |
| Charlie Metro | 38 | 78 | 15 | .192 | 0 | 5 |
| Al Unser | 11 | 25 | 3 | .120 | 1 | 5 |
| Don Heffner | 6 | 19 | 4 | .211 | 0 | 1 |
| Red Borom | 7 | 14 | 1 | .071 | 0 | 1 |
| Bubba Floyd | 3 | 9 | 4 | .444 | 0 | 0 |
| Hack Miller | 6 | 5 | 1 | .200 | 1 | 3 |
| John McHale | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Jackie Sullivan | 1 | 1 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dizzy Trout | 49 | 352.1 | 27 | 14 | 2.12 | 144 |
| Hal Newhouser | 47 | 312.1 | 29 | 9 | 2.22 | 187 |
| Rufe Gentry | 37 | 203.2 | 12 | 14 | 4.24 | 68 |
| Stubby Overmire | 32 | 199.2 | 11 | 11 | 3.07 | 57 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Gorsica | 34 | 162.0 | 6 | 14 | 4.11 | 47 |
| Joe Orrell | 10 | 22.1 | 2 | 1 | 2.42 | 10 |
| Roy Henshaw | 7 | 12.1 | 0 | 0 | 8.76 | 10 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boom-Boom Beck | 28 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3.89 | 25 |
| Jake Mooty | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.45 | 7 |
| Bob Gillespie | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.55 | 4 |
| Zeb Eaton | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.74 | 4 |
| Elon Hogsett | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 5 |
Awards and honors
Farm system
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA | Buffalo Bisons | International League | Bucky Harris |
| B | Hagerstown Owls | Interstate League | Herb Brett |
| D | Jamestown Falcons | PONY League | Ollie Carnegie |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Jamestown
