1946 Boston Red Sox season

1946 Boston Red Sox
1946 American League Champions
Major League affiliations
Location
Other information
Owner(s) Tom Yawkey
General manager(s) Eddie Collins
Manager(s) Joe Cronin
Local radio WNAC
(Jim Britt, Tom Hussey)
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During the 1946 Boston Red Sox season, the Red Sox won their sixth American League championship, with a record of 104 wins and 50 losses. In the World Series, the Sox lost in 7 games to the St. Louis Cardinals. The winning run in game 7 was scored on Enos Slaughter's famous "Mad Dash" in the 8th inning that gave the Cards a 4–3 lead.

Regular season

Overview

The 1946 Red Sox were led by their All-Star left fielder, Ted Williams, who was in his first year back in the majors after serving as a fighter pilot in World War II. 1946 was Ted Williams first of two MVP seasons, and the only time he ever won a pennant. He was among the league leaders in many offensive categories, with a batting average of .342, 38 home runs and 123 runs batted in.[1]

On April 24, the Red Sox were 6–3, 1 game behind the Yankees and tied for second with the defending world series champion Tigers.[2] Then, from April 25 through May 10, they won 15 games in a row, beating the Yankees twice and sweeping the Tigers in a three-game series.[3] Over this stretch Ted Williams had a batting average of .442, with 4 home runs and 17 runs batted in.[4] On May 10 the Red Sox were 21–3 and leading the American League, 5.5 games ahead of the Yankees and 8 games ahead of the Tigers.[5] This was their biggest lead in 28 seasons, since winning their last pennant in 1918.[6] The fans took notice as the Red Sox had their highest attendance ever, nearly doubling their previous record. For the first time in Fenway Park history the Red Sox were averaging over 10,000 fans per game, averaging 18,166 fans per game throughout 1946.[7]

The Red Sox never turned back, winning 12 straight decisions from May 29 through June 11, including their second three-game sweep of the Tigers.[3] On June 11, the Red Sox were 41–9, 10 games ahead of the Yankees.[8] From June 5 through July 21, in 48 games, Ted Williams had a batting average of .399, with 18 home runs and 52 runs batted in. The Red Sox swept the Tigers for the third time that year on July 11–13. On July 14, Williams hit three home runs in a game.[4] The Red Sox swept their rivals, the Yankees, in a double-header at Yankee Stadium on September 2, expanding their lead to 15.5 games ahead of the Yankees and 18 games ahead of the Tigers. The Red Sox clinched the American League Pennant on September 13.[9] It was their first Pennant since 1918, when they won the World Series. The Red Sox ended the season 12 games ahead of the Tigers and 17 games ahead of the Yankees.[10]

The Red Sox played a three-game series against an American League all star team following the end of the regular season and the beginning of the World Series. While the Red Sox had clinched in September, the St Louis Cardinals and Brooklyn Dodgers would play a three-game playoff for the National League pennant, pushing back the start of the World Series. The Red Sox hosted the three game exhibition series beginning October 1, 1946, at Fenway Park. The Red Sox won two of three, but Williams exacerbated his injury which would plague him in the Series against St. Louis.[11]

Season standings

American League W L Pct. GB
Boston Red Sox 104 50 .675 --
Detroit Tigers 92 62 .597 12
New York Yankees 87 67 .565 17
Washington Senators 76 78 .494 28
Chicago White Sox 74 80 .481 30
Cleveland Indians 68 86 .442 36
St. Louis Browns 66 88 .429 38
Philadelphia Athletics 49 105 .318 55

Record vs. opponents

1946 American League Records

Sources:

Team BOS CWS CLE DET NYY PHI STL WSH
Boston — 13–9 15–7 15–7–1 14–8 17–5 14–8–1 16–6
Chicago 9–13 — 13–9–1 10–12 8–14 12–10 12–10 10–12
Cleveland 7–15 9–13–1 — 5–17 10–12 15–7 15–7–1 7–15
Detroit 7–15–1 12–10 17–5 — 13–9 17–5 14–8 12–10
New York 8–14 14–8 12–10 9–13 — 16–6 14–8 14–8
Philadelphia 5–17 10–12 7–15 5–17 6–16 — 10–12 6–16–1
St. Louis 8–14–1 10–12 7–15–1 8–14 8–14 12–10 — 13–9
Washington 6–16 12–10 15–7 10–12 8–14 16–6–1 9–13 —

Opening Day lineup

 7 Dom DiMaggio CF
 6 Johnny Pesky SS
  9 Ted Williams LF
 1 Bobby Doerr 2B
 3 Rudy York 1B
 2 Catfish Metkovich    RF
35 Ernie Andres 3B
 8 Hal Wagner C
21 Tex Hughson P

Notable transactions

Roster

1946 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders Manager

Coaches

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
SS Pesky, JohnnyJohnny Pesky 153 621 208 .335 2 55
OF DiMaggio, DomDom DiMaggio 142 534 169 .316 7 73
OF Williams, TedTed Williams 150 514 176 .342 38 123

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

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

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
Bagby, JimJim Bagby 21 106.2 7 6 3.71 16

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

1946 World Series

Main article: 1946 World Series

NL St. Louis Cardinals (4) vs. AL Boston Red Sox (3)

GameScoreDateAttendance
1Boston 3, St. Louis 2 (10 innings)October 636,218
2St. Louis 3, Boston 0October 735,815
3Boston 4, St. Louis 0October 934,500
4St. Louis 12, Boston 3 October 1035,645
5Boston 6, St. Louis 3 October 1135,982
6St. Louis 4, Boston 1October 1335,768
7St. Louis 4, Boston 3 October 1536,143

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Louisville Colonels American Association Fred Walters and Nemo Leibold
AA New Orleans Pelicans Southern Association Johnny Peacock
A Scranton Red Sox Eastern League Elmer Yoter
B Lynn Red Sox New England League Pep Kennedy
B Roanoke Red Sox Piedmont League Eddie Popowski
C Oneonta Red Sox Canadian–American League Red Marion
C Durham Bulls Carolina League Floyd "Pat" Patterson
D Geneva Red Birds Alabama State League Charles Holly
D Salem/Lenoir Red Sox Blue Ridge League Vernon Mackie and Noel Casbier
D Goldsboro Gold Bugs Coastal Plain League Bill Herring
D Milford Red Sox Eastern Shore League Wally Millies
D New Iberia Cardinals Evangeline League Aaron Ward

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Louisville, Scranton

Salem franchise moved to Lenoir, June 25, 1946[14]

Notes

References

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